Countries& Cycling

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Last update:  12-Sep-2004

Source: Encarta

In Western Europe there are 9 countries with climbs higher than 1000m.

1. Andorra
2. Austria
3. France
4. Germany
5. Italy
6. Liechtenstein
7. Portugal
8. Spain
9. Switzerland

Traffic & Roads

There is one major road from NE to S which you can't avoid. There is a lot of traffic and frequently there are long queues on the border. The other big roads are mainly no through roads with ski villages at the end.

Cycling

Andorra is not your destination if you wan't to cycle quiet roads and nice rounds. It's just to small. Most people visit Andorra as passage to France of Spain.
What makes Andorra special are the low taxes and the highest pass of the Pyrenees: Port d'Envalira (2407)

Tips

Recommend maps
Michelin 86 1:200.000 (old), 343 1:150.000 (new) (yellow)

Elevation

Roads

Meteo Andorra-la-Vella?

Traffic & Roads

Roads are modern and well maintained. The main roads lie in the valleys and where there are no highways the national roads are very busy. There are luckily many smaller parallel roads. The number of cycling possiblities is still increasing. New cycle paths have been made and small country roads have been transformed to cycling routes.
Signposting is sufficient.
Road types

Motorway(like) - Autobahn (A), (Bundes)schnellstrasse (S)
National - Bundesstrasse (B): some roads have 4 lanes. If passroad it can be busy.
Regional - Landesstrasse (L)
Local/County - Gemeindestrasse
Other - Forstweg: forrest road, Feldweg
Unpaved (likely) - Fahrweg, Wirtschaftsweg, Fussweg, Wanderweg
Cycling - Radweg, Radfernweg, Radwanderweg

• You have to use marked cycle lanes and paths. On these zones you have priority but when leaving these zones you have to give way.
• On cycle crossings (yellow blocks) cyclists have priority and need to keep up a speed of 10 km/h.
• On normal roads you have to ride behind each other unless there is enough space.
• Also for cyclists is a alcohol limit of 0.05 %

Cycling

Austria is a very mountainous country. The southern border of W Austria (Vorarlberg,Tirol) is part of the main ridge of the Alps. Only the NE part along the river Donau and the E part along the border is flat to hilly. In Tirol, where the highest peaks lie, there are some beautiful mountain roads but is not very easy to make rounds (many dead-end roads).
Most of the valley roads and some of the pass roads can be very busy. In the main valleys there are parallel roads suitable for cyclists.
Passes
The most important pass routes are open during the year but the smaller ones can be closed in winter and spring time. (see actual info). Pass roads with many traffic are: Fernpass, Grossglocknerstrasse (highest pass,2505m), Arlbergpass, Gerlospass, Brennerpass, Pass Thurn.
Best regions

Vorarlberg, N Tirol –.....
Area W of the line Salzburg-Spittal (Salzburg,Stiermarken,Kärnten) – some nice rounds

Tips

Elevation

Bundesländer

Roads

Meteo Wien/Vienna

Roads & Traffic

The roadsystem in France is excellent. It’s very dense and well maintained. Because allmost all highways in France are toll roads, there is a lot of traffic on the other main roads. For almost all busy main roads there exists quiet alternative roads, also in mountainous areas. Bicycle paths and lanes are quiet rare.
Signposting
very good: many signs with sufficient information, small stone posts with altitude, roadnumbers or distances
Road types
almost all roads have a roadnumber. Roads without a number are private or little forrest or country roads.

Motorway(like) - Autoroute (A)
National - Route National (RN,N): can be very busy with many lorries.
Regional - Route Departemental (D)
Local/county - Route Local, Route Communale (C/-)
Other - Route Forrestiere (RF): forrest road, Route de Campagne/- de Pays:country road
Unpaved (likely) - Sentier, Chemin
Cycling - Piste cyclable

Cycling

France is probably the country with the best cycling possibilities. The NW is the flatter part (Atlantic coast region, N of Paris). In France lie 5 of the 7 main W European mountain sytems: Massif Central, Vosges, Jura (reasonably mountainous) and Alps, Pyreneen (high mountainous). The hilly regions you find almost everywhere (Bourgogne, Dordogne, Languedoc, Limousin, Provence, Bretagne, Champagne-Ardenne….)
The French Alps (SE) and Pyrenees (SW) are the high mountains. The higher parts of the Alps lie W of the line Geneve – Grenoble – Sisteron (Savoie, Hautes Alpes, Alpes - Provence) and lower parts lie between the Rhone Valley and this line. The Pyrenees form the border with Spain. There are a lot of roads and passes, the highest on the main ridge and in the middle. The French part is greener has more roads.
Passes & Climbs
France has more than 8000 passes! (see books about climbs)
The great passes are on or near the Swiss-Italian border. Postal cards tell you the col de Bonette is the highest pass of Europe but this is a lie: it’s not a real pass (the … nearby is the real pass) and the highest pass lies in Spain: col de Pico Veleta south of Granada.
Best regions in mountains

The Massif Central: quiet, many plateaus and some deep valleys, 'kaal'
Jura and Vosges: green, many roads. The climbs are not very long and steep.
E and W Pyrenees:
Vercors (Alps): Green, lots of passes
Chartreuse?
Drome (Alps): quiet, nice roads, lovely villages
Vaucluse (Alps): land of the Mont ventoux
Var (Alps)
Corsica - see the Islands
There is no cycling network

Tips

IGN	Recommend maps Michelin Series (map details are the same but other division) - Cartes Détaillée 51-90 1:200.000 (37x) (old serie)    Cartes Local 301-345 1:150.000/1:175.000 (45x) (new serie) - Cartes Régional 230-246 1:200.00 (17x) - IGN cyclo ......

Elevation

Departements

Roads

Temperature

Traffic & Roads

Motorway(like) - Autobahn (A), Kraftfahrstrasse (B?), Autostrasse (?)
National - Bundesstrasse (B)
Regional - Landesstrasse (L)
Local/County - Kreisstrasse (K)
Other - Waldweg, Forstweg, Feldweg
Unpaved (likely) - Fahrweg, Wirtschaftsweg, Fussweg, Wanderweg
Cycling - Fahrradstrasse, Radweg, Radfernweg, Radwanderweg

Cycling

Black Forrest: nice, green region with many quiet roads. In the S lie the highest climbs.
Allgau? (Alps) (N-Tirol)
Berchtesgaden?
Bavaria?

Cycle routes The German cycle network consists of 52 regions with one or more cycle routes or complete cycle networks covering most of the country. There are really 100’s of routes, also long distance routes (> 300km) and MTB routes are included. Most routes are family friendly: flat with some hilly parts. A few routes have some steeper parts and as far as I know there are no real passes in the routes. There is also an interactive map and possibility to search routes. Another site with cycle routes is fahrradreisen.de

Tips

Recommend maps
- BVA, ADFC Radtourenkarte 1:150.000 (blue/green,27x)
- Die Generalkarte (Mairs) 1:200.000 (red,37x) (old serie)
Michelin?

Elevation

Bundesländer

Roads

Temperature

Traffic & Roads

Motorway(like) - Autostrada (A): green signs, Strade Extraurbane Principali: main intercity roads (no cyclists allowed!) National - Super Strada (S,N?): 2-4 lane roads (blue signs) connecting small towns and villages to the Auto Strada, Strada Statale (SS): state road Regional - Strada Provinciale (SP): provincial road Local/County - Strada Comunale (SC?), Strada Locale, Strada Urbane Other - Strada Forestale: forrest road, Strada di Campagna:country road Unpaved (likely) - Sentiero, Carrareccia, Traccia, Viottolo Cycling - Pista ciclabile: sometimes you share it with pedestrians * Strade Extraurbane Secondarie = Super Strada, Strada Statale,- Provinciale?

• Cycling is forbidden on the motorways (Autostrade) and the 'Strade Extraurbane Principali'
• Bikes must have an electric light system with a white or yellow lamp in front and red in the back, plus reflectors in the back, on the pedals and on the sides of each wheel
• The left turn should be made in a peculiar way.
  1. with traffic light: the cyclist should follow the path like a pedestrian on the stripes. Cyclists in this case may ride the bike or walk on the stripes.
  2. without traffic light: the cyclist follows the path like other vehicles
• Use of cycle paths (pistas ciclable) is obligatory.

Cycling

Italy has many cycling possibilities. In general the country is considerable mountainous. The only flat parts are the plains of the river Po in the North (south of the Alps) and parts along the long coast. The Apennines form the middle high mountains covering most of Italy. The southern part is more quiet than the north. When you like to cross the country from one coast to the other (Thyrrenic sea and Adriatic sea) you always have to cross one of the passes on the Apennines main ridge.
Really mountainous are the Italian Alps and some parts of the Apennines (Abruzzi). The Alp-regions from ZW to E are Piemonte & Aosta region, Great Lakes region (Lombardy), Region along Austrian border (Lombardy, Sud-Tirol), Dolomites, NE region along Austrian/Slovenian border (Veneto, Friuli).
Passes & Climbs
The highest passes are along the French and Austrian border and in the Dolomites. The passo dello Stelvio is the 3rd highest pass in Europe.
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Best mountain regions

Most of the Apennines especially Toscane and Umbria: popular, many cultural highlights, hilly with many short,steep climbs
Dolomites (Alps): heavy, special landscapes with light vertical rising peaks, nice rounds, many tourist facilities.
Lake Garda (Alps):
S Lombardy?
E Piemonte
Sicilia and Sardegna - see the Islands

Tips

Recommend maps
Same series:
- Touring Club Italiano, Carte Regionali d'Italia 1:200.000 (green,15x)
- Kümmerley & Frey, Road maps/Strassenkarte 1:200.000 (blue,15x)

Elevation

Provincias

Roads

Temperature

Traffic & Roads

Liechtenstein has not a lot to offer to cyclists’ There not many smaller roads and making a nice round is not possible.

Cycling

For real climbers there is one challenge: the climb to the ski village Malbun.

Tips

Recommend maps
- Michelin ???1:200.000 (yellow)
- Kümmerley & Frey, Strassenkarte / Roadmap no.? 1:150.000 (blue)

Elevation

Roads

Meteo Vaduz

Traffic & Roads

Signposting Very bad. There are not many signs and signs can be confusing. Most maps don’t mention the smaller roads! Just trust your on your sense of direction.

Motorway(like) - Auto-estrada Itinerário Principal (IP): toll roads (expensive), not always real motorway (2/3 lanes) and dangerous parts (no central divider, poor illumination, strange exits) Estrada Itinerário Complementar (IC): Complementary road, similar to Itinerário Principal but narrow and poorly maintained. Bicycles allowed?? National - Estrada Nacional (EN,N): most common type of road, amongst these also a lot of smaller roads. Local/county - Estrada Municipal (Em,-), Estrada Local Other - Caminho Terrestre or Rural: country road, Estrada -/Caminho Florestal: forrest road Unpaved (likely) - Senda, Carreiro, Atalho, Caminho Vicinal, Vereda Cycling - Pista para Ciclistas

• Motor vehicles have priority above cyclists even when the come from the right!
• It's not allowed to ride side by side except on special tracks and not causing hazard to traffic.
• Cyclists' must ride as close as possible to the footpath or pavement, even when there are two or more lanes.
• When riding at night bicycles must be equiped with proper working lights.

Cycling

Portugal is not very high mountainous. In the NW there are middle high mountains formed by small chains which are part of the Cantabrian mountains (Serra d. Pineda, Geres, Badroso, Padrela, Nogueira, Bornes). The center is hilly and contains some small high mountain chains like the Serra da Estrela,- da Lousa, - de Alvelos. In the first chain Serra lie the highest summits of Portugal. The coastal regions and the region S of the river Rio Tejo are flat to hilly.
Passes
....
Best Regions

Algarve – hot, touristic, small mountain chain (Monchique)
North – quiet, reasonable number of roads, a lot of culture, whine region (Duero)
Alentejo? (midden en oost: thinly populated)
Madeira and the Acores: see the Islands

Tips

Recommend maps
Michelin xx 1:300.000 (red)

Elevation

Provincias and Roads

Meteo Lisboa/Lisbon

Traffic & Roads

Spain has a not a very extensive road sytem. The last years a lot of ways have been renovated and new motorways and other ways have been constructed. New straight roads are dragged through a ruined landscape and through mountains (tunnels). National roads have been converted to a motorway without offering a new parallel way or keeping the old way. A real problem for cyclists because they have to make a detour or take this motorway which is sometimes allowed on the 'Autovía', the 1st type, but not on the 'Autopista', where biking always is forbidden. The disadvantage is that you do not know if you are allowed to bike there, until you stand at the entrance road.
SPAIN, DON'T FORGET THE CYCLISTS!
In thinly populated regions (the greater part of Spain) most routes are important through roads and can be busy but Spain has also to offer a lot of very quiet, small, beautiful roads. Bicycle paths and lanes are rare.
Signposting
Can be good or bad: signs can be confusing (short names, different.names than on the map,..) or on crucial points signs are missing. Altitudes on signs are not reliable. Situation is improving.
Road types

Motorway(like) - Autopista (AP), Autovia (A?)
National - Carretera Nacional (del estado) / de la R.I.G.E. (Red de Interés General del Estado) (N)
Regional - Carretera (Nacional) Autonómica (prov. code *): Provincial roads in 3 types (orange/green/yellow, of which the yellow are smaller, most parallel roads)
Local/county - Carretera Comarcal, Carretera Municipal, Carretera Local, Carretera Vecinal
Other - Carretera/Camino forestal: forrest road, Carretera rural /- de campo:country road
Unpaved (likely) - Pista, Sendero, Senda, Vereda
Cycling - Carril bici (cycle lane), Pista para ciclistas (protected cycle path) , 'Ridable small road', 'Ridable footpath': types of cycle roads by law
* Prov. code in 1 or 2 letters (example BU = Burgos)

Special rules
Since 1999 there is a special cyclists' law (known as the anti-cyclists' law). The most important articles (out of 7):

• Cyclists are no more allowed to bike on 'Autovías', except when the authorities decide that there is no other alternative.
• Cyclists are responsible for providing their vehicle with lights and reflectors, and also have to wear reflective clothing when riding on road under poor light conditions.
• Cyclists lose right of way in most ordinary traffic situations, except on bicycle crossings and bike lanes and under some other circumstances, when a car turns left or right.
• Cyclists have to wear a helmet outside town.

Normally the Spanish police, Guardia Civil, doesn't uphold this law and is co-operative. As far as I know there has never been imposed a fine. Read more here:
Trentino bike pages - Spain - Anti Cycling Law
Amics de la bici - anti cyclists law

Cycling

Spain offers a lot for cyclists. For the greater part the country consists of plains, plateaus and hills between 700-1200m. There are hardly real flat parts but at the same time it’s not very steep. The main mountain sytems are the Pyrenees (Pirineos) and 4 interior sytems: Sistema Central, - Cantábrico, - Penibético, - Ibérico.
The Pyrenees form the border with Spain. The Spanish part is drier and has less roads than the French part.
The Cantabrian mountains (Sistema or Cordillera Cantábrico) is a long chain between the Pyrenees and the NW coast. The other sistema’s (systems) are in fact a collection of bigger and smaller chains called Sierra’s. They are widely spread over the country. The highest tops are …
Cycling in Spain brings you to many deserted desolate plains and in the centre the temperature rises above 35° in summer. The route to Santiago de Compostela (camino) attracts many cyclists from all of Europe. Most of them come from France crossing the Pyrenees and the Cantabrian mountains. LINK
Passes
There are innumerable tops and passes, most of them not very steep. You probably pass many passes without noticing because of the moderate gradient and because the Spanish are not very generous with signs on top. Longer passes are often very irregular with alternating flat, steep and descending parts. Spain has the highest reachable paved route in W.Europe: the Pico Veleta (3398) south of Granada.
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Best mountainous regions

all regions are very suitable but I mention
Pyrenees
Sierra de Gredos (Sistema Central): hot
Sierra de la Demanda (Sistema Iberico): green, high passes
.. Cuenca, Teruel?
Cantabrian mountains (midden?)
Andalucia (Sierra de ...., Jaen,...
Ballearic Islands and the Canary Islands: see the Islands

Tips

Recommend maps
- Michelin ??? 1:300.000 (orange)
- CNIG Mapa Provincial

Elevation

Provincias

Roads

Temperature

Traffic & Roads

Roads are modern and well maintained. Besides the ongoing roads there exists many small parallel roads and roads to little mountain villages and through woods although these roads can be unpaved. You need good maps (scale 1: 50.000 or better) to find these roads. There are bicycle lanes but sometimes you have to share these with the walkers.
Signposting is good.
Road types

Motorway(like) - Autobahn, Nationalstrasse (A/N) (Autoroute, Route National), Autostrasse (?)
National - Federalstrasse? (Route Federal)
Regional - Kantonal-/Kantonsstrasse (Kanton code?) (Route Cantonale)
Local/county - Lokalstrasse, Gemeindestrasse ( Route Local)
Other - Waldweg, Forstweg, Feldweg
Unpaved (likely) - Fahrweg, Wirtschaftsweg, Fussweg, Wanderweg (Piste, Sentier)
Cycling - Radweg, Radwanderweg

Special Rules
On normal roads you have to ride behind each other unless there is not much traffic.

Cycling

Tips

Recommend maps
- Michelin ??? 1:200.000 (yellow,4x)
Kümmerley & Frey
- Velokarten 1:60.000 (red,17x,not covering total Switzerland)
- Touristische Velokarte Schweiz 1:275.000
Generalkarte????

Elevation

Kantons

Roads

Meteo Bern