EuroVelo 2 (EV2), named The Capitals Route, is a 5,050 km (3,140 mi) long EuroVelolong-distance cycling route running from Galway, Ireland to Moscow, Russia. This east-west route passes successively through seven countries – Republic of Ireland, the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, Germany, Poland, Belarus and Russia – and visits all their capital cities.
The western section of EV2 between Galway and Dublin was scheduled to commence construction between Athlone and Mullingar in 2014, and completed in 2015, along a disused railway line. Portions of the Royal Canal bank between Mullingar and the Westmeath – Meath county boundary have been completed. The section from the county boundary – Dublin section closed public consultation in February 2016[1] The initial design of the westernmost section through Galway and Roscommon has been rejected as substandard and must be redesigned.
Note that there is some controversy over the design standard in Ireland overall.[2][3][4]
The EV2 along the Kennet and Avon Canal at Devizes, Wiltshire
After that it joins the Kennet and Avon Cycle Route (NCR4) along the canal which links the Thames and the Bristol Channel, weaving through scenery on its way from Bath to Reading. At Reading, the route joins the Thames Path Cycle Route on its way to London. Finally it leaves London through the docklands, travelling north to the ferry port at Harwich.
^"D-Route 3". RADNETZ Deutschland website. Archived from the original on 27 December 2013. Retrieved 26 December 2013.
^"EuroVelo-2 in Belarus: official website". EuroVelo-2 "Маршрут столиц". Archived from the original on 25 October 2020. Retrieved 23 October 2020. In Belarus bicycle route is a recommended route for cycling which goes mostly through common roads, forest roads, trails, bicycle paths. In Belarus we have few special bicycle paths. But what is more important, for EuroVelo-2 we try to choose the safest, the most interesting and convenient roads for cycling which also have good transport access and tourist infrastructure.