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Bikespokes

A van based mobile cycle repair and hire service covering Moray and Nairnshire in NE Scotland working at your home or workplace to save you the hassle of getting your bike to a shop, but this is not about fixing bikes! This is about what a bike mechanic does on a day off, or on the perfect holiday - a long bike ride across a little bit of Europe.....

You might call it Bikepacking or to some it might be Cycle Touring, but whether you go for a couple of hours or a couple of months - it's just about exploring our world on two wheels.

Countries explored so far: Scotland, England, France, Spain, Switzerland, Liechtenstein, Austria, Germany, Netherlands, Belgium, Denmark, Slovakia, Czechia, Hungary, Italy, Slovenia, Croatia and Serbia.

youtube.com/@bike_spokes/featured
www.bikespokes.co.uk

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Recent Activity

planned a bike ride.

October 12, 2025

Time

183h08m

Distance

3,026km

Speed

16.5km/h

Ascent

16,910m

Descent

16,860m
Map data © OpenStreetMap contributors

and planned a bike ride.

October 8, 2025

Time

100h10m

Distance

1,480km

Speed

14.8km/h

Ascent

22,430m

Descent

22,730m
Map data © OpenStreetMap contributors

and went for a bike ride.

September 24, 2025

Day 16 - Pag to Zadar

After big thunderstorm started at 3am and partial collapse of tent at 4am, we had little sleep. With our flight home tomorrow morning our options were limited so waterproofs on and off we go. The rain unexpectedly stopped after an hour, replaced by a strong headwind. I’m not sure which was worse but very glad we didn’t have both. We skipped our planned revisit of Zadar so the day was uneventful. Not our favourite day, but I did enjoy the last few miles when the sun appeared after lunch. And that’s another amazing adventure complete.

Time

5h28m

Distance

51.1km

Speed

15.4km/h

Ascent

380m

Descent

310m

and like this.

September 24, 2025

And just like that, it's over😟. Despite the various offerings of the last two days (horrible traffic, bleak landscapes, and epic thunderstorms). I'm very, very sad to be stopping as it's been a fantastic adventure. My wee legs won't know what to do with themselves tomorrow!

and went for a bike ride.

September 23, 2025

Day 15 - Senj to Pag

Along the hilly coast road in the rain this morning to catch ferry across to Pag, famous for lace making, salt and sheep apparently. The island is quite barren and the few towns seem largely purpose built for tourists, but many buildings are either tired or unfinished and the tourists had mass exodus today it seems, quite a contrast from Istria last week.

Time

9h17m

Distance

91.2km

Speed

15.0km/h

Ascent

930m

Descent

960m

, and like this.

and went for a bike ride.

September 22, 2025

Day 14 - Bakarac to Senj

A minor route error this morning led to us pushing and hauling our heavy bikes up a vertical goat track for an hour - oops! It was completely unnecessary but took us to a quiet country road high up on the hillside for the morning, hilly but lovely. Back on the main road for the afternoon, but beautiful views all day. We passed through many tiny villages but Senj was the only town today.

Time

7h14m

Distance

61.8km

Speed

13.6km/h

Ascent

820m

Descent

840m

and went for a bike ride.

September 21, 2025

Day 13 - Labin to Bakarac

After working our way back to the coast, we were on the main tourist coast road for the rest of the day. Not too bad in the morning but got really very busy in the afternoon. It was often high up the hillside with amazing sea views dropping down into beautiful little coves with beaches and cute villages like Brseč. It was very hot and hilly but I loved this section despite the road. Opatija was much bigger, more of a resort with grand old hotels. Rijeka was like a small city, more functional than pretty, currently hosting a superyacht boat show. Bakar looks nice, but we skipped it to finish in Bakarac for the night. Another great day.

Time

7h34m

Distance

87.5km

Speed

16.2km/h

Ascent

750m

Descent

1,030m

went for a bike ride.

September 20, 2025

Day 12 - Pula to Labin

Leaving Pula, we quickly left the crowds behind as we travelled inland and uphill. Some good gravel and quiet roads, and getting used to the hills now but the last big one was a killer. The villages today were tiny, cute but very little going on, just rural life until we finished up in old Labin - a delightful surprise! It’s really small, but utterly gorgeous.

Time

9h17m

Distance

79.9km

Speed

13.8km/h

Ascent

940m

Descent

830m

likes this.

September 20, 2025

Oof! We earned our pizza!

and went for a bike ride.

September 19, 2025

Day 11 - Novigrad to Pula

The route today was tough. We switched between rough tracks inland and threading through huge resorts and campsites on the coast, both of which were very slow going. Our aim of reaching Pula tonight looked impossible until we came up with a cunning plan….. a speedboat! A boat from Vrsar to Rovinj chopped out 20 hilly miles and got us back on track. It was a fun and beautiful way to arrive in Rovinj - simply stunning in fact. As we moved south, the coastline and towns just keep getting prettier, Poreč and Rovinj were particularly special, Pula was quite industrial on the outskirts but the old centre was very Roman. Busy everywhere all day but not unpleasantly so.

Time

9h24m

Distance

91.5km

Speed

13.1km/h

Ascent

690m

Descent

970m

and went for a bike ride.

September 18, 2025

Day 10 - Trieste to Novigrad

This mornings descent down into Trieste was very long and steep, mixed with rush hour Italian drivers, not much fun. We dipped into the city briefly but after the serenity of Slovenia, it was pretty intense. The route out wasn’t great either but we were soon back in Slovenia again. There was no signpost, but the two lane bicycle superhighway gave it away. As beautiful as before, this section was fantastic. By the afternoon, we made it into Croatia, gravel tracks and country roads, quiet coves by the sea, camping by the beach tonight in Novigrad, which is just ridiculously cute.

Time

9h46m

Distance

102km

Speed

14.0km/h

Ascent

890m

Descent

1,160m

likes this.

September 19, 2025

Looks wonderful. You are doing some hilly areas, great fun going down though 😉

and went for a bike ride.

September 17, 2025

Day 9 - Postojna to Trieste

We left market day in Postojne with an extra coffee hit. After a busy road section through Razdrto, we had a fantastic descent into a valley of sunshine, vineyards and old Fiat Pandas but we knew what that meant. The climb out the other side was a real monster. Very remote and rural here, mostly just some farms and vineyards dotted around the hills but all very lovely. After lunch, we crossed the border into Italy for the 2nd time this trip, but were not saying goodbye to Slovenia just yet - we’ll be back…… tomorrow! Tonight, we’re having Pizza in Trieste.

Time

6h24m

Distance

60.7km

Speed

12.4km/h

Ascent

920m

Descent

1,130m

, and like this.

September 17, 2025

That is quite an altitude loss and gain in one day!

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