Schteffaknee

I'm planning to set off on a European bike tour early this September. I'm starting in Holland and hoping to travel through Germany, France and Spain as well as potentially some other countries. The only touring experience I've had is this summer in Snowdonia (Wales) I crossed a couple of mountain passes (on rough tracks) although nothing over 800 meters and nothing that couldn't be managed within one days ride.
I'm wondering if I should avoid the alps entirely as it will be autumn when I get there or if there are any relatively easy passes I could do. Does anyone have an estimation of how long they take to cross - for the average tourer?
Many thanks for any related info!
Steph

Pedaleur

My guess is your biggest challenge will be fading light earlier and earlier (losing five minutes a day or so).

But Swiss trains are pretty good, and local trains in France will take bikes, so worse comes to worst you hop a train to a warmer clime. Well, the worst is you freeze to death on some God-forsaken pass, but if you pay attention to the weather, that's unlikely.

Schteffaknee

Thanks for the reply. Yes good to know I can just hop on a train if i need to

toyamo

And you shouldn't forget that you have to carry all your stuff and luggage with you. That will make it much more exhausting.

speedwobbles

I think the daylight could be an issue. Early snowfalls could also be a problem.

As for which ones are "easy", I'm not really sure. I did Grenoble to Turin in a day last August... but it certainly wasn't an easy ride.