Just about every adventure rider has probably heard of the Trans America Trail – a five-thousand-mile off-road track from North Carolina to Oregon, a bucket list coast-to-coast ride.
The Trans European Trail, however, is a whole different story. Stretching over 23,000 miles from the northernmost point of Europe in Nordkapp, Norway, all the way to the shores of Africa and across from Portugal to Romania, the Trans European Trail is a labyrinth of off-road tracks crisscrossing the European continent. It has a quiet quality about it, a sort of a boutique feel. The creators of the TET talk about personal responsibility, environmental awareness, and a certain code of conduct that riders need to adhere to.
Unlike the Trans America Trail, the TET is an ever-changing, organic collaborative effort of riders from all across Europe, uniting adventurers with one common goal: to bring motorcycling back as a great, inexpensive way to explore Europe.
„We‘re hoping to make motorcycle backpacking adventure mainstream, an acceptable form of rural tourism that can be carried out in a sustainable manner“, - says John Ross, the mastermind behind the TET.
How was the Trans European Trail born, and how can riders get involved? We talked to John about the origins, the present and the future of the TET.
The beginning of the Trans European Trail
According to John, his background is off-road and trail riding, so there‘s no surprise it‘s the off-road adventures that interest him the most.
„I‘ve been riding bikes since I was 17, always interested in off-road, rally raid, trails stuff. Living in Germany for a while, I did trail riding in France, Belgium and Holland and it was always a bit of a struggle to find off-pavement tracks. I was always concerned that I‘d be riding illegally, or upset someone, and it was hard to find those trails. In 2007, I put together an off-road route from Holland to Spain and Portugal. It was great fun; the track information came from so many different sources... It was so much more enjoyable knowing it was legal and put together by a local“, - remembers John.
He then continued working on a few other routes. Eventually, just talking to other riders, and inspired by the examples of the Trans America Trail and the more recent Trans Canada Trail, John decided it was time to start thinking about a European equivalent.
„I used the Holland-Spain route as a base, and then we just added tracks onto it. I started emailing other riders, contacting people on forums with great ride reports and with a similar outlook, tracking people down on Facebook. I managed to get 20-30 guys who were happy to coordinate routes in their own countries together.
We first did the Western route, then added an Eastern route. People got on really well, and we just worked together, submitting routes. We had the same passion and the same goal. We‘re all super conscious and super aware that Europe is a very crowded continent with very few wild areas, and we had to work with different languages and different legal systems“, - John explains.
He says that as the process developed, they invited Adventure Spec, an adventure motorcycling accessories, and gear company, to come on board.
„Adventure Spec came back very excited at the thought and offered their assistance with web design and development, general advice, and some apparel to our Linesmen – riders who look after the route in their respective countries, and who all work on a volunteer basis. AS has been very generous and recognized our ethos, not trying to control or possess the TET in any way“, - John says.
Finally, the Trans European Trail went live last July. GPX files were uploaded, the website launched. The TET project was an instant success.
„We didn‘t realize we‘d hit such a need, or want, in the adventure riding community. Our Facebook group has exploded, and the genie had been released. However, we‘ve been moderating the social media groups quite heavily, to promote a certain code of conduct and sensitivity to the environment“, - John stresses.
Keeping the TET alive
Because the TET is an organic process rather than a finite, static project, John says it‘s important to be flexible.
„We‘re updating the GPX‘s as frequently as possible. The route is never finite, it‘s constantly evolving. We‘re able to respond to issues identified by riders – trails being closed, or changed due to heavy use, or if the locals complain.
The footprint, or the number of people using it, is one of the concerns. If areas are getting over-used, we reroute the traffic.
We have a few sources: riders themselves, we encourage them to give us feedback on areas and issues, and we push a certain code of conduct – not using damaged lanes, not causing damage. If riders notice damage, they report it to us. Then, we‘re in the process of creating a community-interest company, so we‘re not just a bunch of friends but a legal entity with explicit community purposes. We will then be able to approach local communities more effectively and ask them if they have any concerns.
Our riders‘ survey returned 500 answers about the riders‘ spending habits at the local pubs, cafes, hotels, etc. If we can show this data to rural communities, we‘re hoping they‘ll see we‘re not just using but also contributing. We‘re hoping to make motorcycle backpacking adventure mainstream, an acceptable form of rural tourism that can be carried out in a sustainable manner.
And we‘re already seeing ripple effects – people are changing their views towards trail riders, seeing value in motorcyclists. Other countries are looking to create their own trail riding organizations, as opposed to just being individuals.
We have the power to become more accepted. I think as riders, we shouldn‘t be so defensive. We‘re so happy to go riding in Africa or South America, but in Europe, it‘s almost like we‘re feeling guilty about it. Motorcycling can be just as positive as hiking or mountaineering.
As long as we do it without creating damage, we should be proud of it. The TET is not a motocross race track, it‘s a network of trails for serious, responsible motorcycling“, - John says.
The perfect TET motorcycle
Although the TET route is very detailed and freely available, John encourages riders to make up their own routes and tailor their adventure to their own needs.
„What‘s the perfect TET bike, what‘s the ideal starting point, where do I sleep? This is very individual. We generally recommend people choose a lightweight, 250-650cc bike, carry some basic camping equipment, and start at their doorstep, making their way across different countries or regions slowly. The idea is that you don‘t have to set out on around the world expedition to have an adventure, you can do it right here, in your own backyard. We‘re into independent, low-key, low-impact travel that‘s accessible to everyone. As for food and fuel availability – I think Finland has one long stretch without food and fuel, but otherwise, everything is pretty accessible everywhere. You don‘t have to follow the route obsessively, you need to be aware, use your common sense and figure it all out by yourself. We want people to have an adventure instead of spoon-feeding them all the information“, - John explains.
Tomorrow‘s TET
As more and more riders and communities get involved, the TET will keep developing and changing. Will there ever be paper maps for the TET? „We‘re thinking about developing paper maps. Our French Linesman is a cartographer, and we‘ve been talking about it. But, a paper map would be static, whereas the TET is constantly changing, so we have to figure this out“, - John says.
According to the TET mastermind, he would love to see more young people and women riding the TET and becoming Linesmen and women: the TET is all about making adventure accessible to everybody.
„The idea is to make overlanding fun, easy and accessible. We‘re not about beer-soaked debauchery and machismo, we‘re about responsible travel, camaraderie, and community. If more women joined us, that would be great. If I could get my daughter to go and explore Europe on a motorcycle, that would be fantastic!“.
The Linesmen
The Linesmen are TET volunteers from different European countries, monitoring and maintaining TET routes in their respective regions. This is what some of the Linesmen had to say:
Marc Collins, Germany:
„I found out about the TET project last July from an Austrian TET Linesman, Jakob Weinknecht. The moment I heard about it I realized this was a fantastic idea, and I wanted to help TET grow. That‘s what I‘m still doing now: currently, I‘m working on a new trail in Germany which would connect to the Polish one. I‘ve got the route mapped, I just need to double-check that it‘s legal. This is the hardest part in Germany – to find off-road tracks that can be used legally!“
Oleksii Burlachenko, Ukraine:
„I first found out about the TET in 2016 when I stumbled upon a thread on the advrider.com forum.I liked the idea of connecting off-road tracks in different countries all over the European continent; the simplicity of how you could just download a track, load it to your navigational unit and hit the road stress free knowing that you are not breaking any laws or local rules, just enjoying the views and sights and meeting people along the trip.
I am so excited to do anything to make this project work: scout the new trails, share the idea and TET Code of Conduct with all interested, advise on trip preparations, and so on. I’m looking forward to completing the Balkan TET section as well as Spain and Portugal this year!
There’s a growing interest in Ukraine and as the spring is here, I’m working on some new trails. Spoiler alert: Ukraine isn’t just about the Carpathian Mountains!”
Roman Bale, Slovenia, and Albania
“I live in Slovenia where riding off-road is more and more regulated. So every year, I searched for new, unexplored areas around the Balkan countries where I was able to ride off-road freely. I’ve explored some really remote areas of Slovenia, Croatia, Bosnia, Montenegro, Albania, Romania, and Tunisia. I love riding enduro and sleeping under the stars – often, I even leave my tent at home and just sleep by the bonfire.
The TET is an amazing project, and I’m so inspired by it. When we put trails from Slovenia to Greece together, I personally rode 1,500 miles across the Balkans just to make sure that the tracks I submitted for the TET were 100% rideable.
As a Linesman for Slovenia and Albania, I can say there is a lot of interest for those countries: this region was ridden by riders from the UK, Australia, and India. This year will be quite busy for all Linesmen, and we would ask all riders to respect the trails and be ambassadors of responsible riding”.
Want to get involved? Find out more at www.transeurotrail.org or watch our TET video playlist.
