10 Weeks abroad

cyclistabroad

Not sure if I should post this in Cycling or travel but here goes.

I have the opportunity to go away for ten weeks in February/March/April with my partner and our two teenage sons one of whom is a competitive cyclist, road racing. We want to go somewhere warm, cheap and somewhere my son can train on paved roads with not too much traffic. When we return to Ireland he wants to be fit for the racing scene.

Once we get there we don't want to travel much as my partner has work to, but all she needs is a laptop and access to internet. We would consider two locations or possibly three for the trip

Has anyone any suggestions where we could go?

07Lapierre

Majorca. Great weather and great cycling roads.

Ole Rodrigo

+1 on Majorca.

Bulmers

Ole Rodrigo wrote: »

+1 on Majorca.

+2 Mallorca,puerto pollensa good spot,sky team over there aswell at the moment for winter camp,big cycling scene in the area.

cyclistabroad

Thanks for the suggestions. While I would love Majorca my partner wants something warmer for that time of year. She is thinking of Thailand or India.

Has anyone any experience of cycling in India or Thailand? I know some parts would be chaotic and dangerous but are there safe parts for cycling?

QueensGael

The Canaries might be an option - weather is lovely this time of year (it was low 20s over Christmas). The road surfaces there are really good, lots of climbing and headwinds for training, and in my experience, the drivers were very respectful of cyclists. There are also separate cycling path parallel to the main roads in parts of the islands.

My only experience of India was Hyderabad, and there's no way in hell I would have got on a bike there.

Ole Rodrigo

I've cycled in Thailand. Phuket or Samui would be good options there. The hottest days of the year fall around the Songkran festival mid April. Not ideal cycling weather. Chiang Mai up North would be cooler.

Been to Delhi and Goa but haven't cycled there. Wouldn't fancy it to be honest but I hear Shimla near the Himalaya foothills is worth investigating and would be cooler.

Bogieman

How about the garden route in South Africa?
I saw the Dutch national team training there in January a few years back!
Cheap, great roads and great weather.

mtbireland

Gran Canaria is great for cycling and is very warm all year around.

Daroxtar

If you're willing to travel as far as Thailand then I'll throw you a curve ball. Head the other direction.
Guatemala.
The area around Lake Atitlan and Antigua is breathtaking, has decent roads, is warm but not withering and has plenty of hills/mountains to get your son climbing. The area lies around 1000-1800 m above sea level so he'd also get the benefits of altitude training. It's relatively cheap and there's plenty of decent accomodation, food and other activities/entertainment in Antigua or Panajachel. Despite Guatemala city itself being risky/downright unsafe in certain areas, the area mentioned seemed very safe and friendly to me at all times that I was there.
Then there's the views...


I spent 2 weeks there a couple of years back. Didn't do much cycling, only got out on a crap guesthouse rental thingy, but if I could bring my bike to anyplace I've ever been to cycle it properly then that would be the spot.

triggermortis

I've been to Goa plenty of times and would have no problem cycling there (not been there since I started cycling - only rode mopeds there). Roads are good enough and there are hills if you want them.
Closer to home, anywhere in the Canaries would be good. Weather is good and the roads are good

bobcranfret

+1 on Canaries. I'm most familiar with Lanzarote. Good mobile broadband in the main resorts. Only downside is that it is comparatively quiet with not much to do.