Welcome to my journal of the 90 days I spent in Europe in 2023, bikepacking my version of the European Divide Trail

The European Divide Trail GPX files were published in 2021, and reported on in Bikepacking Magazine in 2022. https://bikepacking.com/routes/european-divide-trail/ The comments section can be quite enlightening / entertaining if you have the time to read them.

The route files are available on http://europeandividetrail.com/ but be careful of how recently they have been updated. The route I set out on had been modified quite a bit between when I downloaded it in mid 2022, and when I stated in March 2023.

The route appealed because of its length - heading to Europe from New Zealand, you better make the 20+hrs in the air worth the effort - and the offroad-ness promised. It did not disappoint and cudos to Andy Cox for developing and sharing this amazing route.

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I departed New Zealand on 21 March, via SFO to Amsterdam for a few days rest and then on to Faro to ride to the start at Cape St Vincent for a planned start date of 28 March.

This is my journal written from the trail:

Flights all worked as planned, except for the minor glitch of no bags on arrival in Amsterdam.

I'm hoping the cause was the short connection at SFO and the bags simply missed the flight to Amsterdam.

This theory will be tested today when the next KLM flight arrives from SFO, so for now I'm waiting impatiently in Amsterdam!

Flight to Portugal is not until late afternoon Friday, so there is still time to resolve the situation before I need to start re-booking and making insurance claims.

The process of selecting and packing was made significantly easier by the 2 week training camp on the Sounds to Sounds route. Plus I've been assured that Decathlon have all the sporting equipment I might never need!

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