Arctic to Africa: Another 3K Kilometers Down

We’re Chris and Cooper! We’re officially two months into bikepacking from the Arctic Ocean in Norway to Morocco. We last checked in while camping on the southernmost point of Denmark. Since then we’ve ridden about 3,000 kilometres through 5 countries.

We caught the ferry from Denmark into Germany and were greeted with a wet and foggy welcome. Our introduction into Eastern Germany would end up being our wettest stretch of the trip thus far (even wetter than the Arctic Circle. Hard to believe, I know). But despite packing up a wet tent every morning, we were treated with some of the best riding of the trip. We rode through endless historical towns on smooth German bike paths with some unexpectedly good gravel thrown in to keep things interesting! What more can you ask for!

We followed the Danube River, as it twisted and turned, across Eastern Germany and lead us into Czechia. Czechia would turn out to be one of our favourite parts of the trip! It was impossible not to look up at the jaw dropping cliffs and valleys as we wound our way along the rivers. The bike paths were also epic! Truly an underrated bikepacking destination! It didn’t hurt that the bike paths were littered with beer stands (Pilsner Urquell, of course), which were hard to resist at times! 

This stretch of our trip was one of the first times we could feel the terrain changing quickly! Going from the endless pine forests of Sweden and moving towards the mountains of Czechia in the span of 2 weeks really made you realize how crazy it was that we had ridden there from Norway… 

We pedaled out of Czechia after 5 spectacular days and headed back into Germany towards Munich, where we could get our first taste of the Alps! For several days we had them in our view, slowly growing as we got closer and closer. Without a doubt, some of the best riding of the trip so far. Steady climbing and rowdy descents!

Eventually we crossed into Austria, albeit briefly. After an hour or two of riding we quickly cut into Liechtenstein, which is one of the smallest countries in Europe at 25kms long. Border crossings were becoming a near-daily occurrence at this stage in the trip! 

At this point we were in the heart of the Alps! The climbs were steep, but beautiful. We climbed our way into Switzerland and were rewarded with some of the best views of the trip! Water bluer than you can imagine, surrounded by peaks taller than you’ve ever seen. Traveling through the Alps via bike truly puts everything in perspective.

But, all good things must come to an end. Eventually we left Switzerland, descended our final mountain pass, and entered France. 

We headed directly south from Geneva, where we left Switzerland, and b-lined it for the Mediterranean coast. The south of France was filled with beautiful beaches, spectacular weather, and top notch camping. 

We rode through dozens of beach towns packed with people enjoying their relaxing summer. It was strange to see how regular people spend their summer holidays (instead of bikepacking across Europe). Nonetheless, France was another highlight of the trip!

After a week in France, we are about to roll into Spain. Our final country in Europe. Check back for more updates and give us a follow on Instagram to see our daily adventures on the road!