Limerick to Paris

bener

A friend and I are considering cycling from Limerick to Paris in July. We are both complete novices in regards cycling however, we are reasonably fit. How much training would we need for this? How long would it take us? Any tips and advice would be very welcome:)

Tonyandthewhale

Um.. don't know really. How much training you need depends on how fit you are now. All you really need to do is figure out what kind of mileage you'll be doing a day and get to the point where you can do that a few days in a row. As regars how long it takes, that depends on your route (Cork to Roscoff, Rosslare to Cherbourg, Rosslare to Roscoff, or through England and Wales?) and how far you want to go a day.

Captain Havoc

I've done KK to Paris and one thing you need in touring is the ability to get up day after day which can be fairly strenuous.

bener

We are thinking of going through Wales and England. Getting the ferry to Wales and stopping in Cardiff for a night or two and continue on from there. We haven't much of a plan yet. Fitness wise, we both play a lot of sport so we are fairly fit but like I said we are novices when it come to cycling. I haven't been on a bike in over a year. Would two weeks be a realistic target? We're not pushed for time either so if it takes longer that's ok. Is it possible to camp out or should we stay in hotels every night?

el Bastardo

bener wrote: »

We are thinking of going through Wales and England. Getting the ferry to Wales and stopping in Cardiff for a night or two and continue on from there. We haven't much of a plan yet. Fitness wise, we both play a lot of sport so we are fairly fit but like I said we are novices when it come to cycling. I haven't been on a bike in over a year. Would two weeks be a realistic target? We're not pushed for time either so if it takes longer that's ok. Is it possible to camp out or should we stay in hotels every night?

Worth knowing that being saddle-fit isn't necessarily the same as just being fit (from other sports); i.e. I would say start training while you're working out your tour schedule. Once you've a tour schedule worked out, you can train towards it.

FWIW, I'm thinking about a similarly short tour abroad (my first multi-day that'll be solo and self-supported) over the summer.

Tonyandthewhale

Two weeks sounds reasonable although I don't know how far exactly that is, map it out on ride with gps.com and see for yourself if it looks feasible for you.
As regards hotel or camping I would strongly reccomend camping. Camping allows you a lot more flexibility as you can basically sleep pretty much wherer-ever you find yourself at the end of the day and there's much less stress and hassle involved.
Campsites in France can be found in almost every small town. They're often as little as 3euro a night per person although it's also possible to sleep in fields and forests and the like if you're stuck.

bener

Hey guys thanks for the replies. At the moment we are still planning this out. I want to start training for this next week but I have to buy a bike first. Do you have any suggestions as to what would be best, don't want to break the bank either so something for under €400. What gear would we need as well? Would we be best to strap the gear to the bike or would we use back-packs?

bener

Anyone :-)

Mycroft H

bener wrote: »

Hey guys thanks for the replies. At the moment we are still planning this out. I want to start training for this next week but I have to buy a bike first. Do you have any suggestions as to what would be best, don't want to break the bank either so something for under €400. What gear would we need as well? Would we be best to strap the gear to the bike or would we use back-packs?

Emmm for 400 euro your only going to get something second hand. And after that you need panniers, luggage racks, lights, tools, spare tyre etc etc. You could easily double that budget.

bener

Oh didn't realise it would be that expensive. When buying a bike is there anything I should be looking out for i.e. any particular make, type of brakes ect. I'm 5'11 and from what research I've done something around 56 inches would be the right size.

Seen this bike on ebay

http://www.ebay.ie/itm/Brand-New-Probike-XRC-2-0-Road-Racing-Bike-Bicycle-51-54-57cm-Black-Blue-RRP-230-/170813032421?pt=UK_Bikes_GL&var=&hash=item6d73aafe04#ht_1998wt_1094

C3PO

bener wrote: »

Would two weeks be a realistic target?

Hmm .... a quick Google suggests a distance of 1200kms approx! So that means averaging nearly 100kms a day for 2 weeks which I would have thought is brave for 2 guys who have done very little cycling! I'd be bringing plenty of chamois cream! :rolleyes:

bener

C3PO wrote: »

Hmm .... a quick Google suggests a distance of 1200kms approx! So that means averaging nearly 100kms a day for 2 weeks which I would have thought is brave for 2 guys who have done very little cycling! I'd be bringing plenty of chamois cream! :rolleyes:

I suppose we are being a little optimistic but if it takes longer than 2 weeks that's not a problem as we are not pushed for time. I know a couple of lads who live near me who cycled from Thailand to Ireland a few years ago for charity and it took them around 6 months.They didn't do a whole lot of training for it either so I was kinda thinking we could manage 100km/day with 6 or so weeks training.

Tonyandthewhale

My first tour was approx 100km a day for three weeks and we left straight after the leaving cert so we hadn't done any proper training in about a year. So long as you know you're limits and have a reasonable fitness base then 100km a day shouldn't kill you, it's pretty standard touring distance in my experience.

Tonyandthewhale

bener wrote: »

Oh didn't realise it would be that expensive. When buying a bike is there anything I should be looking out for i.e. any particular make, type of brakes ect. I'm 5'11 and from what research I've done something around 56 inches would be the right size.
/QUOTE]

56 cm would probably be around the right size, 56 inches would be more appropriate for someone around 15 ft tall.
As regards buying a bike, I don't know if it makes sense to tell you which brands are good and which are bad since there are so many but try and avoid any brands that are only available as dodgy ebay-specials ('teman' would be a good example, as would 'probike' I think, I've certainly never heard of them aside from the ad you linked to). Also, bear in mind that raleigh are ****e these days, there seems to be an unusaul reverence for raleigh amongst the lay people of Ireland and many the cycling newbie has falled fould of this.

Normally when it comes to touring you want a touring bike, which looks like a road bike (ie a 'racing bike') but with room for thicker tyres, cantilever rather than calipher brakes, lower gearing (usually a triple and a mountain bike cassette and rear derailleur) and braze on mounts so you can fit racks front and rear and fenders and loads of bottle cages and the like. A touring bike will also be heavier than a typical racing bike but (hopefully) more comfortable and with slacker geometry which makes it more stable when you're carrying a load. Unfortunately, touring bikes are usually quite expensive and they can be hard to find second hand because there aren't a huge amount of them on the market. If you can't find a touring bike then some cyclo-cross bikes are very similar to touring bikes (provided you fit slick tyres rather than the knobby cycle-cross tyres), you just have to make sure they've got all the necessary braze-ons so you have some way of fitting a rack and all that.

Alternatively you could use a hybrid bike which will also have thicker tyres and (usually) mounts for racks and fenders and nice low gearing but they come with flat handlebars which tend not to be very comfortable over-long distances and are also annoying if you're faced with a head-wind or just want to go fast and can't get into a more aerodynamic position.

A third option would be a road bike (like what you linked to, only good). A road bike is light-weight, has drop handlebars (important for comfort) and they're fairly easy to find second hand. The problem is that not all of them are suitable for carrying a rack or fitting proper mudguards and none of them will take a tyre larger than 28mm which can cause problems with pinch-flats when you're carrying a lot of weight in your panniers.

bener

Thanks TonyandtheWhale, haha ya I meant 56cm. I didn't know anything about touring bikes but they seem very expensive as you said. I'll probably take a chance and get a second hand road bike I'll stay away from dodgy ebay-specials though . Does anyone have experience of fitting a rack on a road bike?

Tonyandthewhale

Fitting a rack on a road bike is a simple job provided the frame has eyelets (ie places you can screw bolts into) on it. Cheaper bikes that are also intended to be used as commuters rather than all out racers are more likely to have these, more expensive bikes (with the exception of fancy retro-style steel bikes) generally will not.

If your frame doesn't have these eyelits there are alternatives such as using p-clips or a rack that just bolts onto the seatpost but they tend to be wobbly and generally upsetting.

Mycroft H

Tonyandthewhale wrote: »

Fitting a rack on a road bike is a simple job provided the frame has eyelets (ie places you can screw bolts into) on it. Cheaper bikes that are also intended to be used as commuters rather than all out racers are more likely to have these, more expensive bikes (with the exception of fancy retro-style steel bikes) generally will not.

If your frame doesn't have these eyelits there are alternatives such as using p-clips or a rack that just bolts onto the seatpost but they tend to be wobbly and generally upsetting.

Only limitation might be the tall gearing. A triple chainring is nice to have on a touring bike.

I'd look at a reasonably priced hybrid and stick barends on them for an extra position.

kincsem

You got some good advice in that lengthy post above. My reaction was you need to spend a minimum of €1,000 on a bike and clothes, shoes, panniers. And being generally fit is a good starting point, but you need to ride on the bike, and in the kit you will be using before you set off to sort out problems.

Captain Havoc

Tonyandthewhale wrote: »

Fitting a rack on a road bike is a simple job provided the frame has eyelets (ie places you can screw bolts into) on it. Cheaper bikes that are also intended to be used as commuters rather than all out racers are more likely to have these, more expensive bikes (with the exception of fancy retro-style steel bikes) generally will not.

If your frame doesn't have these eyelits there are alternatives such as using p-clips or a rack that just bolts onto the seatpost but they tend to be wobbly and generally upsetting.

You don't need eyelets if you travel light enough:



I used one of these last year, it attaches to the seatpost.

Mycroft H

Captain Havoc wrote: »

Tonyandthewhale wrote: »

Fitting a rack on a road bike is a simple job provided the frame has eyelets (ie places you can screw bolts into) on it. Cheaper bikes that are also intended to be used as commuters rather than all out racers are more likely to have these, more expensive bikes (with the exception of fancy retro-style steel bikes) generally will not.

If your frame doesn't have these eyelits there are alternatives such as using p-clips or a rack that just bolts onto the seatpost but they tend to be wobbly and generally upsetting.

You don't need eyelets if you travel light enough:



I used one of these last year, it attaches to the seatpost.

What you bring? Credit card tour i presume

Captain Havoc

Tubes, spare tyre, levers, pump and multi-tool, (due to mechanicals I picked up a wire cutter and chain tool on the way also). Clothes, I had a t-shirt that I wore in the evening and a pair of shorts. 2 x jocks, 2 x pairs of socks, 2 x cycling shorts, 1 x cycling jersey, 1 x gilet, 1 x light rainproof jacket, 1 x pair of sandals, maps. I don't think I'm really missing anything there. I prebooked all the hotels, I washed everything there in the evening, if the shorts weren't dry by the morning, I'd let them dry on the back of the bike. A couple of laundrette stops to give them a decent clean now and again.

Captain Havoc

You have a few options on which way to go, you could cycle to Rosslare, boat to Cherbourg. I went along the Normandy beaches to Caen but then my route wasn't direct to Paris as I went to see some Tour de France and also I had a stop south of Paris also so it wasn't direct. I found getting into Paris a pain in the neck and I ended up hopping on the RER before I could make the centre as I had to meet someone that evening.

a148pro

http://pedaltopoland.com/

These guys are cycling to Poland for the euros, and at least some of them are newbie cyclists but would, like yourselves, be sports fit. Maybe make a donation then email them about what kind of training / approach they were taking to it.