Europe border closings.

[davidflorence]

I am new to cycling but would like to ride in Europe in the Spring. We hear of the border closings. How will that affect the cycle routes?

[DaveB]

Unless things change dramatically, there are no border checkpoints in the EU and your passport (I assume you are an American or Canadian) should be more than sufficient if you enter non-EU countries unless they currently require visas.

[PeteJack]

The UK's Cycle Touring Club has a fairly lengthy discussion on how migrants may affect touring http://forum.ctc.org.uk/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=101911 that you may find useful.

BTW don't let the name mislead you compared to Adventure Cycling the CTC is weak on bike touring, they are mainly an advocacy group. They have nothing remotely close to ACA maps e.g., for that you need to go to Sustrans if you're thinking of touring in the UK, the Sustrans site may have info on continental touring. If you have specific questions the CTC forum is a good place to ask, there's a lot of helpful people there.

[Westinghouse]

You might want to contact the departments of state for the countries you choose. It is possible there might be complications. For example, in`1988 I went to France to join the French Foreign Legion. Normally, an American at the border of France would have been stamped a visa and allowed to pass. The problem was there had been credible terrorist threats. After landing in London they required me and all others going to France to go to an office in London where we had to apply for visas before showing up at the border. The problems have been ongoing, on-and-off for a very long time. You should have a smooth road. Sometimes they have to be careful because of why certain people want to gain entry, which definitely is not for a bicycling trip. Do not worry. They are not actually closing their borders. They are watching and checking much more vigilantly than before. Nothing to  worry about but there might be complications.