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Where am I going ?
My rough Route Plan
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Starting in North Wales and taking a route through Northern and Eastern Europe to arrive in Istanbul seems like a very long way around but cycling long distances is like elephant eating.
One bite at a time until its finished.
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Japan is LONG way off so I have broken it down to sections. If I manage part one then I can try the rest.
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Lets face it, I am 62 and I'm doing this on a tight budget. Knees, back, money or willpower might run out before I reach Japan.​​​​​​
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Countries on the route
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France, Belgium, Netherlands, Germany, Denmark, Sweden, Finalnd, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Czechia, Solvakia, Hungary, Serbia, Montenegro, Albania, North Macedonia, Greece, Bulgaria, and Turkie.
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The route may incude Ukraine and Austria depending on visa restrictions.
Heading 6
The journey starts in Yr Wyddgrug (Mold), North Wales before I sneak over the border to Chester, where I was born. From then it should be a gentle ride down to Dover as I get used to pedalling for several hours a day on a fully loaded bike again.
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Crossing the channel I'm heading north through France, Belgium, Netherlands, and Germany where I will visit the factory in Oldenberg that made my bike.
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After that, I head into Denmark to see the Jelling stones and cross over to Sweden. Then a ferry to Finland before heading back south.
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The journey south takes me through Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, and squeezing between the closed borders of Belarus and Russian Kallingrad.
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Reachng Poland, the route gets a little more flexible. At this point the days left on the Schengen visa may make a week in the west of Ukraine a smart idea. It would also allow me to visit the people who made my bags.
The route will certainly see me in Warsaw and Krakow before passing to Czechia, Slovakia, possibly Austria before arriving in Hungary.
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Leaving Hungary means entering Serbia and leaving the EU. This is outside the Schengen Visa zone so the time pressue lifts as the route leads me to Montenegro, Albania and North Macedonia.
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As I enter Greece and Bulgaria I return once more to the EU and visa restictions. Finally entering Turkie I begin to leave Europe completely and sit upon the cusp of Asia.
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That should cover close to 8000 km (5000 miles) and if I am still full of fizz I will plan the next section that takes me into Asia through Gerogia, into the "Stans" and on to China.