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John Flower
Member
- Location
- Wiltshire
Hard choice. how strong are we talking? I also like the idea of heading away from home towards then sun. I think there is more motivation then heading back to england.
Wiltshire to Santander spain.
- Thread starter John Flower
- Start date
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RussellZero
Wannabe Stravati
- Location
- New Forest, Hampshire, UK
Sounds like a long way, did you consider flying instead?
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John Flower
Member
- Location
- Wiltshire
flying to where?
RussellZero
Wannabe Stravati
- Location
- New Forest, Hampshire, UK
Spain
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John Flower
Member
- Location
- Wiltshire
Because It would be a amazing experience to cycle there. I will catch the ferry back to england from santander
RussellZero
Wannabe Stravati
- Location
- New Forest, Hampshire, UK
Fair enough, just sounded a bit tiring to me. Ignore me, being dry.
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John Flower
Member
- Location
- Wiltshire
No disrespect. But isnt a tourer cycling forum suppose to be about hard work and effort to enjoy place that most poeple would not cycle to?
Russ. I think he missed the joke.lol.
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John Flower
Member
- Location
- Wiltshire
Maybe I did. I'm currently at work and probably shouldnt be on here. So a little worried of the apperance of my boss!
RussellZero
Wannabe Stravati
- Location
- New Forest, Hampshire, UK
My fault for having a sense of humour that's not funny!
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John Flower
Member
- Location
- Wiltshire
I think it was mutal there
Jimmy Doug
If you know what's good for you ...
Generally the French roads are good to excellent. Some villages can have pot-holes, but on the whole I'd say French roads are more cyclable than British ones. Also, the French drivers, although very agressive amongst themselves at times, are generally very courteous to cyclists.
I cycled from my house in Amiens (which isn't that far from Wiltshire - which is where I'm from by the way!) to Barcelona. I can only echo what most have already said. I did this ride on a racing bike - it was in the days before I had a touring bike. I did have a few issues - mostly related to the fact that racers aren't built to carry heavy loads. I only had two chainrings and I managed it - but it was very hard work in places - three rings is very useful.
Concerning wind. When most people refer to wind in France they're thinking of the Mistral. This is a wind that blows down the Rhône valley and doesn't affect the west of France. However, the South West, particularly in the Narbonne area, can be a very windy place indeed. To give you an idea, I had my glasses blown off my face and sent flying away like a kite. I never saw them again! There is no real prevailing wind in this area - and that's partly what makes it difficult from a cyclist point-of-view: the winds can be very strong and very unpredictable. You may have to do as I did and sit it out for a couple of days; on the other hand, you may get lucky and not see any wind at all. That's the south; in the North, in this area anyway, the prevailing wind is generally north to south, so you're going the right way in this part of France.
Have you seen my tips for cycling in France page? Some of your questions might be answered there.
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John Flower
Member
- Location
- Wiltshire
Thats true. I think ill probably drink the bar dry
