Cycling UK Forum

I imagine hundreds of cycle tourists lined up at the ports waiting on the starting gun. CHARGE!

You’ll need to keep imagining me being there. The reality for me will be that station on route to the Highlands.

me the Kings Alfreds Way. After all the people who have ridden it, it will be nicely marked out.

I'll just be pottering around the local lanes but I might do the odd over-night camping trip.

Useful information accumulating on touring in EU Member States: visas, health insurance, mobile 'phones etc:
viewtopic.php?f=16&t=142391&start=90

Jonathan

Hopefully doing a few multi days or over nighters with my son,
really would like to do Hadriens wall ride over a few days and then back via dales. Did it on foot 2017 was ok
My son wants do a ride up north if we ever get freedom again .

I'm planning to do a day trip to the Isle of Man from Heysham. Its a very long day with an outbound sailing at 02 15 and a return getting back at around eleven pm.
I'd be pleased if anyone who has ridden a nice round trip, suitable for a Spring day, from the Ferry port of Douglas could quote their itinerary.

arnsider wrote:I'm planning to do a day trip to the Isle of Man from Heysham. Its a very long day with an outbound sailing at 02 15 and a return getting back at around eleven pm.
I'd be pleased if anyone who has ridden a nice round trip, suitable for a Spring day, from the Ferry port of Douglas could quote their itinerary.

I'm also hoping for a cycling trip to IOM in 2021, the recent news of the 2021 TT cancellation suggests we may be in for a bit of a wait though before the island is open to visitors again...

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe ... n-55130836

SWMBO and I normally do the shake down run locally preparing for the run into France in the Summer. Probably going to be different here and over the channel next year with CV19/Brexit etc, etc. However, fingers crossed.

arnsider wrote:I'm planning to do a day trip to the Isle of Man from Heysham. Its a very long day with an outbound sailing at 02 15 and a return getting back at around eleven pm.
I'd be pleased if anyone who has ridden a nice round trip, suitable for a Spring day, from the Ferry port of Douglas could quote their itinerary.

If you’ve never done it, then the TT course is worthwhile, but avoid rush hour - the TT course is 37 miles around. Then a loop down to Castletown and over to Peel. If you have more time then explore the flat plain on the NE coast, some lovely roads up there, then up the A14 from Sulby to the top of the mountain and a final descent into Douglas.

Manx Cat - Mary Jane Watson (formerly of this parish) lives on the IOM and has a 100k permanent audax route. I would imagine this is available or you can contact her via the Audax website.

nsew wrote:I imagine hundreds of cycle tourists lined up at the ports waiting on the starting gun. CHARGE!

July at the earliest for mainland Europe.

I think it will depend on when we're allowed in to the EU.

Currently from the 1st Jan our exception as a Member State runs out and we'll be either allowed or not depending on how well the Government has Covid under control.

My hunch is that by mid summer most western countries will have vaccinated a large proportion of their populations, and particularly the old and vulnerable. Therefore, I would imagine that travel restrictions will be much reduced, but with social distancing requirements and masks remaining. However, it is still too early to say when that moment will be exactly. There may also be a period when travel will be easier for those who will have been vaccinated already. For now, the major Dutch tour operators have cancelled all bookings.
Of course, Brexit will permanently complicate the practicalities of travel, but by the summer the teething problems should have been sorted out. Sadly, right now I see/experience a lot of administrative bungling on the UK side.

willem jongman wrote:My hunch is that by mid summer most western countries will have vaccinated a large proportion of their populations, and particularly the old and vulnerable. Therefore, I would imagine that travel restrictions will be much reduced, but with social distancing requirements and masks remaining. However, it is still too early to say when that moment will be exactly. There may also be a period when travel will be easier for those who will have been vaccinated already. For now, the major Dutch tour operators have cancelled all bookings.
Of course, Brexit will permanently complicate the practicalities of travel, but by the summer the teething problems should have been sorted out. Sadly, right now I see/experience a lot of administrative bungling on the UK side.

Unfortunately the travel rules for 3rd countries are changing at the end of 2021, so whilst the current rules' teething problems may be ironed out, there'll be some more along just after that.

Sure travel will be harder for Brits going to EU countries, but that is what people voted for. As a Dutchman I did not vote for my travel to the UK getting harder as well, but that is what this Brexit madness is. However, in the end Europe will remain as wonderful to visit as ever, and for me the same applies to my love for cycling in the UK. For us cycling tourists it will just be litle more inconvenient, but I feel more sorry for all the businesses that are getting hard hit by all this, and for the people getting unemployed as a result. The recent World Economic Forum report on competitiveness shows that the UK trails many other western countries: http://www3.weforum.org/docs/WEF_TheGlo ... rt2020.pdf