Cycling Thread is an English-language website dedicated to cycling tourism. Like no other site, it highlights the best cycle routes across Europe - from scenic alpine passes in Austria and Switzerland to coastal routes in Germany and Poland, and even the more challenging landscapes of Latvia and remote Lapland.
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Hi everyone, I'm back here after a few years :) I'm Simon, a cycling travel writer and photographer based in Gdańsk, Poland, and Berlin, Germany. For many years, I've been exploring Europe on two wheels, combining my passion for long-distance cycling with storytelling and visual content.
I believe that cycling tourism can feel like sharing a glass of wine with friends - a way to enjoy time together, unwind and reconnect. A bike trip can be one of the most meaningful ways to spend time with others - especially in these tech-driven times.
In creating Cycling Thread, I focus on well-developed infrastructure and promoting cycling tourism as an accessible form of recreation for everyone.
The site features practical guides, honest impressions, and original photography - often shot with a drone. I focus on well-developed infrastructure, local culture, and slow, immersive travel experiences. I also collaborate with regional tourism boards to promote cyclist-friendly destinations.
Feel free to visit www.cyclingthread.com - and if you're working on anything related to cycling tourism, I'm always happy to connect :-)
Thanks Szymon. Having done 5 cycle tours in Europe myself (2 self guided through agencies and 3 on my own), I can say that any extra resources towards promoting this form of tourism are a huge help. One of the areas where many cyclists encounter problems which would be good to blog about is transporting their bikes. More bike stores that assist with boxing a bike at an end point so that you can bring it on the plane are needed (or help locating ones that assist in this regard). Often people do not want to take a 6 hour bus to the start point (and even if they do they don't have a place to store their original bike box). On a recent tour I was able to fly to Munich and unbox at the airport and then find a bike store to rebox and transport us to the airport. It would be great if more bike stores offered this service (boxing and transport). Thanks for creating this great resource!
Thanks for the kind words :)
I still remember our first flight-and-cardboard bike trip to Norway - a nightmare! :D Maybe that's why now I am such a big fan of taking bikes on trains :)
Cycling tourism definitely needs a lot of how-to content. So many things seem complicated at first, but often they're much easier than expected - there are simple solutions and services out there.
I'll see what I can do :) Ride safe!
Great site. I've linked to it on our Facebook page.
Thanks! :)
Hi Simon, thanks for sharing Cycling Thread with the Travel Massive community.
What cycling websites would you recommend for Australia (or even here in Tasmania where I live)?
PS: Great to see a beautiful and well designed Drupal website out in the wild! Travel Massive was on Drupal for 6 years until 2021 when we re-built in Elixir.
Thanks for Travel Massive, Ian! :) I've been a fan for many years and I really wish you the best with growing TM. I think communities like this are super important for the travel industry - both on the professional side and for making personal connections.
I'm afraid I can't help much with Australia :( - it's still a terra incognita for me. Hopefully that'll change one day :)
As for Drupal - I've been using it since version 6. It has always been a good fit for my needs and for my not-so-advanced IT skills. The learning curve got much steeper with version 8, but we have AI now ;), so it helps me fill in the gaps and handle more complex things.
But I also just want to say that the way Travel Massive is built is really impressive. The interface is very well thought out and detailed - it really feels like it was made by someone who knows his craft. It's a real pleasure to use.
All the best and thanks again! :)
S.
Would you mind if I sometimes shared a few updates or tips here in the comments - so it is not just a one-time post? Every chance to show how great cycling tourism can be is really worth it :)
Just a few days ago I put together a list of the best trains for cyclists. What makes a train one of the best? It should have proper bike space, easy ticketing, wide doors, enough room inside to move your bike around and simple, low mounted racks (so you don't have to lift your bike too high). And of course it should run along a good cycle route.
Here are our top cyclist-friendly trains that check all those boxes:
www.cyclingthread.com/top-11-bicycle-friendly-trains-best-practices-in-cycling-tourism-2025
One I really recommend is the Loire à Vélo train in France. It runs along the famous cycle route and even has a bike steward on board! One train can carry up to 50 bikes, twice a day. I also love clever bike&train solutions like the special shuttle between Mallnitz and Böckstein on the Alpe-Adria route, or the Micotra train from Udine to Villach, which has a whole carriage just for bicycles.
I also really appreciate that more and more fast long-distance trains now accept bikes, just like Germany's ICE trains. Not long ago bikes didn't fit the image of high-speed trains like the TGV or Pendolino. But now it's becoming totally normal for cycling tourists to want to cover longer distances quickly and comfortably.
More soon, ride safe! :)
S.
Of course, please share any new updates in the comments!