Please help me xx

[rualexander]

Nothing wrong with being ambitious, my first cycle tour 20 years ago was two weeks through the fiords of Norway and my second was two weeks in Iceland including across the interior.
So, yes you could stay in the UK, or get a ferry over to Holland or Belgium, but you fancy somewhere further afield (and presumably with some decent weather too), I haven't cycled in Italy apart from Sardinia which was excellent, but I would suggest maybe southern/central france around the Massif Central or Languedoc. You can get there by various methods including flying, but maybe look at the European Bike Express coach service.
For bikes, you are probably best to buy rather than hire as even if you can find somewhere hiring decent touring bikes the cost would probably be more than you could buy a decent budget touring bike. Have a look at something like Edinburgh Bicycle Country Traveller or Dawes Vantage.

 

[gail0gail]

Nothing wrong with being ambitious, my first cycle tour 20 years ago was two weeks through the fiords of Norway and my second was two weeks in Iceland including across the interior.
So, yes you could stay in the UK, or get a ferry over to Holland or Belgium, but you fancy somewhere further afield (and presumably with some decent weather too), I haven't cycled in Italy apart from Sardinia which was excellent, but I would suggest maybe southern/central france around the Massif Central or Languedoc. You can get there by various methods including flying, but maybe look at the European Bike Express coach service.
For bikes, you are probably best to buy rather than hire as even if you can find somewhere hiring decent touring bikes the cost would probably be more than you could buy a decent budget touring bike. Have a look at something like Edinburgh Bicycle Country Traveller or Dawes Vantage.

Thanks Rual will check out the sites. How many miles should I be looking to cycle do you recon ? We fancy travelling quite far and we are quite fit but not at the expensive of enjoying ourselves, any thoughts would be good. We are looking to go for about 20 days.

 

[gail0gail]

Also what type of tent should we take are there tents specific to cycling ?

 

[Ticktockmy]

This is quite a good site to look at http://www.cycletourer.co.uk/

 

[gail0gail]

This is quite a good site to look at http://www.cycletourer.co.uk/

Hi tick sorry that comment was not for you, your help has been great

 

[hackbike 666]

You could try France as it isn't far away...I had a great time in Scotland when I went touring on my own in 1986.

Dont know how I do so many typos.

 

[rich p]

Scandinavia? Lots of trolls up there, I believe.

 

[gail0gail]

Scandinavia? Lots of trolls up there, I believe.

Ha Ha stop it you git !!!!!

 

[rualexander]

Thanks Rual will check out the sites. How many miles should I be looking to cycle do you recon ? We fancy travelling quite far and we are quite fit but not at the expensive of enjoying ourselves, any thoughts would be good. We are looking to go for about 20 days.

How far? Well, how much cycling do you do? I know you will be fit from your athletics but cycling will use different muscle groups etc.
Using the European Bike Express (or other means of travel) I recommend starting and finishing at different locations which gives a sense of journey that you don't always get when starting and finishing at the same place.
If you haven't really done any cycling before you go, maybe start off with the idea of cycling 30 miles a day and build that up as you go if you feel you can do more (it depends on the terrain of course), and schedule in some days off the bikes to laze around in the sun and recover.

Tents are a bit hard to recommend, everyone has their own preferences, and the prices can range from £50 to £500, so we would need to know what sort of budget you have?
Or try asking around your friends to see if you can borrow one initially.
The main consideration is weight, 4-5kg would be a maximum you would want to carry for a two person tent, there are plenty much lighter than that, around 2-2.5kg but costs go up.
The old saying is that you can have two out of the following three criteria : lightweight, low cost, strength. Choose which two are most important to you!

 

[moggsy100]

If your both single and drop dead gorgeous can i volunteer to be your shaparone on your trip pleaseeeeeeeeee...lol...

 

[betty swollocks]

You're thinking too much.
Get a bike, pack some camping gear and clothes and start pedalling.
You'll learn the pitfalls as you go.
Get a ferry over to N. Spain: cycle around a bit.
Get a return ferry.
Sorted!

 

[bigjim]

You're thinking too much.
Get a bike, pack some camping gear and clothes and start pedalling.
You'll learn the pitfalls as you go.
Get a ferry over to N. Spain: cycle around a bit.
Get a return ferry.
Sorted!

Girl on the CTC site asking for cycling companions for Italy.

 

[psmiffy]

gail0gail - First off ignore the cynics (and Richp) on here

Secondly if you fancy Italy (and do try to work out why you fancy Italy) - go to Italy – I love cycling in Italy and I am sure you will – If you can get the finance to fly there, there are plenty of access points – though bear in mind that Italy is probably 15%-20% more expensive than say compared to France - I tend to take my bike on planes in a great big bike bag which I then pay for the luggage place at the airport to keep until I get back - however there are plenty of people on here that will suggest cheaper ways of transporting a bike by air

Camp sites in Italy are easy to find if you are near the coast – however as soon as you go inland they are likely to become more difficult to find – worth checking before you go where the ones inland are – it may influence your choice of route - Most of the time it is pretty easy cycling along the coast, inland you can guarantee that there will be hills – but that is part and parcel of the game – probably the bit you will remember the most and recount most often will be cycling over you own personal “big hill”

I would budget for 50miles/80km a day - do not worry too much about fitness - I am a rather portly middle aged geezer with a rather poor orthopedic history and I manage to average 100k per day without really trying (or training) - just try to make sure you are happy with your bike handling - particularly riding in traffic and being able to ride slowly in a straight line

You can do a pretty big loop - or a long point to point between two airports in the amount of time you have – allow at least one compulsory day off cycling a week (I never take enough days off) decide on the airport, pick the places you want to visit and stuff it into a route planning programme – with the most cycle friendly settings – no motorways etc - to see how far – add 10% to the distance (it always works out about that much further) – and decide if it is “doable” using your daily mileage number – if it is not or god forbid it is not far enough then do it again adding or subtracting until it works out – Im not much for planning exactly the route between the places of interest – tend to make it up as I go along – but you may feel happier doing detailed route planning

Bikes – something like a 26” Urban Hardtail – similar to my Marin Muirwoods commuter – (or a similar 700c hybrid with low gears) -reasonable gearing, flat bars, points for mounting a rack, effective brakes, probably come in the right size for a “lady” – you are probably 20kg lighter than I am so the wheels will probably be OK under a touring load – fit bar ends so that you have a change of hand position – fit a new set of wide slickish tyres unless the existing ones look brand new or very thin – there will be a diminished chance of puncture and the wide tyre will be more comfortable – and obviously a rack that does not look like it is made out of fence wire - no idea where you can get secondhand bikes - my Marin was 400 brand new - I suspect (but do not know) that a 2-3 year old in good nick will be in the order of 150 - 200

Panniers do not have to be that good unless you are thinking of making a career of cycle touring – a rubble sack inside them will take care of waterproofing – I tend to put all my different clothes into different smaller bags – definite overkill but helps me to keep things organised - do not ask me about size as I think anything less than 56litres a pair is poncy – 56litre if you are going to go with the Willem “2 is enough “ criteria is probably a good place to start - Contents – I am not the best person to advise – there are plenty of other people on here who can advise on light touring – but you need to decide if you are going to cook or just eat out – cooking stuff and food can take up a lot of space and it might be necessary to infringe on the Willem rule and have front panniers. A bar bag (sort of like a very unattractive hand bag that fits to the front of the handle bars) is a good idea for money, camera (or whatever goes into handbags).

Tent – for a one off – especially if you are just going to sleep in it just has to be serviceable – weight of a cheap tent should not be a problem as you can share it between you – needs to be big enough to take you and your gear – bear in mind that although the weather will probably be quite good most of the time in Italy there will be some pretty fearsome late afternoon and evening thunderstorms.

Enjoy!

 

[slowmotion]

You simply must ask advice on whether or not to wear a helmet. It is an important issue.

 

[willem]

Many sensible things have already been said, but let me add some more things. If money is tight, cooking your own meals is the only viable option. You will earn back the cost of a stove and pots/pans within days. I am indeed an advocate of the rear panniers only school of touring. My argument is foirst that th elss you take (withn reason) the more comfortably you will be cycling. Front panniers and a front rack weigh 2-2.5 kilo even when empty, and cost some 100-150 pounds. Spend thayt money on lighter and more compact gear, and you will have saved an enormous amount of weight. The tent will go on top of the rack and the rear bags, so its size is immaterial. What matters crucially is the size of the sleep system. If you get a comppact mattress and a compact down sleeping bag it is not at all difficlut top fit the whole lot into two rear panniers (Orltieb rear ones are 40 litres, and that is more than enough). The Exped synmat basic is the perfect mattress: it is light (600 gram), compact (much more so than self inflating ones), comfy at 7.5 cm, warm to some 10 degrees below zero, and amazingly cheap at some 50 pounds. You cannot do better. Qualiuty sleeping bags are expesnsive. POHD Design in the UK do some of the most spectacular ones, but the Alpkit Pipedream 400 is a very good and much cheaper (about 135 pounds I believe) imitation. Unfortunately they are out of stock right now. If you buy a cheap man made fiber bag it will be much too large, and you will need to buy those front panniers instead, which will be at least as expensive as a good down bag, and much heavier.
See this for some recent thoughts on quality kit on a somewhat restricted budget:
https://www.cyclechat.net/
My argument is essentially that good gear is an investment that you will earn back quickly by saving on accommodation and eating out.
The tent that I suggest is the cheapest (I found one at 330 pounds) two person lightweight high performance tent that I know (get the HP version, and not the ordinary Hubba Hubba with a mesh interior - mesh inner is only suitable in very warm weather). At 2 kg it is also light enough for backpacking or as a solo tent. It is too small if you take a lot of junk, or if you have to endure long spells of really nasty weather. For Italy or southern France , a really cheap one may also be good enough, but I hate disposables. And you will get some heavy showers and possibly heavy afternoon and early evening storms. My Hilleberg just laughs at those. But a compact sleep system and rear panniers only is the key to lightweight on a budget, I think. Using it, I did not lack any comforts on my recent trip to Norway, and in that case even the gear for seriously sub zero temperatures fitted inside those two panniers, just.
Willem