hot and mountainous routes: inspire me please

[Kirstie]

I'm looking at doing a weeks' tour in the summer sometime in Europe. It has to be hot and mountainous, so the alps, pyrenees, auvergne, sierra nevada etc etc. Need to be able to get there and back without driving.

So far I've looked at Geneva to Nice, and Carcasonne to Perpignan, which both look great, but does anyone else have any recommendations? I can speak some french and some spanish, so these countries are preferable but i'm open to other places.

Just interested to hear your views/experiences, ta.

 

[andym]

I'm afraid the Sierra Nevada would be pretty difficult to get to without flying because of the restrictions on bikes on long-distance trains in Spain. It's do-able but a pain and you'd be looking at two days travelling each way.

Easiest way to get a bike to either the Alps or the Pyrenees is by sleeper train - check out www.seat61.com for more information.

 

[rualexander]

Geneva to Nice photos from our tour a couple of years ago here :

http://www.flickr.com/photos/rualexander/sets/72157594415722087/detail/

We took our time and took the best part of three weeks but you could easily do it in two or less. Geneva - Annecy - Albertville - Col de la Madelaine - St Jean de Maurienne - Col du Telegraphe - Valoire - Col du Galibier - Briancon - Col d'Izoard - Guillestre - Cold de Vars - Barcelonnette - Col de Cayolle (Bonnette was closed) - Entreveaux - Roquestron - Cagnes sur mer -Nice.

Corsica is great too, ferry from Nice or Marseilles.

 

[andym]

Corsica is great too, ferry from Nice or Marseilles.

Yep I'll second that. Corsica is wonderful. Easiest option is the 7am train from London St Pancras change at Lille Europe and then go direct to Marseille (IIRC about a 10 hour journey altogether). Then a night ferry to Bastia (or Ajaccio or Propriano). You'll need a bike bag for the French train bit.

Make sure you have cancellation/travel delay insurance - the ferry is obviously at the mercy of the weather (and industrial action).

 

[Kirstie]

Rualealexander those are great photos! How long did that tour take you?

 

[rualexander]

We took the best part of three weeks but were taking it pretty easy with days off the bikes in Albertville, St Jean de Maurienne, Briancon, Guillestre, and Barcelonnette (2 days off due to bad weather) as it was a holiday and I was recovering from a bad back!
I reckon you could reasonably do it in ten days but a week might be pushing it a bit, depends on what mileages you like to do. We did fairly low daily mileages, average maybe 30-40

 

[ASC1951]

Kirstie, does "without driving" include flying?

If so, consider Sardinia as well. Maybe not quite as mountainous as Corsica, but a bigger road network and more than enough big climbs to keep you going for a week.

Also, how about the Canaries end to end with ferries between the islands? Fuerteventura is flattish but all the rest have substantial climbs and those on Tenerife and La Gomera are big and sustained.

Neither destination would be my first choice, but they do make a change from the classic routes in the Alps or Pyrenees where on most days you are in a procession of roadies from every bike club in Europe.

 

[yello]

My first thought on reading your post was 'Corsica'. So I'm pleased others have mentioned it. You could probably fly direct to Ajaccio (one of the charters goes there as I recall) or into Sardinia and get a (very) short ferry ride. Corsica has the longest, hottest, most scenic and most enjoyable climbs I have done.

My first time, I flew to Marseille and got the overnight ferry to Porto Vechio. I wouldn't do that again, it's a bit of a pffaf and Marseille is, to my mind, a bit of a sh*t hole. If not going direct, I'd fly to Nice and get the 4ish hour ferry.

 

[Kirstie]

Thanks - we don't want to fly. One of my buddies who is coming along has already toured on Corsica so i don't think we'll be going there. It's a shame cos I want to go, but it will have to be another year. Because of train travel it will probably be mainland Europe.

 

[rich p]

Bikebus to Valence and up into the Vercors?

 

[Tharg2007]

How about Greece? Parnassos in spring and summer is very nice, you could also go past Delphi, also mount Olympus would be good. There are a large number of mountainous regions in Greece. Olympus is very close to the sea too so a nice dip could be a rewarding finish.

 

[Kirstie]

How about Greece? Parnassos in spring and summer is very nice, you could also go past Delphi, also mount Olympus would be good. There are a large number of mountainous regions in Greece. Olympus is very close to the sea too so a nice dip could be a rewarding finish.

Good suggestion but what about the drivers? Aren't they completely nuts in greece? One option is Cyprus and the Troodos mountains, but that would also mean flying.

Like that idea rich p ta.

 

[Tharg2007]

yes, the drivers in Greece are dangerous I have to agree.

 

[aqaleigh]

what about st.malo to santander

total ferry cost around £125 - £150 if you book early

climate gets warmer as you head south

through the pyrenees on the 5th 6th days

around 50 to 75 miles a day

 

[dpiper]

Pindos mountains northern Greece. You can fly to Corfu cheap and ferry to the mainland. Glorious scenery, lovely people, empty roads - the mountain road heading towards Meteora is the old Roman road and winds along the contours - the new motorway takes all the traffic through tunnels.

Pics and info here:

http://www.tra-velo-gue.co.uk/trip11.htm