I just found out that I will have most of next summer off, and wanted to get suggestions about places to tour in Europe. A lot of people have reccommended france, I was also thinking spain, and maybe the swiss alps. I'm looking for about a 2 month trip so I can do a lot of things, but has anybody experienced any "must do''s' or places to aviod. Also is anybody else from the states, europe or other is interested, let me know I'd love to explore with others!

cheers,

trevor

Ahhhh, well--I'll get there someday!

Several posters on the general forum have posted photos of bike routes in various parts of the continent; I'm thinking specifically of divve, who showed shots of some mind-boggling (at least to this American) bike highways in either the Netherlands or Belgium. It would be worth the expense of a trip there just to ride on those routes. The French countryside looks like it would be a great place to ride (look on the general board for bradnicholson's recent ride report; beautiful trip through Alsace). ...and Tuscany! Incredible!

Ahhhh, man--I hate you! Have a great trip!

I just found out that I will have most of next summer off, and wanted to get suggestions about places to tour in Europe. A lot of people have reccommended france, I was also thinking spain, and maybe the swiss alps. I'm looking for about a 2 month trip so I can do a lot of things, but has anybody experienced any "must do''s' or places to aviod.
cheers,
trevor

to the International Biking Forum .....just post your question & preferences there and you'll have tons of recommendations from the 'locals' (they're from all 4-corners of the globe)...

http://www.cyclingplus.co.uk/forum/

I'm going next year also, but as of yet no firm plans either for dates/places. I've determined that I don't really want to tour, as in haul my own gear, or camp. I want to ride hard, but then have great food and clean and comfortable hotel facilities. Guided and fully supported tours would be nice but not essential, especially due to the accumulated cost over a several week period.

An Englishman I occassionally ride advised that he considers much of England to be too dangerous now days (narrow roads and bad driving), so I've pretty much ruled that out. I continue to read about the unique and dedicated cycling culture of Italy. It just seems to be a place that I have ride at least once in my life. Even so, there are so many interesting regions that I haven't yet narrowed it down to specific areas. I would like to spend some time in France, but probably only a couple of weeks at most. Riding some of the tour routes/cols would be a memorable experience. Spain would be nice for early season riding, but I don't plan on going that early. I found some "bike and barge" trips down the Rhine and Danube (I think). Doesn't seem like serious cycling, but you can ride every day and see Germany via these river systems. Reasonably priced too. I thought it would be a nice break in between harder tours.

Obvously, I have a lot more research to do before I finalize everything.

I'm going next year also, but as of yet no firm plans either for dates/places. I've determined that I don't really want to tour, as in haul my own gear, or camp. I want to ride hard, but then have great food and clean and comfortable hotel facilities. Guided and fully supported tours would be nice but not essential, especially due to the accumulated cost over a several week period.

An Englishman I occassionally ride advised that he considers much of England to be too dangerous now days (narrow roads and bad driving), so I've pretty much ruled that out. I continue to read about the unique and dedicated cycling culture of Italy. It just seems to be a place that I have ride at least once in my life. Even so, there are so many interesting regions that I haven't yet narrowed it down to specific areas. I would like to spend some time in France, but probably only a couple of weeks at most. Riding some of the tour routes/cols would be a memorable experience. Spain would be nice for early season riding, but I don't plan on going that early. I found some "bike and barge" trips down the Rhine and Danube (I think). Doesn't seem like serious cycling, but you can ride every day and see Germany via these river systems. Reasonably priced too. I thought it would be a nice break in between harder tours.

Obvously, I have a lot more research to do before I finalize everything.


i'm an american living in heidelberg germany. if you guys would like any advice about riding in europe let me know...i have done a bit of touring and a lot of "regular" riding.

lots of good biking areas, my personal views are that germany has the best system of bike trails and roads to include the netherlands. french drivers are bad and their roads are not that good either and bike paths are not as prevalent, same for italy...that all said you can ride and have a good time in all these places and i recommend it.

I just found out that I will have most of next summer off, and wanted to get suggestions about places to tour in Europe. A lot of people have reccommended france, I was also thinking spain, and maybe the swiss alps. I'm looking for about a 2 month trip so I can do a lot of things, but has anybody experienced any "must do''s' or places to aviod. Also is anybody else from the states, europe or other is interested, let me know I'd love to explore with others!

cheers,

trevor

I personally love Italy. Check out www.italybikehotels.com for some great info. They are bike-friendly hotels, with some recomended routes. This spring we went to Liguria: fantastico!
In high school I rode in the Alsace, France region with my family for a week. I still remember Mont. St. Odile!
With that much time, just pack your bags and go with some loose itinerary and be spontaneous. We met a ton of cool folks. It helps to speak the language.
And avoid August, it is hot and everyone is on vacation, so tons of traffic and all the hotels are booked/expensive.
That said, I think I would check out eastern Europe. I have been all over western Europe, though. Places like Slovakia seem less expensive and more interesting/non-USA. More of an adventure.

I'm going to be riding in France this summer also. I'm trying to gather info on it now.

Beautiful countryside, friendly people, and lots of history. Lots of cheap B and Bs to stay at. Did a weeklong loop to the north of Shannon (airport) through the Burren, Galway, and the Connemara. Then a weeklong tour to the north around the Dingle Penninsula, Ring of Kerry, and Cork. Here are the towns:

Shannon (airport), Lahinch, Galway, Clifden, Westport, Galway, Kilrush, Dingle, Kilorglin, Waterville, Kill-arny, Bantry, Cork, Tipperary, Shannon