Season guides
Best time to cycle
One short guide per country: the months that ride well, the months that do not, and the daylight, wind and surfaces behind each answer.
Best time to cycle Colombia
December to March and July to August are the drier windows on the Pacific side. August is the one we ride: mornings clear above the cloud line and afternoon rain arrives late and softly rather than as a storm.
Best time to cycle Costa Rica
December to April is the classic dry season, but the veranillo — the little dry spell in July and August — is the quieter choice: the hills are still green, the tracks are firm and the coast is warm without the high-season crowds.
Best time to cycle Panama
The Caribbean side of Panama runs on its own calendar. Its calmest, driest weeks fall in August to October, when the rest of the country is in the green season — which is exactly why the islands ride so well then.
Best time to cycle Austria
May to September on the Danube, with late August and September the calmest: warm water-level air, harvest light in the Wachau, and the summer flotilla thinning out day by day.
Best time to cycle Ireland
May to September. June and September are the sweet spots: the light is long, the lanes are dry more often than not, and the coast road is far quieter either side of high summer.
Best time to cycle Switzerland
Late June to late September, once the high passes clear. August offers the most reliable run of open passes and settled afternoons; September brings colder mornings and emptier roads.
Best time to cycle Sweden
Late May to early September on Gotland. August is the quietest good month: the sea is at its warmest, the island empties after the Swedish holiday weeks, and the light stretches well past nine.
Best time to cycle Norway
June to early September on the Atlantic coast. July and August are warmest and most settled; late August gives you dark evenings again, quieter roads and the first autumn colour.
Best time to cycle Greece
April to early June and September to October. High summer is rideable in the Peloponnese if you start at dawn and stop by noon; the shoulder months are kinder in every way.