New and slightly underprepared..

[woziere]

Hellooo all,

Basically, my friend and I have decided to be spontaneous and make the most of our uni summer and cycle from St Malo to Barcelona, getting a ferry to St Malo from Portsmouth. HOWEVER, we're pretty much new to this whole cycling thing, and don't have a clue how to plan the route.. Tried looking online but I think I'm a bit illiterate when it comes to this kind of thing and have got v. confused.
Would be very grateful for any help or advice on this please!!
Also any experiences etc would be welcome and well recieved!! x

 

[snorri]

The long summer break is a wonderful opportunity, it is good to see you intend to make the best of it, Good Luck!
Will you be camping? I suspect you will in order to minimise costs, so you will need to see which items you can scrape together rather than buying new.
Basics would be tent, bedroll, sleeping bag, stove, kettle, mugs etc
Type of bicycle, does your bike have load carrying capacity? It would be worth getting a friend with cycle knowledge to help you get or prepare a bicycle. Racks for panniers will be required, and mudguards, don't forget mudguards, real tourers can be identified by their mudguards()Two pairs of panniers would be best for a journey of that distance.Big at the back, smaller pair at front. Bottle cages will be required on the bike to carry water, you will be drinking lots of water.
Training (I use the word loosely) If you have not been cycling recently, I suggest you try to get out for a short cycle run most days per week starting tomorrow. You are young so your fitness will soon build up on the tour but it is good to get your bum used to your cycle seat in easy stages.
Navigation by paper maps is the cheapest method. There is no need to plan the whole route ahead, allow yourself to be diverted to places that interest you which you will hear about from other tourers along the way. Cheap maps are available at petrol stations in France, just buy as you go. A small handbearing compass can be helpful, just keep going south!
Others will tell you of websites which offer advice on touring in France.
Now I will sit back and watch contradictory advice come in from others.

 

[MajorMantra]

Also, buy some proper padded cycling shorts and google for "chamois cream". Your butt will thank you.

Matthew

 

[andym]

HOWEVER, we're pretty much new to this whole cycling thing, and don't have a clue how to plan the route.

Buy or borrow a guide book eg Rough Guide. Make a list of places you want to visit. Plot on a map with a highlighter pen.

Stick to the D-roads - avoid the routes nationales like the plague.

If you want fancier than that then you could use viamichelin.com which has a route-planning option for cycle-friendly routes.

If you're still stuck for inspiration try here:

http://www.bikely.com/maps/bike-path/St-Malo-to-Sete

 

[Cathryn]

Andy's right - the quieter roads are by far the best. Look for the little white ones on the map and stick with those, or, if necessary, the yellow ones.

I've heard that cycling into Barcelona is an utter nightmare. Go to www.crazyguyonabike.com and use the search engine and you'll find loads of people who have done it and survived, so there might be route info there. You should find loads of inspiration there for the trip.

Instead of buying loads of individual maps, buy one big road Atlas of France, use the scale 1:200,000. Then just tear the pages out of the atlas and use those. SO much cheaper, and much easier to use.

Assos cream. You'll love it.

Most of all, go and do it. I wish I'd used my summer holidays to do stuff like that.

 

[rafiki]

Instead of buying loads of individual maps, buy one big road Atlas of France, use the scale 1:200,000. Then just tear the pages out of the atlas and use those. SO much cheaper, and much easier to use.

What a great idea!

I wish I'd used my summer holidays to do stuff like that.

Me too

 

[Cathryn]

It does rather pain me to rip up atlases though. I had to buy two so I'd have a 'perfect' one for future planning as well. But it does work well.

 

[rich p]

It does rather pain me to rip up atlases though. I had to buy two so I'd have a 'perfect' one for future planning as well. But it does work well.

It's not so bad as they go out of date. I used an oldish one and found they'd since built a motorway across my route!

 

[MacB]

It's not so bad as they go out of date. I used an oldish one and found they'd since built a motorway across my route!

wow Rich, you bought an atlas before there were roads, I knew you were old, but that's ancient