[Phil A]

Hi
Im thinking of going away on a cycling holiday next year with a few friends, I haven’t got a clue where to start looking , Spain, Italy or France and preferably everything included food and drink etc .We will take our own bikes and think it may be easier to drive as buying four cases for our bikes to go onto an aeroplane will be expensive.
Is there anyone out there with advice or recommend anywhere, phone numbers and web addresses will be helpful.
Cheers Phil

Topic

[Silviu Martin]

Transylvania, Romania is one

Transylvania, Romania is one of the lesser known and surprisingly good cycling destinations in Europe. Here are a couple of ideas for road cycling climbs and beautiful mountain biking areas in Romania:

Off Road Cycling Areas in Transylvania, Romania

Road Cycling Climbs in Transylvania, Romania

[benmcfarland]

Germany is severely

Germany is severely underrated for cycling holidays I think, particularly the south of Germany.  Bavaria in particular has got fantastic countryside (lakes, the Alps, historic towns and castles) and has a well developed cycle network of over 9000km. 

CycleBavaria does some great fully supported guided and self-guided holidays, and are happy to customise cycling holidays to suit!

 

[sm]

I drove down to the French
I drove down to the French Alps this year with my bike. 11 hours door to door. By the time you’ve paid tolls, you’ll be wondering why you didn’t fly and rent a cheap road bike which is what I do when I go to Majorca.

Here’s some pics, routes and reviews from Majorca and the Alps:

Road cycling in Majorca – Routes and climbs

Road cycling in the French Alps – Climbs, routes, pain and awe

[Shades]

I’ve done a few (Newcastle

I’ve done a few (Newcastle based) Saddle Skedaddle UK MTB guided trips and a self guided CTC (ie they shift your bags and book accom + take you back to your car at the end).  They are excellent and do all sorts of continental road trips as well.  They’ll probably do something bespoke if you wanted to do a long distance trip, possibly more fun than just being based in one spot.  I stayed in a Chalet Hotel place called Chateau d’Oz when I did Alp d’Huez which was excellent.  Came back from the Alpe and the owner walked out with a tray of cold beers and said the Dauphine was on the big screen in the lounge; class!

[psorocharider]

Hi Phil, next time, try

Hi Phil, next time, try cycling in Portugal 🙂

I run a small cycling holidays company in Portugal – our website is http://portugalbiketours.com. We run road bike and mountain bike tours in several regions like the Algarve, Douro, Alentejo. Our country’s got great weather, great food and crazy landscape diversity and lots of car-free roads to choose from!

We’d love to have you over next time!

Best,

Pedro Rocha

 

[OldRidgeback]

Northern Italy is very good
Northern Italy is very good also and very cycle friendly. There too you can rent a bike and even hook up witha local club. If you wnt flat, there is that and if you prefer climss and descents, you have those options too.

The food and wine options are also first rate.

[Hopalongsteve]

Also look at places that rent
Also look at places that rent bikes….could save you the expense and hassle of taking your won although personally, not matter how good the rental bike is it never feels the same as your own but that’s just me and i am fussy!! B-)

As an example, we rent bikes at 165 euro per week.

However, i fly BA to Bologna and they only charge £30 each way for the bike and offer great service unlike Ryan Air who now rob you….err i mean charge you £50 each way and offer terrible service! BA can be around same price on flights too by the time you add luggage into the equation.

[big mick]

Majorca is good but not warm
Majorca is good but not warm in winter/spring.Tenerife is 25-30c in the winter which is so nice.All the big teams Sky us postal and more are there in the winter.There are some great climbs and landscape and the roads are well surfaced.Also if you are into mtb there are some great forest tracks lonar landscapes also.Not my thing but I see plenty of riders both road and mtb out and about.It’s a 4 hour flight but is worth it for the great climate/riding. 🙂

[Hopalongsteve]

Phil
I actually work in
Phil

I actually work in Riccione in Italy for a hotel as a bike guide. It is extremely popular here with riders from many countries…i got the work here after coming many times as a guest so say with impartiality that its great here!

Roads are not as smooth as Spain but makes up with it with stunning views, scenery, food and friendly people. The riding is hilly but suitable for any level of rider unlike somewhere like The Dolomites or other mountains where there are few recovery rides.

I have popped the link for the hotel site for you below….prices are really good and include all food and different level guided rides from only 59 euro a day….beach side location also for after bike relaxation which you dont get in the mountains!!!

http://www.hotelperciclisti.it/holiday-riccione/cycling-holidays_6.html

Feel free to drop me a line if you want any more info or check them out on Trip Advisor or on Favebook where there are hundreds of photos.

[Phil A]

Good advice thanks
I will
Good advice thanks
I will never get on a road bike without a helmet and i never knew about the reflectors

[giff77]

In France you will have to
In France you will have to have reflectors fitted front an rear. Also you need to carry a hiviz vest at all times the ones that builders etc wear will do. Can’t remember the bs number off hand. But that is a must as well.

[big mick]

Don’t forget helmets are
Don’t forget helmets are compulsory in Spain not sure about France

[Phil A]

Hi
Thanks for all of your
Hi
Thanks for all of your ideas, thats great i will spend the next few days checking them out as iv’e got lots of time on my hands ( recovering from going over my handlebars at 30mph and landing on my head . NOT GOOD).
As you can imagine my misses is not so keen on me going abroad as i only got out of hospital on Monday.
Cheers Phil

[arfa]

This time of year going into
This time of year going into autumn, the bay of Biscay can be very rough as the atlantic storms whip back towards Europe. A bad crossing could be more knackering than a long drive !

[OldRidgeback]

Northern Spain is a great
Northern Spain is a great destination and you don’t even have to fly to get there. As an alternative to fiddling about with bike bags and risking your bike to baggage handlers, you could take the ferry from Plymouth or Portsmouth to Santander. The Picos de Europa include some great climbs and descents and you have a choice of mountain biking or road cycling as well. Base yourself at the campsite in Arenas de Cabrales and do day rides or just simply ride around and stay at various Pensao on your route.

The roads are good, the Spanish drivers are used to cyclists and you’ll meet a lot of French and Spanish riders on the road too.

And at the end of the day, the Spanish wine and food is good.

Been there, done that and will go back with my sons.

[Author]

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