I am heading to Europe 26 August - 28 September. I am taking my backpack and a fixie. I am going to be packing pretty lightweight. Not looking to ride the whole way, more so taking my bike so i can ride around everywhere i go. So i can really take in all the sites rather then rely on walking and public transpot. I got relatives in Italy which is sweet when i am north or deep south, so i got accom sorted for there!
The plans are start in Poznan, Poland at Rowing World Champs then abit of a tour:-
Brisbane>Poland 26th August
Poland 1st
Pargue 1st – 3rd
Berlin 3rd – 5th
Amsterdam - 5th – 7th
Milan 7th – 8th
Turin 8th – 9th (Relatives)
Venice – 9th – 11th
Florence – 11th – 13th
Siena – 13th – 14th (Accom with relatives)
Rome – 14th – 17th The yellow
Naples -17th – 18th Hostel of the sun
Sorrento – 18th – 19th
Capri – 19th - 20st
Sicily – 20st – 24th (Relatives)
(FLY TO MUNICH)
Munich – 24th – 27th (OCTOBERFEST WOOO :-D)
Frankfurt Airport > Home
Anyone know of any sweet hostels to stay in on my travels. Trying to book it all within the next week or two.
You seem to have an already sweet itinerary , but if you can hit Belgium . Gent , Belgium to be exact . They love track cycling (huge 6 days event in Nov) and they have about 50,00+ University students living there . Its non stop action in the best atmosphere ever !!They also love beer with a passion seldome seen .
I was going to list all the good (and bad) hostels here, but it’s probably easier just to buy/rent/steal a Lonely Planet ‘Europe On A Shoestring’ guidebook…it got me through two months backpacking from Greece to London.
I’d recommend getting one of those Ground Effect N.Z bike bags for backpacking with a bike. It packs up small when not in use and lightweight. Also because it doesn’t look so obvious as a bike bag to baggage handlers/bus/train/plane companies you can avoid all the huge charges they throw on for bikes. Don’t ever say the word BIKE when checking in. Camping/fishing gear, a tent or even saying “oh its a top tube, dropouts and a wheel” can get you around the automatic fees applied to bikes. I’d also recommend bringing a beater bike or buying a bianchi pista so you wont cry if your baby gets damaged.
it’s paid for itself twice over so far… (in combination with variations of bumnut’s advice above), but then domestic flights in the US love to gouge you for baggage.
Yeah i had a good look at them on the site. can either on you take a picture of it folded up in an A4? Curious to see how it folds up so tight. There aren’t any pics of it on the site. Just pics complete and with a bike inside!
Ok here’s the bag packed up, size 9 mens Vans for size referance. Its a little bit higher than the top of the shoe, about another inch. It’s not hard to pack into the bag, but the neater you do it the squarer it wil be, not so lumpy, not that it really makes a differance.
And also using this bag I got lucky and didn’t even have to pay for baggage flying domestic u.s. My friend with a bike box had to pay $100-$150u.s.
You can protect your bike more by packing clothes/towel/stuff around it.
no cardboard but if you have some on hand then use it. I packed clothes around it, making sure the “good” clothes don’t rub on the chain (which i would wrap around with a plastic bag), and get some of those plastic drop out spacers from a bike shop for free.
Also here’s a super dorky pic of me going on a 2 day ride from S.F to Santa cruz. Behind my butt tied to a velocity dual cage drink bottle holder is the N.Z Bike Bag, sleeping bag and fanny pack of tools n snacks. Show’s touring with it on your bike doesnt add too much to the load.
ps f.uck using panniers!!!
HAHA I know exaclty where to get one of those bottle holders from. Might look into it!
I am taking a SAGLife Airforce One Backpack. They are huge and should be able to fit everything in. I am packing very very very very light. Taking bare minimum
if i’m not moving once i get to my destination i bring along a few bits of carpet underlay to pad out:
[ul]
[li]between the hubs and the side of the bag (i have phils and the small axles can put a lot of localised pressure on the padded wall)[/li][li]between the wheels and the frame[/li][li]thin, long strip at the bottom of the bag to protect the TT[/li][li]small piece to protect the bag where the chain ring rubs the top.[/li][/ul]
otherwise i just use some broken down cardboard to do the same.
i tape the seat (facing the bb) to the bottom of the chainstays at the dropouts to protect the frame there (and its a good spot to stick the seat and post to keep it from moving around).
i leave a couple of extra strips of duct tape stuck to the inside of the bag for repacking/securing items.
i also wrap the chain and chainring in a plastic bag. the bars tend to go down around the headtube. pedals and tools go in the little pocket. spare clothes in plastic bags are used for padding.
side tip: make sure you have the tools to build your bike back up when you get where you are going (or know where to find them - friend/bike shop). its sounds silly, but ive seen people get somewhere and realise they didnt bring a 15mm or the right sized allen key
Equally, its exciting to get somewhere, dont rush building up your bike. take a deep breath, make sure everything is tight and done right. you’d hate to strip pedal axle, drop a chain or round a stem bolt 'cause you were in a hurry. it helps if you mark your post and stem where they are inserted to before you remove them.
Has anyone bought a frame back from Japan (or overseas)?
I go to Tokyo for 16 days in about 5 weeks and I’m looking at getting a frame (at the very least) whilst there.
What’s my best bet getting it back? Trying to get a second hand bike box and packing it with clothes and other padded goods? I’m taking a couple of those plastic things for the drop outs, but I’m not about to take an empty box over to Japan to get a frame home.
i spent a while backpacking around europe, before i started spending my money on bike parts…
Prague - it’s hilly! if you’re with some friends a cool option is to stay in one of the old soviet apartments just out of the centre. usually min. two nights or something. Can be like a complete time travel trip back to communist days. good if you want a break from packed hostels and don’t mind the ride into town. also the metro system is awesome. and so, sooo much great beer.
Berlin - would have to be one of the best cities to bike around right? all that german organisation. plus they have a weird reverence for obeying the walk/don’t walk signals. i stayed in a great hostel called the Sunflower, on the east side. had an amazing all-you-could eat breakfast every day!
Amsterdam - oh man!
Venice – dont know about all the bridges and steps and canals…
we stayed out across the water at a campsite/cabins place called Fusina. designed by Carlo Scarpa, hah! We got the ferry into the city, but a riding from there around the bay to the city could be really good.
Florence – cobblestones ahoy!
Rome – there’s loads of hostels close to the main train station, mostly the cheap shitty ones. the south side of the city seemed to have more cool stuff than the north. my favourite way to explore was to pick out the densest, wiggliest little laneways on the map, and head for there.
I travelled Europe for 6 months last year and this was the best hostel I stayed in, bar none. Fantastic facilities, great rooms, cheap beer, really conducive to meeting people and hanging out. It’s in Prenzlaurberg or there abouts which is the old East Berlin side of the city, so there’s a cool Soviet Era feel to the area, and it’s still within walking distance of the city centre (or I think 2 or 3 stops on the U-Bahn).
Things to do in Berlin:
Do a walking tour. I can’t emphasise this enough. If you stay in the hostel above, they leave at 10:30am from reception and last for 4 or 5 hours. They are the most interesting and informative way to see Berlin when you first get there. They’re run by international students for tips only, which means that a) the tour guides are really really good, and b) you only pay what you think they deserve.
Do a pub crawl. Berlin has crazy crazy nightlife. A pub crawl is a good way of seeing it if you don’t speak German to begin with.
That’s one day, and then for the rest, just get the UBahn around to some different places. The East Side Gallery is cool, Potsdamerplatz is cool, there are some cool old flea markets within walking distance of the above hostel (and they actually had a number of stalls selling amazing amounts of cool old bicycle stuff when I was there), and just generally being in Berlin is cool.
