Rome to Home: bikepacking across Europe

A bikepacking trip across Europe... from Rome, Italy to our home in Newcastle upon Tyne. 3 weeks of annual leave well spent!

We reversed the ‪@ViaFrancigenaEU‬ cycle route until Basel, then followed the ‪@EuroVeloECF‬ 5 to Brussels before making our way up the coast to Amsterdam to get the ferry home. 

I plotted the route on strava:
Part 1 (Italian Via Francigena - mostly off-road):   / strava  
Part 2 (Switzerland to Amsterdam - mixed terrain):   / strava  

Follow me on Instagram here for updates of my day to day adventures:   / cait.lean.runnerbean  

We experienced amazing hospitality from ‪@warmshowers_org‬ hosts throughout our trip: https://www.warmshowers.org

Our kit:
Ben’s bike set up: ‪@BombtrackBicycleCo‬ gravel bike, ‪@TailfinCycling‬ alloy top trunk/pannier, ‪@Restrapltd‬ handbar/top tube/frame bags. Exposure lights.
Caitlin’s bike set up: Scott gravel speedster, Restrap saddle bag, Lifeline toplife tube bag, ‪@alpkit‬ handlebar bag.
Camping set up: Alpkit Ordos 2/cloud base/cooking pots.
Non-essential essentials:
Spoon: generic bamboo spoon.
Nappy cream: zinc is key!
Coffee filter: ‪@GSIOutdoorsLLC‬ Javadrip https://ultralightoutdoorgear.co.uk/u...
Pocket sized rucksack: https://www.ospreyeurope.com/shop/gb_...
Neck flap: ‪@AléCycling-d6c‬ Corsario

0:00 Introduction
0:15 Italy
6:57 Switzerland
9:23 France
11:17 Germany
11:28 Luxembourg
12:33 Belgium
15:05 Netherlands
15:15 Bikepacking essentials
16:04 Netherlands (part 2)
18:17 Newcastle-upon-tyne

Music from Uppbeat:
https://uppbeat.io/t/zayner/another-c...
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https://uppbeat.io/t/soundroll/this-s...
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https://uppbeat.io/t/andrey-rossi/sei...
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https://uppbeat.io/t/paul-yudin/summe...
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https://uppbeat.io/t/infraction/do-it
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https://uppbeat.io/t/atm/follow-your-...
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https://uppbeat.io/t/cruen/in-the-now
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https://uppbeat.io/t/andrey-rossi/dis...
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