In late October 2019, we made our way from the shores of the Black Sea to Istanbul, Turkey - our staging area to prepare for cycling across Africa. We dove into the challenge of refurbishing most of the major components on our Surly touring bikes. It was’t easy, and we wouldn’t have been able to get it all done without the help of a really great bike shop run by an expert cyclist. We even found some time to visit Istanbul’s historic center, with it’s unique mix of Byzantine, Ottoman and modern influences.

We‘ve reached the conclusion of our European bicycle journey, with our arrival on the shores of the Black Sea. The cobalt-blue waters were a welcome sight, as we celebrated over 9,300 km (5,800 mi) in the saddle. During the final days, we cycled over hills blanketed with mature vineyards, and valleys dotted with monasteries that marked the borderlands between Christian and Ottoman empires.

We took a few wrong turns, but eventually made it out of Belgrade, and back onto the rough-surfaced, but peaceful Danube levees. Before long, we had crossed the river, and were entering the stunningly beautiful Iron Gates. Through a series of tunnels and cliff-side roads, we cycled past the gorges that slice through the Carpathian Mountains, finally landing in Romania.

We’ve left Germany via the beautiful, baroque city of Passau. Our arrival in Austria brings our country-tally to seven for the trip. But Austria threw us a curve-ball, with three ferry crossings of the Danube River in one day. The route from Passau, Germany to Vienna, Austria is one of the most popular cycling trails in Europe, giving us lots of opportunities to meet other cyclists. One new friend from Holland let us try out his recumbent bicycle.

Out on a cycling tour, you eat whatever the villages along your way offer. Watermelons sold along the side of the road? Of course. An Italian cafe dinner in the heart of Bavarian Germany? Why not? Beer and cake for breakfast, in an ancient Benedictine monastery? Absolutely. It all tastes great when you’re traveling the world by bike.

A ferry ride across the English Channel will bring us back to France. But before we can leave, we’ll have to wait in the ferry terminal until our overnight voyage is ready to board. Once we’ve landed in France, two trains will whisk us across Brittany to Nantes. There we’ll finally get to revisit the giant, mechanical elephant, and his equally astonishing, fellow animal machines. There’s nothing quite like it.

We’re getting ready to return to France, and resume our eastward cycling journey to the Black Sea. This leg of our train odyssey will get our bikes and us to the southern edge of England. There, we’ll hang out for a few days before boarding a ferry to take us back across the English Channel to France.

We turned around, and started making our way back south. Traveling by train promised to be an adventure. We’ve never taken our bikes on European trains before, so everything was new. One last layover in Edinburg will be the end of our time in Scotland.

Along the Northumbrian coast, we passed through dozens of coastal hamlets, as well as the industrial cities that line the banks of its major rivers: the Tees, the Wear, the Tyne and the Blyth. The trail rolled across a series of unique and iconic bridges, over grassy sand dunes, and past rocky shores. And every once in a while, just to make sure we don’t lose our climbing legs, the route would launch up a steep cliff face, for a panoramic ride along the bluffs overlooking the sea.

On a blustery, rainy day we bundled up our cycling gear and boarded the ferry for England. We lingered in Plymouth for a day, visiting famous sights like Hoe Park and the Barbican neighborhood and soaking up the maritime ambiance. But the Tors of Dartmoor beckoned us. So we rode our bikes northward, up the Plym River and into the rugged, granite hills.

After a week of biking through the pine forests of Landes, France, we emerged onto the marshlands of northern Aquitaine. Alternating between cycling on coastal roads and the levees between drainage canals in the marshes, we enjoyed the change of scenery. It ended with the awe-inspiring views of the medieval towers guarding the harbor entrance, as we cycled into the ancient city of La Rochelle. A rest day in the old part of the city included a chance to celebrate life with our third Carnival parade for the year.

The five days of biking from Lisbon to Portugal’s southwestern corner was not expected to be too challenging. With the exception of one mountain park, with a climb through a pass that is only 625 ft high, the terrain would be fairly manageable with low, rolling hills. But nothing was exactly as it seemed, and Portugal threw us a few curve balls.

Packing up everything we would need for our European bicycle tour turned out to be a bit more complicated than we expected. But in the end, everything fit inside a couple of suitcases, carry-ons and bike boxes. Luck was on our side. We, and all our luggage, arrived in Lisbon intact - and ready to roll.