As with last year's trip planning page, this page is intended as a resource for those of us planning to make our trips to CMWC 2002 more than just a long weekend in Copenhagen. I think the page last year served its purpose pretty well, and hopefully it can be just as, if not more, useful this year.

The focus of this page is likely to be on routing for those planning to ride from mainland Europe to Copenhagen - I'm assuming most riders from the British Isles and Scandanavia likely have an idea of how theyre going to get to Copenhagen, and most of the group rides are likely to occur on the main European landmass. That being said, though, routing through non-mainland Europe certainly won't be excluded! I'd be lying if i didn't think messengers cycling across Russia from Asia to get to CMWC wouldn't be the coolest thing ever... There's also some stuff here directed at people looking to make a trip out of the ECMC in Rotterdam as well.

I'll be starting to plan my own route in greater detail, and buy good maps in the coming months - which will inevitably be followed by me posting further route details for my travels as they come into focus. This page, however, shouldn't turn into an exhibition of what I think people should be doing with their vacations - instead, it should be a tool for other messengers who are interested in planning an ambitious vacation of their own. Any such individuals should feel free to email me with any route or event information that might go well on this page!

I should note that the routes listed below are suggested rough outlines of routes. But don't take this to mean that these are the only ways to get places! The beauty of cycle touring is that you can alter your plans at will - with good maps, you can practically route yourself as you go from day to day. Most of the touring I've done has only been planned in the roughest of senses - I create a framework of a route, know the time i have available, and alter my plans as neccessary to make the stops that catch my eye. I firmly beleive this is the best way to structure a tour.

Note also that the CMWC 2002 crew has obtained SAS as a sponsor, which means special convention fares available to CMWC participants. The convention code should be available within a few weeks now, and when it is, you'll be able to check out fares through your local SAS office, or you can look into it online.

• Post Danmark Rundt - 13-17 Aug 02 - Otherwise known as the Tour of Denmark. Good stuff, usually ends in Fredricksberg, which is Copenhagen, for all practical purposes.

• Warriors 2002, NYC - 24-25 Aug 02 - Seen the movie? Now ride the race! Possible charter plane to CPH?

• 10:20 Berlin - 23-26 Aug 02 - Mo's setting this one up, alleycats, velodrome, sprints, chill! Group ride to Copenhagen via Poland (Gorzow, Svinemunde). (flyer)

• Hamburg > CMWC ride - 28-30 Aug 02 - Tibor is organizing a ride from Hamburg to Copenhagen

• CMWC 2002 Copenhagen! - 29 Aug - 02 Sep 02 - Well duh!

• EuroVelo - European cycle network homepage.

• Trento bike pages - excellent online resource made up of narratives of other people's bike tours.

• Online train timetables - for all of Europe - check details for travelling with a bike, though.

• Bike touring packing list and general advice - What I take on a 2-week bike tour - will work quite satisfactorily for longer tours. Also some random bits of touring advice.

• Advice on flying with your bike - Check as baggage or ship ahead? How do I avoid paying airline fees for my bike?

• Currency converter - One of several available, covers plenty of currencies.

• Use It - Tourist information center for travellers on a low budget in Copenhagen.

• Basic maps of Northern European countries - for general route planning:
  Baltic States & St. Petersburg area| Belgium | Denmark | Finland | Germany
  Norway | Netherlands | Poland | Sweden
  

Those of you who aren't as into maps as I am may prefer to carry the larger full-country or sectional maps published by either Kummerly + Frey or Michelin - the Kummerly + Frey maps being preferable, simply because the Michelin country maps don't reliably show bike paths! The Michelin maps, however, are more readily available in the states, and are just fine if you're planning on using main roads for travel anyhow.

If you're in the US, a good source for almost all the maps listed below (which are sometimes not as easily available in the states) is a company by the name of Omnimap - they have map indexes online, so you don't have to wonder which maps cover the area you're planning to ride through. Any well-stocked travel or map store should be able to get any of these maps, though - you might have to special order, but they're not unobtainable. Maps are typically going to be anywhere from 10-50% cheaper in the country of origin - the maps of Switzerland I like cost $15.50 there, but $25 here in the US - if you've got a basic route planned already, it may be more cost-effective to buy maps and plan exact routing when you get where you're going.

If you want a resource for basic route planning, and don't want to buy big maps, I'd suggest making use of the Univ. of Texas map collection - it's online, and has all kinds of basic maps. The best ones to use are the one labeled "shaded relief" - they show a fair amount of cities and rivers, with enough relief to give you a basic idea of mountains.