FHurdle

I've done a small amount of biking in Germany and have really enjoyed it. Much of the Rhine, most of the Saar, and most of the Mosel have dedicated bike paths that run right beside the river. So as a general rule there are few hills.

I'd like to know what other bike paths run right along rivers. I know the Danube is one. But what happens after Bratislavia? Do the dedicated bike paths continue into Hungary?

Does the Loire bike way (Eurovelo 6) run right along the river with dedicated paths? Or is much of it away from the river on public roads and/or hilly areas?

Obviously I'm thinking about another trip and looking for advice. I'd like to find out about routes with dedicated paths that are very flat. PanenQ, you out there?

Ingo

The most popular cycling trail in Germany is actually the Elbe river cycling trail - which starts in the Czech Republic (where this river has its origin in the Krkonose mountains).

hetismij2

The Danube route continues into Hungary. It has he advantage that you can hop on and off ferries along the way should you be tired, or the weather be against you.

bilboburgler

I think I wrote this website for you

It's a little tatty but here it is http://www.mybikeguide.co.uk/

Note you also need to look out for canals (also flat and often very pretty) and there are some very large lakes (Constance for example takes a week to get around)

neckervd

You may also check the bike trails between Solothurn and Lake Geneva (along Aar river, Lake of Biel/Bienne, Lake of Neuchatel)
http://map.veloland.ch/?lang=en
These trails are just used by local people and not by tons of foreigners like the Danube trail.

bilboburgler

Bratislava is a route along the river with only the odd broken bottle. Loire is mainly separate paths but sometimes in painted paths on the road, basically on the flat and the official website is very good.

Netherlands and Denmark have miles and miles of bike path and most of that is very flat.

PalenQ

http://en.eurovelo6-france.com/

Yes the Loire bike route hugs the river most of the way (though many of the famous chateaus are a bit off the river - Chenonceaux being the most famous) - personally after biking thru the Loire many times when I lived off and on in Orleans the Loire is not the most scenic river in Europe by far - rather boring to many I would think.

I would much rather take the D (departmental) roads that are well paved and basically empty usually of cars - I'd take them instead of the dedicated bike route - personally - and go from Chambord to Amboise - then base there and take a flat D road thru the forests to Chenonceaus and back (about 25 miles return I think).

But nowhere in France much is totally flat - the river paths are flat of course but in general there are always rolling hills, even in the Loire.

The Netherlands is by far my favorite biking venue (except for the fickle weather!) and a tour from the SE to the NW is great - this because the winds off the sea blow this way and they can indeed blow hard) - but say from Den Hague - Leiden - thru the flower fields to Haarlem would be a great one - but there are bike paths and even bicycle freeways going everywhere - same for Belgium but those paths IME are not as smooth - often being cement blocks.

Kent in England has fairly flat back roads too and the Thames Path London to Oxford and beyond is a nice riverside trek.

PalenQ

another neat riverside bike route in France goes thru the Champagne district on side roads and paths hugging the Marne River to Paris. I've biked that many times - lots of Champagne houses en route - lesser ones not the fancy ones in Reims or Eperny and nice small towns.

bilboburgler

I agree with P on all that he has said. Suffolk in UK is also surprisingly pleasant, most of it is dead flat with some good bike paths from Sustrans.

hetismij2

I don't know which bit of Kent you have been to PalenQ but the Kent I know is decidedly hilly, and the roads lethal for cyclists.
Now east Anglia would be another matter if flat is important.

PalenQ

Well hetismij - I led bike trips thru Kent for years - I picked out the routes carefully and though not flat if you take lanes like Pilgrim's Way on ridges like the North Downs they can be surprisingly flat or at least not hilly - we only had a few steep hills and those were short walks for most.

FHurdle

bilboburgler, thank you very much for that website link! I've done plenty of searches for bike route websites, and I've never come across this one. I love how on the Mosel route it tells you whether or not you have a choice on which side of the river to ride.

Also, I biked last summer around a portion of Lake Constance (Lindau to Meersburg). It was actually far more hilly than I would have expected, since the bike route didn't hug the lake. I have exercise-induced asthma, so I like to avoid hills, although my daughter says after I took a few puffs on an inhaler I was like Superman.

PalenQ, I may want to look into doing some Netherlands biking; it's certainly flat enough. I've got to tell you I'd love to interrogate you about your experiences leading bike trips!

PalenQ

The problem with Holland can be the weather and winds - one year in Belgium, Holland and Germany we had an incredible 45 straight days of some kind of precipitation - putting a damper on biking - getting all wet, etc.

But this was of course unusual but if biking in northern Frnce, the Lowlands and the western part of Germany excellent rain gear is a must.

Denamrk also has a vast network of flat bike paths though none along rivers to my knowledge.

In Holland you can bike along canals for miles but there really are no rivers except for the Rhine.

sandralist

Check out the Po river bike routes in Italy. I beleve there are more than 600kms of paths. The river is very long from east to west, and many parts of the river have biking paths right along the banks. Probably the biggest downside other than high summer heat is twillight mosquitoes if you plan on camping. But on the plus side, the Po travels through some of the very best food regions of Italy, and has marvelous towns of great interest to visit from Torino to Ravenna (and Venice if you are up for a detour).

http://cyclingeurope.org/2014/06/10/...ing-filmvento/

sandralist

PS: I meant to add that the Po valley is flat, flat, flat and flatter.

bilboburgler

The Po is fantastic cycling, though again you tend to find the bike paths are well communicated by mini-region and you have to cycle to the border of one to pick up a map for the next one. There are attempts to show the whole spider's web but they are pretty useless (Italian Tourist Information can be a bit of a trial).

Little story. I was standing on a bridge in Venice and a tourist data girl came up and wanted to fill in one of their forms

Where are you from? England
How did you get here? by bicycle...... nowhere to put bicycle on the form... tick tock

bilboburgler

Actually I like the Puglia bike paths the best, not flat by level slowly down to the sea from Gravina. A bit like the Netherlands you have to start in the right place.

sandralist

This Italian government website might be of some help for planning an extensive, inter-province bike route. I've never planned a cycling trip in Italy, so maybe this is woefully lacking for cyclers, but thought I would pass it along anyway

http://www.visitporiver.it/l/ENG.html

sandralist

and the relevant section on bike tourism along the Po

http://www.visitporiver.it/Po-river/...ike-tour-.html

PalenQ

In Germany bike paths hug the Elbe thru Saxon Switzerland, one of the most beautiful stretches of river anywhere.

Lake Geneva in Switzerland has bike paths along most of its shores.