OUTDOOR GEAR SEARCH

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Q. How many miles do you expect to do?

A. I first thought 10,000 but now probably around 12,000

Q. Where will you finish?

A. Nicosia in Cyprus

Q. How many countries will you visit?

A. All 44 European countries (for the full list see the route section)

Q. Where were the prettiest women?

A. In order..Sweden, France

Q. What has been your favourite country and place?

A. Austria and France . My favourite place the Austrian Alps with Salamanca a close second

Q. Where was the best cycling?

A. The region around Salamanca in Spain, Corsica and Provence

Q. How many punctures have you had?

A. Too many to count. over 20. 

Q. How many tyres have you gone through?

A. 4 

Q. Where were the friendliest people? 

A. France, Austria and Sweden

Q. How many countries did you visit and what were they like?

A. 

• Albania – Fast developing, dusty and noisy. The impressive mountains a total contrast to the intense capital Tirana.

• Andorra – trailer trash hell hole of Europe, I’m sure there are nicer parts in the mountains and away from the built up capital.
  
  
• Austria – Clean, pristine and scenic…….. a cycling fantasy.
  
  
• Belarus – Very Russian, Cities much tidier and smarter.
  
  
• Belgium – French speaking Ardennes region was a treat, the Flemish speaking flat, grey, industrial north wasn’t but the cities were impressive.
  
  
• Bosnia and Herzegovina – Horrific devastation from the war. Incredible mountain roads and cultural old cites of Sarejevo and Mostar fantastic places.
   
• Bulgaria – My shortest time in any country but the area I was in was very similar to Romania.
  
  
• Croatia – Very developed and touristy coastline and for good reason. Dubrovnik is of course impressive.
  
  
• Cyprus – Great cycling potential, great weather, good roads (except I found myself on the main dual carriageway) english speaking and welcoming people.

• Czech Republic – An infectious country that had a hold of me by the time I left. Prague was as grand as expected, Cesky Krumluv an amazing sight, the people had a warm and kind personality and on the Austrian border the scenery was fantastic

• Denmark – flat, agricultural and expensive. Not a great place for cycling with regard to scenery but yet cycling is incredibly popular. Copenhagen was enjoyable.

• Estonia – Totally flat, sparsely populated and forested. Attractive little villages and Tallinn’s old town was impressive.

• Finland – Helsinki is buzzing and it’s generally less expensive than the rest of Scandinavia.
  
  
• France – fantastic cycling, the people love to see a cyclist. Excellent roads, amazing scenery, expensive.
  
  
• Germany – Difficult to some up due its size and regional variance. Overall I was very impressed. People were very hospitable, costs were low, the towns and cities were a very pleasant surprise
  
  
• Greece – The less touristy areas in the north of the mainland were a treat; empty, smooth, mountainous roads. Crete and the tourist areas were much more developed, busy and less cycling friendly.
  
  
• Hungary – Very green and pretty flat. Excellent bike lanes around Balaton lake.
  
  
• Iceland – No doubt one of the highlights for me, a longer trip round the incredible island beckons.
  
  
• Ireland – Great cycling, very quite roads, very friendly people, nasty dogs, avoid Dublin port and Cork port at night.
  
  
• Italy – Sardinia amazing beaches, Sicily amazing people but poor roads, North East Italy flat, busy and industrialised.
  
  
• Latvia – flat, forested roads- Riga is an impressive city
  
  
• Liechtenstein – Tiny but stunning. Think Switzerland.
  
  
• Lithuania – best of the Baltics, Vilnius is fantastic, friendly people
  
  
• Luxembourg – Similar in many respects to southern Belgium with rolling forested hills. The city surprised me with its size.
  
  
• Macedonia – Once again friendly, welcoming people. Ochre was a very nice town by the lake.
  
  
• Malta – a nightmare to get there by boat! Valletta very nice, full of history.
  
  
• Moldova – 24 hours interesting hours. My first brush with theft but generally very friendly people. Main roads no more than mud and villages untouched by the 20^th century.
  
  
• Monaco – Similar to Andorra but with a loads more style and class very, very built up and busy roads

• Montenegro – Incredible alpine scenery, enormous mountains, the deepest fjord in southern Europe, great people.
  
  
• Netherlands – Boring cycling territory, flat as a pancake and sometimes difficult not to lose your way on the maze of bike paths. Utrecht was a big highlight…………more so than Amsterdam for me.
  
  
• Norway - Painfully expensive but a definite beauty. Disappointed to miss out on the ride over to Bergen. This area looked incredible form the air.
  
  
• Poland – Massive country that I only saw a slice of. Drivers very inconsiderate and roads often poor. Old towns of Warsaw and Lublin interesting.
  
  
• Portugal – friendly people, poor roads, Evora lovely
  
  
• Romania – Incredibly diverse. From busy cities to desolate mountain roads and very poor villages. Not very cycling friendly.

• Russia – Interesting! The poverty is striking compared to the rest of Europe and the lack of tourism except for St Petersburg almost refreshing.
  
  
• San Marino – on the top of a hill, very touristy but great scenery.
  
  
• Serbia – One of my highlights. Amazing people, quite mountain roads, buzzing towns.
  
  
• Slovakia – Bratislava was a very attractive city with lots of bars and therefore many stag parties.
  
  
• Slovenia – mountainous, alpine and very sparsely populated. Capitol Ljubljana is lovely
  
  
• Spain – Amazing roads, excellent cycling country, people friendly in the north less so in the south, Salamanca is an amazing place
  
  
• Sweden – A country of contrasts, from the flat lands and beaches of the south and the west coast to the heavily forested and rolling hills of the centre to the well populated area around magnificent Stockholm
  
  
• Switzerland - No surprises about the beauty of this country. Zurich is vibrant and lively.
  
  
• Ukraine – Very bumpy roads and heavily polluted cities. L’ Viv was nice once off the bike and the rural areas very interesting. 
  
  
• United Kingdom – North Wales great cycling, lovely scenery and quite, South Wales horrible, South West England fantastic.
  
  
• Vatican City – Very small and lots of people.