In 2025, I spent 2 months cycle touring in Europe. I travelled along the mighty Rhine and Danube rivers through the Netherlands, Germany, France, Switzerland, Austria, Slovakia, Hungary and into Slovenia. Here is what I learned from my first cycle touring trip and what I wish I had been told beforehand. Would I have listened, hmm maybe.
You Don’t Need to Spend a Fortune on Equipment
Essentially, cycle touring requires a bicycle, the tools to perform basic repairs and panniers to carry the tools plus a change of clothes. When it comes to selecting a bicycle, you will likely be fine whatever you choose – many people have cycled extreme distances on all sorts of bikes ranging from scrap yard finds to bespoke tourers. I read a fantastic blog by a man who cycled 2,000km on a bike from AliExpress.
As a contractor during “challenging” recruitment times, I was keen to minimise spend. I borrowed a friend’s panniers, strapped them to my gravel bike and set off to catch a ferry to the Netherlands. On arriving at the ferry terminal, a dozen of us excited cyclists were led into a waiting room. Here, we sat with our bikes whilst the cars were loaded. Conversations soon began on planned routes and how long we were cycling for. One veteran cycle tourer, with a vintage bike and colour co-ordinated panniers walked around the resting bicycles, commenting on each bike set up. When he reached mine, he paused, uttered one word “interesting” and quickly moved on. As I lay awake on a tossing ferry and thought of the long cycle ahead, I wondered what on earth I was doing. But that bike carried me and my belongings for nearly 3,000 km.
Travel Light
You don’t want to be pedalling uphill with any more weight than necessary. I kept my panniers light with just the necessary bike tools and my “capsule wardrobe”. Given that I was touring European cities, anything else could easily be bought on the way. You can check out my full kit list here.
Navigate Navigation
Before you set off, plan how you will navigate your chosen route. If you are cycling in Europe, a good place to start is the Eurovelo network which comprises 17 long distance cycle routes across 38 countries and 45,000 km. The Eurovelo website includes a route planner where you can enter a start and end destination to receive a proposed itinerary plus the GPX file. Adjust the proposed itinerary to fit the distance you plan to cycle each day. The GPX file can be downloaded and imported to a navigation app. I used Komoot which will give you useful statistics such as an estimation of the difficulty of the ride and the elevation profile. However, it does interpret each daily section as a different event so you will need to make multiple imports.
Give it Time
The first week or so will be tough, every cycle tourer I spoke to said the same. Your legs are aching, the logistics of life on a bicycle feel overwhelming and at the end of each day you are just so tired. But your body and mind will relax into it. There will come a time when you are pedalling along, the sun is shining and the scenery is beautiful and you will smile to yourself and think “I’m actually doing this and I’m actually enjoying it”. Try to build up your daily cycling distance gradually, I planned shorter <50km rides for the first week before increasing the distance. This allowed me to build up my fitness and get accustomed to the logistics of cycle touring.
Fuel Your Body
According to Google, an 80km cycle can burn up to 2,000 calories. This means LOTS OF FOOD. One of the best things about cycle touring is the opportunity to enjoy local food guilt free. Make sure you factor in regular food and drink breaks. I would begin the day with a light breakfast including the obligatory caffeine hit then cycle for a couple of hours before stopping. If you are cycling through Europe, bakery stops are the bees knees. I tried to carry fruit, nuts, cereal bars and bread rolls which I would pick up enroute or the night before. Once I reached my destination, it was time for an ice cream followed by a hearty dinner.
Take a Break
Make sure you factor in days off the bike to give you time to explore and allow your body to rest. I planned one rest day a week to explore the places I wanted to spend more time in. If you are on a long cycle touring trip, you may want to include longer rest periods. After 6 weeks, I arrived in Budapest which was a huge milestone for me and a city I really love. I spent 5 days here, catching up with other cyclists, sight seeing and making the most of the washing machine in my Airbnb before carrying on through Hungary.
Savour the Moment
Take your time; you ride through an interesting looking town and want to investigate further or stop for coffee, no problem. You find a quiet spot to sit by the river, just do it. It’s your trip and once you have pedalled on, the opportunity will be lost. When I began my trip, I planned to complete the days cycle in good time to spend more time exploring the days destination. I soon found that riding was the part of the day I enjoyed most (lucky given that I was on a cycle touring trip) and there was no point in rushing.
Similarly, as you cycle into a major city or across a border, take a moment to reflect and appreciate the journey. When you are hot, sweaty and hungry, it’s too easy to get caught up in finding somewhere to sleep and a shower. Take in the view and check the map to see how far you have cycled and what you have achieved.
Be an Early Bird
Cycling through Europe in May and June, I aimed for early starts to avoid the traffic and hordes of cycle tourists on the more popular stretches. There was something magical about having the route to myself and, on hotter days, it allowed for more cycling before the sun was at its peak. On the flip side, cycling on a cool morning before the sun is out can be pretty chilly.
Ask for Help
As a frequent solo traveller, I hate having to rely on anyone else but sometimes there is no choice when travelling with a loaded bike. This is especially true when navigating trains and buses. Ultimately, they are designed to carry people and bike storage can require suspending the bike by the front wheel via a wall bracket or lifting a bike up into a dedicated carriage. Nothing unsurmountable but it can be challenging if you are not an octopus or the world’s strongest man. For mechanical issues, you should be able to find a local bike store via Google maps or asking around. In Ljubljana, a lovely bike mechanic helped me loosen my pedals ahead of flying home. After much oiling, tugging and swearing on my part, he released them in 2 minutes with a wrench and a smile.
In the City
There is nothing like the buzz of entering a major city and thinking “I just cycled here”. However, they are typically a nightmare to navigate, can be cycle unfriendly (think trams, angry drivers and selfie snapping pedestrians) and often require km of pedalling through the not so scenic fringes before you can cycle past iconic monuments. Allow plenty of time; I always assumed I would be checking out the first major landmark by early afternoon and I never was. Consider staying an extra day or more to explore. Also (and this may sound obvious), book accommodation near to your route. The extra 5km I cycled through Vienna after booking a hostel on the far side of the city was a definite low point at the end of a long day.
Weekends and Public Holidays
Whilst every day can feel like a Saturday when cycle touring, it isn’t for everyone else. If you are planning to cycle a popular route or stretch, remember it will be much busier at the weekend. In much of continental Europe, supermarkets are closed on a Sunday. If you need any bike repairs, cycle shops are typically closed at least on Sunday, often for the full weekend. If you plan to visit a particular attraction, do check it will be open – my rest day exploring Linz didn’t quite go to plan when I discovered that all the local museums were closed on Mondays.
Public holidays also come thick and fast in central Europe, especially in the summer months. Be aware of the upcoming dates where you are. Cycling through Western Hungary, I missed the memo about an upcoming public holiday. All shops and restaurants in the towns I passed through were closed with only the off licenses remaining open. My breakfast, lunch and dinner comprised of items bought from an off license.
Emotional Highs and Lows
Cycle touring is an emotional roller coaster; one minute you’re happily pedalling along, marvelling at the view and the next you are cursing as you reach a “road closed” sign or sweat up a steep incline. Be prepared for these lows and how you will approach them. For me, swearing and sugar helped plus reminding myself that a bad day on the bike still beats the office.
You Can Put a Bike on a Ferry, Bus, Train or Plane
Despite having thousands of km to cycle, one of the things I was most worried about was how to transport my long-suffering bike home – would I have to abandon it abroad or turn around and cycle back. It’s not entirely stress free, but you can take a bike on almost any form of public transport. My bike and I travelled from Ljubljana, Slovenia to Budapest via Flixbus who have bike carriers on some buses (select to add a bike when putting in your destination to see whether it is possible for your route). From Budapest, I then flew back the UK with my bike in a cardboard box. These can be picked up from most bike shops, try to find options close to where you will be staying to save lugging a big empty box through a bustling city. If possible, ring bike shops in advance and they may put one aside for you. Finally, check the requirements of your airline when boxing your bike; some have restrictions on the box weight or dimensions.
This also gives you flexibility when route planning; many cycle routes run alongside railway lines. Consider jumping on a train if there is a stretch you don’t fancy or if you wake up one day and just don’t feel like pedalling – it’s your trip. (Obviously check they accept bikes before doing this).
Cover Your Adventure
Don’t forget your travel insurance and make sure you have the right cover before setting off on your first cycle touring trip. Many travel insurers consider cycle touring to be an extreme sport and won’t cover it in their policies, only cover your for cycling if it is an incidental activity to your trip and not the sole purpose e.g. hiring a bike for a day.
Even if they do cover cycle touring, most insurers won’t provide personal liability cover for this activity. This covers you if you are liable to pay damages due to accidentally injuring someone or causing loss or damage to their property.
Finding the right travel insurance can be a painstaking process but Cover My Adventure has done the leg work for you.
✅ Check out our list of insurance policies covering cycle touring trips.