13 Countries, 2 Flats – European Bike Tour Stats and Favorites

Sudtirol bike path magic

I’m one of those weirdos who loves tracking numbers. They help me understand and frame the world, my data-gobbling brain dining happily when served courses of city populations, distances traveled, workout stats, or even Quicken files tracking our spending. I’ve dialed this back over the past few years to avoid turning into Spock, but still find it fun.

Did I mention that we’re done with our summer bike tour of Europe? We are! And since I enjoyed compiling stats for our 2014 U.S. tour, I repeated it this time – welcome to the summary of our 3.5 month bicycle tour through Europe in 2015. We’re currently relaxing post-trip (i.e not biking) in New York City before we head west to Idaho (on a plane). 

The route! Starting in London, we pedaled 2,500 miles, took a couple ferries, and hopped on a few trains.

The route! Starting in London, we pedaled 2,500 miles, took a couple ferries, and hopped on a few trains, finishing in Prague.

This tour we aimed to mix cycling with maximum enjoyment, a shift from the mostly physical challenge of last year. To accomplish that, we rode less mileage and parked the bikes for more days off. Both touring styles are worthwhile, but I had more fun during this European cycle tour thanks to mixing up the activities.

Below is the breakdown, a compilation of favorite places, distances and time on the bike, and other random tidbits. Data can’t fully capture the experience, but perhaps it helps an aspiring cycle tourist wrap their head around the hard data and think, “hey, I could do that.” (You can!)

Onward.

A big brdige span over the River Drau in SE Austria.

A big bridge span over the River Drau in SE Austria.

All the Info

  • Total distance ridden: 2,440 miles (3,935 kilometers), the same distance as flying from San Francisco to Hawaii, London to Toronto, or Amsterdam to Timbuktu.
  • Number of countries we pedaled in: 13 (almost as many as the 15 states as we crossed during last year’s U.S. tour).
  • Favorite cycling area: Italy’s NE Sudtirol region, followed closely by Slovenia (which still wins my favorite country award). Ah, the Alps are so fantastic!
  • Biggest surprise about Europe: there is a ton of farmland and animal agriculture, which I hadn’t encountered during previous travels since I kept to metropolitan Europe. Corn fields are everywhere and the stink of animal feedlots tinted the air in many areas of the continent. Some countries (Belgium, parts of eastern France, and Hungary) hinted of the American Midwest in terms of their crops and landscapes.

    The hilly southern edge of Austria still had corn!

    The hilly southern edge of Austria still had corn!

  • Total days touring: 103 (June 13 – September 23, 2015)
  • Days pedaling: 64
  • Days NOT bike touring: 39, almost 40% of the trip. Compared to last year’s U.S. ride (only 18 days off), our aim for Europe was more time to explore, relax, and hang with people we met along the way. We gave ourselves permission to laze about, explore cities with friends, lace up the running shoes, sit in cafes and read, or mountain bike. Mixing it up was very fun, and we’ll aim for this style of touring in the future.

    Hiking (followed by swimming) on a rest day at Lake Bohinj, Slovenia.

    Hiking (followed by swimming) on a rest day at Lake Bohinj, Slovenia.

  • Average time pedaling each day: 3.8 hours, barely a part-time job.
  • Extra calories burned per day: 3,000-5,000. I ate almost non-stop (but what’s new).
  • Average distance per day: 38 miles (61 km), close to our initial plan of 40 miles per day.
  • Total pedal strokes: 934,000, give or take a few.
  • Longest day: 55.7 miles (90 km) and 5.25 hours of pedaling in Slovenia.
  • Elevation gain: 85,754 feet (138,000 m). That’s 16 miles straight up, but only 1,355 feet per day on average.
  • Number of cycling networks traversed: 11, though I’m probably missing a few. Europe has fantastic cycle networks and resources for cycle touring.

    Bike in German=rad. Perfect.

    Bike in German=rad. Perfect.

  • Days without a shower: Zero! Ah, Europe, the lap of luxury.
  • Number of other bike tourists encountered: Hundreds! Compared to the U.S., where we went 61 days without seeing another cycle tourist, Europe was a buzzing hive of activity. We’d see at least a few long-distance tourers per day and dozens of people out for day rides.
  • Favorite things about touring in Europe:
    • Well-signed, no-car bike paths made route planning easy, plus lowered stress levels since we rarely spent time fencing with big trucks.
    • Frequent towns or cities, which meant easy logistics for water, food, and lodging. Even the tiniest villages had historic guest houses or inns, so we stayed in cities far more than our U.S. tour. Lodging values were fantastic too.

      Colmar in the Alsace region. We stayed with a friend of mine I hadn't seen since studying abroad in Sweden.

      Colmar in the Alsace region. We stayed with a friend of mine I hadn’t seen since studying abroad in Sweden.

  • Things I missed about the U.S.:
    • The wide open wilderness of the States dwarfs the nature in Europe. The U.S. is BIG, and though it makes logistics tougher, pedaling for hours in the middle of nowhere carries a special magic. The east side of Glacier en route to Canada comes to mind.
    • Communication created some headaches. With 10 languages over three months (none of them Spanish, argh!), the constant roadblock to speaking with people sometimes made us feel frustrated and isolated. I acknowledge that I have no room to bitch since people were accommodating, friendly, and spoke pretty good English (along with French, German, Dutch…).
  • Longest continuous climb: 11 miles from Austria up up up to the Czech Republic. This was also our biggest elevation day at 3,500’, though an honorable mention goes to the hilly Ardennes region of Belgium for working us over.
  • Steepest climb: multiple 19% passes in the Alps. The toughest pass was from Austria up to Slovenia, a 6-mile onslaught so consistently steep it was almost laughable, followed closely by Resia Pass from Italy into Austria. (Moral: don’t try to cross the Austrian border!)

    Top of the pass from Italy into Austria.

    Top of the pass from Italy into Austria. We stayed in the lakeside village (Resia) for a few nights.

  • Most memorable song along the way: A cheery five a.m. wake-up whistled rendition of “Don’t Worry, Be Happy” on the ferry ride from England to Holland.
  • Oldest accommodation: a 1,000 year-old monastery in England featuring a fun, challenging obstacle course. We stopped for a couple nights to celebrate my 33rd birthday, but my attempts to beat the obstacle course record were thwarted by old age.
  • Most countries biked in during one day: three – Luxembourg/Germany/France, Italy/Switzerland/Austria
  • Hottest temperature: 110℉ in Venice – our weather app said “feels like 125℉.” We agreed.
  • Numbers of days over 95℉: ~30, plus a handful over 100 as Europe busted through many heat records. We made two personal videos documenting our vow to never bike tour in July-August again unless it’s in Scandinavia or a place with outdoor A/C and lakes every three miles.

    Wheat fields in Germany.

    Wheat fields in Germany.

  • Most scoops of gelato in one day: Six each, a three-visit day to our favorite vegan-friendly gelateria in Rovinj, Croatia when temps soared to triple digits. Cycle touring and burning a few thousand extra calories per day has its perks.
  • Swimming-in-humidity award: Hungary, where we got up at five a.m. to beat the heat.
  • Favorite cathedral: the stunning Strasbourg spires. We happened to be there for the  booming sound and light show celebrating the 1,000 year anniversary of the cathedral.
    Strasbourg cathedral
  • Most days off in a row: Eight, including no-bikes-allowed Venice and five days relaxing in Croatia with our buddies to avoid scathing heat.
  • Flat tires: Two for C, 0 for D.
  • Tires replaced: Always an FAQ from people we meet… But not a single one! C’s rear tire was getting a bit thin by the end, which is why she picked up two quick flats with just a week left in our trip. My rear tire (a Schwalbe Marathon) now has 7,000 miles on it and is going strong.
  • Other bike troubles: Two broken spokes for my bike thanks to cobblestone beatings. The rear wheel on my tough Salsa Fargo managed to survive a week of pedaling before we found a bike shop and ate lunch as the delightful old-school, long-haired owner in cutoff jean shorts grooved to jazz and fixed my rear wheel.

    Austrian sunflowers

    Austrian sunflowers

  • Number of push ups done to avoid turning into an all-I-do-is-bike upper body wimpo:  6,035. (Yes, I track weird things.) Since cycling is so exclusively lower body, I also did pull ups (usually at kids’ playgrounds), core work and elastic band exercises to stay physically balanced. I highly recommend doing this while on tour, not to mention stretching frequently so hamstrings don’t shrink to one-third their previous length.
  • Probability of returning to Europe with bikes: 100%
On the other side of the pass from Slovenia to Austria. The couple who took this picture was 1) headed up and 2) not as happy in their flex shot.

On the other side of the pass from Slovenia to Austria. The couple of bike tourists who took this picture were 1) headed up and 2) not happy about it.

Thanks to all the new friends who fed us, housed us, and generally brightened our day along the way!

Thanks to all the friends who fed us, housed us, and generally brightened our day along the way!

18 replies
  1. Lisa Freeman
    Lisa Freeman says:

    You two have been an inspiration to us since your road trip. We say, “Yes” a lot more often than we used to. Thanks so much!
    Phil and Lisa Freeman

    Reply
    • Dakota
      Dakota says:

      Hey, that’s cool to hear! Thanks for stopping by, Lisa. Being open to things is the hard part, but when I say yes, there’s usually some fun or adventure around the bend. (And sometimes huge hills or hard work, but whatever…)

      Reply
    • Dakota
      Dakota says:

      Hi Penny! Wow, you and Eric did such a fantastic trip – 9,000 miles all over Asia, the South Pacific and Europe is SO cool. That’s a solid kick-off to your retirement.

      Glad you liked the summary. I am certainly more upbeat and motivating when it’s not 100 degrees outside. I wonder if we rode past one another on a bike trail this summer in Europe… Bon voyage wherever your next trip might take you.

      Reply
  2. Jason Smith
    Jason Smith says:

    Loved reading your stats, I tend to find after each long ride, the first thing we do is look at the stats! Fabulous tour and a safe one too. Europe is great for accommodation, food, drink, but can be expensive for American visitors due to the strength of the £ to $ and expensive when in Austria or Switzerland. If you ever come to the UK please let me know for any help and a point of call. (Glass of Wine) 😉

    Reply
      • Dakota
        Dakota says:

        Ah, a fellow number lover! Ha. Gotta figure out the numbers behind a ride so you can remember all the GOOD stuff, right?

        Europe was certainly more expensive than other areas, but I thought values for lodging were quite good (except for Austria/Switzerland, which were definitely spendy). Totally worth it for the awesome bike paths and culture, and of course there are ways to do it cheaper if needed. See ya in the UK – one of these days I want to ride LEJOG!

        Reply
  3. Mark
    Mark says:

    Awesome write up. I am a number crunching guy myself. It was a hoot to see how easy that trip was. Did you expect to bike that hard?

    Reply
    • Dakota
      Dakota says:

      C’mon man, give us a little credit! Easy? Yep, the Alps were like a stroll in the park. 🙂 Or maybe you mean the logistics of navigating bike paths was straight forward? Almost every day cycle touring is hard in some facet – terrain, weather, food, or some complicating factor. All worth it though. Traveling in a van is many times simpler, both physically and logistically, in my experience, but not as satisfying.

      Reply
      • Mark
        Mark says:

        Heh, maybe easy was too kind of a word? To be honest, it’s kind of mind-blowing how many climbs you had to pedal through. I have to agree with you that there’s nothing like a rewarding experience from hard physical labor.

        Reply
  4. Big D
    Big D says:

    Great numbers. You forgot to mention the number of pizzas consumed. Glad you burned 5k of calories a day. That makes me feel great about all the food I eat,

    Reply
    • Dakota
      Dakota says:

      If not great numbers, at least real! Pizza…wow, that’s a good question. 25? 50? 243 slices? The pizza in Rovinj was the best, maybe because you three were there keeping me company?

      Reply
  5. Angelo L. Coletta
    Angelo L. Coletta says:

    Noticed that you stayed longer than 90 days. How did you do that? Did you have a visa with one of the European countries?

    Reply
    • Dakota
      Dakota says:

      Good question! The U.K. and Croatia don’t count as part of the 26 Schengen countries that police that 90 day limit. We spent at least a week in each country and that dropped us under the 90 days.

      I have looked at the long-stay visas and will consider those in the future. 90 days is not enough, in my opinion, especially if you want to start down south in Portugal and head up through most of Europe. Hope that helps.

      Reply
  6. Julie
    Julie says:

    Love your site, travel blogs and stats. Isn’t bike travel the best?! I’m a veteran bike traveler but have always traveled with either light road bikes or smallish old mountain bikes. In all cases, the bikes were simple to throw in a hard case or cardboard box that could be found almost anywhere in the world. I just got my first Fargo and love the ride so far. It’s a beast of a bike, however, and I’m wondering how best to pack it for travel? Have you ever used card board bike boxes to fly with your Fargo? Do you take off both wheels? Any tips would be appreciated. We leave in a few weeks for Vietnam and Laos!

    Reply
    • Dakota
      Dakota says:

      Hi Julie! Here here to bike travel. It’s our favorite way to see the world. Vietnam and Laos are amaaazing, though we traveled there sans bikes. Get on those country roads and it’ll be awesome.

      As for packing your bike, I’ve shipped the Fargo ohhhh 5 times in different boxes that I found at a local bike shop. Find a mtb box and only the front wheel will (likely) need to come off. Hope that helps. Happy pedaling!

      Reply
  7. The Shard Bike
    The Shard Bike says:

    Love your webpage, sightseeing web journals and details. Isn’t bicycle venture to every part of the best?! I’m a veteran bicycle voyager however have constantly gone with either light street bicycles or smallish old off-road bicycles. In all cases, the bicycles were easy to toss in a hard case or cardboard box that could be found anyplace on the planet. I just got my first Fargo and love the ride up until now. It’s a monster of a bicycle, be that as it may, and I’m considering how best to pack it for movement? Have you at any point utilized card load up bicycle boxes to fly with your Fargo? Do you take off the two wheels? Any tips would be valued. We leave in half a month for Vietnam and Laos!
    The Shard Bike recently posted…Premier Cycle price in UAE | UAE Bike shopMy Profile

    Reply
    • Dakota
      Dakota says:

      Howdy! The Fargo fits just fine in a mtb cardboard box. I’ve flown with it that way 4 times and it was totally fine. Just keep it under the size and weight requirements and it’s just like a regular bike cost-wise. Happy travels.

      Reply

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