What's your favourite ride?

General cycling advice ( NOT technical ! )
User avatar
Paul Smith SRCC
Posts: 1163
Joined: 13 Feb 2007, 10:59am
Location: I live in Surrey, England
Contact:

Re: What's your favourite ride?

Post by Paul Smith SRCC »

Whippet wrote:That looks like a good option to try after I get LEJOG out of the way this year.

I rode LEJOG as well, one of my 'life boxes' I wanted to tick, 'Bordeaux-Barcelona' has a much different feel in every way, careful of the timing though, each time I rode it riders, as in plural, went down with heat stroke.

Paul
Paul Smith. 37 Years in the Cycle Trade
My personal cycling blog, Bike Fitter at C & N Cycles
Member of the Pedal Club
User avatar
Mick F
Spambuster
Posts: 56359
Joined: 7 Jan 2007, 11:24am
Location: Tamar Valley, Cornwall

Re: What's your favourite ride?

Post by Mick F »

How far is it?
400odd miles?
Mick F. Cornwall
ukdodger
Posts: 2992
Joined: 18 Aug 2007, 5:32pm
Location: Sunny Surrey

Re: What's your favourite ride?

Post by ukdodger »

Paul Smith SRCC wrote:
Whippet wrote:That looks like a good option to try after I get LEJOG out of the way this year.

I rode LEJOG as well, one of my 'life boxes' I wanted to tick, 'Bordeaux-Barcelona' has a much different feel in every way, careful of the timing though, each time I rode it riders, as in plural, went down with heat stroke.

Paul


Have you got a GPS track for it?
nez
Posts: 2080
Joined: 19 Jun 2008, 12:11am

Re: What's your favourite ride?

Post by nez »

Wonderful views. and that young lady is brave to wear the King of the Mountains top! Perhaps you are very polite on your tours or perhaps she really has the best lungs.

I wonder if there are Frenchmen who dream about bowling past the abbey and down the Kirkstall Road. And after the TdF takes them from Holmfirth to Sheffield there will be a few pros with memories of English hills. We also serve who only stand and wait.
User avatar
Paul Smith SRCC
Posts: 1163
Joined: 13 Feb 2007, 10:59am
Location: I live in Surrey, England
Contact:

Re: What's your favourite ride?

Post by Paul Smith SRCC »

ukdodger wrote:Image
In a word wow. I see what you mean. The last shot is what it's all about.

Pictures really don't do it justice really, I have made a slideshow of the 2011 tour that maybe of interest.

Paul
Paul Smith. 37 Years in the Cycle Trade
My personal cycling blog, Bike Fitter at C & N Cycles
Member of the Pedal Club
User avatar
Paul Smith SRCC
Posts: 1163
Joined: 13 Feb 2007, 10:59am
Location: I live in Surrey, England
Contact:

Re: What's your favourite ride?

Post by Paul Smith SRCC »

ukdodger wrote:
Paul Smith SRCC wrote:
Whippet wrote:That looks like a good option to try after I get LEJOG out of the way this year.

I rode LEJOG as well, one of my 'life boxes' I wanted to tick, 'Bordeaux-Barcelona' has a much different feel in every way, careful of the timing though, each time I rode it riders, as in plural, went down with heat stroke.

Paul


Have you got a GPS track for it?


I don't no, I've yet to invest in a GPS (although the Garmin 800 or 810 has taken my fancy....), I do have a record of the itenary though which was:

Day 1 - Arrive at Bordeaux. Remainder of the day free to explore the city.

Day 2 - Bordeaux to Villandraut - 46 miles
Route follows a cyclepath out of the city and then continues through rolling vineyards, before crossing the Garonne River into the Gascony Forest.

Day 3 - Villandraut to Barbotan - 56 miles
Easy riding through the vast pine forest of the Landes de Gascony Regional Park, you pass the Notre Dame des Cyclistes, a small 12th century church filled with cycling memorabilia, ending the day at the busy spa town of Barbotan-les-Thermes.

Day 4 - Barbotan to Marciac - 42 miles
Continuing south the route takes you through the rolling countryside of Aquitaine, passing through fields of maize and sunflowers and sleepy villages.

Day 5 - Marciac to Lannemezan - 42 miles
Route contines through the foothills of the Pyrenees as you head towards the mountains.

Day 6 - Lannemezan to Bagneres-de-Luchon - 45 miles
The first day in the mountains has a challenging, but fabulous ride over the Port de Bales, and then a long descent down to the popular spa town of Bagneres-de-Luchon.

Day 7 - Rest Day at Luchon.

Day 8 - Bagneres-de-Luchon to Arties - 30 miles
A nice short day that starts with a climb over the wooded Col du Portillon, taking you into Spain and along the Aran Valley.

Day 9 - Arties to Sort - 45 miles
A superb ride that takes you over the beautiful Port de la Bonaigua, with a long 25 mile downhill ride to Sort.

Day 10 - Sort to Coll de Nargo- 42 miles
The route continues through the mountains, taking you over the Collado del Canto and along the Segre Valley.

Day 11 - Coll de Nargo to Solsona - 44 miles
This is another excellent days ride that takes you along a quiet mountain road through some superb scenery and past some amazing rock formations.

Day 12 - Solsona to Montserrat - 56 miles
A longer day that takes you through the dry rolling hills of Northern Spain, ending with a climb through rocky crags to the monastery at Montserrat.

Day 13 - Montserrat to Barcelona - 40 miles
The final days riding takes you out of the hills on a meandering route that takes you through the suburbs of Barcelona into the city.

Day 14 - Free day in Barcelona.

Day 15 - Transfer to airport to return home.

Paul
Paul Smith. 37 Years in the Cycle Trade
My personal cycling blog, Bike Fitter at C & N Cycles
Member of the Pedal Club
ukdodger
Posts: 2992
Joined: 18 Aug 2007, 5:32pm
Location: Sunny Surrey

Re: What's your favourite ride?

Post by ukdodger »

Paul Smith SRCC wrote:
ukdodger wrote:Image
In a word wow. I see what you mean. The last shot is what it's all about.

Pictures really don't do it justice really, I have made a slideshow of the 2011 tour that maybe of interest.

Paul


Was that an organised tour or your own?
User avatar
Paul Smith SRCC
Posts: 1163
Joined: 13 Feb 2007, 10:59am
Location: I live in Surrey, England
Contact:

Re: What's your favourite ride?

Post by Paul Smith SRCC »

ukdodger wrote:
Paul Smith SRCC wrote:
ukdodger wrote:Image
In a word wow. I see what you mean. The last shot is what it's all about.

Pictures really don't do it justice really, I have made a slideshow of the 2011 tour that maybe of interest.

Paul


Was that an organised tour or your own?

It was with www.bikeadventures.co.uk when it was owned by Kevin White, who used to run CTC tours. Bike Adventures don't offer that tour at the moment I believe, as they have become a limited company with new management.

Paul
Last edited by Paul Smith SRCC on 18 Jan 2013, 4:07pm, edited 1 time in total.
Paul Smith. 37 Years in the Cycle Trade
My personal cycling blog, Bike Fitter at C & N Cycles
Member of the Pedal Club
User avatar
RickH
Posts: 5832
Joined: 5 Mar 2012, 6:39pm
Location: Horwich, Lancs.

Re: What's your favourite ride?

Post by RickH »

Paul Smith SRCC wrote:Pictures really don't do it justice really, I have made a slideshow of the 2011 tour that maybe of interest.

Paul

Thanks for the slideshow - I'd not seen your photos.

It was a great trip, wasn't it :D - even if the weather on the day over the Port de Bales was a bit grim?

An amusing quote I had in an email from Bob B, when we were having some apres-ride correspondence, springs to mind
Bob wrote:I read that it was on the Port de Bales that Andy Schleck lost his chain and Contador did not stop thus going on to a controversial win.

Had Scleck walked much of the P de Bales, like me, then he would not have lost his chain.

A metaphor for life there, but I do not know what lessons are to be learnt from it.

:lol:

Rick.
Former member of the Cult of the Polystyrene Head Carbuncle.
ukdodger
Posts: 2992
Joined: 18 Aug 2007, 5:32pm
Location: Sunny Surrey

Re: What's your favourite ride?

Post by ukdodger »

Thanks Paul
User avatar
Paul Smith SRCC
Posts: 1163
Joined: 13 Feb 2007, 10:59am
Location: I live in Surrey, England
Contact:

Re: What's your favourite ride?

Post by Paul Smith SRCC »

RickH wrote:
Paul Smith SRCC wrote:Pictures really don't do it justice really, I have made a slideshow of the 2011 tour that maybe of interest.

Paul

Thanks for the slideshow - I'd not seen your photos.

It was a great trip, wasn't it :D - even if the weather on the day over the Port de Bales was a bit grim?

An amusing quote I had in an email from Bob B, when we were having some apres-ride correspondence, springs to mind
Bob wrote:I read that it was on the Port de Bales that Andy Schleck lost his chain and Contador did not stop thus going on to a controversial win.

Had Scleck walked much of the P de Bales, like me, then he would not have lost his chain.

A metaphor for life there, but I do not know what lessons are to be learnt from it.

:lol:

Rick.

Hi Rick :o :D , yes it remains one of my favourite tours (along with 'Mont Ventoux-Provence' then I would say 'Corsica'), ticked all the boxes for me, varied route, extremely scenic, superb food, superb company, easy enough to allow for a good lunch stop if wanted, challenging enough to make us feel heroic and fabulous; perfect.

To be fair to Bob he may have been walking but I wasn't gaining on him much and I was cycling! Infact I was going so slow that when he stopped for a breather I wasn't gaining on him much then either :lol: Three tours I rode that up that climb in the rain and down the other side in the sunshine, even though each time the weather on the climb was not great it is one my favourite climbs, quiet, scenic and a smooth surface, I believe it was only resurfaced in 2006, being used for the first time in the TDF in 2007; helps that Bagneres-de-Luchon is at the bottom where we could celebrate our fabulousness with a beer :wink:
Image
Port de Bales

Paul
Paul Smith. 37 Years in the Cycle Trade
My personal cycling blog, Bike Fitter at C & N Cycles
Member of the Pedal Club
Richard Barrett
Posts: 92
Joined: 25 Mar 2010, 12:23pm
Location: Isle of Harris
Contact:

Re: What's your favourite ride?

Post by Richard Barrett »

Generally the one in front of the front wheel, but I guess I'll choose The Bays up the east side of South Harris with its constant climbing from one bay over into the next and views out to Skye across The Minch.
User avatar
hondated
Posts: 2472
Joined: 27 Mar 2008, 7:59am
Location: Eastbourne

Re: What's your favourite ride?

Post by hondated »

Thanks for posting Paul great slide show.
patpalloon
Posts: 390
Joined: 16 Jan 2011, 12:06pm

Re: What's your favourite ride?

Post by patpalloon »

I've done C2C and E2E, but my preferred day ride is 1/ Isle of Wight. You can comfortably do a lap in a day. I generally get the catamaran over to Ryde Pier - then you can cycle down the pier and start your ride. I prefer to go anti-clockwise, up to Cowes to get the free chain ferry then cross country to Yarmouth, Freshwater then along the Military Road along the windswept south-west of the island, Ventnor then Shanklin, Sandown and back to Ryde via Bembridge. And if you get tired you can get the train (old London Underground trains) from Shanklin all the way to Ryde pier.
I feel sure that the genius that did this, didn't even feel a thud as he drove by.
Gearoidmuar
Posts: 2347
Joined: 29 Sep 2007, 7:35pm
Location: Cork, Ireland. Corcaigh, Éire má tá Gaeilge agat.

Re: What's your favourite ride?

Post by Gearoidmuar »

I'll have to give two answers.
Local and touring.

Criterion.
One that I had to choose as the only spin I would do if I were restricted to a choice of one.

Local.
Glengarriff, Healy Pass, Kilmacillogue, Kenmare, Glengarriff. Phenomenal scenery, pretty quiet, spectacular.

Touring.
Also in Ireland.
Maam Cross, Leenane, Delpgi, Sheffrey Pass, Westport.

Touring Abroad. That makes three!

Campbelltown to Tarbert in Scotland on a clear day.

In France.

The Celé Valley

In Germany.

Berchtesgarten

In England

Dentdale

In Corsica

Col de Vergio from Piana.

That's enough. I'm getting an itch.

I'm like Ukdodger. I like company and I also like solitude. I've done 72 tours or so and about six of these were on my own. Being alone can be unbelievably relaxing.

In Spain.

Fro France through the Bielsa tunnel to Ainsa
Post Reply