Cycling – Baxter, here and now

November 9, 2024November 11, 2024

7 things I learned cycling along the Western Mediterranean coastline on the EV8 from Alicante to Malaga 2024

And here you can find the “planned” track, Actual track may have varied 🙂

1 – There are hundred of Kms of beaches, some wild and some conveniently tamed…

2 – The food is awesome

be it a “Secreto Iberico”, a “Calamar a la plancha” or a simple tostada con Jamon Iberia, you will be delighted, just make sure you are not vegetarian 🙂

3 – The sea of plastics really exists and it is humongous!

Not gonna put any photos here, but the region of Almeria is full of greenhouses, Kms of them! and that is where your tomatoes come from 🙂

5 – Malaga has had a major urban development upgrade in the past years!

6 – The floods in Valencia and the tragic loss of life and property are present in everyday life

Alerts from the civil protection are pushed to all phones, do not take unnecessary risks, take the bus instead and pray for the victims of the floods.

7 – Granada and Alhambra are a gem! and must experience!

just make sure you take the bus (ALSA.es) from Almeria or Motril 🙂 you will thank me later for enjoying the Sierra Nevada from the bus. And you can take the bicycle in a bag for 5 Euros.

PS: trains south of Murcia are very rare or dysfunctional (Almeria)

Bonus track: Traveling with the bicycle and gear

for the flights, Swiss considers bikes as a normal piece of luggage, but you have to put it in a box. In Zurich and Geneva they offer boxes for free at the “Supervisor desk” on checkin. you would need 30 minutes more than usual. and don’t forget to register online 4 days prior to departure (I did not do that and had no issues). Of course you have to pick up the box at the “Sperrgut / Bulky Items” belt.

for Malaga, I bought a bike box from Bike2Malaga.com. They are really pro if you want to rent and they have very good boxes that do not take much space (remember, you have to carry it to the hotel :))

For buses and local trains, I highly recommend a “bicycle sock” I got mine from amazon it’s lightweight and small, ideal for gravel bikes.

For Panniers, I only recommend using the Ortlieb (was very disappointed with Vaude), for Gravel a pair of Back Roller CITY (40L) they are lighter than the normal backroller and do the job. I prefer panniers to backpacking gear specially if you stay in hotels :).

And finally for the fun and shooting, the new DJI Neo drone is awesome, It fits in any bag and does great follow me, circles and much more in 4K…. I am still discovering all the features.

June 11, 2024June 16, 2024

Gravel biking weekend around lake Constance

A flat and wet gravel ride with great infrastructure and loads of things to do. If you have a weekend to spare, a great way to cross 4 countries on bicycle! (yes Lichtenstein is a country and it has a tiny access to the lake). We started in Stammheim ZH (the last station with the ZVV ticket :)) so its 220Kms easily doable in 2 days… but we had to do some sightseeing and the Zeppelin Museum in Friedrichshafen… so we took a bit longer.

Here you can download the GPX or just follow on Komoot…

I really loved the place where you can wear your cycling tan lines and your extra pounds with pride. Note that some cafes now are explicitly banning cannabis consumption…

It’s been raining for a month here in Central Europe so the lake was quite full and some bicycle paths were flooded…

Altogether I can highly recommend this track for chilled bicycle tourism 🙂 don’t expect any sports endeavors!

September 16, 2015January 24, 2016

A 3 Days trip along the Danube, Vienna – Bratislava – Györ – Bratislava – Vienna

Our yearly bicycle trip 2015 edition… having crossed the alps in the past 2 years, we decided to keep it flat this year and try a river, the Danube, on the Euro 6 route that goes from the Atlantic in France to the black sea in Bulgaria.

Tour map, Danube track, Vienna to Bratislava to Györ on the Slovak side and back on the Hungarian side.

Day 1 – Vienna to Bratislava – 70 Kms

Friday August 21st, after an early flight we reached the bicycle rental shop is close to Vienna Prater stern station, so it was easy taking the the S7 from the airport directly there… The prater seems to be Vienna’s amusement park… and also the melting pot of drug dealers there. Vienna must be quite interesting but we didn’t get to see much, just the “Donau Insel” with the markings on the street.

First Picking up the bikes from Pedal Power,. I have to say i was impressed by the friendliness of the owner, the bikes were decent, KTM trekking bikes with 27 gears, the seats were reasonably comfortable and the prices OK, just make sure u have new puncture proof tyres 🙂 its actually more convenient then bringing your own bike by plane. They also gave us repair sets, 3 extra tubes! which we needed right after leaving…

the austrian Slovak border

Arriving to Bratislava, with the bridges and the castle, but the old town is really nice to see, street art and architecture.

Traditional Slovak plate, an interesting mix of meat, kraut, some pierogi… at the Bratislava Flagship Restaurant, some old church turned restaurant/artist corner, a must see there…

The industrial side of Bratislava.

In Bratislava we stayed at Hotel Perugia in an allay in the old town… An excellent way to enjoy 1st hand the very vibrant and loud nightlife! But if need to rest, look for a hotel outside of the old town 🙂

Day 2 – Bratislava to Györ, on the Slovak Side – 100 Kms

Saturday august 22nd, leaving Bratislava in the morning and heading south was nit easy. So we had some bagles ina square and watched the hordes of tourist groups roaming around.

Buffet: a typical resting place on the Slovak side, it also offers shelter in stormy days and an excellent chill-out zone in sunny days and yes, the chicks are Hot!

The Slovak side of the Danube is quite new and straight forward, after passing towns with interesting names like Horny Pub and Sap, we crossed the border to Hungary and headed to györ, a town on the other side of the river.

In Györ , we stayed at Hotel Baross its a 5min walk to downtown. A town with lots of dentists, famous for dental tourism, but also for the old town.

Day 3 – Györ – Bratislava – Vienna – 155 Kms

Sunday august 23rd, after a decent breakfast, we hit the road north, on the Hungarian side of the Danube this time.

Hungarian Food, Deep fried or Gulash

The border between Hungary and Slovakia. I am sure that it has changed now with the refugee influx.

And finally arriving to Vienna in the evening, time went so fast, barely had time to catch a bite and sleep.. until 4 AM and then catch a plane back to Work. The trip was too short. Next time definitely take 2 more days and continue to Budapest at least! But now it’s time to plan the 2016 trip, maybe on the Atlantic to Bordeaux to visit some wineries…. any suggestions?