Hi everyone. I'm planning my first bike tour in Europe, and it looks like the EuroVelo routes can help me get anywhere I want to go.
Does anyone know where I could find elevation profiles for these routes?
There are so many cool places I'd like to explore-- trying to pick a route feels a bit overwhelming. Hopefully understanding the physical challenges could be helpful in winnowing down my list to something manageable. Thanks!
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Eurovelo routes are mainly intended for elderly pensioners and families with children who are touring on fairly rudimentary bikes with thin tires and without a granny gear, so the gradients tend to be pretty gentle. This is actually a big downside to Eurovelo routes: in seeking out the easiest terrain, they often avoid the most interesting and beautiful places and instead pass through regions that, while flat, are not very worthwhile. For example, in Romania, the sole Eurovelo route goes along the Danube through what is widely regarded as the worst part of the country and the least culturally interesting.
So, if you have a good bike with a granny gear, don’t feel limited to Eurovelo routes. Virtually all of Europe is connected by quiet tertiary roads that make for great cycling, even if they aren’t part of some official cycle path. You can use a route generator like Brouter to find suitable options between any two points on the map. Just set the profile to "Fastbike" if you want to always stay on asphalt, and to "Trekking" if you have thicker tires and don’t mind gravel.
As for the elevations of Eurovelo routes, I am unaware of a ready-made reference for this. However, many Eurovelo routes are shown on OpenCycleMap. So, you can plug in a route in Brouter that matches the Eurovelo route on OpenCycleMap, and then Brouter will show the elevation.
i am sorry to disagree with Christopher, but we have been riding Central Europe this summer. Our routes have included parts of Eurovelo 7, 13 and 6. We are older, but have been touring for years across the Rocky Mountains and Appalachians in the US. We do ride a road tandem with thinner tires. With those disclaimers, the parts of EV 7 and 13 we rode are not only hilly, there are sections through National Parks that require, at minimum a trekker and preferably a mountain bike. EV 6 is meant to be along the Danube, so is mostly flat. Even on that route, there are sections through very rough trail that some people find a way around.
I can can not speak to Romania, as we stopped in Budapest to head southeast to Zagreb. However, we met several people along the way who had ridden Romania. Boring is a matter of what you are looking for - everyone we spoke with talked about the interesting cultural difference in Romania.
Try Bikeline maps for routes that may have elevations.and enjoy your tour.
We too agree with Christopher.
Some of the more popular ones are flooded with elderly who can barely control their E-bikes.
There are so many more cycle routes going through quiet historic towns. Much better for accomodation and wild camping. Get off the beaten track and really discover the place.
Many tourist information centres have a great selection of bicycle route maps. Especially Germany and Austria
EuroVelos have it all: flat and steep parts. e.g. the EV13 (Iron Curtain Trail) follows the formerly german-german border, which has heavy descents. We also had 14%-gradients on parts of EV4 in Brittany. And if you look at EV1 you will have a lot of work to do when following the Atlantic Coast - gradients as well as wind and rain. On the other hand there a easy-going routes like following the EV10 aroung the Baltic Sea or following the River Rhine on EV15.
The best adresses for informations are eurovelo.com (of course!) and - if you are interested in profiles - biroto.eu
But regard that still not all of the eurovelos are completed, some parts neither signed nor traced!
If you input your likely route stages on this cycle map site https://cycle.travel/map it will generate an elevation profile. Bit of a faff to do it for every part of your journey, but it's accurate and also shows distances.