I had a great time on this trip! It was the first solo bike tour I’ve taken in quite a long time, and I wondered how I would feel. In certain ways I found it a little easier to tour by myself simply because I could make all the decisions by myself and I was comfortable with all the logistics and technicalities of bike touring from all the previous experiences. But it would have been nice to share the experience as I did with Chris, and dinners were the time when I missed traveling with others the most.
I rode 1718 miles (2750km) total, averaging 52 miles (83km) per day. My total riding time was 176 hours, which averages out to 5 hours and 20 minutes riding per day at an average speed of 9.76 mph (15.7 kph) over the whole trip. I rode 33 days out of a total time away of 47 days including flight days. I climbed about 48,500 vertical feet which translated to about 1500 vertical feet per day. My original estimate was to ride an average of 47 miles a day so I was close! Some days I pushed a little harder so I could have some wiggle room to take it easy when I needed it.
After leaving Florence and dealing with the damage to my bike from Lufthansa, I had one flat tire and no other mechanical issues. I cleaned and oiled my chain every few days and that was it!
I had not visited most of the areas that I went through. And so it was a journey of exploration and discovery for me. The entire trip through Germany was in the former East German Republic, and I wonder how different it would’ve been if it went through West Germany. Some people suggested that the former East Germany was a bit more unspoiled for a bicycle tourist, and it certainly seemed that way.
I didn’t go through a single country where I spoke the language, and for the most part that was OK. I didn’t use Google translate a lot but it came in handy from time to time! In Denmark, everyone speaks English so that was nice and I met French people occasionally and enjoyed talking with them in French. Belgians and Dutch people also spoke English, but I didn’t meet many. I didn’t meet a single American or English person on the road or in a campsite, although I certainly saw and heard Americans and Brits in Berlin and Copenhagen.
I spent three days in the beginning in Florence and then three days at the end in Copenhagen, and three full days in Berlin as well. Other than that, I took four rest days along the way, sometimes for reasons of weather and sometimes just because I need a break. I’m not sure how many days of rain I had but it was at least half. It was a wet year in Europe. I stayed in hotels 17 nights and camped 16 nights.
I packed minimally, taking only the things that I really needed, and I pretty much used every single thing many times that I brought with a few exceptions. I pretty much wore the same clothes everyday/night, and washed them each evening. I took 2 pairs of bike shorts so that one was always clean and dry and that worked well.
Quite a few people were impressed with how little I was carrying, and took pictures of my bike with my gear. I did bring some stuff I didn’t use, which was OK since most were for handling trouble.
My bike and gear together weighed about 70 pounds (31.75kg) without water or food. I didn’t carry a lot of food and relied in buying stuff in grocery stores and finding cafes along the way and that worked fine for the most part. I usually carried about 2 liters of water and refilled once during the day.
You might remember that my first post asked the question “what did I forget?” as I rolled into the airport door. Here’s what I forgot!
- Pill minder to manage daily supplements. (did them 1 by 1)
- Tire pressure gauge (used my thumb to gauge pressure)
- Pocket knife (managed with a small knife)
- Ear plugs (could have used these)
- Nail clipper (bought one)
- First aid kit (luckily, didn’t need it)
Of the above, the only thing which I bought while I was there was a nail clipper. And I got a really cool clipper in Austria that I will hopefully keep for a long time. I could live without the other things, although earplugs would’ve been nice for two or three nights. I survived!
I’m always trying to improve my set up. I tried some new things on this trip, and these were the best new things.
- Jones 2.5 H-Bar handlebar. This was amazing, since this was the first trip when I didn’t have chronic neck, hand and back pain as a result of being on the bike so much for such a long time. This handlebar allowed me to have multiple hand positions while riding and have a more upright position if I wanted. Its shape allowed me to easily attach the roll bag, some water bottle carriers and with a little extension, my bell, light, and cycle computer. It also has that cute little zip bag in the middle where I kept snacks which was also very handy.
- Tyvek 43gsm groundsheets. One for under the tent and one for laying on wet ground in the morning to keep my stuff dry as I packed up. The ground sheet on our tent has been used so many times that it’s no longer waterproof, so I put a Tyvek ground sheet under it for extra protection from wetness. Super light and waterproof.
- A small Zeiss monocular (MiniQuick 5×10 T) for looking at wildlife, architectural details, paintings, performers and other far away objects. I’ve often brought small binoculars but they’re still too big and heavy so I never take them out. This at 3 ounces with a pen clip really did the trick. I used it quite a bit.
- A Helinox Chair Zero. Chris and I have both had camp chairs that were over twice the weight and size, and I actually abandoned one of them deliberately in New Zealand because I was tired of carrying it. This one is so small and light that I was able stash it with my tent in the rollbag. I used it almost every day.
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