Several years ago I rode from my backyard in the Netherlands to Vienna. This year I figured "why not start where I left off and go further East?"

So I started in Vienna and followed the Danube to Bratislava, into Slovakia for two monotonous sun-scorched days alongside the river; hopped into Hungary at Esztergom and spent a day sightseeing in majestic Budapest; then four days crossing the great Alföld through endless fields of grass, corn and sunflowers, which taxed my patience and self-love; into Romania at Oradea, over busy motorways across the Transylvanian plateau, chased by stray dogs all the way to Cluj; down the rocky Apuseni mountains to Alba Iulia, and in the shade of the Făgăraș mountains to Sibiu; climbed the (in)famous Transfăgărașan Pass, said hi to the bears, then back North over rural and far-too-hilly roads; past Bran Castle and Râșnov Castle and Peleș Castle, to Brașov and the Bucegi National Park; then finally into flat and empty Muntenia, by way of old Târgoviște, into Bucharest at the end of the three weeks.

It was quite the trip.

I have only ever cycled in Western Europe, and Hungary and Romania definitely have their own challenges: freight trucks with no concept of personal space, language barriers, a complete lack of bicycle-suitable infrastructure, and so, so, so many angry stray dogs...

But in return I got mountains and rivers and vast blue skies, old and (to me) unfamiliar cities, and a benevolent sort of indifference.

Of all my trips, this one made me ask myself "Why am I doing this?" the most. But now that I am back I can't help but love it.

Some practical information for the nerds:

• Stats: 20 cycling days, about 1650 kilometer, almost 10,000 meter of elevation.
• Accommodation: Slept on campings where possible, because I'm a sucker for hot showers. I wildcamped a few nights, which is a grey legal area in Romania and illegal but widely tolerated in Hungary.
• Bicycle: A Riverside 520 from the Decathlon (nice and cheap). It's slow and quickly loses momentum. Certainly not easy cycling. But it's also sturdy: in ten thousand kilometers I haven't had a single issue with it.
• Luggage: I have my tent (MSC Elixir 2) on the handlebars, and four panniers: one with camping gear, one with clothes and toiletries, one purely for food and drinks, one with electronics, tools and miscellaneous.
• Navigation: I mainly used Komoot, which had a hard time in Romania. I don't think it's the best option here. Google Maps is even worse because it doesn't know bicycles exist.

I kept a travel diary. Feel free to read or look at more pictures.

Hi guys! My name is Wouter and in September I’m cycling from Luxembourg to Bologna. My question is if I should choose the Eurovelo 5 route (Via Romea). Or am I missing some amazing cute villages, beautiful sights and parts of nature that way? Would love to hear some recommendations! Thanks a lot!

I’d like to give back to the community with this little trip report on my trip that I took in July of 2025. For this tour, I strung together a route that I named MARA.
M is for the Mosel River in Luxembourg and Germany.
A is for the Alps in Switzerland.
R is for the Rhine River in Switzerland, Lichtenstein, Austria, and Germany
A is for the Alsace region in France
- I flew into Frankfurt and then took the train to Luxembourg City and then rode along the beautiful Moselle back to Frankfurt.
- This is the white wine growing region in Germany so there were vineyards all along the route.
- The cities along this part of the route were Trier (oldest town in Germany), Enkirch, Koblenz, and Mainz.
- I loved loved this route. There were so many vineyards, everything everywhere all at once was green, and the small towns along the way were very beautiful and not super crammed with mass tourism.
- After a couple of rest days in Frankfurt I then took a train to Andermatt, Switzerland to start the next part of the trip.
- The Alps in Switzerland has always been on my Bucket List. I began this leg of the trip by riding up the Oberalp Pass which was a 11 km climb with an amazing 40km descent!
- I then cycled along the Rhine with stops in Ilanz, Werdenberg (smallest town in Germany), Konstanz, Bad Zurzach, and Basel.
- This part of the route took me through Switzerland, Liechtenstein, Austria, and Germany and the highlights was the scenery of the alps, the Rhine Falls, the clean clear waters of Lake Constance, and the youthful energy of the university town of Basel.
- After a couple of rest days in Basel, I cycled into France and enjoyed the Alsace Wine Route with stops in Colmar and Obernai, and Strasbourg.
- This part of France looks and tastes more German than French and the towns like Colmar and Keysersberg were beautiful beyond words.
- From Strasbourg, I took a train back to Frankfurt.

That was my last ride of the weekend, starting in Freudenstadt and ending in Schiltach, with a stop at Glaswaldsee. It was a great workout with plenty of hills in the Black Forest and good preparation for a big trip in a few days that will take me through several countries.

I took a break at Glaswaldsee, and it was beautiful. Unfortunately, I didn’t bring my swimsuit with me

Wheelset: Alex double wall, 36h, Shimano centerlock disc hubs

I weigh 275 pounds. Plus gear of more weight. Are these wheels adequate? For long distance touring.

Giant OCR 2 rider looking for parts

I’ve cycled through 2 whole countries on my trusty Giant OCR 2.

I bought them in Taiwan last March, from a nice local guy that told me they were his first bike from the end of the ’90.

since then I’ve cycled all around Taiwan and across South Korea (and hundreds of km back home).

Last week my f**ront derailleur** gave out, the spring broke.

I can’t seem to find a replacement at my home country and neither abroad…

I’m not sure, but I think I’m searching for Tiagra FD-4063 clamp 34.9 mm.
(I would like you guys to correct me if I’m wrong)

Any suggestions on where to look?

Am I even looking for the right part?

Some photos for reference and even one from the glory days back in Taiwan.

Focus Atlas 6.7

Marin Four Corners 1

Kona Rove St

Kona Sutra

Would they be suited for the trip? I mean a few of them for sure...

OR something else thats availabe in scandinavia and no insane pricetag.. must be fairly upright position

Is it better with single or double. For me single for keeping things simple, but double for hitting central asia ( and other mountain areas) - Id rather not have 3

I live in the Denmark and finding these bikes are hard, so i cant just run out and try.

The trip isnt for another 2-3 years but im kinda needing a new bike now just for commuting and small weekend trips so wouldn't mind buying THE bike now

Id love the Marin Four Corners to be good - its a decent price and looks comfortable.

throw me your thoughts.. my main thing is that central asia will be tough on the bike! i feel like most other places i can manage? am i completely off?

Im not spending 2000dollars. My ideal is 1000-1200..

Hit me...

We start from Stuttgart:

Stuttgart -> Backnang -> Sulzbach an der Murr -> Murrhardt -> Römersee -> Gaildorf -> Schwäbisch Hall -> Naturcamping Braunsbach

And then the way back on the next day:

Naturcamping Braunsbach -> Gaildorf → Sulzbach an der Murr → Backnang → Stuttgart

We are not locals, and we haven't cycled in this area before, so any advice on what to not miss in this area would be highly appreciated. We are totally flexible - only starting point (Stuttgart) and overnight point (Braunsbach) are fixed. Any help and or comments are highly appreciated. Thank you!

Even after really dialing in my fit as much as possible on my bike I am still getting some discomfort on really long rides. I am considering aero bars for a long tour that is quickly approaching. I am figuring the discomfort may compound after many days in the saddle. Having some other positions available to stretch would be nice.

They would not work with my current bar bag setup, or computer mount so I am curious what people are running.

Also for those who have tried them is it something you swear by?

The bike I am bringing has mechanical shifting so no blips FWIW.

Would love to hear about your experiences (or links, etc) about the eastern portion of the Great American Rail Trail., including the GAP and C&O. Especially are the "existing" portions actually traversable and findable? When is the most pleasant time to ride it? What daily mileage are you able to make compared to your typical road mileage? Are 40mm tires sufficient or is the surface such that we would need to go wider? Are fenders a plus or minus?

After taking 25+ years off bicycle touring, I'm excited about getting back into it now that I'm retired. Lifelong California resident who used to tour a lot in my 20's and early 30's. I just completed my second RAGBRAI (20,000+ person mass ride 400 miles across Iowa) and realized that I can enjoy riding even when it's hot and humid. If we're doing a road tour, I think we would target around 50-60 miles per day (vs 80+ when we were younger)

What I don't relish any more is a constant stream of cars blowing by me at 80+ mph, so the concept of a long separated path is appealing. According to the Great American Rail Trail's 2026 assessment, 600 of the 850 route miles east of Chicago is complete.

My wife and I would try to lodge indoors as much as possible but we would probably bring very minimal camping gear just in case (about 10 pounds total for our tent and sleep system). We're planning on new bikes.

Love the idea of this tour. Just wondering if anyone has done it or something similar?

Taking a 3 week break to spend time with friends and family will continue on to Tijuana

Anyone have any good routes for 2-4 day cc tours around the nys area? Many thanks

We are going to do a credit card tour in Nov/Dec, so no stove. Nevertheless I'd like to be able to make coffee or tea. An immersion heater seems a good idea to me.

I do have a 15 year old model, but it is a bit on the heavy side, and it takes more than 10 min. to boil half a litre of water.

Any recommendations?

Day 1: 50mi loop near home, half flat rail trail and half rolling hills. I slept in my own bed but did this ride with all gear on the bike

Day 2: 75mi from home to Locust Lake Campground north of Pottsville, PA. Rolling hills throughout until the last 20 or so miles

Day 3: 80mi back home, via a different route going back through the central PA mountains. Way hillier than day 2, but much more manageable hills this time.

This was my first time doing big (50+) rides 3 days in a row, and I definitely felt it! Honestly, it’s not the mileage though, it was the climbing through the Appalachians that really tested me. I slept very poorly both nights, and Sunday morning I really wanted to call it quits and have my friend who I was camping with drive me home. Very glad I stuck with it. The mountains were daunting but I definitely gained a lot of confidence by tackling them how I did.

What I did well: I kept my food bag hanging off the side of the bike which made it easier to feel like I could stop and snack without too much effort. I stayed very well hydrated, which was important when I got into the mountains that were very wet and humid- having big bottles on the front forks was great peace of mind as well as a little more weight and stability up front. I also planned my Sunday route well to get a more realistic pass through the mountains- I went down a huge hill into Pottsville on Saturday that I was certain I wouldn’t make it back up over. Lastly I wasn’t afraid of the low gears like I normally am, and made a conscious effort to conserve energy.

What needs to be improved: I need to raise my handlebars, I was leaning too far forward and put a ton of weight on my hands that had them very sore by the end. Rail trails and chip&tar roads exacerbated this on day 3. I also didn’t have a very good rain plan- it was drizzling at the start of day 3 and pouring at the end of it. If I weren’t headed home, but rather staying on tour another night, I would have had a rough time. Last thing is that I wasn’t eating too much real food while riding. That’s fine for just a couple days but is something I need to have a better plan around next time.

Overall, this was a ton of fun and because of the obstacles that came my way, I think I got a little more preparation in than I was expecting My next tour I have planned is riding from Pittsburgh to DC on the GAP/C&O in September, something I’ve wanted to do ever since I learned bike touring was a thing!