[Closed] Touring 2014.......?

Not sure as yet Tony, but having seen this [url= http://www.bike-express.co.uk/Home ]Bike Express[/url], I feel a plan coming together..

Just not sure where or when.

Gonna try and get something closer to home in too..

YES,
Planning it now actually... South Wales, west inland from Swansea, then onto the south coast and back to Swansea via St David's, Pembrokeshire Coast and the Gower peninsula. I'll be 300 ish miles, towing a trailer full of camping gear.
Not fast, not a long way, but a nice relaxing holiday.
The route is from the Sustrans Celtic Trail West route map

Ideally we want to ride from home and take a train to Swansea. Not sure if that's possible yet as the cheap tickets haven't been released and they so,ermines have bus replacement services which screws the whole thing up.

Campino de Santiago for me. Having spoken to 2 of my mates friends who did it on MTBs a few years ago, then having read on here about a few that have done it makes me want to do it. I intend to take 3 weeks doing it, either on my SSNiner or I may even seek out a Mukluk or something similar. I have planned May but if I can't fit that in (work) then it's Sept when I'll catch some of the Vuelta.

Going to get the ferry over to France and start pedalling! No set plan yet, but like the idea of doing Europe in a clockwise direction. Did Calais to Amsterdam on the North Sea cycle route last summer and wanted to keep going, but work commitments put a stop to that. Not going to be a problem this summer as my current job finishes in May. Hopefully the weather will improve soon as it'd be nice to get some long rides in and dial in the bike/rack/camp setup.

I'm doing the [url= http://holylandmtbchallenge.com/ ]Holyland MTB Challenge[/url] in April. Booked my flight and am assembling the new bike at great expense. I'm also probably going to go to Jordan after I reach Eilat.

I'm getting into 'mini-tours' - impromptu weekend escapes straight from home on my bike 🙂 A group of us are planning one out to the western-most tip of the Llyn Penisula, and another weekend as a tour of Anglesey.

No hassle, no transport required, just pack a pannier, hop on your bike and go 🙂

Fed up with C2Cs, like the idea of Calais, Bruges to Amsters, ferry back. Looks plenty flat [url= http://www.routeyou.com/en-gb/route/view/66786/cycle-route/cycling/dover-to-amsterdam.en ]here[/url]. And a few beaches along the way. Anyone know what the traffic is like?

At some point this year i'll be cycling from here in galloway up to the ferry at ardrossan and doing the complete Hebridean tour as outlined in the [url= http://www.cicerone.co.uk/product/detail.cfm/book/643/title/cycling-in-the-hebrides#.UwP1U_214j4 ]Cicerone : Cycling In The Hebrides[/url] with a few hops back onto the mainland up nr Crinan, I used to stay in that area as a kid and most of my mums folks still stay around there so i'm sure a warm bed free from midges and a shower will be a most welcome break from the tent.

According to my estimations it'll be near enough 1000 miles once i include visits to my old haunts in Argyll so i'll prob take 4 weeks and see if i can complete it, if i don't manage it then no worries, or if i find somewhere i want to stay and explore then i'll do that rather than feel the need to bag the entire route - it's not a race but a nice wee jolly on my bike 😀

Isle of Man is looking favorite at the moment, first time family cycle touring, after that who knows?

I'm looking at going back to the West coast of Scotland. Toured the Outer Hebrides last year and I have a hankering to go back and go places I didn't visit on the islands and the mainland.
As a short tour I like the idea of following NCN5 - this passes a couple of miles from home and runs through Llandudno where the MiL lives. 3 days pootling.

Going local to me, which is NW Scotland & also planning a trip to Lofoten, Northern Norway in the summer 8)

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@Tinribz - that's exactly what I did last summer. It's really nice, easy cycling on dedicated paths. Google "LF1 cycle route" - there's a lot of info on it. Parts of it are a bit touristy. If you're camping it's worth asking whether they do a special rate for cyclists, one place went from €35 down to €7 for the night when I asked!

4 day trip over easter around the peak district

Coast-to-coast-to-coast (workington to newcastle via the C2c and back via the Reviers) in May

Both on the tandem, with our friends on their tandem

some good looking trips planned here. touring is ace. 8)

My first one will probably just be a leisurely riverside bimble at Easter, just to get back used to getting some miles in for 5 or 6 days in a row, Rhine and Mosele most likely.

I am going to do a mountain bike tour, starting off in Pirmasens Germany, then head for the border and into France down the length of the Vosges, before crossing back into Gerrmany and across to Freiburg to catch the train home.

Also possibly an across Germany MTB tour, starting at the same place, heading to the border then turning east and heading across to the Czech border. That one I might split across three weekends as the weather dictates.

Not decided if I will be bikepacking or B&B hopping yet. And hope to have them done for the beginning of June as I have other stuff planned for the second half of the year.

I just hope to get the weather for it all, I had some similar plans last year and then it rained non stop from April to July.

We might try for another tour in SA at the end of the year (it'll be our 3rd time if we go for it). Start in George and work our way back to Cape Town following the R62. Great weather and great biking, what's not to like.....
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Some cool trips planned on here!

I planned to do this last year
[url= http://www.velodyssey.com/ ]French coast route[/url]

But work meant I ended up just doing a short UK trip. Would like to try to do it this year but also fancy Norway/Sweden.

Are the midges as bad in Scandinavia as they are in Scotland? When I did the Isle of Harris they made it pretty grim and I don't fancy that again

That SA trip looks immense..

Hebrides and the far North end of April and 3/4 weeks of tootling round Europe later in the year (Might ride to Istanbul).

I get 4 days a week off work, so I'll be supplementing those with mini tours of the Dales, Pennines, Borders (Not the Lakes though, ew...) etc.

After the last 2 summers touring in Denmark, I think it might just have to be home in France for us this year. Maybe the Atlantic Coast.

We will be doing less mileage as Etienne (6) has grown out of the follow-me. So he will be pedalling by himself and Pia (3 but will be 4) will be graduating from the trailer to the follow me.

Looking like one of us will be towing a camping trailer and the other the follow-me. Looks like we don't have any use for the Chariot Cougar trailer anymore. It will be a sad day when we pass it on. We have had great adventures with it.

Or if not Europe, I do fancy Iceland...

Mostly offroad bike-packing this year.

Dales overnighter in March
Leisurely TCW there and back in April
WRT

and then there is talk of a 6 day trip round mont blanc in August
1-2 weeks in Scotland on road was also mentioned at one point.

I really need to persuade work to give me extra paid holiday to ride my bike as 'training'/research. 😉

Ireland, in early May. Start at Larne, off the fast cat from Troon; catch the Giro there before heading SW. Catch the Giro again out in Armagh, then head south over a couple of days to vist family in Co Waterford. Return up the west side over a week or so, with a bit of Galway, Connemara etc. Tandem plus trailer and I do hear that the Irish make a rather fine liquid fuel, high in carbohydrates.

I'm hoping to start my 'Nordkap (tip of scandinavia) to cape town' epic ride...

The plan is to do the ride is several 2 week blasts and see how long it takes me. This year I'm hoping to get from Nordkap to St Petersburg. Or something like that

ibnchris, that sounds good. northern Europe proper grabs me for a destination for bike touring.
me and the wife are heading to Belgium in april, for a weeks beer tour.
a week in mid summer will hopefully see Islay and Jura and the surrounding isles visited again, and hopefully a week in September might see Harris and the surrounding isles seen off with the lads.

Touringtrack world rocks...... 😆

Yep, but not sure where.

Getting married in October and the idea of a nice, sunny tour somewhere appeals to us both.

Budget not huge, so probably a slightly damper tour of somewhere local. 🙂

Budget not huge, so probably a slightly damper tour of somewhere local.

You sure? I can fly to the other side of Europe for less than a train ticket to Scotland... 🙂

Ooooh, give us a clue then.

Only done UK & the easy bits of Europe - Mrs has done Dalmacia, Romantic Road, Croatia.

All suggestions welcome.

me and the lads have had some of our best weeks away, riding from home. no stress or hassle with trains/plains, and a heck of a lot more money to spend on ale and grub..... 8)

I planned to do this last year
[b]French coast route[/b]

Flange, how long where you thinking of doing this in fella??

Looks awesome, just trying to work out the logistics..

What sort of distances would a mere mortal expect to cover in a day?

Jet2 Newcastle to Dubrovnik for example is £49 + £30 for a bike. It's £89 for a train to Oban on the same date (Middle of June.)

Did some of the Atlantic route last year. The coast around Bordeaux is pretty flat and we were doing 60-80 k a day and we were definitely in the taking it fairly easy/ mere mortal camp.

John O' Groats down to Land's End via the Outer Hebrides with a friend. First time touring for me, so it should be interesting.

Teetosugars - Well at the time I lived near Guildford so the plan was to ride down to Portsmouth for the 3.15pm sailing, then grab a cheap B&B in either Cherbourg or ride across to pick up the route and get a B&B (321, formula 1 type affair). I'd planned 6 days of around 70 - 80 miles a day depending on how I felt, staying in B&B's along the way as and when I found them. Plenty of Cafe stops and general sedate pedalling. Then grab the TGV back up whenever I'd had enough or run out of time.

I know I can knock out that sort of distance in 4/5 hours but I'm feeling it the next day. The key is slowing it down so that you cover a decent distance but actually enjoy it and can repeat it the next day. Thats the bit I struggle with! Initially I'd planned to ride up North but when you factor in the weather, a bit of a change in culture and the fact that a bike on a ferry is pretty cheap, it makes sense to maybe look to the mainland rather than battering myself along some A road in the midlands.

Did a couple last year: A solo trip from Calais to Basel to Paris, and a trip with my other half from Rotterdam to Berlin.

Planning either Denmark and/or Norway this year. If anyone's got local knowledge or experience of these 2 places then let me have it

Cheers Flange & Crewlie, exactly what as I was hoping..

Thinking of doing it with a tent and camping, but mixing that with a proper bed when the wife decised that is needed. 🙂

The one bit of advice I do have about Norway is that its MEGA expensive. As in, stupidly so - food included.

Teetosugars - France will be awesome for camping. Especially if you're splitting the kit between two of you. I'm just a bit of a lightweight and prefer having a comfy bed and a shower.

Nothing specific booked/planned yet, but with Easter, and 2 more 4-day weekends and a 3-day weekend to fill, I had some crazy ideas.

German/Danish coast to coast - could prolly do it in a day, but public transport one way is not cooperating.

Car tour doing a ride in each of Germany, Poland, Czech Rep., Slovakia, Austria.

Will probably just hop on a train, get off about 100km away, and ride home with an overnight stop somewhere. B+B probably.

Teetosugars - France will be awesome for camping.

Yeah, we stayed near Blois a couple of years ago, & Mt St Michel last year..

Loved it.

Didn't tour, just rode each day from the campsites.

Just fancy a bit of touring this year..

Just need to find a 52cm Vaya for the wife...

Zurich to Verona via lake Garda, July. Mix of roads, dirt tracks and easy MTB trails, lots of good coffee and food, some sleeping under the stars and a visit to Grindlewald to see the Eiger. Plotted the basic route on google earth linking a few interesting-looking trails, some high Swiss cols and a whole area of Europe I've not ridden before. Plus I may get to ride back out there in Sept to see a bit more of that area, probably on a road bike and flying back from N Italy. Looking fwd to it all )

I have a bit of a plan to fly out to northern Italy and then spend a leisurely couple of weeks riding back home via Switzerland, Germany, France, Luxembourg, Belgium & Holland

Did most of that French Coast route to Bordeaux a couple of years ago but taking that seat-of-the-pants bridge at St Nazaire. Really nice once I got to the beaches past Rochefort. Took 6 days and then belittled by the 1 day train journey home.

Aiming for 3 or 4 day tours this years combining train and fold-up.

I'm in the throws of planning a bikepacking trip to Idaho, 500 miles off road linking hot springs. Then on to Oregon, Washington and California.

To test out my new gear Boblo and I are going to try a couple of UK coast to coast rides and a couple of loops in Scotland.

When I get my Vaya built up I might try a couple of weekenders too.

mcmoonter - sounds fantastic! I'd really love to tour the US, it's definitely on the list. How do you intend on getting your bikes out there? Cardboard box or proper bike bag?

Oh, and if you get a Vaya, make sure to order the downtube bosses at the same time.

Flange. I've never had any issues with a cardboard box, they are especially handy if your start an finishing point are different. Recycle at the airport and pick up another either at a bike shop or from the airline.

There is a huge touring scene in the US. The weather is generally very good and camping in most state parks guarantees a shower with your $5 fee.

I found a Vaya from here in a wanted ad. I'm still building it up. It came with cable adjusters. I'm really chuffed with it so far.

Ferry to Zeebrugge, cycle to the F1, visiting WW1 battlefields.
Eurostar back.
Soooo looking forward to hols.

Thanks mcmoonter - seems like a much better idea than faffing around with a bike bag.

Have started planning already!

mugsys_m8 - are you looking to sell your trailer? We are looking for a doubel chariot!

I'm going to pootle around the mid-Loire at the end of may.

it's my stated goal to return home tous les jours, avec du vin, du fromage, et du pain. All carried majestically in my panniers.

i'd love to go and have a pootle around the lochs near Aberfoyle; i have a childish desire to have a paddle in loch Drunkie.

not really 'touring' as such i admit...

WRT in May, then some sort of roadbikepacking adventure between that and July - a couple of nights out on the road bike, home to wales, something in wales then home probably) and then another July attempt at a solo lakes 200 after my failure to complete it last year. I'm starting from a better set of base miles this year, so should be a lot fitter and more able to cover the distances at speed.

Planning a circular C2C, starting in Durham, heading up to Prudhoe to pick up the Hadrian's Cycleway, and following that along to Whitehaven, before heading back across to Sunderland.

Wanted to do the WRT, but can't manage it with work, so probably going to aim for a few days bikepacking in Mid Wales sometime over summer.