Okay, dear people,
now we're starting for real! July 9th is our starting date (just to win the bet with Ida's cousin, who said we won't be able to leave until July 10th). You have had many questions for us. Therefore, at the beginning of the tour, there is now an FAQ.
Where do you want to ride?
So far our answer has been: Through Europe!. On a global scale, that's a pretty good indication. But we'd be happy to clarify: Below, you see a map with an approximate route. You're probably wondering how we got there. Well, the rough idea was: Let's be in the south during winter, and in the north during summer. We know that it can get very cold in the south, too, even in winter, but it would have been pretty courageous the other way around... More recently, another limitation has been added: the war in Ukraine. The situation is dynamic and difficult to foresee, which is why we'll go west first and see how the situation in the east develops. From Poland, we have the alternative of taking a ferry to Lithuania or Finland - depending on the situation. Also everything else in the east is of course subject to constant change.
If you know people or places along our route, please let us know by email or phone :)
Where do you sleep?
The plan is mostly to sleep in our first shared apartment, aka our tent. From time to time, some different company, a real roof over our heads or a warm shower is good for us. So here's a small compilation of websites that will help us:
- https://warmshowers.org/ (like couchsurfing, but for cyclists - many hosts have toured themselves and know how valuable a shower is)
- https://1nitetent.com/ (mainly on German territory, people who provide land or gardens)
- https://udinaturen.dk/map-page (Denmark: places where you can do wild camping)
- openstreetmaps - our map of trust - helps to find good campsites :-)
- Ask! - if a thunderstorm comes up or there is no good spot, then you shouldn't be afraid to ask people if you can set up the tent in their garden.
- (https://www.wildes-sh.de/trekkingplaetze - only Schleswig-Holstein)
If you want to help poor and smelly cyclists like us, our tip: Sign up for warmshowers and give it a try. Be it just a tent site in the garden or a bit of space for some air mattresses on your floor - any help is appreciated!)
Health insurance?
Japp - you should have an additional health insurance! We found a good one from Ergo. You can flexibly specify the number of months (up to 2 months). If you return faster, you can get a refund of the difference.
This post has been published by our dear little helpers on July 9th - the first day of our tour. Hopefully, you'll hear from us regularly afterwards :)
See you then, and always overtake cyclists at a distance of 1.5m :)
Tilman & Ida
Note by Tilman: According to StVO ยง5(4), the minimum distance for overtaking outside of town has been 2m since April 2020!