Your touring plans for 2019 - make me jealous?

[daddig]

Three months touring Southern India, on my fixed wheel bike!

[mr mchenry]

Me and Mrs McHenry are off to Normandy for a week in May. - It will definitely be a credit card tour, as she won't camp, but it will be the first time we've gone away on the bikes 'sans voiture' for backup. Here's the plan. Off topic, but does anyone know a hotel in Caen with secure bike storage? I have everywhere else pre-booked on booking.com but there's too much to choose from in Caen!

[tonupgilly]

Loved reading of everyones exploits - very inspiring and impressive. I love the 100,000 idea - brilliant - well done. I now have many ideas for future tours.

Hubby and I are off to Germany at the end of April. We drive to Zeltingen Rachtig and will stay one night in the "River Valley Guest House" - English run and excellent value. Leaving the car there, we will do a circular tour (camping) of the Mosel, Hunsruck and part of the Rhine, returning to Zeltingen Rachtig in time for the "Winehoffest" (the reason for the car really - can't carry cases of wine on the bikes). We will also do several day trips once the main tour is finished. Incidentally, I can highly recommend the aforesaid guest house. Mike and Lynne, who run it, are brilliant, very helpful and can't do enough for you.
http://www.river-valley-guest-house.co.uk/

Last year we took the European Bike Bus to Bordeaux and cycled (and camped) the Dordogne, dropped "down" to the Lot, headed back West, then joined the Garonne and Canal du Midi to Toulouse, visited a friend and then took the bike bus home. It was our first trip and my hubby, at 73, was quite apprehensive before we went, hence the reason for the relatively flat ride. It was a hard day travelling between the Dordogne and Lot rivers, but the whole trip was awesome and hubby loved it. Later this year, we intend going back to Toulouse to finish the Canal du Midi and cycle to the Carmargue.

Happy cycling everyone.

[Fleetfut]

Starting from Lourdes i will head west after visiting the Pyrenees to do the Atlantic Coast route. Ferry from Roscoff to Plymouth and then either cycle home back to Birmingham or get train.

[BARRACH]

Richard, gobsmacked theres a ferry from Campbeltown to Ballycastle I had no knowledge of.
Obviously not at all well advertised considering I am in Argyll and a fan of all the local
papers. Mr McHenry, ferry goes to Ousterham, not Caen. Loads of hotels near the port. Cant remember
the name of the one we stayed in, but stayed in loads all over France and dont remember any
that didnt have some sort of storage for bikes. Loved Ellie Bennetts book. Would recommend it to
anyone. Awaiting her next one with impatience.

[hamish]

The ferry from Ballycastle to Cambletown is superb. It's a big RIB and flies along at 40 knots past beautiful coast between two superb locations. You may well see dolphins and overfalls. You get a great view of Ailsa Craig. Fantastic.

[mr mchenry]

Thanks Barrach, Yes I have Ouistreham accom sorted for the evening ferry arrival, but am looping back through Caen a few days later.

[Tigger]

Back on the forum after a two month break... so a belated Happy New Year to everyone

Fab thread Al, I'm wondering who has made you most jealous so far Some of the tours sound fantastic and I'd like to think that I might do them, one day!

This year I'm hoping to build on the success of my first tour, last September. So I'll be heading back to the Outer Hebrides on 20th May-ish! This time I'm aiming for a more chilled out tour - I was 'on a mission' before, Barra to the Butt, so I'd planned everything I could think of! The biggest thing for me is that I'm going to try hostelling instead of B&Bs. Must admit I haven't put a great deal of thought into it yet, aside from I'll head to Oban, as before. Mainly because my Mum will be on holiday at Loch Melford about that time, and she wants to see Barra and Mingulay, so Oban is the obvious starting point. My initial goals are to see the west coast of Barra and an aircraft landing on the beach! And mebbe the man in the hi-viz overalls who Al has mentioned previously, tho I can't recall why he was worth seeing! After that, I have a big list of places to visit/ re-visit in the OH which will probably be enough for two more tours!

[al_yrpal]

Tigger, mind that man in the oily overalls - dangerous especially when drunk! I did see a beach landing, and last year I stayed with a Harris weaver who pedalled his loom and wove some tweed especially for me. The Outer Hebrides are still one of the most beautiful places in the world. Have a great time.

I am so pleased with this thread it gets better every day.

Al

[hillspecial]

Yo Tigger.

been thinking of my trip to the outer hebs -

http://www.flickr.com/photos/hillspecia ... 474092816/


hope to go back one day .

HillSpecial

[hillspecial]

Hi Ton Up Gilly and others,

Hope to do the Dordogne , Lot and Western Pyrenees this summer.

Did Toulouse to Nice in 2012

http://www.flickr.com/photos/hillspecia ... 823548340/

and Geneva to Nice in 2011.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/hillspecia ... 437708592/

HillSpecial

Loved reading of everyones exploits - very inspiring and impressive. I love the 100,000 idea - brilliant - well done. I now have many ideas for future tours.

Hubby and I are off to Germany at the end of April. We drive to Zeltingen Rachtig and will stay one night in the "River Valley Guest House" - English run and excellent value. Leaving the car there, we will do a circular tour (camping) of the Mosel, Hunsruck and part of the Rhine, returning to Zeltingen Rachtig in time for the "Winehoffest" (the reason for the car really - can't carry cases of wine on the bikes). We will also do several day trips once the main tour is finished. Incidentally, I can highly recommend the aforesaid guest house. Mike and Lynne, who run it, are brilliant, very helpful and can't do enough for you.
http://www.river-valley-guest-house.co.uk/

Last year we took the European Bike Bus to Bordeaux and cycled (and camped) the Dordogne, dropped "down" to the Lot, headed back West, then joined the Garonne and Canal du Midi to Toulouse, visited a friend and then took the bike bus home. It was our first trip and my hubby, at 73, was quite apprehensive before we went, hence the reason for the relatively flat ride. It was a hard day travelling between the Dordogne and Lot rivers, but the whole trip was awesome and hubby loved it. Later this year, we intend going back to Toulouse to finish the Canal du Midi and cycle to the Carmargue.

Happy cycling everyone.

[hillspecial]

Wow Birkhead - how are u going get yer camping kit down to 5 kg ?

thought that i went lightweight this summer http://www.flickr.com/photos/hillspecia ... 823548340/

tent was about 2.2 kg, lightweight bag and thin self inflating mat, clothes in a pillow case, tiny stove n pans, clothes, cag', shoes, tools, wash bag, towel, camera, phone, chargers, panniers, saddlebag and bar bag, ridgeback panorama - all added up to quite a lot ! See photos on link above.

What are you not going to take ????

HillSpecial.

I had a really good trip to France this past year, with brevet Paris-MontVentoux, visit to friends in Narbonne, Ardeche, and two brevets as part of the Ardechoise.
So I am keen to do similar mainly camping trip in May/June 2013, with my camping kit cut down from 9kg to nearer 5kg.
I am toying with the idea of a brevet Paris-Bordeaux;
then heading for a Raid Pyreneen, 100hr version if I can get myself up to speed, and find a way to recover my kit;
then visit friends;
then either Ardechoise or Raid Alpine.
Then find way back to gai Paris for Eurostar home.
Must remember to avoid the cycle paths in Paris, which are excellent in theory, but littered with broken glass esp on a sat morning.

[smith4188]

This year is the final 11,000 or so kilometres in my three year tour to every European capital. I'll leave southern Austria in spring and do Hungary, Budapest, Moldova, Ukraine, Belarus (where it looks like I'll have the UK ambassador as a cycling partner for a couple of days), Poland, Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia, Russia, Finland, Sweden, Norway, Denmark, UK and Ireland, and back to the Isle of Man where I started. And then the 34,000 kilometres will be done and it will all be over.

[tonupgilly]

Hi Hillspecial,

Nice piccies - thanks for posting them. Nice to be reminded of the Pyreanees and the Alps. Have spent many years holidaying (camping) in Switzerland and southern France with the kids when they were small and more recently toured extensively with motor bikes. Great to see the gorges again. Will hopefully be doing it all by bicycle now.

The Dordogne and Lot were brilliant. When we left Bordeaux we made an effort to keep right next to the river, so ended up cycling along small farm roads with no traffic, passing through lovely villages and gorgeous scenery. The passage between the Dordogne and the Lot was quite undulating, but apart from this and the odd climb above the Dordogne, our ride was pretty flat - by design as we are new to this game. Hope you enjoy your trip over there.

Regards,

Tonupgilly

[PJ520]

In May the wife and I are flying to Bangor Maine for a week of rubbernecking then the missus will fly back and I'll ride the Atlantic Coast route to Philadelphia, then head east to Pittsburgh via Gettysburg to visit my son, after that join the Northern Tier route at Erie PA and ride back to Seattle. Presumably Mrs J will be home before me.