And here are links to Palm Isilo docs for the country information:
www.pazu.com/files/markju-cycling-info-color.pdb
(Color Isilo Doc)
www.pazu.com/files/markju-cycling-info-gray.pdb
(Grayscale Isilo Doc)
Everything here is just our opinions. Remember that we have only sampled part of each country and didn't speak much of the language. No responsibility accepted!
| Country | Scenery | Road network | Road quality | Driving standard | Map quality | Food | Camp sites | Wild camping | Getting water | Dogs |
| Britain | Lots of pretty countryside, good mountain scenery in Scotland | If you choose the area carefully quiet roads can be found | Usually excellent | Don't expect great consideration for cyclists | Excellent at 250,000:1 scale from the Ordnance Survey | Solid and sustaining! | Not that many. Can be expensive. Helps to have a map that shows where they are. | Can be hard to find a good place due to population density | Can be a problem, petrol stations are good. | Often roaming loose. |
| France | Whatever you want, from Alpine to rolling fields | Excellent, lots of minor roads to avoid the traffic | Usually excellent | A little agressive, don't stop for Zebra crossings but consideration to cyclists is good | Excellent at 100,000:1 or 200,000:1 from the IGN | Gorgeous, pity the bread doesn't keep. | Every small town has one. Cheap and good | Quite easy and safe, no one seems to mind much | Many villages have fountains or toilets. | Almost always chained or behind gates. |
| Italy | Either steep (beautiful) hills or flat (traffic choked) plains | Either steep or traffic choked. | Minor roads often potholed | Agressive and fast. | Moderately good, not very up to date, couldn't find any with contours. | Restaurants quite cheap and good if you like pizzas, supermarkets can be expensive. | Hard to find, expensive, closed out of season and at the top of big hills. | Easy in the hills. | Many villages have fountains, also try churches | Almost always chained or behind gates |
| Greece | Beautiful coasts, hills, mountains and some flat bits. | Surprisingly quiet, even the main roads are OK in winter. | Minor roads often potholed | Very friendly and usually corteous | Fairly good at 250,000:1 | Cheaper than UK, most villages have small shops. | Not many, most closed out of season | Easy in most places, people friendly. | Some villages have fountains, petrol stations are good sources. | Frequently loose and agressive, especially in the northern mountains. |
| Bulgaria | Ranges of wooded hills with undulating plains between. | All but the biggest trunk roads are quiet. | All roads potholed, but not usually too bad | Usually quite corteous and slow | 750,000:1, fairly reliable | Very cheap (third the price of the UK) and as cheap to eat out as to buy food | Not many except on Black Sea Coast. All closed Oct to May | Easy in the hills, hope you're not scared of wolves! | Upland villages have fountains, easy to find a cafe. | Not much of a problem, perhaps the wolves have eaten them! |
| Romania | Agricultural plains, beautiful mountains. | The main roads are fairly busy, minor roads are often just tracks | All roads usually bumpy, often badly potholed | Altogether too Italian, fast and often close | 700,000:1, fairly reliable | Fruit and vegetables seemed expensive. Meals out were cheap. | Not seen one yet | Many roads have ribbon development. Ask to camp in someone's yard | Many villages have wells. | Few problems |
| Ukraine | Rolling hills, mountains, industrial wastelands | All but the biggest trunk roads are reasonably quiet. | Roads quite well maintained and surfaced | Usually OK unless they are overtaking | 500,000:1, very good but no contours | Ukrainian fare is sustaining. Cheap too. | Not seen one yet | Very easy and legal in the forests, or just the trees by the road. Even campfires are OK | All villages have wells. | Few problems |
| Russia | Everything, desert to alpine. Lots of flat plains. | Very variable. | Very variable | Usually OK unless they are overtaking | 1:1,500,000 road atlas. Fairly accurate | Cafes sell cheap sustaining food. Village shops are sparse. | None | Easy and legal, best to hide from the road. | Normally easy to find good water. | Only a problem in the mountains |
| Mongolia | Alpine mountains, taiga and lots of desert | Quiet | Not much tarmac | Usually OK | Mediocre to bad! | Cheap and sustaining if you like mutton | None | Easy and legal. | A serious problem in the desert | Scary but respond to stones. Ju was bitten. |
| China | Everything | Very variable | Very variable | Excellent, good consideration for cyclists | Good atlases exist but are hard to find | Wonderful and usually cheap | None | Difficult, illegal, rarely necessary | Easy but always boil it. | Only a problem in the mountains. Best stewed. |
| Laos | Lots of tropical forest | Quiet away from Vientiane | Very variable | Mopeds drive too close. | Hard to find outside Vientiane | Good and fairly cheap | None | Can be difficult | Easy but always boil it | No problems |
| Thailand | Paddy fields, planations, forest, karst mountains | Most roads are quite busy | Usually very good | Wide shoulders make it OK | Good maps are available | Spicy and tasty, small portions | Only in National Parks | Often possible | Easy but always boil it | Like to chase |
| Malaysia | Palm oil plantations, jungle, urban. | Most roads are busy except in the north. | Usually pretty good | Too close for comfort | Reasonable maps are widely available | Excellent range of great food | Almost none | Often possible | Easy, may not need boiling | No problems |
See also Ju's chart of how to obtain meths (methylated spirits for our Trangia stove) in each country.