Bike Touring France

Tigerandahalf

The Camino is a great trip.
I have done some of the Camino Francés, the more common route.

The Portuguese one is meant to be lovely though. You could always consider renting a bike out there and cycling it.

How many days are you planning?
Google says it takes roughly 2 weeks to walk it with 2 routes - an inland one and a coastal one.

Large bottle small glass

Trekker09 wrote: »

Yup!

I know it's near blasphemy, but I used to do loads of hiking. (Trekker09 is from the 1st Irish Trailtrekker 100km in 2009, and not because I'm a Star Trek fan)!

Bike touring is definitely on the agenda for next year.

I cycled the northern French route; well a road version as I was on a road bike.

What struck me was there are some very long boring sections of something like our National Secondary roads. Pretty boring walking u would think.

There is a certain buzz/camaraderie in the hostels and Santiago, particularly so if you like to get high on Jesus

If doing a European hiking tour, with good hiking as a priority, I'd be inclined to do one of the GR routes rather than the Camino.

Trekker09

Tigerandahalf wrote: »

The Camino is a great trip.
I have done some of the Camino Francés, the more common route.

The Portuguese one is meant to be lovely though. You could always consider renting a bike out there and cycling it.

How many days are you planning?
Google says it takes roughly 2 weeks to walk it with 2 routes - an inland one and a coastal one.

I'm starting on the 12th August and have my return flight for the 30th.
My company has an office in Porto so I can extend if I need to but that should be plenty of time. I have accumulated loads of annual leave, especially since Covid and I am in no pressure to get back to work.

I plan to take a year off in a couple of years and will do the Camino Francais in one trip, as well as the Kokodo Trail (both ways). I was actually signed up for the Kokoda trip in 2013 as I lived 1 hour from the start of the hike, but it was cancelled as it was too dangerous after several local attacks and local porters being killed.

Trekker09

Large bottle small glass wrote: »

I cycled the northern French route; well a road version as I was on a road bike.

What struck me was there are some very long boring sections of something like our National Secondary roads. Pretty boring walking u would think.

There is a certain buzz/camaraderie in the hostels and Santiago, particularly so if you like to get high on Jesus

If doing a European hiking tour, with good hiking as a priority, I'd be inclined to do one of the GR routes rather than the Camino.

I know quite a few good friends that have done the Camino and they all loved it. When I saw the Portuguese route it was perfect as I know some of the areas and always wanted to explore further.

I don't really have any expectations on making friends etc. If it happens it happens. I'm not a religious person but respect people that have genuine faith but I doubt very much that any experience I have on the Camino will make much of a difference to my outlook on religion. I'm more looking forward to the cultural side of it (food & drink)

cyfac

I will be flying to Faro on the 31st Aug to spend the week cycling my way over to Malaga Airport. I intend to to head inland as i make my way to avoid the tourist areas along the coast. Allil in it looks àbout 750k and i cant wait

Tigerandahalf

cyfac wrote: »

I will be flying to Faro on the 31st Aug to spend the week cycling my way over to Malaga Airport. I intend to to head inland as i make my way to avoid the tourist areas along the coast. Allil in it looks àbout 750k and i cant wait

You would be dealing with serious heat at that time of year, possibly in the late 30s. Are you following a designated route or just creating your own route?
Best of luck with it.

cyfac

Thanks Tigerandahalf, All mapped out on Komoot but the beauty of touring is you dont need to be rigid i have it days meaning it will be less than 100k a day with only 2 days of big gain and when i say big im talking 1000m's on a fully loaded tourer thats enough. The beauty of inland Spain are the wonderful villages one ends up in as you go buy they make you stop and explore which means a rest and some shade during the hottest parts of the day ��

Seaswimmer

cyfac wrote: »

I will be flying to Faro on the 31st Aug to spend the week cycling my way over to Malaga Airport. I intend to to head inland as i make my way to avoid the tourist areas along the coast. Allil in it looks àbout 750k and i cant wait

I have done it along the coast. It is not terribly touristy until you get close to Estepona and that stretch isn't great for cycling as it is fast moving dual carriageway for a lot of the time...You have to go inland a fair bit to cross the Quadalquiver river south of Seville anyway. Some lovely cycling around Sanlucar/Vejer/Tarifa ect.
Beware if trying to get your own bike back from Malaga. they insist on a box but don't supply them. We are hoping to do Valencia >> Malaga in October and I have found a bike shop that will pack your bikes and provide a shuttle to the airport for both you and your bike.

cyfac

Seaswimmer wrote: »

I have done it along the coast. It is not terribly touristy until you get close to Estepona and that stretch isn't great for cycling as it is fast moving dual carriageway for a lot of the time...You have to go inland a fair bit to cross the Quadalquiver river south of Seville anyway. Some lovely cycling around Sanlucar/Vejer/Tarifa ect.
Beware if trying to get your own bike back from Malaga. they insist on a box but don't supply them. We are hoping to do Valencia >> Malaga in October and I have found a bike shop that will pack your bikes and provide a shuttle to the airport for both you and your bike.

Thanks Seaswimmer,

My flight is early so i plan to go to Monte Gordo along the coast get the ferry across and then head up into Nothern Spain Any chance you could give me the name of the bike shop in Malaga you are hoping to use. I looked into Alicante to Malaga (cant get away long enough to complete for now) as i have toured around Valencia down through Xalo and Jablon its incredible plus you see pro teams everywhere enjoy your own trip

Seaswimmer

cyfac wrote: »

Thanks Seaswimmer,

My flight is early so i plan to go to Monte Gordo along the coast get the ferry across and then head up into Nothern Spain Any chance you could give me the name of the bike shop in Malaga you are hoping to use. I looked into Alicante to Malaga (cant get away long enough to complete for now) as i have toured around Valencia down through Xalo and Jablon its incredible plus you see pro teams everywhere enjoy your own trip

Yes. That is where we crossed then stayed in Huelva > Los Palacios > Medina Sidonia > Algeciras and Fuengerola.



https://www.bike2malaga.com/en/

Stefan is the person who answered my emails.

Trekker09

cyfac wrote: »

Thanks Seaswimmer,

My flight is early so i plan to go to Monte Gordo along the coast get the ferry across and then head up into Nothern Spain Any chance you could give me the name of the bike shop in Malaga you are hoping to use. I looked into Alicante to Malaga (cant get away long enough to complete for now) as i have toured around Valencia down through Xalo and Jablon its incredible plus you see pro teams everywhere enjoy your own trip

Best of luck with the cycle, sounds great. I've done quite a bit of cycling around Estapona. I love the road to Casares. There's some fine loops in that area. My sister is buying a place there to spend the winter months so I'll have a base to explore from.
I'd be interested in hearing about your bike and set up.

cyfac

Seaswimmer wrote: »

I have done it along the coast. It is not terribly touristy until you get close to Estepona and that stretch isn't great for cycling as it is fast moving dual carriageway for a lot of the time...You have to go inland a fair bit to cross the Quadalquiver river south of Seville anyway. Some lovely cycling around Sanlucar/Vejer/Tarifa ect.
Beware if trying to get your own bike back from Malaga. they insist on a box but don't supply them. We are hoping to do Valencia >> Malaga in October and I have found a bike shop that will pack your bikes and provide a shuttle to the airport for both you and your bike.

Seaswimmer wrote: »

Yes. That is where we crossed then stayed in Huelva > Los Palacios > Medina Sidonia > Algeciras and Fuengerola.


https://www.bike2malaga.com/en/

Stefan is the person who answered my emails.

Brilliant thanks so much for sharing

cyfac

Trekker09 wrote: »

Best of luck with the cycle, sounds great. I've done quite a bit of cycling around Estapona. I love the road to Casares. There's some fine loops in that area. My sister is buying a place there to spend the winter months so I'll have a base to explore from.
I'd be interested in hearing about your bike and set up.

Hi ride a cinelli hobo which is a classic type steel framed tourer with 4 pannier set up, 3X9's set up 42-32-22 with 11-34 on the back i find i spin out quick enough with the 42 but having the 22 is a nice piece of mental insurance when it starts to get on the steep side so i find it worth the trade off. All in bike and gears weighs 40kgs and that would include 3 full bidons of water.

The Cinelli itself is totally old school with canti brakes and 36 hole rims front and back with 37mm tyres but its the simplicity of the bike which is the key everything is fixible on the road and the ride on steel is always a treat

jrar

I was toying with the idea of a bike tour next year involving ferry to Cherbourg and then taking about 2 weeks crabbing down to Nice on a nice route I've worked out so equating to about 120kms a day or maybe a little more if I chose to take a day or two out as "rest" days.

My plan was to travel light as possible, probably in Sept. using hotels/hostels with some flexibility built into the route, but essentially planning on 5-6 hours pedalling per day on average (weather, route, wind will all play a role)

My question is, would a regular road bike be sufficient (with saddle/top tube/handlebar bags for instance) or is that putting too much strain on the bike (and/or myself) i.e. would I need to look at a more conventional touring set-up or something other than a carbon bike ?

cyfac

Hi there

Certinly doable with the set up of bags although i would watch out to see how a frame bag would impact on tour ability to use the bottle cages as already mentioned in this thread it gets hotter over there. The use of a carbon frame is tricker. Manufacturers will say carbon isnt designed to take weight while im sure plenty will say they have loadwd up there bikes and peddled away happily. I would be more concerned about the impact of the extra weight on your braking system ie do you use discs and on your rims 20/24 hole are not designed to carry weight.

blackvalley

cyfac wrote: »

Hi there

Certinly doable with the set up of bags although i would watch out to see how a frame bag would impact on tour ability to use the bottle cages as already mentioned in this thread it gets hotter over there. The use of a carbon frame is tricker. Manufacturers will say carbon isnt designed to take weight while im sure plenty will say they have loadwd up there bikes and peddled away happily. I would be more concerned about the impact of the extra weight on your braking system ie do you use discs and on your rims 20/24 hole are not designed to carry weight.

Thats a little confusing as you would expect most popular carbon bikes to be capable of carrying say a rider of 16 stone / 100KG.
Therefore a lighter cyclist should be able to easily and safely carry a couple of 5KG bags . Its probably very likely that buried amongst the detailed spec of a bike is the max weight.
Luckily iv never had to check that closely ( skinny ball ox )

jrar

blackvalley wrote: »

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Thats a little confusing as you would expect most popular carbon bikes to be capable of carrying say a rider of 16 stone / 100KG.
Therefore a lighter cyclist should be able to easily and safely carry a couple of 5KG bags . Its probably very likely that buried amongst the detailed spec of a bike is the max weight.
Luckily iv never had to check that closely ( skinny ball ox )

Yes, bought a new road bike recently which states typically that 125kgs is the max combined weight of bike and rider - I'm 80kgs and my bike is 8kgs so in theory I've some margin to play with - I think my concern would be more about having an 8 or 10litre bag hanging off a seatpost and the possible effect etc.

I heard Lachlan Morton describing his current adventure - riding the entire TdF route, including transfers, totally unsupported, and he claims that if the bags were removed, he could competitively ride the Tour on the bike in question which suggests that light bikepacking/credit card touring ought to be possible with a regular carbon road bike.

ARX

jrar wrote: »

Yes, bought a new road bike recently which states typically that 125kgs is the max combined weight of bike and rider - I'm 80kgs and my bike is 8kgs so in theory I've some margin to play with - I think my concern would be more about having an 8 or 10litre bag hanging off a seatpost and the possible effect etc.

I'm sure the bike would take the extra weight, I'm just not sure how much you'll be able to fit on it. At 80kg the seatpost is hardly going to bothered by the addition of a seat pack. You'll need two 1 litre bottles so it looks like all your luggage would have to go into a seat pack or around the top tube. I'm sure it's doable but you'll be travelling very light, not so much in terms of weight as in terms of volume (cutting your toothbrush in half, taking only a razor blade instead of a razor, minimal clothing etc). Best of luck with it!

Mefistofelino

jrar wrote: »

I heard Lachlan Morton describing his current adventure - riding the entire TdF route, including transfers, totally unsupported, and he claims that if the bags were removed, he could competitively ride the Tour on the bike in question which suggests that light bikepacking/credit card touring ought to be possible with a regular carbon road bike.

Lachlan Morton weighs about 60 kg so he could probably safely carry another Lachlan Morton around with him.
In general, the bags that attach to the saddle and strap to the post for stability are not an issue for the frame integrity (assuming you don't fill them with diving weights). I've run the traditional "audax-type" saddle bag and the newer bikepacking type on carbon frames / seatposts without a problem.

jrar

ARX wrote: »

I'm sure the bike would take the extra weight, I'm just not sure how much you'll be able to fit on it. At 80kg the seatpost is hardly going to bothered by the addition of a seat pack. You'll need two 1 litre bottles so it looks like all your luggage would have to go into a seat pack or around the top tube. I'm sure it's doable but you'll be travelling very light, not so much in terms of weight as in terms of volume (cutting your toothbrush in half, taking only a razor blade instead of a razor, minimal clothing etc). Best of luck with it!

All very true - I'm only at the VERY early planning stages so I have time to check out options etc. My thinking is yes, travelling light (effectively credit card touring) with a seatpack, handlebar bag, and a top tube/frame bag. Lots of research to do but hey, sometimes that's half the fun !