EuroVelo bicycle routes are a network of (currently 14) long-distance cycling routes criss-crossing Europe in various stages of completion. As of May 2013[update] more than 45,000 km (27,962 mi) was in place. It is envisaged that the network will be substantially complete by 2020 and when finished, the EuroVelo network's total length will exceed 70,000 km (43,496 mi). EuroVelo is a project of the European Cyclists' Federation (ECF).
EuroVelo routes can be used for bicycle touring across the continent, as well as by local people making short journeys. The routes are made of both existing national bike routes — such as the Dutch LF-Routes, the German D-Routes, and the British National Cycle Network — and existing general purpose roads, together with new stretches of cycle routes to connect them.
- 1 History
- 2 Requirements
- 3 Route Infrastructure
- 4 Main points on the EuroVelo routes
- 5 Route information
- 6 See also
- 7 References
- 8 External links
The idea of creating a network of international cycle routes spanning Europe started back in 1995. It was initially coordinated by the ECF, De Frie Fugle (Denmark) and Sustrans (UK) and the original plan was to create 12 long-distance cycling routes.
Since August 2007, the ECF has assumed full responsibility for the project. Despite sometimes tight financial constraints, the EuroVelo project has already begun to fulfil the vision of its founders with sections of the network being implemented in countries as far apart as Finland, Cyprus, Spain and the UK. In addition, the EuroVelo brand has become widely known and is increasingly seen as a sign of quality.
There have been various changes to the network over the years, most notably the addition of two new routes —EuroVelo 13 (the Iron Curtain Trail) and EuroVelo 15 (the Rhine Cycle Route)— in September 2011, which are the longest and shortest of the EuroVelo routes.
The ECF has written a route development manual for those working on developing EuroVelo routes, entitled EuroVelo: Guidance on the Route Development Process. According to these guidelines, all EuroVelo routes should fulfill the following criteria:
- They must be based on existing or planned national or regional routes of the involved countries.
- At least two countries must be involved.
- Route length must be at least 1,000 km (620 mi).
- Steep sections should be avoided wherever possible and for very steep sections (if unavoidable) alternative transport options (i.e. public transport or alternative routes) should be provided.
- Easy to communicate - internationally recognisable identity and name (marketing potential).
- Implementation plans in place (project plan, business plan, partners).
- Signing in accordance with the regulations of the respective nations and/or regions, continuous and in both directions.
- Signage supplemented by EuroVelo route information panels, in accordance with the recommendations of UNECE and the ECF's Signing of EuroVelo cycle routes manual.
The current share of route infrastructure components in the EuroVelo network is as follows:
- Trafﬁc-free asphalted road: 8%
- Trafﬁc-free non-asphalted road: 6%
- Public low-trafﬁc, asphalted road: 56%
- Public non-asphalted road: 3%
- Public high-trafﬁc, asphalted road: 14%
Main points on the EuroVelo routes
- Legend - Green: North-South / Blue: West-East / Red: Circuits
Stretching the length of the continent, from North Cape at the top of Scandinavia to the Algarve in Portugal, EuroVelo 1 the Atlantic Coast Route connects some of the world’s most beautiful seascapes in Norway, Scotland, Ireland, Wales, the West Country of England, France, Spain and Portugal. Expect dramatic fjords, sun-kissed beaches and bustling port towns.
The EV2 runs between Galway in Ireland to Moscow in Russia taking in all the capital cities along the way.
Between The Hague in the Netherlands and the German-Polish border, the EV2 follows the bicycle route called European Bicycle Route R1 or Euro-Route R1, an international long-distance cycling route connecting Boulogne-sur-Mer in France with St Petersburg in Russia.
EuroVelo 3 is named The Pilgrims Route. It goes from Trondheim in Norway to Santiago de Compostela in Spain. The route follows traces of old roads used for pilgrimages in the Middle Ages. The route passes through Norway, Sweden, Denmark, Germany, Belgium, France and Spain. Most of these countries have a developed net of bicycle routes used as part of EV3.
EuroVelo 4, the Central Europe Route takes in gorgeous coastlines, outstanding medieval architecture, dynamic cities and history lessons aplenty on its way from Roscoff, France to Kiev, Ukraine.
The EV5 is inspired by the Via Francigena, a pilgrimage route from London to Rome first recorded by Archbishop of Canterbury Sigeric in the 10th century AD. However, the route of the true Via Francigena is an almost straight line path from London to Rome, while the EuroVelo 5 route takes a more easterly route that passes through Brussels, Luxembourg and Strasbourg in the Alsace. It then follows the Franco-German border, passes through Switzerland following Swiss National Bike Route no. 3, before crossing the Alps at the Gotthard Pass. It then passes through Italy (more closely following Sigeric's route) to Rome before continuing on to the Adriatic port city of Brindisi.
EuroVelo 6 is the Rivers Route. It runs from Saint-Nazaire on the mouth of the Loire along that river eastward through France. It passes over the border to Switzerland to Lake Constance and then on to Tuttlingen in Germany, where it begins its way down the Danube following the Donauradweg (Danube Cycle Route). It follows that river, Europe's second longest, through Germany, Austria, Slovakia, Hungary, Serbia, Bulgaria and Romania to the river's mouth at the Danube Delta. It then continues southwards to end in Constanța, on the Black Sea.
EuroVelo 8 is called the Mediterranean Route as it follows the European coastline of the Mediterranean sea from Cadiz in Spain to Athens in Greece before jumping to the island-nation of Cyprus.
EuroVelo 9 (in Poland, also labeled as R9) is called the Amber Route and stretches from the Baltic Sea to the Adriatic Sea. It is so called as the precious stone amber collected in the Baltic was taken by routes such as this to the Mediterranean. One of the shortest of all the EuroVelo routes, the EV9 still manages to cut across Europe from north to south, from Poland to Croatia, and in doing so passes through the Czech Republic, Austria and Slovenia en route.
EuroVelo 12, the North Sea Cycle Route, was the first European route, opened in June 2001, 6,000 km (3,700 mi) route through England, Scotland, Norway, Sweden, Denmark, Germany, the Netherlands and Belgium. It features in the Guinness Book of Records as the longest unbroken signposted cycling route. The second phase of European Union funding through the Interreg initiative came to a close in December 2006.
EuroVelo 13, the Iron Curtain Trail, follows the old Iron Curtain, the divided borders of Europe during the Cold War. The ICT runs from Kirkenes, Norway on the Barents Sea, along the Finno-Russian border through to the Baltic Sea, then hugs the length of the Baltic coast to Lübeck in Germany. It then follows the old border between West Germany and the former East Germany, the current borders between the Czech Republic and both Germany then Austria, the Austrian-Slovak and Austrian-Hungarian borders before following the borders of Romania, the former Yugoslavia, Bulgaria and Macedonia. It finishes at Rezovo in Bulgaria on the Black Sea after following the border with Greece and Turkey.
The international Rhine Cycle Route, EuroVelo 15, with an overall length of about 1,320 km (820 mi) passes through four countries from the headwaters of the Rhine in Andermatt in the Swiss Alps to the estuary in Rotterdam in the Netherlands, via France  and Germany.
|Wikimedia Commons has media related to EuroVelo.|
- "Projects and networks - EuroVelo". ECF. Retrieved 10 December 2013.
- "EuroVelo - the European cycle route network". EuroVelo.org website. Retrieved 9 December 2013.
- "Routes". EuroVelo. ECF. Retrieved 23 January 2012.
- Richard Peace (2008-09-17). "Euros for EuroVelo". bikeradar.com. Future Publishing Ltd. Retrieved 2009-12-21.
- "History - EuroVelo - the European cycle route network". EuroVelo website. European Cyclists' Federation. Retrieved 17 November 2013.
- "Guidance on the Route Development Process" (PDF). EuroVelo.org. European Cyclists' Federation. Retrieved 12 December 2013.
- "EuroVelo the European cycle route network Development Strategy 2012-2020" (PDF). EuroVelo.org website. European Cyclists' Federation. December 2011. Retrieved 19 December 2013.
- eurovelo8.com EuroVelo 8
- Eurovelo 9 at CyclingEurope.org
- Radrouten Niederösterreich - EuroVelo 9
- "EuroVelo 1". EuroVelo.com website. European Cyclists' Federation. Retrieved 29 December 2013.
- "The Complete Route". Euroroute R1 website. Retrieved 7 January 2014.
- EuroVelo 6, in Deutsch and French and English
- "EuroVelo 7". EuroVelo.com. Retrieved 26 December 2013.
- "EuroVelo 8". EuroVelo.com website. European Cyclists' Federation. Retrieved 5 January 2014.
- "EuroVelo 9". EuroVelo.com website. European Cyclists' Federation. Retrieved 3 January 2014.
- EV10 - OpenStreetMap Wiki
- OpenStreetMap Wiki: EV11
- North Sea Cycle Route
- ECF - EuroVelo - The Iron Curtain Trail (EuroVelo 13)
- http://13.eurovelo.bg Development site for ICT on the Balkans
- Iron Curtain Trail - Through Europe along the former Iron Curtain
- EuroVelo 15
- via France