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cycling the elbe cycling route mike wells. cicerone publishing paperback. 269pp illus. £17.95
mainland europe is literally infested with cycle routes, not all of which are achievable by the average pedallist in the street. for instance, the 21 hairpin bends of alpe d'huez might not be the ideal parcours on a folding bike, even if two of the sunday peloton intend to find out later this year. and a paris-roubaix sportive might not be everyone's cup of tea, particularly if the weather is less than favourable. and from my own experience, never mind the mountains, some of those french hills can be a drain on meagre physical resources.
however, according to author, mike wells, the elbe cycle route, from the source of europe's third longest river (behind the danube and the rhine) from close to the polish border, to cuxhaven on germany's north sea coast, is possibly "the easiest long-distance cycle route in europe, with almost no hills and, except for a few short unsurfaced stretches in czechia, a good surface throughout." and, as author, mike wells points out, prior to 1990, the majority of the route was behind the so-called 'iron curtain', and thus out of reach for the majority of european cyclists. the fall of the berlin wall in 1989, changed pretty much everything, not simply the availability of picturesque cycling.
formerly known as czechoslovakia, a short-lived, easily crossed border was abolished in 2004, and now allows free access to a nation officially recognised as czechia on its membership of the european union. dresden, magdeburg and germany's second largest city, hamburg, are all visited along the 1200km route.
depending on your cycling ability, mr wells has thoughtfully portioned the route into manageable stages, allowing those delightful kilometres to be undertaken over 13, 15, 17 or 19 days. however, with the opening stages featuring names such as vrachblí, pardubice, láznê touŝen and litomêrice, you may wish more for a pronunciation guide than travel instructions.
if travelling from the uk, the author advises that it's more pragmatic to fly to prague than to travel by rail. from there it appears a relatively simple matter of taking the train to the start of this endearing route at vrachblí. prior to travel instructions, however, mr wells offers a potted history of the region, includng the distasteful events of the second world war; the route takes the pedalling traveller past theresienstadt concentration camp. but, judging by the copious imagery accompanying the author's narrative, there is a wealth of stunning architecture to be seen, including the cathedral at magdeburg which took over 300 years to complete, prague's national museum, and dresden's impressive neo-rennaissance semper opera house.
according to mike wells, it's perfectly possible to complete the route using only the considerable number of maps peppered throughout all 269 pages. but there's also the option to download gpx files for installation on your bar-mounted gps device. and with several of the pathways along which travel is indicated constituted of gravel or unpaved surfaces, there is warning that several may turn to mud in wet weather.
but it's not all endless directions and functional prose that inhabits the pocket-sized pages. the author helpfully points outplaces and sites of interest along the way, several contained within amber coloured box-outs. "The Baroque palace at Troja was built in 1691 for the Count of Sternberg. Its central axis lines up with St. Vitus cathedral which can be seen on hill-top 3km SW. Inside, the walls and celings of the main rooms are highly decorated."
mike wells, according to the inner rear flap, has been a keen cyclist for over 20 years and has written several guides for cicerone press, a few of which i have previously reviewed within these pixels. his attention to detail is second to none, while his narrative has an envious ability to encourage even the armchair traveller, to get off his or her butt, and, in this case, take a flight to prague. travel to and from the european union may no longer offer the simplicity of yesteryear, but this guide to the elbe cycling route promises to make the effort well worthwhile.
wednesday 23 february 2022
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