Touring - A lot of questions about touring Europe cheaply

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aidy
06-22-09, 03:10 PM
Hi all,

Something about me first: I'm 19, fairly skinny (under 60kg for 175cm), can ride centuries without much trouble and I get by on small amounts of food - I have been trying to eat a lot lately. Doesn't do anything for the weight though :)
I live in Belgium.

Anyway, I have about 150 euros and I was thinking of touring Europe for a few weeks on the cheap. There are a few problems:

Of my own I only got an old dutch three speed frame with a flip flop hub (44/15,18) and 700x23C tyres. While I don't really care about the ride quality that much, obviously it's a bit flaky putting a lot of weight on those wheels... manufacture a trailer?
My aunt has two bicycles I think, might be able to borrow one. They even have gears, how great is that!
If I go with the 44/15,18 gearing, I'm not sure I can even get past say, the Ardennes :D
I wouldn't mind walking if that meant I'd progress though. Another thing is that with 23mm tyres I can't do dirt roads, which would exclude eastern europe.

Now, as to where to head - does anyone have any suggestions? I speak Hungarian, and the family has an appartment in Harkány (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hark%C3%A1ny) so that might be nice. Prague is on the route.
I could also follow coast up all the way up to Danmark maybe.
Doesn't matter that much to me actually I just like being out there...

As for washing and camping, has anyone done any wild/stealth camping in western and eastern Europe?
I'm not that concerned about the east as say Hungary is very rural with places nobody ever comes by and even ghost towns and whatnot, I'm more concerned about wild camping here.

Say, in the Ardennes, I'm pretty sure farmers would let me stay on their land if I asked and I could help out a bit maybe but I don't know about other places.

What about public rest rooms? There are a lot of them on the highways but I don't think I've ever seen one on secondary roads/roads where bikes are allowed.

It just occured to me that I could use couchsurfing.com... Requires internet access unless I use my host's internet to plan a few days ahead or something.

As for camping gear, I would love to use a hammock but I don't have one so I'll have to do it with a tent.
How much money should I account for daily? I know I can get by on 5 euros for a few days if I eat bread or noodles (even cheaper) and vegetables. That's without biking 80-120kms a day though :D

Thanks a lot!


TheBrick
06-23-09, 04:19 AM
If you're in Belgium check out Decathlon for cheap sleeping bags and tents. My girlfriend and I bought the T3 Ultralight last year and it's served us well over several trips bike and car camping. Last summer they had a deal on the T2 (2 man, 2kg) + sleeping bag (800g) + self inflating sleeping mat.

No stealth camping on the main land for me I'm afraid, only in the UK, which is even denser populated in most parts. I've got on ok.

I'd say get a job and save up a few hundred more euros so you can at least no have to worry about eating. A couple of weeks agency work will get you plenty.

stevage
06-23-09, 06:18 AM
"Public restrooms" are the least of your problems.
Your bike sounds like it will either by in a rustic sort of way, or totally suck.
You know more about how much it will cost to feed you than we do. I got by in france once on baguette, camembert and tomatoes. You'll probably want the odd hot meal though. If you're eating noodles, you're carrying a stove, fuel and water.
Stealth camping is easy. Find a spot just before dusk, wait till dark, camp. The biggest problem is you may not get a full night's sleep every night. Take decent maps and you should always be able to find a state/national/municipal park. Camping generally prohibited, but who'll know? Now that I think about it, I've done this in Karlovy Vary (turned out to be a public park - woken up by joggers and school kids playing soccer!) and Adrspach-Tplesky national park in Czech Republic.

Your biggest problem to me sounds like lack of money. €150 is very little, even if everything goes according to plan. At the very least you should borrow some emergency funds for food, bike parts, train back etc.