From Cambridge to Padova by bike

I have been working in Cambridge, UK, since April 2018 and had this crazy idea in my head of cycling back to my hometown Padova, in Italy, once finished my period there. I have always loved biking both as a mean of transportation and as a mean of exploration: it makes you feel alive, in connection with your vehicle and with the surroundings and also it’s eco-friendly.

Anyway, as time went on I could visualise the idea coming to life while I was training or getting my gear ready for the great departure. My brother brought his bike to Cambridge so we could cycle home together and my parents came by car to help me empty the room.

Day 1

Faster than expected the end of my period in Cambridge arrived, I had a leaving party with my friends and then the 30th of June I closed the door of my Cambridge house behind me for one last time.

We cycled in the Cambridge county surrounded by fields,

and more fields,

and more,

until we reached the port of Harwich

and we took the ferry to Hook of Holland in the Netherlands.

This was the end of day one.

Day 2

We were excited to start cycling in the Netherlands

and it really was awesome

until we discovered that my brother was getting sick and his breakfast became paracetamol and croissant.

We nevertheless continued on straight roads

and passed windmills

until we decided to stop in Tilburg because my brother was barely able to stand.

Day 3

We went to the doctor and since my brother was still sick, we stopped for one day. Apparently Tilburg for that night was fully booked so we still had to cycle for a few km to reach the accommodation for the night.

Day 4

Sun was shining and fever was almost gone so with a paracetamol-drugged brother we left with direction Aachen, in Germany, where we were supposed to arrive on day 2.

After a fancy breakfast in the parking lot of the supermarket

we cycled long straight and flat roads in the Netherlands

entered Belgium

and cycled long straight and flat roads also in Belgium (almost 40km next to the river)

until we entered Germany

and arrived in Aachen.

With Andi, my friend who was hosting us, we visited the three country point, where Belgium, Netherlands and Germany all meet

visited the city, ate good food and ended the day.

Day 5

This big stage had three main sections. The first one was in the Eifel National park, with hills that we were not expecting at all (I don’t have pictures of this part). The second one was mainly up and down between German fields

and the third one was on a super bumpy cycle path next to the river Rhein.

After a super long day with many more km than pictures, we arrived in Bad Kreuznach.

Day 6

The heat was crazy and packed with sun cream we headed towards Heilbronn. We had lunch with ice cream and cola

took many deviations to find a bike shop because the disk brake of my brother’s bike broke and finally reached our couchsurfing hosts where we were welcomed by a cute dog who wanted to play all the time.

Day 7

Heading towards Augsburg, we found an insane 16% hill which was so tough I had to take a break before the final 300m. I didn’t think I wouldn’t even be able to get back on the bike because of the steepness and I had to walk the final meters.

We crossed the Danube river

and after a long ride of which the last 10km where under the rain we reached Augsburg and had a good burger.

Day 8

Easy stage to reach Munich, only 80km. It would have been a fun ride if it wasn’t for the rain that soacked us and we reached my friend’s house in these conditions:

We planned this stage to be short to reach Munich early enough to enjoy the city and the beers and the company of my friend Michele who, in true italian style, welcomed us with home-made pizza.

Day 9

Here is where the real fun starts: mountains. The sky was gray and the weather was wet and cool. After initial discussions whether to wait one more day for the rain to stop or to bike, we started heading towards Innsbruck. The ride was super fun. After leaving the city of Munich we started going up and down the hills in very well mantained cycle paths.

We cycled through Lake Walken

and we entered Austria.

Until now the weather was basically intermitted rain and it wasn’t a real problem. We stopped for lunch in Achenkirch because we could see that the sky was getting bad and from that point onward so much rain came down all the way to Innsbruck. Other than being cold and wet, the route was amazing and I really hope I can do it again one day. Especially from Achenkirch to Jenbach there is a nice 10km descent that under the rain was super dangerous but it would have been a lot of fun otherwise.

Day 10

After a very nice night in Innsbruck we were excited to finally enter Italy. We did so from the Brenner Pass that is around 40km of uphill climb from the city of Innsbruck.

After the Brenner Pass, our goal of the day was Bozen (Bolzano), that was around 80km of fun mainly downhill cycle from the border all in south Tyrol.

This is one of the most beautiful places in Italy, if not the world, and to cycle there was amazing: perfect cycle paths, amazing scenery and most importantly delicious food.

I didn’t even realise how much I missed good food,

and good ice cream.

This was probably the most fun day and one of the bike rides I enjoyed the most in my entire life. That night we slept pretty well but were quite sad that the next day it would have been our final day.

Day 11

We left early because of the Italian heat and cycled from Bolzano to Trento in a very nice cycle path.

We had a good breakfast in Trento

and then we continued the cycle path all the way to Bassano a very nice city only 40km to my hometown Padova. Here we were pretty hungry, thirsty and hot so what best than half a kg of ice cream?

Well, we clearly thought half a kg wasn’t enough for two people so we bought half a kg more.

Fully charged and with a full stomach, we started riding for one last time. From Bassano to Padova is all flat and next to the cars, not enjoyable at all, but those are roads we know so the thought of reaching home kept us going until we reached our final destination.

Conclusion

All in all, it was an amazing experience. I think I could have kept going for many more days as I was enjoying it a lot and my legs were fine. Travelling by bike allows you to really explore and connect with the world around you and with the people you meet. This was my first long trip on a bike but it will definitely not be the last one.