vacation in europe

[AOA]

Hi all,,,

well I am looking forward to spend the next summer vacation in Europe, to cycle with a group, all my friends are a lazy, huge belly (jelly) boring guys who will never think about doing any kind of sports LoL. So if any one is facing the same problem let me know and let's see how to plan it


cheers

 

[dhk2]

Friends and I stayed at an "Italy Bike Hotel" for a week in spring of 2008. It was a terrific week of cycling, food, and relaxation on the Adriatic coast. The hotel led four different levels of rides everyday. Most of the rides went up from the coast to a hilltop village, stopped for coffee and returned to the hotel around 1-2 PM. Urbino and San Marino are well-known to tourists, but s ome of the smaller towns were nice too. The guests were mostly brits and germans.

Easy to go by yourself and enjoy. Considering the levels of food, wine and service for an all-inclusive price, I think it's a great value as well. Just don't expect to lose weight!

You can go to www.italybikehotels.it for more details.

 

[AOA]

thanks a lot for the info..but what if I want to do a challenging ride..like the Alps ..would you recommend something,,cuz I just found out today that there is a race next march and it will be a good start for me so i wanna do a hard course...BTW TREK travel are providing the Tour De France track.. at the same time of the Race amazing.. it will cost arround $5000...



and I think its exclusive for TREK..waiting for your comment,,Best regards

 

[dhk2]

I've heard of the Trek event. Thought it was run primarily for the dealers.

A buddy here went on a week-long TdF trip this summer, riding the mountain stages just before the tour came through. He went with a small group organized out of a bike shop in Atlanta,

I'd like to do the climbs in the Alps or Pyrenees some day too, but fighting the TdF crowds and high lodging/food prices during July don't interest me. If you have a buddy or small group, it wouldn't be too hard to arrange your own trip during spring or early fall. For a "self-guided" week in the Alps, check out: http://www.biketoursdirect.com//?location=tourdetail&tid=53&searching=yes


The top-level rides from the bike hotel were too fast for my buddy and I, but of course you may consider them easy. You could go to a bike hotel on the italian riviera that participates in the "Nove Colli" (9 Hills) Gran Fondo in May. Starting in Cesenatico, home of Pantani, it's the biggest in Italy with 12K entrants. The 200 KM course has something like 3800 meters of vertical, which would be a full day of riding for me The hotels that participate help get you registered, provide transportation for their guests and bikes to the start, etc. You can get all the details at www.novecolli.it

 

[AOA]

Wow thanks a lot. Thats more than what ive asked for thanks a million. Thanks again ill try to look arroundn ill let u later my plans. So u can give me your opinion and advice.

 

[cshuttleworth]

I rode solo across the Alps (east from Geneva) many years ago (1985 - my second-ever tour) and really enjoyed except because of the language barrier (a lot of folks just spoken German) it got a little lonely. Anyway, I'd love to go back someday, and I'd like to do much more next time now that Eastern Europe has opened up. The riding and mountain scenery were unbeatable. I'm a teacher and have the summer free: mid-June to mid-August.

 

[cycling66]

Originally Posted by AOA .

Hi all,,,

well I am looking forward to spend the next summer vacation in Europe, to cycle with a group, all my friends are a lazy, huge belly (jelly) boring guys who will never think about doing any kind of sports LoL. So if any one is facing the same problem let me know and let's see how to plan it


cheers

Maybe have look here, it's not in the Alps, but challenging.
Most of all, you have no worries!!

http://www.cyclinginflanders.com

 

[campagnoloman]

Well there's different meanings to challenging when it comes to cycling! If you're thinking about a supported bike vacation in Europe with some decent miles, check out Easy Rider Tours, a US company with tours in Spain, Portugal, and Ireland. They have a new Pyrenees to the Sea bike tour in the Catalonia region of Spain and France, and you bike the Pyrenees, Mediterranean coast, and Girona, where Lance Armstrong lived for five years. "Supported" generally means a van to take luggage, local guides, built-in riding company, good hotels and meals. Self-contained means a touring bike with panniers and do your own thing. Or base yourself in one location and do loop rides. It's all good when you're on a bike for your vacation!

 

[RoyalDutchShell]

Another idea is Austria. I lived there for a few years and the cycling was mind-blowing. The roads are perfect, the scenery is so beautiful that it's ridiculous and there are lots of open cycling events (ie. "radmarathons", which are gran fondos where they treat it like a race.). Check out www.radmarathon.at and you can search the calendar.

The Grossglockner is an insane climb (http://www.glocknerkoenig.com/en/) as is the Kitzbuheler horn (http://www.kitzhornchallenge.at/) if you are into that, or even the Oeztaler Radmarathon which is more insane.

It might be cheaper to go and base yourself out of Innsbruck or a bed and breakfast in the mountains somewhere with a rental car than doing a Tour de France group tour, etc. The Tour of Austria is on anyways in early July...

Austria must be one of the most overlooked countries for cycling!

 

[Matthewop]

great idea.. i think someday i will give it a try!

 

[vspa]

Originally Posted by cshuttleworth .

I rode solo across the Alps (east from Geneva) many years ago (1985 - my second-ever tour) and really enjoyed except because of the language barrier (a lot of folks just spoken German) it got a little lonely. Anyway, I'd love to go back someday, and I'd like to do much more next time now that Eastern Europe has opened up. The riding and mountain scenery were unbeatable. I'm a teacher and have the summer free: mid-June to mid-August.

i think that you mean east of Switzerland, towards Austria,
there's a lot to explore in the rest of western Europe also,