Cycling 1300km tips

peterk675

Hi guys,

Me and a friend are doing a 1300km cycle from Roscoff to Barcelona, and I'm just wondering any tips regarding crossing the pyrnees by the east side, or even any training tips we should look into? Please keep in mind that we are both only 16, and doing it for charity so its nothing too serious, and we have 17 days to do it. Any tips on gear or anything in general would be appreciated
Thanks in advance

Sagi

Have fun on the way, don't get angry or desperate when you face obstacles and enjoy the ride

Captain Havoc

Hats off guys. Take it easy would be my main advice. You must remember that you've a day ahead of you the next day. Will you be accompanied?

peterk675

That's a good point , No just the two of us are doing it.

Zyzz

Well padded shorts/tights and a saddle that fits your arse nicely.

Thank me in 1300km

IM0

yeah extend the amount of days to do it in. unless you can ride 75k a day 17 days in a row which I doubt

peterk675

The actual cycling shouldnt be a problem,I'm doing 85k at home most days. So i suppose its just the heat i should be worried about.

Arthurdaly

IM0 wrote: »

yeah extend the amount of days to do it in. unless you can ride 75k a day 17 days in a row which I doubt

First piece of advice would be ignore the pleb above. Get as many miles in as possible before the event and take the volume down in the week preceding the start. You would want to be putting in consecutive days with some decent distance, maybe 100km.

Nutrition and hydration will be important, eat and drink often. Make sure you have a good stock of tubes, tyre levers, chain tool and link, few brake and gear cables, mutit tool.

Enjoy!

coolemon

peterk675 wrote: »

Hi guys,

Me and a friend are doing a 1300km cycle from Roscoff to Barcelona, and I'm just wondering any tips regarding crossing the pyrnees by the east side, or even any training tips we should look into? Please keep in mind that we are both only 16, and doing it for charity so its nothing too serious, and we have 17 days to do it. Any tips on gear or anything in general would be appreciated
Thanks in advance

I did Cherbourg to Barcelona via Andorra in 2010. It took a bit more than 17 days.

When I did it there was a heat wave and temperatures were 40+ degrees at times in the south of France. So prepare for a lot of heat. Get insulated water bottles and cool bags for keeping water cool. There is nothing worse than drinking hot water in the baking heat and cycling against wind like a hairdryer. If the temperatures are hot, perhaps divide the day in two, cycling in the early morning and dusk. (bring lights!)

I found that the incline was very gradual as you cycle south and towards the mountins. And this saps energy over time, particularly combined with the heat, more than tackling a steep incline and getting it over with.

Food is a big issue. Most places close during the day. There are virtually no takeways (strangely) in france to pop in and get something to eat after cycling.

There are a lot of campsites in France, but in places they are few and far between. Finding and cycling to one can put you out of the way. The temperature and dry weather are conducive to going without a tent and 'sleeping rough', which I favour as it saves weight and time.

Dont over pack. Unless you are really determined to cook something, dont bring a stove. It only adds weight and you might find it being used a lot less than you had planned.

peterk675

coolemon wrote: »

Food is a big issue. Most places close during the day. There are virtually no takeways (strangely) in france to pop in and get something to eat after cycling.

What would you allow money wise for the two of us daily for food that is? And do you think its a bad idea to not have an exact route planned for the Pyrenees? Really appreciate the advice btw!

coolemon

peterk675 wrote: »

What would you allow money wise for the two of us daily for food that is? And do you think its a bad idea to not have an exact route planned for the Pyrenees? Really appreciate the advice btw!

I didnt keep a record of how much I spent on that trip. I should have! But id say between 10 and 15 euro a day. You'll be limited by what you can carry. If you were at home sure you could stock the fridge up with 40-50 euro. But on a cycle, you have to eat the same or more without having a fridge or much storage. That means more waste and smaller (and more expensive) portions of food purchased.

France isnt cheap either. IMO the only thing significantly below Irish prices was the water. Everything else was in and around what you'd pay in Ireland, or above. But yeah 10-15 euro on food and water I think would be ok. But have other money in the event something goes wrong. On the 2010 trip we had to buy a new rear derailer and a new rear wheel between the two of us, along with other things like getting the wheels trued.

As for the route, when I went in 2010 I didnt plot a route beforehand. Instead we had a map and compass and basically plotted the journey day to day on the map, keeping in a SE direction towards Andorra.

I dont recommend doing it that way! Ill be doing a cycle in the next month of 3,400kms, and this time the route and directions will be plotted beforehand. If you make it up as you go along, it may take a lot longer.

For the trip next month im plotting it on www.ridewithgps.com and printing out the map segment for each day. That way I will know what sort of cycle I have ahead of me on the day in terms of elevation, gradiant and so on. I will also know beforehand that I have taken the shortest/quickest route to get to the destination.

Making it up as you go is good if you are not pressured for time. But otherwise I would recommend plotting the route beforehand.

EDIT: If you are thinking of going through Andorra I wouldnt recommend it. An awful dump of a place. Im sure there are nicer routes to go through.

peterk675

As for the route, we just dont know exctly how we're going to do the pyrenees otherwise we know the rest. Really really appreciate the advice, and that website is really usefull! Thanks alot

nilhg

peterk675 wrote: »

As for the route, we just dont know exctly how we're going to do the pyrenees otherwise we know the rest. Really really appreciate the advice, and that website is really usefull! Thanks alot

I've never cycled there but I've been over the Pyrenees through the border crossing at Le Perthus several times and the mountains there are certainly much smaller than further east. If you don't fancy climbing your way over there is a train tunnel between Perpignan and Figueres .

The ridewithgps link from above will let you figure out the various options and how tough they are likely to be.