This tour was one that I had wanted to do for a long time. To cross Europe seemed like a fine project, but a bit daunting so I set off with the aim to reach the source of the Rhine River in Switzerland. Eurovelo 15 is the Rhine Cycle Route following Europe’s biggest river from the mouth near Rotterdam to the source just above Andermatt in Switzerland. It is mostly flat on great cycle paths along this busy river. After reaching Basel however it climbs slightly more to Lake Constance (Bodensee), and then up the Grisonian Rhine Valley from Chur.
Its a fairly steady climb with the final kilometres winding steeply to the Oberlap Pass at 2044m. The source of the Rhine can be reached from here but only on foot. The descent from the pass to Andermatt is a great ride with Andermatt being well connected with public transport should you wish to end your journey here.
The next part of the tour started after a few days in Andermatt. Joining Eurovelo 5, it was over the Gotthard Pass and into Italian speaking Switzerland, down to Monza and Milan and along the River Po and Northern Italy to Venice on Eurovelo 8.
The third part of the tour continued down the coast of Slovenia, Croatia and Montenegro. Into Albania and its capital, Tirana after which I crossed Northern Greece and into Turkey. The trip ended in Istanbul where Torla the trusty Thorn Raven Tour and everything else were packed up for the flight back to Edinburgh. By dividing the trip into three parts it did not seem as daunting!
Again I used a Garmin eTrex 30 GPS and a Cateye CC-M100W cycle odometer to record my route.
Total Distance Recorded by Garmin eTrex 30 = 5280km
Total Distance Recorded by Cateye Odometer = 4326km
Below links will soon be added to the GPS tracks for each day of cycling. You will be able to click on each part to obtain a track, elevation and other statistics. At the moment I can’t seem to upload the GPS tracks to Garmin Connect but will put them here when the technical problem is resolved!
Hi, I am doing some research with regards to cycling from North Shropshire to Istanbul via Rotterdam. You can imagine how delighted I was to find your site.
This year I have cycled from home (Oswestry in North Shropshire) to Rome. Then I cycled from home to Tavira on the south coast of Portugal.
Home to Istanbul is a much more daunting proposition and I would be really grateful for your help.
Do you have the GPS tracks please that you would be willing to share with me.
And any other advice will be very gratefully received.
All the best,
Ken Smith
PS Coincidentally I also ride a Thorn bike, it is a Thorn Mercury complete with Rohloff hub
Hi Ken Thanks for your comment. As you can see my web site is not updated often and I am considering ending the hosting service as costs continue to rise. I have been thinking about a trip in South America for some time but travel restrictions in the last few years had put things on hold. Hopefully soon. Anyway, the trip to Istanbul was fantastic. Sounds like you have had a few good trips yourself! I did not find the prospect of Istanbul as daunting as I put my mind into a stage by stage mode. Initially aiming for Basel then Milan, then etc. Mentally splitting the trip up made the idea very easy to deal with. After all its eat, sleep, cycle and repeat! I would just follow the EuroVelo routes as I did. I find GPS tracks from someone else never works and removes some of the adventure. I don’t think I can give much more advice as you have already done some big tours so you know the game! Enjoy your trip!