Cycling UK Forum

Thanks for all the help. It seems that we have been thwarted by the ferry again! Looks like Ireland will have to wait until 2010!

Probably around 7 days of actual cycling with possibly a day at either end so not a huge amount of time. We'd be looking to do 50-60 miles per day.
Thanks,
Emma

Am sooooo envious - cycling in Germany/Austria etc is great but the Balkans are beautiful. Be prepared for the heat on the Adriatic coast - also, they aren't too used to cycle tourists so are usually ultra friendly (particularly if you have a smattering of the language) but the roads aren't always in great condition and neither are the drivers. Helpful hint for the Balkans - all the supermarkets/delis will make you a sandwich (sendvic). It's par for the course and very useful if you want a quick picnic.

Enjoy!

We are hoping to tour Ireland this summer. We are hoping to take the Swansea-Cork ferry which should be up and running by then as it's been out of action for a while. However, I'm a bit worried to plan a tour and then find it's still not running. The other option would be taking a boat to Rosslare. Given that Irish trains aren't too bike friendly, does anybody have any experience of touring the south east? Is it really dull or would it be a worthwhile tour?
Any advice gratefully received.

Be very careful - many places accept two nights min for a long-term booking. If the weather is poor, you'll be ok but if the weather is nice, it can be quite a challenge. You might want to consider a tent. We have cycled in Austria and Germany but I have always booked somewhere to stay first. It can be an arduous task but take advantage of the Bett und Bike scheme - they have a list of bike friendly hosts who are used to cycle tourists only wanting to over night.

Depends really on how much weight is important to you. In reality, if you are touring with a tent, the carbon weight advantage will be offset by your other gear anyway. CArbon will make the ride a bit more comfortable but it doesn't make an enormous difference. Also, if you do have carbon bits, you will be more of a target for thieves. As a result of having carbon forks, seat post etc, I was essentially left with a pile of bits in France last year. Fortunately, it was at the end of our 3 week tour but not a nice experience nevertheless.

Hi. We toured Norway two years ago and did part of the North Sea route and then went inland to Voss before returning to Oslo by train. We were unlucky - wettest summer for 100 years. We had toured before so went prepared but even so, the weather posed a bit of a problem. Buy a really good pair of overshoes. Mine lasted for about 1 hour per day before my feet were soaking and drying shoes proved difficult. It's a beautiful country and the people are nice but make sure you carry emergency rations with you. Some times it can be very hard to find food. Generally people were really accomodating with our bikes. If you travel by train, you have to make a reservation for your bike if you are on intercity type trains. With many hotels/hostels you can arrange to make a packed lunch from breakfast for the day. This was really useful as in many instances, without this we might have gone hungry.

Save a fortune and book it yourself. Invest in a Radweg book of the chosen area you want to cycle - Koenigsee to Bodensee springs to mind. Even if your German is non-existant you get good maps and good suggestions re accommodation and attractions etc. Germany is really good value and the Bett and Bike system ensures that we cyclists are welcomed. Doing it yourself really is a lot cheaper.

Cycled around Lake Constance and then did a couple of de-tours off to see the Rheinfalls and to visit old haunt of a school exchange. It was brilliant. Only about 280 miles staying in B&Bs but it was really an experiment to see if I liked it/could do it. It was brilliant and it got me totally hooked. The trouble is that now other holidays without bikes just seem really dull!

Lovely area - area between Bilbao and San Sebastian is lovely - very nice area around Igeldo. Campsite there and lovely pension called Maddiola - beautiful area and fab cycling. Also, cyclists are welcomed and people are v. friednly.

If you are going to use it mainly not for touring, go for the trek. I have toured on an earlier version of the 7.3fx many times and use it every day for commuting and leisure rides. I have ridden it all over europe and has been great. Only thing is that you can't put front racks on because of carbon fork bt I have never needed front racks. I myself am going to buy a 7.3wsd fx in October - lovely bikes.

Cycle around Lake Constance. Great first tour - dead flat and if it gets too much you can get a ferry to take a short-cut. This was our first tour some years ago and it was brilliant. Cyclists are very well catered for and it was great for somebody that wasn't by any means a confirmed cyclist.

We recently did Bilbao to St Malo over 2 weeks. We didn't go via Bordeaux as went through the Medoc and took the ferry to Royan instead. Northern Spain offers amazing cycling though this stretch is quite demanding. I have to say, I found the south west of France a bit dull. It's very flat and tends to look the same. We stayed in pensions/small hotels. Standards vary a lot but we stayed in some brilliant places. There are cycle paths pretty much all the way from Spanish border up to end of Medoc. Not sure about the other side of the Gironde. My advice would be not to cycle across the border to San Sebastian as this was quite a dangerous stretch and you end up on a nasty dual carriageway. you can get the train though into San Sebastian whcih would be the safer option. We would do this if we did it again. In terms of kit, travel as light as possible. We tour with couple of pairs of shorts, couple of jerseys, socks and then some clothes for the evening. Take travel wash and washing line. We only take rear panniers. Can recommend two pensions in Spain - one called MAddiola near Igeldo and the other is just outside LEketio in a place called Kurtxgia. Northern Spain was by far best part of trip. The locals make you very welcome and there are millions of cyclists. Scenary is spectacular and it's great fun.

As long as it's on time you will be fine. We disembarked a couple of weeks ago in about 20 minutes.

I have a trek road bike. Now fitted with mud guards (only just) and a rear rack though can't take front panniers due to carbon fork (or at least until somebody nicked the carbon fork last weekend!). Have never had any trouble and have done loads of tours including some long ones. Just make sure you pack light or could become a bit unstable. I have the heaviest duty tyres it can take but mainly due to a tour in Norway last year whcih was over some less than ideal terrain.