European Challenge

Overview

Ride across a continent, from the North Sea to the Mediterranean, from the Netherlands to Belgium, Luxembourg, Germany, Switzerland, France and Spain. Discover Europe on a challenging ride of unsurpassed beauty.

We’ll meet in Amsterdam and head south through the Netherlands, Belgium and Luxembourg—enjoying gentle terrain on bike paths and bike routes. Averaging 70 miles per day, we’ll make our way to Alsace-Lorraine and ride along the Rhine. We’ll roll into Switzerland and have spectacular views of the snowcapped Alps as we skirt the western shore of beautiful Lake Thun. We’ll dip into the mountains at Gstaad and Château d’Oex—classic Swiss villages nestled in deep green valleys with charming chalets in town and cows grazing on every hillside. Riding out of Château d’Oex will be our first real test as we climb up and over the Col de Mosses (4,470 feet). We’ll spill out of the Alps into the Rhône River valley and head towards France at the far end of Lake Geneva.
We’ll ride across France through sunflower fields and past ancient vineyards.

During our last week on the bikes, we’ll tackle the challenge of crossing the steep, rugged Pyrenees and ride triumphantly into Spain. We’ll make our way to the Mediterranean where we’ll race down to the water for a celebratory swim. At trip’s end in Barcelona, we’ll look back on four weeks of beauty, challenge, friendship and fun on Overland’s European Challenge.

“My trip was awesome, and my leaders rocked.”  Stoddard Meigs, Newton, Massachusetts

Highlights

• Bike from the North Sea to the Mediterranean
• Explore the Netherlands, Belgium, Luxembourg, Germany, Switzerland, France & Spain
• Cross the Alps and Pyrenees by bicycle
• Swim in the Mediterranean

Grade

For students who will finish grades 9-12 in June 2010.

Call us (800.458.0588) to check on current availability.

Challenge Level

9 (1-10, 1 is easiest)

Start and End Location

Starts in Amsterdam, the Netherlands

Ends in Barcelona, Spain

Families are responsible for making travel arrangements to and from the trip start/end locations. Overland’s leaders will be on hand at the arrival and departure airports to provide supervision and assistance. The European Challenge starts in Amsterdam, the Netherlands at the Amsterdam Schiphol International Airport and ends in Barcelona, Spain at the Barcelona International Airport.

Dates and Fees

4 Weeks

Sunday, June 27 to Saturday, July 24

$5395 (airfare not included)

“I absolutely loved the trip!  My leaders were excellent, and we had a strong group of riders.” Allegra Robertson, Williamstown, Massachusetts

Itinerary

Trip Start

European Challenge starts at the Amsterdam Schiphol International Airport in the Netherlands. Once everyone has arrived, we’ll travel to a small town just outside of Amsterdam to set up camp and build our bikes.

The Netherlands, Belgium, Luxembourg and Germany

The Netherlands are known for exceptional bike paths and bike routes, a perfect location for the beginning of our journey. We'll spend the first few days getting used to our fully loaded bikes as we head south. By the third day, we'll start riding through the Ardennes of Benelux... small, but steep hills, a good test for what's to come. Biking through northeast France in Alsace also contributes a few medium climbs. We'll ride through Luxemburg and then spend one night in Germany and swing back into France where we'll enjoy our first buffer day (see below) as we relax in the hills of Lorraine, enjoying fresh croissants and resting up for the challenges that will face us in the coming week as we ride through Switzerland.

Switzerland

As we ride into Switzerland, we'll head straight for Bern and the Bernese Oberland. We'll be faced with two 1,000 meter passes as we ride through green valleys and small Swiss towns complete with charming chalets and cows grazing on the hillsides. We'll ride through Gstaad and Chateau d'Oex before spilling out into the Rhone River valley to the shores of Lake Geneva on our way back to France.

France

We'll ride through the foothills of the Alps and into the heart of France, through vineyards and ancient cities. We'll head southwest through Provence, towards the Roman Amphitheater in Orange before skirting the Massif Central. We'll have a rest day in Carcasonne, one of Europe's best preserved Medieval walled cities, and have a chance to rest and explore the city before heading into the final week of our trip.

Spain

From Carcasonne, we'll head into the challenging, yet beautiful Pyrenees. After three weeks together on our bikes, we will be in shape and ready to face the challenges we'll encounter climbing through this spectacular mountain range. Our efforts will be rewarded as we cross into Spain (at over 6000 feet!) and make our way down to Barcelona for a well deserved celebratory swim in the Mediterranean.

Is This A Sightseeing Trip?

No. The European Challenge is not a tour with planned excursions to museums or monuments. Instead, the route is designed to show you-- as you ride-- the beauty of Europe's countryside and the charm of its many and varied, small towns and villages.

Buffer Days

During each section of the trip, there are buffer days built into the itinerary to allow for delays en route. Most groups will find that they have some of these buffer days partially or completely off of the bikes for rest, relaxation and exploration on foot.

Trip End in Barcelona

After our triumphant ride into Barcelona, we'll pack up our bikes, prepare for our flights home and celebrate our accomplishments together. We'll spend an afternoon exploring Barcelona, reminiscing about our month together riding across Europe.

“The European Challenge challenged Zoe’s physical strength but more importantly it challenged her mental and emotional strength. She learned a lot about herself on many fronts.” Joan Fox, Long Lake, Minnesota

Trip Details

STUDENTS: IS THIS THE RIGHT TRIP FOR YOU?

Only you can answer this question. We suggest you start the decision making process by reading everything on our website about the trip. Then, email us with any questions you have. Then, talk to students who have done the trip (we can give you references).

To start your thinking about the European Challenge, consider the following:

1. There are many kinds of challenge on the European Challenge:

• Mileage: Long days on the bike-- typically 70+ miles a day.
• Weather: Widely varying weather... from rain in Holland to cold nights in the Alps to sunny, hot days in Spain.
• Minor Illness & Injury: over the course of four weeks there's a good chance that you'll catch a cold or that you'll fall off your bike and bruise an elbow or scrape up a thigh-- nothing too serious but still a challenge when you're far from home and working hard.
• Homesickness: even if you've never had it before, there will likely be times when you long for the comforts and ease of home.
• Camping Out: you'll get very comfortable sleeping out but you'll still miss the familiarity of your own bed, the ease and efficiency of screens and windows to keep bugs out, rain off and air-conditioned air in.
• Group Living: group meals, group snacks, group cooking, group cleaning, group chores, etc. The demands of group living will be some of the most important challenges you'll face.

2. Are you ready to commit yourself to the training that is required for this trip? Think about whether or not you can commit yourself to completing the pre-trip riding—we've made it possible for even the busiest student to complete the training, but having the time and actually doing the riding are two different things.

3. Are you ready to commit yourself wholeheartedly to a demanding group experience? The European Challenge is all about the group succeeding, about the group getting the miles done, about the group enjoying the highs together (biking over the Alps!)... and sticking together through the lows (tough headwinds). Are you the kind of person who can put his or her own needs and wants after those of a group?

"It was better than I could have imagined!" Everett Wolf, Austin, Texas

PARENTS: WHAT YOU NEED TO UNDERSTAND

Every summer we get a handful of phone calls from parents who ask questions that reveal to us that they really don't understand what the European Challenge is all about.

These questions often put the European Challenge in the context of a bike tour for adults that stays in luxury accommodations (we camp out) and where fine dining is the norm (we shop for our food every day and make meals for 14 people using two small camp stoves). The parents who ask these questions simply haven't paid attention (and they are relatively easy to get back on track).

The more difficult questions to respond to are the ones from parents who wonder why their son or daughter can't do what he or she wants. "Why can't my daughter just buy her own snacks (or lunch... or dinner... or dessert)." "Why can't my son ride ahead of the group... he's so much faster than the others?" What these parents have failed to grasp is that the European Challenge is a chance for their son or daughter to see beyond his/her own needs and wants, to see the needs of the group before his/her own. In this way, the European Challenge is a chance to become a caring friend... a terrific group member... an exceptional leader.

The European Challenge is a chance for your son or daughter to be challenged in ways that school and sports might never have. Riding a bike is not technically difficult—but riding across Europe with 13 other people is one of the hardest sustained challenges we can imagine. For your son or daughter to succeed on and enjoy the European Challenge you have to be on board and committed to the goals of the trip so that you can help your son or daughter understand what it is they are to be a part of.

DAILY ROUTINE

We'll get up before sunrise every morning and be on the bikes by shortly after first light. We'll bike for a couple of hours before stopping for a morning snack. We'll bike until 10 or 11 before we stop again for another snack and then continue until 1 or 2 before we stop for lunch. The afternoon riding is broken up by a snack stop or two. Depending on the day's mileage and delays en route, the goal is to pull into our overnight accommodations (typically a campground) between 4 p.m. and 6 p.m. There will be shorter days and longer days—if the day gets too long we'll change our plans and stop for the night before reaching our planned destination (and we'll make up the mileage in the coming days).

MEALS, SNACKS & COLD DRINKS

Breakfasts are generally made up of bread, croissants, cereal, fruit, juice and milk. A typical morning snack is fruit and some sort of bread or croissant. Lunch is usually sandwiches, cheese, fruit, chips and cookies. Based on the availability of stores along our route one afternoon stop a day will include cold drinks (for example, cold water, juice or Gatorade purchased by Overland) and a salty snack (chips, pretzels or crackers). Popular dinners include pasta, chicken and stir-frys.

Overland's goal is to always provide more food than is needed so that everyone-- no matter how big their appetite-- gets enough. Each group will plan and prepare their meals everyday. Over the course of the first week or so groups develop a comfortable routine around meals and their favorite meals become established.

Please note that every meal, snack and cold drink on the European Challenge is provided by Overland and is shared by the group. This asks a lot of everyone in the group: even though it would be easy to allow students to buy their own meals and snacks if they wanted, doing so would break down the cohesiveness of the group. Getting 14 people across Europe on bikes requires tremendous teamwork-- sharing meals, snacks and drinks is an important building block of that teamwork.

“The past two summers have been the two best summers of my life. In 2008, I had an incredible time biking over 3000 miles in the US, and in 2009, I biked over 1300 miles through beautiful mountain passes and the European countryside. I met amazing people, challenged myself and had a blast!  Thank you so much for these absolutely amazing experiences.” Julia Harbaugh, Westfield, New Jersey

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Prepare & Pack

European Challenge

Preparing for the Biking

Training ahead of time is essential to your success on an Overland bike trip.  Training will enable you to enjoy your trip and to ride safely this summer.  Please review the training guidelines on the Pre-Trip Training page.

Fully Self-Contained Bicycle Trips

Overland bicycle tours are self-contained—meaning there is no van support. You will carry all of your belongings, plus some group gear, on a sturdy rack mounted over the back wheel of your bike. You will hang panniers (these are saddlebags, pronounced “pan-yers”) off the rack and attach gear like your sleeping bag and sleeping pad to the top of the rack using bungee cords.

Packing for Your Trip

Our packing list is designed to keep you safe and comfortable while biking and camping this summer. Keep in mind, however, that there are a wide range of products available in terms of clothing and equipment. Overland programs are relatively short and although you want your clothing and equipment to be durable, this does not mean it has to be top of the line. Often times more basic and less expensive options perform just as well. Some of our favorite brands in terms of quality of product for a reasonable price include REI, EMS and L.L.Bean.

Label the following items with your name, address and phone number. Bring only what you need and pack everything in your panniers. You can tape or strap your panniers together to check them as one piece of luggage. Please take your helmet and sleeping bag and pad with you on the plane as carry-on items in case your checked luggage fails to arrive on time.

Please bring only the clothes listed below. Do not wear an extra set of clothes for the flight. By layering you will stay cool on warm days, dry on rainy days and warm on cool nights. You will have the chance to do laundry periodically.

Clothing

• Fleece Jacket or Pullover & Long Fleece Pants
  To stay warm on cool nights. Your fleece can also double as a pillow.


• Synthetic Long Underwear Top & Bottom
  To stay warm on cool nights. Top can also be used as an extra layer while biking on cooler days.


• Winter Hat
  To stay warm on cool nights.


• Waterproof, Breathable Rain Jacket
  Your rain gear must be waterproof (not just water and/or wind resistant). GoreTex is one of the better-known waterproof, breathable fabrics, but there are many of these fabrics to choose from. Ponchos are not acceptable as they are difficult to ride in and don't provide the same protection that a rain jacket does.


• Padded Bike Shorts
  Two pairs. These are spandex shorts with a padded seat called a chamois. Bike shorts should fit snugly and feel comfortable to reduce chafing and any discomforts from sitting on a bike seat for long distance rides.


• Around Camp Shorts
  One pair. Athletic shorts work well around camp as they are comfortable to wear, light and compressible to pack.


• T-Shirts
  Four: three for biking (at least one synthetic), one for around camp. Bike jerseys are not necessary. You'll need at least one synthetic shirt for inclement weather, otherwise cotton is fine.


• Underwear
  Four. Typically underwear is not worn under bike shorts, but you'll need some for around camp and days off.


• Socks
  Four pairs; at least one warm, synthetic pair for inclement weather and around camp.


• Pajamas
  One pair only. Pajamas aren't required as many students sleep in shorts and a t-shirt.


• Bathing Suit
  One only. Boys should bring a Speedo as many pools in Europe require it...sorry guys.


• Sport Sandals
  With a heel strap for swimming and around camp. Good quality flip-flops or crocs are also okay if that is all you have.

Biking & Camping Equipment

• Touring Bicycle & Rear Rack
  Please see our The Right Bicycle For Your Overland Trip page. The Trek 520, the Cannondale Touring 2 or the Surly Long Haul Trucker is recommended for this trip and the American Challenge. Keep in mind that a touring bicycle is required for this trip; if you have trouble finding or fitting one of the recommended touring bikes, please contact Ashley Ransom at ashley@overlandprograms.com.


• Panniers & Four Bungee Cords
  Panniers are saddlebags sold in pairs that attach to either side of your rear rack. For our trips you will want large panniers, 2700-3500 cubic inches total, designed for touring. One large pannier has internal dimensions of approximately 17" x 13" x 7". You should be able to fit all of your belongings, besides your sleeping bag and pad, into your two panniers and have some space for group gear. Consider compressibility of clothing while packing for your Overland bicycle tour.


• Spare Bike Parts & Tools
  Four spare tubes that match your bike's tire size; one pair of spare brake pads; four spare spokes that fit your wheels (two front, two rear); one tire patch kit; tire levers; one spare tire.


• Hydration System
  70-100 oz. bladder inside a small backpack (e.g., CamelBak). The simpler the better—the pack is used primarily to carry water and if it's too big and heavy or filled with other items, it will be uncomfortable to wear all day. Also attach one or two water bottles and cages to your bike frame.


• Helmet
  Carry on the plane with you.


• Biking Gloves
  Well-padded for comfort.


• Shoes For Biking
  Any comfortable touring or mountain biking shoes with bottom tread (no racing shoes).


• Sleeping Bag
  Warm to 30 degrees or less. Lightweight and compact (when stuffed in a compression stuff-sack it should be no larger than 12" x 20"). Synthetic or down is acceptable. Carry on the plane with you.


• Sleeping Pad
  Compact and either 3/4 or full length. Closed cell foam (thin and firm—e.g., RidgeRest) or self-inflating (e.g., Therm-a-Rest) is acceptable. Carry on the plane with you.


• Utensils
  6" to 8" plastic dish or bowl with top; insulated plastic mug; spoon, fork and knife. These don't need to be special camping utensils. A Rubbermaid (or similar) dish and regular utensils are fine.


• Headlamp
  Small and lightweight. This comes in very handy in camp when it's dark and you're using both hands.

Miscellaneous Gear

• Towel
  Medium size cotton towel or synthetic camping towel.


• Plastic Bags
  Ten large ziplocks and five tall kitchen trash bags. The trash bags will be used to line your panniers and to wrap your sleeping bag and pad in. The ziplocks will be used to organize and waterproof the rest of your gear.


• Toiletries
  All travel size (in a plastic bag). If necessary, you will be able to restock en route.


• Sunglasses, Sunscreen (SPF 15+), Chapstick (with SPF protection) & Insect Repellent


• Paperback Book and/or Journal
  Optional. Your group will collectively keep a group journal, and you will receive a copy of the journal at the end of the trip. If you would like to keep your own journal though, you should bring one.


• Camera/Batteries/Memory Card

Optional. Interested in seeing your photographs or videos on Overland's website next year? Bring a camera with lots of pixels (10 or more) and lots of memory (4GB or more). Buying a new camera? One of our favorites is the Canon PowerShot SD960 IS digital camera.

• Valid Passport
  Leave a photocopy of your passport at home.


• Spending Money
  $75/week for souvenirs, gifts and necessities (like more sunscreen if you run out, camera film or envelopes to mail letters). If you are flying home at the end of your trip, please bring additional money to set aside to pay the airline bike fee for your return flight.

Note: Please do not bring any type of knife or multi-tool (e.g., Swiss Army Knife, Leatherman).

We do not permit personal electronics on our programs (e.g., cellphones and iPods). We do, however, allow students who fly to their program to carry a cell phone while traveling; on arrival, Overland's leaders will collect all cell phones for the duration of the program and return them for flights home. Perhaps, a better option would be to bring a pre-paid phone card so that the leaders do not have to carry cell phones for the duration of the program.

Bringing A Bicycle On The Plane

If you are flying to the start of your trip, you will need to box your bike prior to your flights so that you can check the boxed bike as a piece of luggage. Most airlines charge about $100-$200 one-way to check a bike. Please let your airline know that you will be bringing a bike, as many small planes cannot accommodate bike boxes. Please bring and set aside money to pay the bike fee for your return flight.

To box your bike, bring the bike to a bike shop where a mechanic will break it down and box it for about $10 to $25. Please make sure the mechanic leaves the cables attached and protected and does not remove the rear derailleur. For instructions on how to box your bike yourself, click here.

Admissions

Below is the Admissions Material packet and other information for European Challenge.

Admissions Material 2010

The Right Bicycle For Your Overland Trip 2010

Bicycle Report 2010

Flight & Travel Information 2010

Program Start & End Information 2010

Apply

We welcome your interest in joining Overland this summer!

To apply, please complete and sign the application on page 47 of the Overland catalog or download an application. (You will need Adobe Acrobat Reader to download the application).

Please refer to page 46 of our catalog for important information you should know before signing the application.

Send your application and $795 deposit to:

Overland
P.O. Box 31
Williamstown, MA 01267

For overnight mail via UPS or FedEx, please use our street address:

Overland
63 Spring Street
Williamstown, MA 01267

Sorry, we are unable to accept applications by fax, and we do not take credit cards. Applications are reviewed in the order in which they arrive at our office and we cannot hold spots over the phone.

To learn about our admissions process, please click here.