London to Barcelona

[BikerB0B69]

Hi all,

Some friends and I are at the early stages of planning a bike ride next year from London, aiming to arrive in Barca for the world cup final. If anyone has any tips, experiences to share or advice it would be much appreciated. We are planning on making the trip in June / July so the heat is a bit of a concern just now, any thoughts on this would be particularly useful.

Many thanks.

 

[rich p]

The WC final is in Rio
No, don't thank me!

 

[Brandane]

The WC final is in Rio
No, don't thank me!

They want to be in Barcelona so they can be in the homeland of one of the finalists .
Better pack a Germany shirt, just to be safe; maybe Brazil, Argentina, Italy, Holland too..
No need for anything white with a rose on it .

 

[MarkF]

I am doing similar but maybe ending up much further south. I did Bilbao to Malaga during the Euro 2012 championships and it's great, bars are full every night and footie is the universal language! Barca is the football cub only, not a place, you will find the atmosphere much more subdued in Barcelona when Spain are playing than anywhere else, for footie excitement and everybody behind "La Roja", it's the wrong place, Seville on the other hand will enjoy a month long non-stop party.

Good rooms dive in cost once out of France. 3* hotels with all you can eat (& pilfer) breakfasts can often work out cheaper than hostel/bar room. Check around.
Drinking water is available in every city/town & village, I crossed Spain with only 2 x 660ml bottles.
Every single place I stayed in either had bike storage or let me take my bike into my room.
The heat is not a problem, as long as you are moving, I only became uncomfortable once I'd stopped cycling and was walking, looking for a room.
I don't wear a helmet so plastered my bonce and arms with cheap Asda factor 50 suncream, it works, I forgot to put it on my upper hands and burnt them on the first day.
The A & B roads are practically deserted, Spain is very relaxing place to cycle.
If you are determined to go to Barcelona, then hit Mataro, north, and use the traffic free route in along the coast, following the train line. Takes you right to the bottom of Las Ramblas.

 

[shoelaces]

I'm also thinking of doing London to Barcelona but in May 2014. I would be very interested to hear route recommendations etc too

 

[P.H]

I'm also thinking of doing London to Barcelona but in May 2014. I would be very interested to hear route recommendations etc too

I rode Oxford to Barcelona over 15 days Aug/Sept this year. There's so many choices of route along the way you could do a different one a year and still not cover them all. The two big route choices are where to cross the channel and where to cross from France to Spain. I sailed Portsmouth to Caen, a mix of road and cycle paths to Nantes, picked up Euro Velo 1 along the Atlantic till I was south of Bordeaux, then road and canal paths to Toulouse, road to Carcassonne, missing the Pyrenees and crossing into Spain over the Corbieres and Le Perthus. I was getting a bit tight on time at this point so hammered down the main road to Figures then headed for the coast and followed that and the cycle paths into Barcelona. I enjoyed it all, though I surprised myself by preferring the French part to the Spanish.

 

[shoelaces]

I rode Oxford to Barcelona over 15 days Aug/Sept this year. There's so many choices of route along the way you could do a different one a year and still not cover them all. The two big route choices are where to cross the channel and where to cross from France to Spain. I sailed Portsmouth to Caen, a mix of road and cycle paths to Nantes, picked up Euro Velo 1 along the Atlantic till I was south of Bordeaux, then road and canal paths to Toulouse, road to Carcassonne, missing the Pyrenees and crossing into Spain over the Corbieres and Le Perthus. I was getting a bit tight on time at this point so hammered down the main road to Figures then headed for the coast and followed that and the cycle paths into Barcelona. I enjoyed it all, though I surprised myself by preferring the French part to the Spanish.

Sounds great. I was thinking of getting the ferry to St Malo rather than Caen, which I guess would cut the time by a day? Did you camp or use hotels/b&bs?
I've been looking up flights home, and the two options seem to be Easyjet or British Airways. With BA, if you can keep the weight below 23kg you can check your bike in as your one piece of hold luggage. Does anyone have any experience of this?

 

[P.H]

Sounds great. I was thinking of getting the ferry to St Malo rather than Caen, which I guess would cut the time by a day? Did you camp or use hotels/b&bs?
I've been looking up flights home, and the two options seem to be Easyjet or British Airways. With BA, if you can keep the weight below 23kg you can check your bike in as your one piece of hold luggage. Does anyone have any experience of this?

I camped, in France mostly using the municipal sites, usually small, basic and cheap. I camped off site a few times when I'd ridden late into the night.
I came back on the Bike Express coach, from Rosas. It was dearer than flying, but I knew my bike was safe and I got dropped 10 miles from home.