No Place Like Europe - From Sicily to Holland in 20 days

No Place Like Europe has started! The journey back to the Netherlands started from one of the small hamlets near Palermo. In order not to just cross Sicily via the coastal route, I went inland this day.



The old villages are beautiful and just like I imagined Italy: narrow, steep streets and the painted… read more

Italian flat! I have to admit, I was a bit choco from the first day. These temperatures and the hours of sun burning on my body, had me on the evening of the first day. But, slept super well and so continue today full of fresh courage!



I'm on my way to the ferry in Messina so I took the coastal route… read more

What a great day this! For the first time I felt quite used to the heat, and I said goodbye to Sicily, because at the beginning of the afternoon I got on the ferry, on my way to Giovanni (the mainland!). Although Naples is my first milestone, I still liked this one. Small goal achieved. (Because that… read more

Day 4 and I continue my way towards Naples. That city (I don't pass through, but just pass) is my first milestone at something of 900km. Today we continue along the coast of Calabria.



From Vibo Valentia the first was a 20km descent, nice man! Before I knew it I had covered 60km without having made a lot… read more

Today I will leave the coast for the time being and head inland. Looking for beautiful mountain villages and natural gravel!



First something else, I noticed it in Sicily too, but this southern part of Italy can be summed up in 2 words: 'Fiat Punto and Garbage'. If you don't drive a Fiat Punto, then you… read more

You have great weather man!👍🏻

Rome is in sight! While I've gone around Naples with a modest bow (don't know, don't get a wow feeling with Naples), I'm really looking forward to Rome. Tomorrow is the day, then I'll go right through it, including a little sightseeing.



Today is a day to pedal away for miles. Yesterday (Saturday) I did… read more

Rome, full house of super nice gravel and finishing in such a typical historic Italian town right on the border with Tuscany. I am so happy with this day!



For the first time in my life I went to Rome today, what an amazing city! During the small sightseeing I was continuously surrounded by the most beautiful… read more

The first ride in the Tuscan diptych. Today we went dirt road from the start in Grotte di Castro directly into Tuscany. Initially still on the provincial road, but after about 15 kilometers I turned right and there was the first real Tuscan gravel climb. I took it for granted that the path was really… read more

The first ride in the Tuscan diptych. Today we went dirt road from the start in Grotte di Castro directly into Tuscany. Initially still on the provincial road, but after about 15 kilometers I turned right and there was the first real Tuscan gravel climb. I took it for granted that the path was really… read more

CHIANTI BACK ROADS! No main roads today, but countless back roads right through the Chianti region!

I do find out that Roscane has multiple faces. Yesterday was Tuscany as I know it from the Strade Bianche: wider gravel roads through a dry and rolling landscape. The Tuscany of the Chianti region is a… read more

Today I make the crossing from Tuscany to Emilia-Romagna. The two regions are separated by the mountain range the Apennines, so climbing is necessary.



From the start the road went straight up into the mountains. For the 2nd night in a row I didn't sleep very well and that started to take its toll from… read more

Last ride before a well deserved rest day. Just like in the first week, I keep a rhythm of 6 days of cycling and then a rest day.



Virtually no altimeters in this ride towards Milan, and that was nice for a while. The legs have had to process quite a bit in Tuscany and the Apennines in recent days.



I have… read more

SWITZERLAND! 🇨🇭 After wandering through Italy for 12 rides, from Palermo in Sicily to Como, I crossed the border into Switzerland today.



Italy was fantastic and incredibly diverse. The culture, the streets, the language accents, the towns and of course nature....I have seen them change enormously in… read more

Three amazing Swiss mountains on the program today! From the start the boulder climb over the St Gotrhardstrasse, then the highest point of this trip - the Furkapass (2400m) and finally the Grimselpass, a nice hairpin climb.



When I got up this morning and opened my curtains, there were two possible scenarios… read more

Last Sunday I was still in Milan and I entered Switzerland during the day. Today I leave the Swiss green landscape again to exchange it for France. Yes, Switzerland was short and sweet!



From the starting point of Giswil it was a direct climb today, and quite tough too, because before I knew it I switched… read more

What a wonderful ride this is! From Mulhouse all day long over the hills, along the vineyards and through charming villages of Alsace. Also a day of continuous up and down, because the route went over the foothills of the Vosges.



The mythical image I saw all day was the green mountains of the Vosges to… read more

Haha no, that just gave morale and was a lot of flat so kilometers went quickly. Good karma because the last hour was full in the rain.

NETHERLANDS! After almost three weeks of cycling I rode back into my own country at Vaals today. What a great feeling. It's also the first time I really realized what an amazing stretch I've already cycled to get here. From about the southernmost point of Europe back to that hidden border somewhere near… read more

It is day 19, the penultimate day of my trip, and after that I continue westward. The day goes partly through the Netherlands, partly through Belgium and ends with an old colleague of mine where I sleep.



Since last night I've loosened up the reins a bit, and I'm a little more celebrating that I'm almost… read more