Ideas for a cycling holiday

[Polite]

I will have a maximum of two weeks coming up for a cycle holiday or cycle tour.

The leaving date will be within the next week to 10 days.

The start point will be either London (Eurostar) or, possibly, Newhaven to Dieppe by ferry and the return leg would have to be London/south east and preferably without flying (but not a dealbreaker).

I quite fancy doing something with a theme to it or something that's just pure fun or something that allows me to see some cool cities (I'm not averse to combining it with taking the bike on a train).

I guess I'm looking for something a bit different, someone has already suggested a brewery tour of Bavaria!

The photo is from a very recent micro-adventure of the Yorkshire Dales Cycleway, and to show I don't have a Brompton re taking it on a train.

I look forward to all your suggestions and hope you can do your thing!

 

[Ming the Merciless]

Ferry to Dieppe. Ride to Holland. Ferry to Harich. Ride back to London.

 

[slowmotion]

We came back from Avignon on the TGV in June. The train goes so fast that you can't read the names of the few stations that you go through but I eventually figured out that one of the simply stunning areas of countryside that zipped by was Burgundy. It looks well worth a visit. I think you can get to Dijon from Paris pretty quickly. If you Google "cycling in Burgundy" there are lots of ideas.

 

[adoli]

Probably you have already left by now, but I would consider Switzerland.

Yes, I know it's quite pricey and all that, but it is rarely mentioned in forums and yet the quality of the roads are superb.
Bike lanes everywhere, and an extensive, very well marked network.

Herewith are some links to investigate:

1/ the Swiss bike network
https://www.schweizmobil.ch/en/cycling-in-switzerland.html
This website shows you the national and regional cycling routes and they are marked with a number on signpost the whole way (i.e. you can do old school with a paper map).

2/ The national tourist office is a good start:
https://www.myswitzerland.com/en-ch/experiences/summer-autumn/bicycle-mountain-bike/road-cycling/

3/ Komoot (google for it) has a good 'discovery' section with many rides and tours you can do per region and all of which you can download to your phone.

Generally: check the weather before you go; if climbing is your thing, watch out that it can snow on the mountains even in summer. South of the Alps in the Italian speaking part of Switzerland has a completely different weather system; whilst it can be raining north of the Alps, south can be stunningly warm. And vice versa.

Clothing: at this time of year (September) you need winter bib tights, base layer, long sleeve jersey, windstopper for descents.

Hope this helps.

 

[robing]

Ferry to Dieppe. Ride to Holland. Ferry to Harich. Ride back to London.

Good idea. Be sure to visit Cycling Through Water and Cycling Through the Trees in norteast Belgium (both free).