Planning bike ride from Germany to Austria, Group of 20: looking for local cycling knowledge 🚴
Hi everyone,
We’re a charity cycling group from the UK preparing for a 5-day ride this July from Munich to Vienna. There will be around 20 of us riding together, covering roughly 450 miles across the full challenge.
We already have our provisional routes planned on Strava, but we’ve realised something important from previous European rides:
A route that looks good on a map is not always practical for a large group in real life.
In some countries, cycle lanes and shared-use paths have been fantastic. In others, we’ve encountered:
• narrow paths
• rough surfaces
• barriers/bollards
• heavy pedestrian traffic
• frequent stopping points
• sections that split large groups apart
For a group of our size, that can become difficult both practically and from a safety perspective.
So before finalising our routes, we’re hoping to connect with local cyclists from Germany and Austria who know these roads and cycling networks properly.
We’d really appreciate advice on:
• routes between Munich and Vienna that work well for larger groups
• areas where cycle lanes are effectively mandatory
• stretches that become difficult for groups to stay together
• road sections that are commonly used by cycling clubs
• places to avoid
• local cycling etiquette or legal expectations we should know about
We absolutely want to ride respectfully and within local rules — we’re simply trying to make the journey as safe, smooth, and realistic as possible for a large organised group.
If anyone would be willing to review sections of our Strava routes or even point us towards local cycling clubs/communities along the way, we’d be hugely grateful.
Thank you in advance 🚴🇩🇪🇦🇹