Su and I have always wanted to do a longer and more adventurous trip. Until recently our trips have been limited to the 3 weeks we were allowed for a summer vacation. We had heard of Euro Velo route 6 (EV6) which goes from the Atlantic, at Nantes, to the Black Sea at Constanta; we promised ourselves we would have a go at this when we retired. We reached retirement age in 2020, but Covid got in the way and then some final post retirement "tours of duty" took out a lot of subsequent years, So now, here we are in 2024 - finally fully retired and ready to have a go at this ride.
The route looks ideal for us - up the Loire, cross to the Saône, then up the Doubs tributry joining the Canal du Rhone au Rhin, then up the Rhine to Konstanz, then a short strike North to pick up the Danube for the rest of the route. The route passes through France, Germany, Switzerland, Austria, Slovakia, Hungary, optionally a bit of Croatia, then Serbia, Bulgaria and Romania,
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| Our Proposed route in Red |
However there is a new issue: since Brexit a Brit can only spend 90 days in the Schengen countries of Europe (strictly 90 days in any rolling 180 days). And on Dec 31st 2023 Bulgaria and Romania were admitted into Schengen. (But we will still have to do passports at the land border - the worst of both worlds.)
We have decided to avoid flying and to avoid packing out bikes, and intend to return by local trains so we need to allow 10 days in Schengen to get home. So we are allowed 80 days in Schengen to do the trip. (Serbia will give us a few days of respite as it's not yet in the EU at all).
The total route starting at Nantes and ending by following the loop of the Danube delta to the North, then back down the coast to Constanta is around 4,700km. We travel around 50-60 km a day and have regular rest days. Simple Maths says we can't do this. Our revised version says we start at Blois (just West of Orleans, and 240km along the route). The logic here is that we have already done Nantes to Blois as part of a previous tour in 2019. At the other end we can cut out the loop round the Delta and head straight to Constanta. This will cut off an another few hundred kms, at the cost of hills and travelling on main roads. (perhaps we mighty just catch a train for that bit?)
This revised route, as shown above is about 3,900km. That is 60 km a day for 65 cycling days - allowing us 15 rest days (approx every 5th day) and 10 days to get home. That's within our capabilities. And the time in Serbia is a "bonus". That's our approximate plan.
We are going to leave home on the 16th June, ride to Portsmouth, cross the channel that night and train from Caen to Blois on the 17th June.
