Calais to Seville - Any Info??

[KateBr]

Hi,

Mid to end of March 2008 my boyfriend and I are setting off from Calais with the plan to cycle to Seville - may include train at some stage!

Anyway, we are new to touring and wondered if .........

1. Anyone had a recommended route for a beginner or could suggest a good book/website, i.e. the lonely planet or michelin?

2. If anyone could suggest clothing to pack, we are going to be camping so I'm expecting it to be rainy and cold.

And any other tips would be most appreciated!

Thanks everyone!

 

[joeyc87]

how long have you given yourslf?

Hi,

Mid to end of March 2008 my boyfriend and I are setting off from Calais with the plan to cycle to Seville - may include train at some stage!

Anyway, we are new to touring and wondered if .........

1. Anyone had a recommended route for a beginner or could suggest a good book/website, i.e. the lonely planet or michelin?

2. If anyone could suggest clothing to pack, we are going to be camping so I'm expecting it to be rainy and cold.

And any other tips would be most appreciated!

Thanks everyone!

 

[KateBr]

2 months

how long have you given yourslf?

 

[joeyc87]

You have plenty of time. france will be easy, the question is when you get over the pyrenes. the central plains of spain are their version of nebraska, or the more traffic heavy coast road, which i would vote for the coast then up over the sierra nevada.

2 months

 

[KateBr]

thanks for your reply, i heard that the west coast of france is very flat and a nice cycle? have you benn through france, if so which way did you go?

thanks

 

[joeyc87]

it is flat and the good thing is you ll have a tail wind, bad thing is the west coast in march makes seatle look like mexico... usually, but things will get much nicer once you get to biarritz.

thanks for your reply, i heard that the west coast of france is very flat and a nice cycle? have you benn through france, if so which way did you go?

thanks

 

[geoffs]

thanks for your reply, i heard that the west coast of france is very flat and a nice cycle? have you benn through france, if so which way did you go?

thanks

Remember flat can mean headwinds.
We found the Lonely Planet guide very good but you need the Michelin 1:200,000 yellow maps as well.
Here is a bit of the route we did in 2005 http://www.bikely.com/maps/bike-path/Dordogne
which is worth while including if you can.

Learn to speak some French. It is considered rude not to at least make the attempt and enjoy the wonderful food. Be brave with the Plat du Jour.

And get a tandem. It's by far the best way for a couple to tour especially if your abilities are different either in strength or stamina

Cheers

Geoff

 

[PDSev]

Hi Kate:

I'm not sure if this option fits in with your schedule, but... I'm putting together an open ride in March/April of 2008, starting in Irún and heading down to Tarifa for a month.

The ride is a project funded by Salomon Sports, and the goal is to create the first cross-country cycle touring route. We'll be doing between 50 - 90 km per day, camping and staying in youth hostels and small hotels and doing cultural visits along the way. Please feel free to PM me if you'd like more info:

http://trans-iberian.blogspot.com

Best,

Dawn

 

[raybo]

www.biketouringtips.com has 3 links for Spain

Ray

 

[vinyl_theif]

Hi. I rode London to Barcelona this year, i use the French IGN maps from themapcentre.com, excellent scale of 1cm:1km so you can plot your route so clearly. If you have not rode in France before you have no worries, the roads are ALL marked , you just can't get lost..but do take a compass. Campsites are easy to find, but a few times i 'free camped', i like the feeling of self sufficieny & seclusion.

The time of year your going will be quite fresh, & maybe wet, take good panniers & a few large clear sealable polythene bags for maps to go in, also waterproof overshoes & trousers, use mudguards, i find it strange so many tourers don't fit them, sure they may not look cool, but they serve a purpose..helping to keep lugage dry, also it reduces grit thrown from front the wheel onto the chain lead to increase in chain & chainring wear, Tortec do the best ones.

Mark. MK