UKC

Me and a couple of friends are thinking of road cycling somewhere in Europe for about a week.
Has anyone done anything similar and can offer some advice or know of any good resources on the net?

In reply to hcaw:

How serious are you about riding? i.e. do you want to do 200k a day over mountains or do you want to pootle around between towns enjoying stops at the cafes/chateaux?

I'm sure Enty will be a long in a minute or 2 to show you his wares (veloventoux.com iirc)

In reply to balmybaldwin:

I'd say 120k a day max, I've never cycled over any mountains before but I definitely wouldn't want to go anywhere flat. Austria was an initial consideration as we thought the south of france would be way too hot in August. Budget is also a concern, not sure I'd want to spend more than around £500 including travel!

In reply to hcaw:

would you want to carry your kit and camp or stay in a gite and cycle kit free etc? what a bout food & catering? happy to cook for yourselves?

for that budget, you'll probably be better off staying closish to the channel - maybe belgian/french border in the Ardennes region (it's got some big hills, but not as severe as the alps/pyranees) to keep costs down, but still give you a great holiday

The Ventoux area (Where Enty runs his place) whilst mountainous, has easy access to flatter areas if thats what you would prefer.

In reply to hcaw:

Cycling down the Loire is popular and there is lots to see. We have done and recommend it...

In reply to hcaw:

Austria is spectacular scenery wise but it can be suprisingly hot here too - over 35 degrees is not uncommon! But theres normally somewhere close at hand for a swim! Just off the the top of my head - Salzkammergut is absolutely stunning: http://www.salzkammergut.at/en#oben.
Good overview of Austrian bike tours, mostly along the rivers (as you'd kinda expect)http://www.oberoesterreich.at/en/activities/summer/radfahren/detail/article...
Definitely worth considering...

In reply to hcaw:

120k a day touring sounds too far especially on hilly terrain (memories of touring Scotland as well as across the Pyrenees). The Massif Central, Tarn gorges area, Ardeche could be the answer. I can remember seeing info somewhere of a coach that took cyclists down there - trailer behind for bikes. And there was a B&B for cyclists there so you had day rides with stripped down bikes rather than slogging it with heavy loads.

In reply to hcaw:

I'd prefer to go as light as possible, plans were to drive down but that depends on prices of flights. We'd definitely be happy to cook for ourselves too. In terms of accommodation I'd be fine camping but the others would like a roof over their heads.. Ardennes sounds great, I'll pitch it to the others.

I didn't realise that it would get so hot in Austria, maybe we'd be best to stay a bit further north? The ardeche and loire would be lovely but again maybe it would be too hot?

I did 2 weeks touring 4 years ago at around 110km per day, but then again that was only the UK and needless to say there weren't any mountains!

In reply to hcaw:

Altirando, that coach idea sounds fantastic. I'll have to look that up

In reply to hcaw:

What you want is:

http://www.bike-express.co.uk/

In reply to hedgepig:

Thank you. Hoped someone would know the name of the coach service. The reason I suggested the area is because I remember driving along Ardeche corniche road some years ago, and thinking it would great on a bike. Views down into the river and the canoeists.

In reply to hwackerhage:

If you want to go for that area I'd recommend cycling up the Loire. The gradient is not noticable but the wind mainly comes from the west. Makes a huge difference.

We did it that way 20 years ago and met people who were cursing the idea of cycling down due to the constant headwind.

Generally France and the French are very cycle-friendly, especially if you stay on the D roads.

Enjoy your trip
Mike

In reply to hcaw:

I did the tour du mont blanc with these guys. Was great cycling with just you kit for the day and having your other stuff transported to the next stop.
http://www.velogistics.com

In reply to hcaw:

Some of this may be useful...

http://www.ukclimbing.com/forums/t.php?t=588117

In reply to hcaw:
I don't know if it's of any interest to you but I'm currently doing a bit of touring in Bulgaria. It's dirt cheap and in the south and south west of the country there's lots of mountains, ski resorts and good scenery. Currently in the Rhodopi mountains and the roads are well surfaced and fairly quiet. You can get pretty nice accommodation cheap (currently in a three star hotel with hot tub, sauna etc for £9 pppn including breakfast, hotels start at about £12 for a double room). Food is cheap too, a fiver will get you a slap up 'pub grub' feed with a beer. I'd certainly consider coming back for a road biking holiday without dragging the kit everywhere!

I didn't visit Northern Romania and the carpathians but I bet they're good too and Romania is cheap too. The problem with France, Switzerland etc is that the accommodation and food costs really add up if you're on a budget.

You'd just have to find a cheap flight out here, Ryanair go to Bucharest but I'm not sure about Plovdiv or Sofia (or even Greece?) which would be the closer.
Hth

In reply to hcaw:
Thanks for all your advice, we decided to book via the European bike express in the end. Drop off in Orange and pick up in Toulouse 7 days later. Just got to work out a route, accommodation and how much to pack now!

In reply to hcaw:

That sounds perfect. We did a tour (laden with panniers) a few years ago from Avignon to Carcassone which took us through the Cevennes and the Grandes Causses/Gorge du Tarn, all of which I'd recommend. not too hilly and really stunning, varied scenery. Starting from Orange you will go through Ardeche as well.

Re packing: as little as possible!

In reply to hcaw:

We cycled to Paris from Dieppe a couple of years ago, via a big detour west along the Seine, then in past Versailles, taking in castles and cathedrals along the way, all at pootle pace. It's a great way to arrive at and see Paris.

Don't be surprised by how many small towns seem always to be shut and deserted when you arrive, and don't forget to use the trains to cover stretches you don't want to cycle.

In reply to hcaw:

Thanks biped, I'll take a look at those places when I'm planning our route

In reply to hcaw:

Got to be Ventoux included in the route

In reply to hcaw:

so for the route I've planned the following:

Set off from Orange North-west along south border of Ardeche
South-west through Cevennes National Park
Continue south-west through Parc Naturel Regional des Grand-Causses
South to coast?, pick up the canal du Midi at some point to Toulouse?

It's very general at the moment and I'm still unsure of specifics, especially after leaving Grand-Causses. I want to pick up the Canal-du-Mid but I've heard it's a bit boring.

Does anyone have any route suggestions?

In reply to hcaw:

I can throw a few recommendations into the pot based on the trip mentioned above.

From Orange you are well placed to go through the Ardeche Gorge, which I'd advise either very early in the morning or in the evening when it will have much less tourist traffic and motorbikes (not that these are a problem) and you have a better chance of seeing wildlife. There are some smaller roads off the Corniche as well if you want to get off the main drag, no shortage of options really. Orange to Vallon Pont d'Arc would be an easyish day with lots of stop offs along the corniche for the views. From there there are a number of options through the Cevennes. We stayed in Florac which I really liked (it has a gite and an awesome restaurant called Le Camisard) and that will fire you into the Gorge du Tarn which is a must, though it's worth contriving a detour onto one the Causses on the way. From there you could literally follow the Tarn all the way to Toulouse, though there are plenty of places off the valley which are worth visiting.

PM me if you have any specific queries.