What are your touring plans this year?

[SatNavSaysStraightOn]

Guys guys guys...the reason you have women is so they can drive the car with all the gear from one place to the next while you ride the tour...this is in the small print of every marriage and cohabitation agreement ever written...also section 4 subsection B.2 states that they also have to have a hot meal ready for when you arrive. Fact.

Does that mean I need to go off and marry a women so that she can stay at home/drive the car/cook my meals?
Current bedroom can't manage a bigger bed so she & I would have to share & my OH get the spare room once I have moved 2 of our 6 bikes out of it. Of course this now leaves our 2 most precious bikes homeless and me married to 2 people - could be worse I suppose!
Question: should I have this discussion with my husband as I drive him to the supermarket or on the way home?

 

[BigonaBianchi]

...rifles through gay marriage contract for relevant clause

 

[Brains]

Suddenly my plans to get the ferry to Calais, cycle up into Belgium to Ostend and get the coast tram partway back seem somewhat inadequate...
Should make for a fun weekend though.

Be very aware of the prevailing wind on the return back along the north coast of France. If it's above a light breeze from the west, seriously look at getting the train, as a minimum get 10 miles inland, you might then stand a chance.
I have had two trips where the enduring memory was trying to cycle from Brugge to Dunkirk/Calais into the wind, in both case the peleton was reduced to sub 7mph, with experienced members getting off and walking as it was almost as fast and used up a lot less effort.
We also missed our return ferry by several hours both times

 

[Sara_H]

People who's OH who can't wont tour - just go on your own or get a different OH!

 

[Hitchington]

Chepstow to Lancaster in the Spring, then somewhere else in late summer

 

[TheDoctor]

Be very aware of the prevailing wind on the return back along the north coast of France. If it's above a light breeze from the west, seriously look at getting the train, as a minimum get 10 miles inland, you might then stand a chance.
I have had two trips where the enduring memory was trying to cycle from Brugge to Dunkirk/Calais into the wind, in both case the peleton was reduced to sub 7mph, with experienced members getting off and walking as it was almost as fast and used up a lot less effort.
We also missed our return ferry by several hours both times

I've encountered this wind. We had a tailwind assisted ride from Boulogne to Calais that took about 45 minutes, and then spent over three hours grovelling back in bottom gear. The trains were on strike...

 

[psmiffy]

I've encountered this wind. We had a tailwind assisted ride from Boulogne to Calais that took about 45 minutes, and then spent over three hours grovelling back in bottom gear. The trains were on strike...

Ditto - I did a long weekend when I planned to cycle from Antwerp to Calais - While waiting at the station for the train to Antwerp I talked to a Belgique cyclist who had just finished his north easterly ride and was waiting for a train back to his starting point - he advised me that my plan was not a good one - Plan B - Calais to Antwerp was a much better idea

 

[TheDoctor]

Ditto - I did a long weekend when I planned to cycle from Antwerp to Calais - While waiting at the station for the train to Antwerp I talked to a Belgique cyclist who had just finished his north easterly ride and was waiting for a train back to his starting point - he advised me that my plan was not a good one - Plan B - Calais to Antwerp was a much better idea

Indeed. I'm now toying with the idea of ferry to Calais - Ride to Bruges - train to Brussels - back on Eurostar. Only hitch is that I'd have to use the Brommie.

 

[robjh]

No definite plans yet for this year, but it depends partly on my work situation - since I'm working on fixed-term contracts I might suddenly find myself with a big chunk of free time and will look around for cheap flights (on the shrinking number of bike-friendly airlines) to warm places when it happens.
That said, I fancy just setting out from home and cycling to the north of Scotland, but if the summer weather in 2013 is anything like that in 2012 then I'll be putting that idea on hold for another year.

 

[xilios]

We've got 4 weeks in June and are thinking northern Germany with a bit of Denmark.
But like robjh said if the weather is the same as 2012 than we'll book a flight somewhere south and cycle home.

 

[jay clock]

Five days meandering around Brittany in May, then Gibraltar to Santander over three weeks in August (can't think where I got that idea).

THis may be of some use Dave..... http://www.crazyguyonabike.com/doc/julian2012

My plan is to get over shingles and next week to start proper training for my second Ironman. A couple of weeks after that (mid August) I am taking the overnight ferry to St Malo, then cycling to the Vendee for a family holiday. About 260k for which I have allowed 2 to 2.5 days. However I will be using a road bike with a seat-post rack and absolute minimal kit, so if I am Ironman fit, I am half thinking about doing the whole thing in one day. Hardly a tour, but would be the satisfaction of my longest ever single-day ride.

 

[Glow worm]

Toying with the idea of a short circular trip in May - ferry from Harwch to Hook of Holland then down into northern Belgium and possibly France before heading back north to the Hook along the coast.
There's a crazy place called Baarle Nassau I hope to visit that I have always wanted to go to, since I spotted it as a kid on a map once. It is a series of islands of Belgian territory (or exclaves) within Holland and in places islands of Holland, within the islands of Belgium. Apparently in some parts of the town, the only way you know which country you are in is by looking at the flags on people's front doors. There's an element of 'Passport to Pimlico' about it all. Bonkers- but I love that kind of stuff so looking forward to it.

 

[Dave Davenport]

THis may be of some use Dave..... http://www.crazyguyonabike.com/doc/julian2012

My plan is to get over shingles and next week to start proper training for my second Ironman. A couple of weeks after that (mid August) I am taking the overnight ferry to St Malo, then cycling to the Vendee for a family holiday. About 260k for which I have allowed 2 to 2.5 days. However I will be using a road bike with a seat-post rack and absolute minimal kit, so if I am Ironman fit, I am half thinking about doing the whole thing in one day. Hardly a tour, but would be the satisfaction of my longest ever single-day ride.

Cheers, I'll have a proper read when I've got time.

 

[Glow worm]

We've got 4 weeks in June and are thinking northern Germany with a bit of Denmark.
But like robjh said if the weather is the same as 2012 than we'll book a flight somewhere south and cycle home.

That's a really nice website of all your tours, I really enjoyed reading it- thanks for sharing.

 

[Brandane]

Nothing set in stone for this year, yet. Have a long standing wish to cycle the western isles of Scotland from Stornoway to Barra, but an aversion to wet weather makes me a bit wary of this. An alternative plan is to cycle from my home town of Largs to our twin town of Andernos-les-Bains, near Bordeaux. If the weather doesn't dry up soon and I don't get any training miles in, then I might have to revert to the other 2 wheeler which has a 600cc engine to assist .