Yes, the majority is in France; however, more recently, they start in a nearby country for the first 3 stages of 21 to help share in the experience and spread the Tour love across borders. But this was the first time it had visited cycle-crazy Denmark. And since we had been moving a lot in the previous month of cycle touring a few 2 night stops but mostly single touring nights , we decided to head to Copenhagen early and get an apartment for a week in advance of our long-standing 2-night hotel reservation just a meters from the course.
Very cool. As with most European vehicle ferries, bikes load with the cars and trucks, so we made our way around the maze of approach lanes and signs to find our way to a toll booth station where you ride up to window and buy your tickets for the next ferry out.
We highly recommend taking ferries where you can if bike touring, even if there is another option, as you get the continuous experience of the landscape, get to see some of the seascape, meet other cycle tourists, and can tune into the subtleties of the cultural infrastructure differences in every country.
More on that later. Our friend Jason met us about half way along the way on the 50km ride into Copenhagen, and it was great to have an escort and some engaging conversation with a familiar face. Jason is a professor from San Francisco, and was spending the month in Copenhagen, continuing his field studies and collaboration on the politics and implementation of transport policies in Copenhagen and San Francisco.
Jason has literally written a book on the topic, and has great insight on how Copenhagen has become one of the worlds leading bicycle cities; however, noting the challenges facing a lax continued investment in car free space and the troubling growth of auto mobility throughout Denmark.
