2022 Europe bike touring trip

This post is made up from all the daily Strava rides I completed from August to October 2022. This made up three months of my six month overseas trip, which also included starting the 2022 Tour Divide, hiking for two weeks in Utah, catching up with friends in Dubai after the European part of the trip, and also catching up with other friends in Bali, on my way back home to Australia in early December 2022.

4 August 2022. Phase 2, day 1: Honningsvåg-Nordkapp-Honningsvåg-Olderfjord Norway. Long day with a mid morning start after finally receiving my lost baggage, which was my handlebar bag. Inside it were my pedals, tent, food, clothes, cycling apparel and some of my sleeping system. Some 10% climbs in there earlier this morning. 160km, 1,925m elevation gain.

5 August. Olderfjord-Alta. Wind, rain, hills. Not a fun day. 101km, 1,044m elevation gain.

6 August. Alta-Sekkemo. Got my first denied return wave hello to a fellow oncoming cyclist today, along with my first flat. Even with Schwalbe marathon plus tyres with tyre liner (why not), you can still get flats. Only rained for 20mins today. Tomorrow it is predicted to rain a lot. 133km, 1,469m elevation gain. 

7 August. Sekkemo-Olderdalen. Cold, wet, miserable. Rained pretty much all day. Didn’t take many photos today. Had 2 more flats on the rear tyre at 10km and 7km from Olderdalen. Had no spare tubes left so had to walk it to the accommodation. Also the Maxle isn’t threading anymore, which in turn is making the disc not align anymore. Will have to bus it to Tromso to get it looked at as its the closest place with a bike shop. I’m headed that way anyway so will miss one days worth of riding (80km). 103km, 1,271m elevation gain. 

8 August. Olderdalen/Lyngseidet-Tromso. Goal 1 for Norway completed, to get to Tromso under my own steam. Started the gps after the finishing the 1st ferry. Didn’t need to take the bus as originally planned, as a French guy on the first ferry today helped fix my bike. Some rain today but more is predicted in the coming days. Great as tomorrow is a day off the bike. 70km, 686m elevation gain. 

9 August. Tromso. Ride to the shops to get supplies. Purchased a rear rack and 2x 20 litre Ortlieb panniers, for extra storage capacity, along with waterproof gloves that will shed the water not soak the water. Really need a sit pad for cooking whilst wild camping. Gaitiers are now required as the rain gets into my shoes. Mosquito head net and tubes also a necessity. 10km, 162m elevation gain. 

10 August. Tromso-Finnsnes. After sorting out some initial teething problems with the rear rack and panniers, it was a typical Norwegian day, cold, wet, windy but with more gustier winds, Stronger winds to come in the next few days. Had to take a detour as there is a huge landslide, so currently off the EuroVelo 1 trail but will be back on it by tomorrow . 109km, 1,039m elevation gain. 

11 August. Finnsnes-Hamn. Finished the day early due to 60-70 kmph gale force winds all day and the Gryllefjord-Andenes (Lofoten island) ferry being cancelled. Had to stop and either walk or completely stop as the wind was way to strong and it was pushing me into oncoming traffic or off the road, multiple times throughout todays ride. Staff at the expensive and only place to stay in the area at the time of arriving, say that this is definitely out if the ordinary for summer and that the ferry should be going tomorrow as the predicted swell should be less than today. 52km, 680m elevation gain. 

12 August. Hamn-Torsken. Moved to a cheaper place that had vacancies. No ferries today due to 40-60 kmph winds. The ferry company is saying that tomorrow it’s likely that it will operate as per timetable as the weather looks much better. 14km, 271m elevation gain. 

13 August. Torsken-Sortland. Lofoten ferry was finally allowed to operate today. Big day with waiting for the ferry and being on the longest ferry trip I have taken in Norway so far, almost 2 hours. Still some rain and strong wind but much better then the last couple of days. Rode with a younger Spanish guy most of the day. He is a high-school maths teacher from northern Spain, near San Sébastien. He has just started his tour and will be riding for 2 months back home from Tromso. Nice guy. 118km, 813m elevation gain. 

14 August. Sortland-Lyngvaer. No rain at all today and the sun was also out. Some breeze but soooo much better than the last couple of days. 96km, 699m elevation gain. 

15 August. Lyngvaer-Flakstad. Took the longer country roads today instead of fhe main highways, like yesterday. A nice sunny day today. Even hit a max of 22 degrees c, so got my first icecream for Norway   100km, 803m elevation gain. 

16 August. Flaksted-Saltstrumen. Last night and this morning was super windy. The rest of the day turned out perfect. Had to wait 3 hours for the Moskenes-Bodo ferry, which then took 4 hours to cross back from Lofoten islands. Longest ferry ride in Norway I believe. Goal 2 for Norway completed. 59km, 691m elevation gain. 

17 August. Saltstrumen-Saura. Cold and rained all day except when waiting 2 hours for the ferry and when the ferry was going. Max of 8 degrees c today. 99km, 1,294m elevation gain. 

18 August. Saura-Nesna. Gorgeous day today, even had an icecream with my lunch. Took four ferrys today. Tried to be cagy with the third ferry but found out I had to wait for the express ferry and you pay for that. Was a fast ferry though. 76km, 949m elevation gain. 

19 August. Nesna-Skogmo. Rained a little this morning and a little bit windy this afternoon but overall a nice day. Met a nice bunch of people on the second ferry of three today. They are on an assisted cycling trip and having a lot of fun. 109km, 801m elevation gain. 

20 August. Skogmo-Hofles. Hardly rained at all today, which was a nice change. Cloudy though but otherwise nice riding conditions. 118km, 1,336m elevation gain. 

21 August. Hofles-Osen. Nice day for a ride today except for the last one hour, thanks to the rain. 132km, 1,708m elevation gain. 

22 August. Osen-Åfjord. Cold, wet and wind gusts of up to 70kmph all day, along with a couple of 8-9% gradient climbs during this weather, made for a not so nice day to ride today, so finished early. Tomorrow’s weather forecast looks good atm. 64km, 989m elevation gain. 

23 August. Åfjord-Trondheim. Having made it to Trondheim, I will finish the EuroVelo 1 trail here. I will now go inland to Lillehammer tonight via train, then ride to Oslo over the next couple of days. Have to take the train due to delays encountered so far and to catch up with a friend at a certain date. Today was definitely an icecream sort of day, warm weather, blue skies, hardly any breeze and no rain at all. Goal 4 for Norway now complete. 92km, 1,108m elevation gain. 

24 August. Lillehammer-Langset. That was a nice day of riding mixed surfaces and not being on the highway. I would say today had around 20% gravel/country/forest dirt roads, then add some rail trail, cycle paths and old highway sections and you’ve got yourself a fun day of riding. No rain or wind today either. Didn’t see one RV or campervan. I didn’t get much sleep on the overnight train last night but following the Norwegian national cycle route 7 has been great so far. 123km, 1,165m elevation gain. 

25 August. Langset-Oslo. Country roads and cycle paths were on todays menu. Hot one today, hit 26 degrees c. Oslo streets are very crowded. Time for a large icecream. 98km, 917m elevation gain. 

26 August. Oslo-Sandefjord. Goal 5 from 5 for Norway done. Mostly cycle paths today. Felt like I was climbing most of the day. Will be resting up for the next few days, then it’s off to Sweden via ferry to save me 1.5 days worth of riding, to get me to the end point of phase 2.1 of my trip. 125km, 1,099m elevation gain. Rode 3,529km with 22,919m elevation gain in Norway. 

29 August. Stromstrad-Ovre Tun (Sweden). After a midday ish, 3 hour ferry ride from Sandefjord Norway to Stromstrad, it was all country roads today. 72km, 538m elevation gain. 

30 August. Ovre Tun-Gothenburg. Longest day in terms of kms covered in one day on this European trip so far. Mostly country and main roads. Bit of a breeze in the afternoon. 169km, 1,323m elevation gain. 

31 August. Frederikshavn-Granly (Denmark). Short one today due to ferry departing Sweden mid afternoon. Nice shelter though. Denmark has a network of free shelters anyone can use. 12km, 164m elevation gain. 

1 September. Granly-Rebild. Farms and forests. Felt like a bikepacking day today, with all the gravel and forrest roads/single track. Not the best conditions for bike touring on 700x45mm tyres with loose and rocky gravel which was about half of the gravel sections, which was around 2/3 of the surface today, but the plan c rear bike rake survived, just have to slow down on the gravel descents as Im used to haveing 29×2.2 inch tyres on this bike. 122km, 1,065m elevation gain. 

2 September. Rebild-Thorning. Rolling through the villages. Need to sort out my SIM card. Rode a little more today from Viborg. Let’s see how many emails/days it will take with support from the sim card company that I purchased my global roaming SIM card from, to get it back up and going. Currently only have access to internet via wifi. 102km, 759m elevation gain. 

3 September. Thorning-Frihedsbroen. Windy one today. Pretty much alll tarmac today, except for a few small sections of gravel. First free camping ground with free wifi. Last night free shelter had free power . 124km, 822m elevation gain. 

4 September. Frihedsbroen-Schleswig (Germany). Similar to yesterday but more gravel and a lot more wind. Constant 25-35kmph all day. Oh, I did cross the border into Germany though. Had to pick up the tempo for the last 3 hours, to make the accommodation check-in time cut off time. Thankfully the gravel sections were over with and I was protected from the wind by the trees in the forrests or the tree lined country roads. Sprung for a room tonight as I only stayed at campgrounds in Denmark, so need a shower. The sim card company got my card working again overnight. 153km, 635m elevation gain. 

5 September. Schleswig-Elmshorn. Headwinds and criss-crossing main roads between farms and forrests was todays leisurely ride. Basically no elevation today. Did have to walk my bicycle for about 15-20mins through sand though. The sand sectionlasted for about one hour. Rained the last 30mins of the day. Been pretty fortunate with the weather lately. 113km, 428m elevation gain. 

6 September. Elmshorn-Hamburg. Easy ride into Hamburg, except for the wind. Why does it always show up when you don’t want it. First impressions of Hamburg is that it is very industrial and has a lot of poverty around, especially in the city center and central train station. Before you ask, I did have a hamburger in Hamburg. Phase 2.1 of my 6 month trip is complete. Will take a rest day tomorrow as I will be traveling south, then phase 2.2 begins, which is what I have been planning for a long time, can’t wait. 65km, 93m elevation gain. 

8 September. Mariensäule. Ride to the lookout of Trier, after walking around the town for 6-7 hours beforehand and being told about it by the guys at one of the bike shops in town. 7km, 175m elevation gain. 

9 September. Trier-Alzingen (Luxembourg). River, farm and city ride today. Some short punchy hills to get me ready for the remainder of phase 2.2, which has begun today. Had to walk my bike a lot in Luxembourg city as cycling is only allowed on some roads. 64km, 796m elevation gain. 

10 September. Alzingen-Sarreguemines (France). Chasing border crossings today. Started in Luxembourg, rode mostly in Germany throughout the day, now in France. Rained in the morning, rained a little in the afternoon. The new gloves have held up well. 120km, 746m elevation gain. 

11 September. Sarreguemines-Châtenois. Canals, cycle paths, vineyards and medieval fete. I think today’s ride equals the longest day I have ridden this European trip. 169km, 959m elevation gain. 

12 September. Châtenois-Basel (Switzerland). More vineyards, farms and canals. Crossed the Swiss border today, so bring on the beautiful mountain views and elevation gain over the next week or so. 111km, 400m elevation gain. 

13 September. Basel-Olten. Short one today, as staying with a friend for a day or two. One 15-25% incline to get me ready for things to come in Switzerland. 46km, 504m elevation gain. 

14 September. Olten-Bern. Some light breeze, rain and humidity but a rather nice days ride. Left later today due to finalising the route I want to take in Switzerland and finishing up the repair/replacement of parts on my bike. 83km, 519m elevation gain. 

15 September. Bern-Interlaken. Thunderstorm last night, rain all day today. At least it was a shorter ride today. With a lot more rain predicted to fall over the next couple of days, I will stay here for a couple of nights as the places I really want to go to have to be seen without the low lying clouds and rain. 63km, 385m elevation gain. 

17 September. Two lakes, two waterfalls and a cave. Not a bad day out, riding further out of the Interlaken region. Walked up to the top of the Giessbach waterfall, which started at 680m above sea level and reached 1066m. 44km, 613m elevation gain. 

19 September. Interlaken-Grindelwald. That was a spectacular ride. Now time to take the Eiger express up to Jungfraujoch. 22km, 526m elevation gain. 

20 September. Grindelwald-Innertkirchen. Strenuous (at times), shorter ride today but rewarding. The decent was nice but cold. 39km, 1,159m elevation gain. 

21 September. Innertkirchen-Oberalp pass. WHAT AN EPIC DAY. Today will be a day to never forget. Just wow. I filmed most of it so I’ll edit it over the coming days and put it up on my Facebook and YouTube but I rode 3 passes in one ride in Switzerland. Best thing about tomorrow is that I get to decend. 76km, 2,876m elevation gain. 

22 September. Oberal pass-Trun. Hike to the source of the Rhine, the Tomasee, Nice easy days ride today. Was especially nice to have a long descent to start off with. 35km, 180m elevation gain.  

23 September. Trun-Chur. Left Trun campground late this morning as I was really tired yesterday afternoon. Took it a lot easier today, along with taking more breaks, even though it had some elevation gain, nothing will beat the three pass day I had a couple of days ago, well not on this trip anyway. Staying in a hostel tonight. 56km, 599m elevation gain. 

24 September. Chur-Vaduz (Liechtenstein). The hostel I stayed in at Chur was right next to three nightclubs, so didn’t get much sleep last night. Tonights hostel is very much the opposite so looking forward to a good nights sleep tonight. Kriss-crossed Vaduz a bit this afternoon, attempting to see as many sites as possible before the rain tomorrow. 71km, 492m elevation gain. 

25 September. Ride to the ruined castles of Schellenberg. Day off from riding today. Underwhelming castle ruins. There was a very steep section riding to Obere Burg castle, which was rocky loose gravel. Had to get off and push the bike. 27km, 373m elevation gain. Rode 562km with 8,226m elevation gain in Switzerland.

26 September. Quick ride to the old part of Salzburg. For lunch whilst waiting for my next train. This is the third time I’ve been to Salzburg but this is the shortest time I have spent here. 7km, 11m elevation gain.

26 September. Gobovce-Bled (Slovenia). Bonus ride. Went to open the train door at Bled station, it opened but the train left the station. 19km, 315m elevation gain. 

27 September. Ride to Vintgar gorge. This doesn’t include the 1.5 hour return walk back to the entrance.

Too much rain about today (12mm) so will continue sightseeing by bicycle tomorrow. 7km, 119m elevation gain. 

28 September. Hike and ride around Lake Bled. Actually rode around the lake a few times. Is very pretty. Still plenty of rain around, for at least the next few days, even at my next destination . 7km, 35m elevation gain. 

29 September. Bled-Ljubljana. That was a wet ride, not pleasant at all and fairly cold. 15mm of rain today. Tomorrow and the next couple of days has Slovenia on amber alert for a lot more rain and potential flooding. Sunday onwards looks good though. 62km, 421m elevation gain. 

2 October. Ljubljana-Koper. Today felt like a bikepacking ride, rather than a bicycle touring ride. Had some questionable sections (I believe they were mtb trails), a lot of gravel, incline and nice countryside and small towns. Took a 1h45min guided tour of Škocjan Caves in the afternoon. Was pretty special. Got given some white grapes from a nice older Slovenian guy when I was taking a photo of the Adriatic from the lookout. He was impressed of me riding from Nordkapp Norway. 118km, 1,420m elevation gain.

3 October. Koper-Svetvincenat (Croatia). Today was a typical bicycle touring day, roads and more roads, but this time it was by the sea (half the time). Hadn’t ridden by the sea since Norway, way back in August. Had a few short switchback hills with views though today so wasn’t all bad. 115km, 1,309m elevation gain. 

4 October. Svetvincenat-Rijeka. Rode mostly downhill today, except for three hills. Time for a dip in the sea. 97km, 925m elevation gain. 

5 October. Rijeka-Lopar. Not much riding today, as had to wait for the Valbiska-Lopar ferry, which only operates twice daily during the off season, but that ment more relaxation and beer. Hadn’t been on a ferry since Sweden-Denmark. 59km, 827m elevation gain.

6 October. Lopar-Rtina. Not a hugely eventful day but had alot more clouds so the sun wasn’t always beating down on me. Still max of 23 degrees c. Two ferries used today. 103km, 1,407m elevation gain. 

7 October. Rtina-Lozovac. Another uneventful day, until getting to Krka national park in the afternoon. Pretty spectacular waterfall. 111km, 1,166m elevation gain. 

8 October. Lozovac-Split. Had a few climbs today but not much happening on the road today, except for the busyness of the traffic coming into Split. Haven’t been to Split since 2004. 85km, 856m elevation gain. 

13 October. Dubrovnik-Kotor (Montenegro). Took a ferry from Split to Dubrovnik after talking with locals about the road conditions/traffic. Took a day tour to Bosnia Herzegovina whilst in Dubrovnik. Riding with a cold isn’t much fun but actually made it to my accommodation earlier than expected which was great. Tomorrow morning will have a lot of elevation gain. 103km, 1,179m elevation gain. Rode 558km with 6,363m elevation gain in Croatia. 

14 October. Kotor-Podgorica. Wet day today. Gave up counting the switchbacks after 30, on this mornings pass. My cold has almost gone. Pretty tired as there was a guy snoring all night in the dorm in Kotor last night. 87km, 1,676m elevation gain. 

15 October. Podgorica-Lezhe (Albania). Not a tough day today. Left the terrible hostel in Podgorica early. 107km, 367m elevation gain. 

16 October. Lezhe-Tirana. Another not so difficult days ride. 78km, 395m elevation gain. 

17 October. Tirana-Divjake. Still pretty flat terrain. In two days riding time it won’t be though. 105km, 344m elevation gain. 

18 October. Divjake-Vlora. Sunny day, no clouds in sight. 77km, 373m elevation gain. 

19 October. Vlora-Himare. One mountain pass and a few short and sharp inclines today. Started at one beach, finished at another beach. 72km, 1,659m elevation gain. 

20 October. Himare-Sagiada (Greece). Felt like I was climbing all day. Seemed like a longer day today, as I started later and went through a timezone so have lost an hour. Got to 23 degrees c but was sweating a lot. Saw five other riders going the same direction as me today. That’s the most I have ever seen in a single day on this trip so far. 95km, 1,477m elevation gain. 

21 October. Sagiada-Pidima Kiras. Felt like one long climb. 114km, 1,828m elevation gain. 

22 October. Pidima Kiras-Amfilochia. Highway and orchard farming roads with not as much elevation gain today. Tomorrow and the day after that will have some more though. 107km, 477 m elevation gain. 

23 October. Amfilochia-Mytikas. Shorter ride today, so I can eat a big late lunch of shrimp pasta, have a couple of beers with it and then sit on the beach this afternoon. 71km, 779m elevation gain. 

24 October. Mytikas-Missolonghi. A nice easier ride today. 83km, 633m elevation gain. 

25 October. Missolonghi-Aigio. Easy ride today. Not long now, untill I have reached my goal. 75km, 636m elevation gain. 

26 October. Aigio-Korinthos. Almost at my goal destination. 97km, 329m elevation gain. 

27 October. Korinthos-Athens. Goal destination reached for the European part of my 6 month trip. 

With reaching the Acropolis in Athens, that completes phase 2.3 and concludes the European part of my 6 month trip. Truly blessed to have been able to do this kind of trip. I have had some wonderful times as well as some tough times riding in Europe but it has been one memorable trip and seeing the world go by at an average of 15kmph has been a better experience for me, than seeing it via a train or bus window, like I have done in the past whilst traveling in Europe. Caught up with some friends along the the way and also made new ones. You see and feel the surrounds on a whole other level. I rode a total of around 7,784km in Europe and took 1,800km worth of trains and multiple ferries (especially in Norway). I spent roughly 2 weeks of the last 3 months staying in places for more than one night to explore, catch up with friends, travel day or due to adverse weather conditions. Phase 3 (and final phase of my trip), won’t include riding my bicycle, so am on the way back to Australia via a few countries over the next month, with relaxing taking a precedence. For those following me only on Strava, I have finished riding in Europe for this trip. 105km, 814m elevation gain. Rode 1,079km with 11,414m elevation gain in Albania and Greece. 

Rode a total of 7,784km with 61,455m elevation gain.