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Trans-Europa by Bike: An Adventure Unlike Any Other




Every year thousands of people dream of traveling across Europe. The options for how to do so are numerous. Short of flying, you could for example:

Walk across it, which took Gary Hause, the “Walking Man”, 147 days. The most famous walks are pilgrimages to Santiago de Compostela in north-western Spain, the routes for which start as far away as Scandinavia.


                         Source: Wikipedia

Barge across it: European Waterways offers a 6 week 1000 mile cruise along Western Europe’s finest inland waterways between Avignon and Amsterdam for a mere (?) $700/day.

Sail around it. TransEurope Marinas includes 47 members, from the Scottish highlands, to the Mediterranean. All you need is to become an annual berth holder …

Rail across it. From 1957 to 1987 you could take a TEE (Trans Europ Express) network train between 130 different cities, from as far as Copenhagen to the toe of the Italian boot. Today you can climb aboard a TGV (Trains à Grande Vitesse) which will whisk you from Paris to Moscow in 24 hours 15 minutes for under $600. But you’ll miss most of the sights en route…

Bus through it. Busabout offers a hop-on hop-off three loop route that covers 9 countries and 33 destinations including Amsterdam, Vienna, Rome and Madrid for $1450 that can be done in as little as 6 weeks. But who wants to sit on a bus for that long?

Or you can bike across it, as we like to do. Drawing from our Orient Express and Amber Route tours, we’ve designed what we believe is the longest organized cycling tour across Europe. Covering a distance of 6250 km from St Petersburg, Russia to Lisbon, Portugal over 2 ½ months and 14 countries, the epic Trans-Europa offers participants an adventure of a lifetime. Not only does it provide the opportunity to immerse oneself in many of Europe’s rich cultures and histories, but you will also get in terrific shape doing so. And at a cost of less than $200/day including meals, lots of hotels, and a sag wagon, it truly is a great deal!



The Trans-Europa is also inspired by EuroVelo, which is a project of the European Cyclists’ Federation (ECF) to develop a network of high-quality cycling routes that connect the whole continent.  Currently comprising 14 routes, it is envisaged that this 70,000 km network will be substantially complete by 2020.


                    Source: Eurovelo.com

3 of the EuroVelo routes will be traversed during the Trans-Europa, including:

- The Iron Curtain Trail along the coastlines of Estonia and Latvia
- The Amber Route across Poland, Slovakia, Hungary and Slovenia to Venice
- The Mediterranean Route across the Italian, French and Spanish Rivieras

If you don’t have the ability to take 2 ½ months off, why not become part of our tour for one or more of its several sections, each of which lasts between 1 ½ and 2 ½ weeks? For example, you could “Bike the Baltics” from St Petersburg to Vilnius in mid-July, cycle across the foothills of the Alps and next to the Adriatic Sea for 10 days in August, or spin your way across the Iberian peninsula eating tapas from Barcelona to Lisbon in September.

We hope you will consider joining us this summer! For lots more information on the Trans-Europa cycling expedition please visit:

http://www.tourdafrique.com/tours/amberroute/overview

Posted March 28, 2012 by Brian Hoeniger
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The Amber and Iron Routes Meet




Where in the world is Ljubljana? Travel writer Abi King asked that question recently on her travels from Istanbul to Berlin. She has embarked on a train journey for InsideTravelLab called the #IronRoute.

Here is how she describes it:

“#IronRoute is a rail trip from Istanbul to Berlin that aims to explore the theme of “east” and “west” as it used to apply to Europe, while also getting a taste of those places as they are today.”

Read more at InsideTravelLab…

The Amber Route is no stranger to the themes of ‘east’ and ‘west.’ Starting in St. Petersburg, we spend the majority of our time in the eastern Europe. The answer to Abi’s question is that Ljubljana is in Slovenia, and it’s the capital of this Eurozone nation and our last rest day before our arrival at the finish in Venice.



I remember Ljubljana well. If I were to describe it, I would call it old, yet modern, and a dynamic, yet inviting place. In our inaugural Amber Route adventure, I visited Ljubljana Castle which dates back to 1112 A.D. It has seen a lot over the centuries and now the renovated castle is a popular upscale dining spot and event hall for weddings and other celebrations – or just a great place to view the city below.



I also strolled through old town and its narrow streets, alongside its canals, and past the outdoor markets. This was our last taste of the ‘east’ as the next day we cruised downhill to the Italian coastline. East meant many different things to us along the way as we cycled through a great stretch of it from St. Petersburg. Take a moment and peruse through some of the posts from last year to see what surprises eastern Europe had for us.

Stewart recounts his harrowing first day of cycling!

Paul on exploring Estonia

Me in the Latvian Bicycle Museum

Five Things I remember about the Amber Route – Paul McManus

Posted December 12, 2011 by Shanny Hill
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Amber Route 2012 - Registration now open!




The warm weather is finally here in Canada but we are already thinking about next summer. July 2012 will see the return of the Amber Route Bicycle Expedition. This awesome cycling experience through some of Central Europe's most fascinating cities and some of the most undiscovered routes will be another challenging trans-continental journey for those who choose to take it on.

For inspiration, read through some of the posts from last year's tour, and start dreaming about St. Petersburg, Venice, Krakow, and Bratislava, and start learning about some lesser known gems like Tallinn, Birzai, Banska Stiavnica, and Ljubljana. More details on route, pricing and dates can be found here.

Registration is now open!

Posted June 24, 2011 by Tour d'Afrique Ltd.
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Latvian Bike Museum




A whirlwind of activity has slowly settled into a daily routine of constant small tasks. Managable tasks that allow the odd moment to relax, have a beer, and maybe even ride my bike. Yes, cycling for the tour staff is never a given, but an occassional reprieve from the daily routine of ensuring the tour progresses on schedule and that everyone is finding their way each day, is a welcome event. 

On one of our brief reprieves Bonny (new TdA chef extraordinaire) and I chose the day into Latvia to get on our bikes. The night before had involved some last minute route changes that were scouted by Paul and Gergo (nice work guys!). Instead of 125 km with 12 km of corrugated dirt roads, it was to be 90 km and a simpler entry into the Latvian capital, Riga. 

Along the way, Gergo had mentioned that we could visit a cycling museum. hmmm, Sounds cool, but as with many things on tour, there is an overload of sights and sounds and places to visit along the route.. so I wasn't too fussed at that stage whether I made it there or not. But early in the morning, riding sweep, we came across the rear peloton, having their morning coffee break, which comes after their morning pee break, and map check, and precedes the morning snack stop, pastry interlude... They are on a mission - cycle to Venice and make full use of the daylight. 

We stopped, had a coffee, and the rear peloton departed, just as we ordered our second cappucino... we had learned a few things from them. We were in Saulkrasti, and besides the posters advertising the annual jazz festival currently underway, there was a tourist map that hightlight, none other than, the Saulkrastu Velosipedu Musejs. GREAT! and its only a couple kilometers up the road and along our route. 

We downed our coffee, and after a short peruse of the beach we set out in search. 3 km down the road, we found it. A modest house, with a garage in the back, facing the main road. We approached and there was no immediate indication that anything was happening.. maybe its closed, maybe its lame and not worth our time, but we pushed through the initial resistance, rounded the corner and through the back gate that lead to the yard. A man my age popped his head up from behind a car and offered to show us around. Behind the house, the once car garage had long since been taken over by an exhaustive collection of Latvian Bicycle history spanning likely a century. Though a modest setting, the museum space had been passionately organized and arranged with care. Sign boards (in Latvian) were displayed next to most pieces, a full wall was filled with head badges - the branding of a bike on its headtube - while another wall was filled with artistic chain rings, stylized and intricate, although maybe not light weight or as efficient as the modern versions. The next aisle over had the oldest bicycles in his collection - a Penny fairthing style "big wheel", bicycles with front headlights powered by candles, and kersene of all things!

Our guide was Guntis, the son of the museums curator. He explained how in its heyday, Latvia had been a big manufacturer and exporter to its regional neighbours - Estonia, Russia, Finland, and more. What also impressed me was that this was a Latvian bike collection, the concept seemed to have always been focussed on that. Surely during the Soviet era this might have been the only option, but he has obviously stuck to this appraoch. Latvian bicycles from various companies and desingers, how added their own flair and innovation seemingly in parallel with what was being produced at that time in North America and the rest of Europe. 

In another corner of the musuem, he had recreated, to the best information he had, what he envisioned a bicycle mechanic's worshop would have looked like in the early 20th century. Based mainly on the historical photos he had, the workshop included the tools, the spares, and the work benches.

All in all it was a facinating collection, I could go on, and I will at some point, but another day has just finished and there's more to come tomorrow, but for me, after a great morning on the bike, the Bicycle Museum in Saulkrasti was a extraordinary experience and one of the highlights of our trip so far. 

Please check it out yourself. 
www.velomuseum.tk

Posted July 22, 2010 by Shanny Hill
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Gravel Roads of Latvia




Ron rolled into the lunch stop and announced “ At the risk of sounding overly critical, I’m really getting tired of these stretches of sucker pavement”  For the past two days our route has included 20 – 30 kms of gravel road which, at times, has been corrugated and rough.  On today’s route every two or three kms of gravel was interrupted by 200 or 300 meters of pavement.  This often led to a feeling of relief or elation amongst the riders (especially Ron) but a great sense of disappointment when they realized how short the paved stretch would last.  

Today we crossed into Latvia from Estonia on a small, little used road that also serves as part of the Euro Velo bike path.  The border crossing couldn’t have been easier.  No checkpoints, no border guards, just a simple sign that said Latvia.  If you paid close attention you did notice a subtle change in the housing styles and design of the street signs.  Last evening brought heavy rain and the residual cloud cover has made the day windy and cool, a nice change from the heat of the past week.  The Euro Velo continues to impress with beautiful curving, tree lined streets almost devoid of traffic.  The route is punctuated with café’s and coffee shops that offer cold drinks and cakes as well as a chance to relax and do some people watching.  In two days we reach Riga, the port capital of Latvia for a rest day. 


Posted July 20, 2010 by Paul McManus
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