a european jaunt

not bakunin

hey all

after my leaving cert...(just a few more anguished days!) i, along with two other lads in my year, am going on a cycle across the rolling expanse of (some of) western europe. starting at the ferry terminal in cherbourg, we intend to push south and east, through switzerland, austria and slovenia, hopefully ending up somewhere near venice, from where we shall fly home, one month later. just to get all these irish essays out of our heads, yknow. we have nearly everything in order, but i was wondering if a few veterans could lend advice as to our endevour?

cheers

stopped_clock

Best of luck with the exams!

What advice are ye looking for? Do you have the bikes you'll be using? Will you be carrying all your gear with you? Do you need a route? Switzerland, Northern Italy etc all sound very mountainy...

Sounds like a tremendous trip all the same!

bcmf

sounds like a lot in 1 month. A lot of v hilly country in your route. Personally I would take the west coast of France down to Biarritz and across the foothills of thr Pyrenees onto the Cote D'Azur and across Northern Italy.Hope yis have some experience on the bike beforehand.

not bakunin

yeah we have a pretty detailed route made out and it does take in the alps, but its not the worst of them. i think our hardest climb is like 4km which is pretty managable. we originally planned to head for the south of france and carcossane via austria, but that was too long and sort of ...hot. i was wondering how cycling on the continent is recieved? is it realistic to turn up at hostels and get a bed? we have tents but a shower would be nice now and then.

scottreynolds

not bakunin wrote: »

yeah we have a pretty detailed route made out and it does take in the alps, but its not the worst of them. i think our hardest climb is like 4km which is pretty managable. we originally planned to head for the south of france and carcossane via austria, but that was too long and sort of ...hot. i was wondering how cycling on the continent is recieved? is it realistic to turn up at hostels and get a bed? we have tents but a shower would be nice now and then.

Not sure about Italy... but you can always use the 'Municipal Camping' in France. Basically almost all little towns have camping cheap with excellent facilities so for showering etc you can always stay on one of them. If you going anywhere near the coasts expect millions of people in campsites.

bcmf

beware of municipal sites. Although cheap and cheerful they can get full very very quickly and security is not the best and the local branch of Thieves'R'Us know this.Arriving somewhere on the bike only to be told that they have no room at the inn. If camping and I HIGHLY RECOMMEND CAMPING in France then do a bit of research and prebook. At least u know you have a place to put the head down with usually very high standard of facilities.

blorg

Generally when touring I don't pre-book as I don't know for sure where we are going to end up. It is rare indeed I have managed to keep to a planned destination. As you are just finished your LC I am presuming you guys are not very picky about 5 star accomodation, etc.

I've rarely had a problem, the only time it happens is when there is some sort of festival on. In fact the only real problem time was one time heading for Dungarvan it was late, everywhere was booked up for miles around, and we were accomodated in a stolen car in Carrick-on-Suir garda station, they didn't want to put us in the cells because apparently they were a bit of a state We didn't have a tent that time, were looking for B&Bs.

If you have a tent at the end of the day you have some security, you can pitch it in a field if you are really stuck (I only ever had to do this once, in Spain, and it was absolutely fine.)

I've camped more in Spain than France but never really came across a situation where all the campsites in an area were full. In Bilbao during Semana Santa we couldn't get anywhere to stay in the city and had to go to the campsite 20km out; it had expanded to about four times its usual size in neighbouring fields.

Camping in France is great, especially in the municipals which are dirt cheap, I know this was the ONLY factor I was interested in while I was doing this in my college days

Enjoy, it will be a great experience.

blorg

By the way I concur with bcmf on the route, I would have thought it was likely pretty hilly. Besides the Alps & Pyrenees there are other mountains in the middle of France and a lot of rolling stuff- did Rodez-Biarritz last September via six cols in the Pyrenees but there were plenty of climbs before we got there. It takes it out of you.

The route he suggests would be very nice indeed I imagine, it is also extremely flat in the whole Bordeaux-Biarritz area. Maybe post your planned route so we could have a look.

Húrin

Sounds like a great jaunt. I advise avoiding the south coast of France because in the summer the traffic there is heavy. Cycle tourists are widespread well received in France by motorists and most of the hospitality business.

Have a look at http://www.crazyguyonabike.com/ for some ideas too. Both their articles and journals are very good.

not bakunin

thanks all!

yeah ill try and get the route in more detail up again....we are bringing tents, so we have some security i suppose. are there usually cooking facilities in these municipals or no? we're getting a small stove for emergencies also.

also, what would people recommend i leave out of my really rather extensive bike repair kit, or should it all come along?

thanks

dmigsy

Did a trip like this last year June. Went from Roscoff down to the Loire valley and accross through Burgundy, into Switzerland and on to Florence and Rome. Great trip. I didn't book any accommodation and camped most nights with an occasional hostel if I wanted to stay in a town. When are you going? I found that towards the end of June it was too hot to cycle in the middle of the day. Getting up at dawn and getting the miles done early was the best way when it got really hot (30+ degrees). It also meant that you had modt of the day to chill out and relax.

My trip was about 2000km in a month. I averaged about 100km per day so I had plenty of days off. I brought puncture repair stuff, a spare folding tyre. Never needed them but I did need a spare spoke, so bring a couple with you.

All campsites I stayed in France, including municipal ones, were fanatastic. Hot showers. Not all will have food so bring a camping stove.

Húrin

not bakunin wrote: »

thanks all!

yeah ill try and get the route in more detail up again....we are bringing tents, so we have some security i suppose. are there usually cooking facilities in these municipals or no? we're getting a small stove for emergencies also.

also, what would people recommend i leave out of my really rather extensive bike repair kit, or should it all come along?

thanks

Well, what's in the kit that you have doubts about?

On my only major tour so far I brought a 12" shifting spanner and a vice grips. Complete waste of weight. Bring a multi-tool (fold-out allen keys and screwdrivers all in one unit) and maybe a 6" shifting spanner. Discriminate by weight of tools and remember nearly every town has a bike shop. Bring a puncture repair kit. They don't take up much weight or space.

blorg

When touring it is best to keep the weight as low as possible, especially if mountains are involved.

Personally I don't bother with the camping stove and find it is actually possible to survive for an indefinite length of time without cooking. Bread, cheese, cured ham and salad tend to be our staples.

Most campsites will have a shop and restaurant/bar of some kind, generally reasonably cheap. Very few would have common cooking facilities.

Tool-wise:

- Multi-tool
- 3 or 4 spare tubes between you (you can always buy replacements)
- Puncture repair kit
- Tyre levers (or Crank Bros Speed Lever)
- Emergency tyre boot
- Pump
- Valve adapter to allow full inflation at petrol station
- Zip-ties
- Chain lube
- J-cloth for wiping off above
- Superglue
- Small roll of sturdy tape of some kind

- I don't always bring it myself but would consider a chain tool and some spare connecting pins, you can get chain tools pretty small these days. Of the portable ones I have used this one a few times and it works well.

Lumen

Be organised.

I did a solo tour from St Malo to Nice a few (ok, many) years ago, and getting to the campsite before dark was often a challenge. I never booked ahead, and in a few instances I'd arrive at dusk at a full campsite and then have to head on up the road to the next one.

In one instance I had to camp near the top of a mountain on a military range because it was too dark to travel safely with the crap lights I had. This is really not a good idea for obvious reasons.

I did take a stove, and it was fun making hot food, but it usually took ages and tasted crap anyway, so 'd go with Blorg's advice on that one.

Many great memories, I'm sure it'll be epic!

not bakunin

Hi all, the OP here.....well thanks for all the advice and im glad to report that the tour has been a fantastic success. I'm here in Innsbruck after about 1630km done on the bike. We're taking a few days break here before heading down in the general direction of Venice, about 300km left, easy. we had some massive climbs, including the Brunigpass at 1008m and the Arlberg pass at 1800m. not a bad way to distract yourself from results....


what we did for most of France was eat absolute ****loads of cheap yogurts and jam in Carrefour carparks and sleep in the municipal campsites. i didnt bring the stove on the above advice, and am thankful for that.

so....ill fully update again once i get back, but for now, its goodnight from Innsbruck!