Does anyone know how to get elevation profiles for EuroVelo routes?

[singingcyclist]

Hello.  I'm planning my first tour in Europe, and knowing the kind of hills I'll face on the way would be really helpful.

I searched for this info online and struck out. Anyone here have the skinny?

Thanks!

Joe

[JHamelman]

Hi Joe,

While Eurovelo does not seem to give actual elevation profiles, they do have an elevation category on the page below that might be helpful:

http://www.eurovelo.com/en/our-offers#c9=1&c9=12&c10=100&c10=1000&b_start=0

If you click through to the route you are looking for, it appears there is a general elevation profile for each one here:

https://www.biroto.eu/en/cycle-routes

I hope this helps!

Best,
Jennifer

[singingcyclist]

Hi Jennifer,

Thanks for the tip. That got me closer, but still a long way from destination. In order to get attached, here are the steps I went through

- create account at https://www.biroto.eu
- search on "EuroVelo"
- select a route
- download GPX (customize to include elevation)
- convert GPX to KML
- open in Google Earth
- expand new folder and highlight Tracks
- right click and select Show Elevation Profile

I wouldn't mind doing this for other routes if end results were more useful-- I'd even post it where others riders could find it-- but it leaves much to be desired.  I want to believe someone has created better elevation profiles for these. Will keep searching. Thanks again

[HobbesOnTour]

I would also suggest Biroto - it's a fabulous resource for European routes.
But I'd stay a million miles away from Google - my experience (in Europe) is that it is not for planning anything except perhaps where's the nearest X?

I've just tested it quickly and downoading the simple gpx file from Biroto (EuroVelo 7) and uploading it to RidewithGPS will give you the elevation profile.

Similarly, RWGPS is sometimes very handy if other people have created a route you want to follow - just search - of course it may have been adapted from the "official" route.

If you want more accurate elevation info https://cycle.travel/ will show it for shorter routes - not for an entire EV route. As well as giving an indication of surfaces.

Hope that helps

[singingcyclist]

Thank you Hobbes.  I hadn't heard of RidewithGPS-- I'll check it out!

[HobbesOnTour]

If you haven't heard of RidewithGPS I assume that you are not familiar with using gps? (RWGPS is just one of many sites/apps used for route planning)

Depending on what EV route you are using, there will be very useful guidebooks available, usually in English with another language too. Bikeline are one brand. These will not cover the entire route, but sections of routes. Since the EV routes are not complete in all cases, the books are not either!  Some of the routes are well signposted, others are well signposted in sections. The books are handy not just from a navigation point of view but from a historical and cultural perspective, highlighting interesting detours and local sites of interest.

http://www.stanfords.co.uk/ is the goto place for maps and guidebooks.

Maybe throw up some more detail of your intended route?

[singingcyclist]

Thanks again Hobbes.  Nothing final, there's so much I'd like to see. 

 *  Amsterdam, Berlin, Prague (EV2 & 4)
 *  Netherlands south, through Belgium (Bruges!) and into France (EV3)
 *  The river route (EV6), especially Bavaria and The Danube
 *  Down the Rhine, w side trip on the Mosel  (EV15)

I've hurt my brain trying to imagine a route that captures all of these, but maybe that's an unrealistic goal, and I'd need 2-3 different tours to cover all this. After all, it's one thing to look at lines on a map, quite another to pedal them! 

[singingcyclist]

Also, I downloaded GPS info for nine of the EuroVelo routes, and was able to pull them into Google Earth. 

 I've posted them here in case it could be helpful to someone else down the road--   http://bit.ly/2J6bhv8

[HobbesOnTour]

Well, that sure is a whole lot of cycling! And a lot of time!

Amsterdam to Prague is pretty much the opposite direction to Netherlands south down to France! :-)

Ev6 is the hilly one!

I've done most of those with the exception of the Berlin/Prague part.
Some comments:
Personally, I wouldn't cycle Amsterdam to Berlin. Nothing wrong with it, but there's more attractive places out there.
The Rhine is great, but some parts are definitely better than others. Specifically, the section from Cologne down to Mainz is probably the most scenic and the most along the river.
Ditto the Danube. By far the most popular (and busiest) is Passau to Vienna. Glorious! After Budapest and heading for the Black Sea it is a lot less developed.
(It's entirely possible to link the Rhine & Danube routes in Switzerland).
France is great to cycle through, but I wouldn't be a slave to an EV route.

With a bit of planning it's possible to create a pretty impressive circular tour covering a lot of what you want to do - but it'll be months on the road.

Here's a handy hint: Using cycle.travel, create an account and start creating simple routes such as Amsterdam to Berlin. Create a few routes like this forming a rough circle. Put all those routes in one folder (max 20) and when you click on the "map" icon, all the routes will be presented on one European map.
If you go back in and fill preferences like average speed etc. each route on the map will give you estimated mileage and time to complete. You can then go back and look at routes in detail or add alternatives to see which suit the best.

Don't forget there are lots of local routes that are just as well developed (and sometimes better than) the EV routes. In fact, I've just added one to my wishlist - The Iron Curtain trail, basically a route along the old West/East border in Germany.
Biroto is useful for those as are the likes of RWGPS and cycle.travel - in fact any planner that allows you to search other people's routes.

As always, have a look on CrazyGuyOnABike for others who have done similar.
Have fun! 

[singingcyclist]

Hey, thanks again for the tips! 

I'd never heard of cycle.travel before-- will check it out (and crazyguyonbike)

[hankj]

Hi - I tour in Europe quite regularly.  I see you'll do the low countries - they have great resources for route planning.

The Netherland Cycle Route Planner lets you put in your start and finish, add waypoints, then pick from a variety of routes for them: fastest, most car free, most scenic, most recreational, etc.  You can download the gpx tracks and then upload them to your favored guidance system.  I used Komoot in June and it worked acceptably well in Europe where they are based.  Or print maps.  Or list Knooppunt numbers (Google it - you can cycle all over the Netherlands with just a list of numbers to guide you).

https://en.routeplanner.fietsersbond.nl/

Belgium has their own version of the same.  http://www.fietsroute.org/cycle-node-planner

Komoot itself can be used for point to point route planning and tend to track to known cycleways pretty well.  It gives user-friendly elevation profiles and tells you which surface types you'll encounter.

When you are planning, don't forget that the train system is excellent and does a pretty good job accomodating bicycle.  Best in Belgium, then Holland, then Germany, Austria, Switzerland and France are not at all bad either.   Each country has its own rules for bikes on trains, but you can figure it out.  Some tips if you use any trains: smaller stations are usually easier that big ones, minimize connections, use the more local trains that stop more often as they tend to be low-entry and more geared toward accommodating bikes, look for the bike symbol on the outside of the train and that's where you belong.  Anyway, strategic train rides can make for more highlight-oriented cycling.

[singingcyclist]

Thank you for the suggestions