Cycling Holiday

umpire bat

Any suggestions on European destination not in savage heat or eaten by midges early Sept. Saw Austrian Danube ride or Denmark any advice.

petethedrummer

Denmark:
Pros:
Copenhagen is lovely, with endless amounts of talent whizzing by on bikes,
Loads bicycle lanes everywhere in the country,
Flat(if you don't like hills),
Bikes allowed on trains,
Car Drivers are very considerate of Cyclists.

Cons:
Beer is more expensive than Ireland,
Flat(if you like hills),
Apart from Copenhagen the rest of Denmark seems a bit dull but you might find it otherwise.
Often if you cycle through a small town, everything (including petrol stations) can be shut. So stock up on food if you plan to cycle in the evening.


There are marked routes with little blues signs all around the country, but at the occasional junction they are missing. So I would invest in a Cycling guide book for Denmark. We just had a rough map and at occasional points got lost because of the lack of signs and our map wasn't accurate enough to compensate.

We were never without a bed for the night. We had the lonely planet and would just ring all the listed budget accomodation for each town we planned to visit. There were always rooms and alot of times we were quoted cheaper than the guide book stated. There is a network of hostels and you can get a discount card, but unlike a hotel they can stop checking in a 9 or 10 pm. The cheapest hotels were equivalent in price.

You could for example cycle from Hamburg to Copenhagen. We kinda went the other way. And the wind was generally against us.

paddy's hill

I was talking to some lads from Birr who have just come back from Paddy Sweeney's place in the Pyrenees and they are raving about it. It called St Savin and is in the middle of all the big famous cols of the tour. You would of course have to like mountains. Several of the lads said it was the best trip they have ever been on. Can't remember the web address, I'll post it later if I think of it.

blorg

If you don't want savage heat and like hills I would do the Pyrenees or the Alps. I cycled across France from Rodez to Biarritz last year via some mountains.

I am just back from a bit over a week in Sardinia which was probably the best place I have ever cycled but I reckon you would want to like savage heat and mosquitos, it got up to 40 while we were there and I have never been bitten so many times in my life. Still highly recommended, beautiful scenery, quiet roads and considerate drivers. Great hills there too.

alfalad

If your interested in the Danube I just did 600km along it couple of weeks back and did 350km last autumn! I did a review or rather rambled on about it here. We did from Vienna to Budapest last autumn and the weather was pretty nice. The best section is the second stage of it, and the quality of the first stage is also very good. The third stage is a lot more boring and not as well facilitated!
The Danube is an excellent choice if your looking for a flat route that you can take some detours up the hills of the valley and you don't want to meet any traffic. I have all the guide books and maps you would need and you can borrow them if you wish.

paddy's hill

Photos taken by Birr lads in Pyrenees. Looks deadly.

http://picasaweb.google.com/gary.bracken/250509#

http://picasaweb.google.com/gary.bracken/220509#

http://picasaweb.google.com/gary.bracken/240509#

Address is www.velopeloton.com