Jan 18: Hasn’t gone anywhere yet
Still getting started! Decided to get a blog since the ‘gram lifestyle is a bit too high-pressure. Still has a bit of that new car smell, but you need to lean reeeeeal close to the page to pick it up.
The point of the blog is to provide dramatic updates on the trip, and since the drama is already happening, it’s already overdue. Convincing the family that they should agree to me going away for 9 weeks? Drama. Finding a good time to go and getting leave from work? Drama. Gear decisions? Drama.
The trip is to bike the European Divide Trail. It’s 7600km, it runs from Cabo St Vincent on the Western tip of Portugal, up to Grense Jakobselv in Norway, right beside the Russian border. Here’s some webpages with more details:
https://europeandividetrail.com/ The main webpage for the trail.
https://www.komoot.com/collection/1070173/7-600-km-across-the-continent-european-divide-trail Lots more detail, includes descriptions of each small section.
https://www.google.com/maps/d/edit?mid=1A39ClmlbfhKXclL2gP1BHk_dSBHLWjU&usp=sharing A Google Map showing the route.
I have leave from 1 May to 30 June. That’s 9 weeks, I need to average 140km per day for 6 days a week. I’m going to travel from south to north, to get out of the Spanish heat as early as possible, and to arrive at the cold northern end as far into summer as possible.
140km per day is not a big ask here in the Netherlands where the bikepaths are flat and paved and straightforward. In other parts of Europe I hear there are hills and things which might make that more difficult.
So the next step is getting some info about elevation so I know where the mountains are, and where that 140km distance will be more difficult…
