This coming Sunday, 13 July, we set off a cycling tour with TDA. We’re crossing Europe starting in Estonia. We’d originally planned this for 2020, with the route starting in St Petersburg. Covid postponed, then the invasion of Ukraine altered the start. For some reason the only refund we didn’t get was from Aeroflot. So here we are in Talinn, looking forward to meeting up with the others, including Balazs and Gergo who guide this trip and we’ve had the pleasure of being with before.
The blurb:
“The route passes through eleven countries, starting in Tallinn and finishing in Gibraltar. Our itinerary follows the ancient amber trade route used by the Romans, stretching from the Baltic states of Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia, then onwards through Poland and Slovakia, Hungary and Slovenia, before the tour reaches its half way point in Venice, Italy. Along the way the riders will be able to explore the historic old towns in Tallinn, Riga, Vilnius and Warsaw, the thermal baths in Budapest and Ljubljana’s stunning 900 year-old castle.
Leaving the canals and plazas of Venice behind, the riders will then pedal through the mountains of Northern Italy before cycling along the Mediterranean Sea and the Italian and French Riviera. Rest days are scheduled for Genoa, Nice and Montpellier, allowing the riders to experience the local vibes. Then it’s into Spain where they will skirt the foothills of the towering Pyrenees prior to arriving in Barcelona, with its beaches and distinct Catalonian culture. From there the riders head southwest, enjoying the beautiful and challenging back roads and soaking up the Moorish atmosphere in Granada before finishing in Gibraltar with its famous Rock.”
The real highlights will be the contrasting landscapes, people and places. That is, the journey itself.
Travelling reflections 
Th
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