With 2026 here and the bad weather forcast it's always a good time to look forward to what we may or already have planned.
I always find it interesting and inspiring as to what the plans are and in the past have picked up some great destinations and inspiring riding areas from here
I'll start it off.
Retired last March with a view to take each day and each ride as it came. We had some amazing times in 2025 but that was last year
We have already started our first trip. Arrived last night after a 24 hour journey and are now in New Zealand for 6 weeks. Plan is to visit the main riding areas on both Islands along with some culture and sight seeing along the way.
We have our eldest daughters wedding at the end of May so need to ensure I'm not bruised or broken for that
June is our second trip. 6 weeks touring In the camper mostly riding in Italy, Croatia. Switzerland and France.
Back out in August for 4 weeks. Tunnels booked. Would like to do the Spanish Pyrenees and then the last two weeks back in Finale but it's a long drive between the 2 so the first part is flexible
November will be back in Tenerife for Soul on the Reef
So that our plans. What's yours
Hopefully a long weekend in Malta with MrsMC end March. Couple of long weekends up Lancaster way to catch up with youngest at uni. A week away somewhere on my own or with a friend in June to get some riding in, road and/or gravel. Long weekend in Peebles in September for Tour o' Borders
So far a weekend in Keswick in Feb for the Mrs birthday, Innerleithen for 3 nights at Easter also with the wife. Then 4 nights in Aviemore followed by 3 in Innerleithen with mates in June.
Not booked yet but me and the wife are hoping to go on the Basque MTB Coast trip in August and then me and a mate are trying to make their High Pyrenees trip work in October.
A week biking in Peebles in March and a week biking in the south borders in April. Slovenia biking end of May and biking in Norway/Sweden end of July
crete twice for us, our favourite place. a week with family in july, and 2 weeks with the wife in september ☀️☀️☀️
February half term road trip north to see my son then niece. My bike will be coming with me
2 weeks in California at Easter to see the other niece. I might take my bike. But lots more of outdoors stuff planned
May half term hopefully 4 or 5 days lazy touring with baggage transfers and mrs Ampthill on a ebike
Early July hopefully bike packing Marsher castle with mates
Then assuming the booking comes through 10 days in the isles if scilly
Then a week in the lakes
The big question is do i then retire or hang on a bit longer……
@fathomer I think BasqueMTB is shut in August but you’d need to check. We went in September and the guides were excited about what they’d been up to in their time off. Calendar suggests so - https://www.basquemtb.com/holiday-booking-calendar/
@scuttler you're mostly right 😁, we're looking at the week starting on the 29th August.
My normal plan of "most of July skydiving locally" looks to be a bit shaky given a request to go and do a week of intensive AFF at the end of June and my cousin visiting from the US in August, with a possible trip to Norway the week after he leaves. July is relatively quiet at work, so it could all work out with me working the middle bit, but there's this nagging feeling that I am going to get back to work and think that I have not really had much of a break.
If I am honest, there are so many things I would like to do over summer. I'd like to take the motorbike around the Baltic to Finland and then back through Estonia, Poland and Germany, but that's a two week trip. I'd like to take the van down to Klatovy and back via Berlin (and several breweries) so I can visit friends, but that's a two week trip. I'd like to go up north and visit friends at Östersund and take the Stumpy to Åre, but that's at least a week and, arguably, the most achievable.
Saving for a family trip to Vancouver in 2027 so we're staying local, which as I think is well established now doesn't actually guarantee any cheaper! We have a favourite cottage in Skye that we like to visit so have a full week to look forward to, our 8 year old still enjoys a bit of fossil hunting and despite his protestations will typically enjoy any number of long rambling walks, looking forward to showing him Boreraig and the little ammonite beach nearby that I remember from hiking the Skye Coastal Trail.
Hoping to get out to Raasay properly this time as well, last time we barely made it ashore (literally, they had a standby ferry on which didn't 'fit' the slipway, we had to dash ashore through foaming waves! 😆 ) before we had to run back for the next ferry off the island again.
Riding wise I have a long weekend in Torridon already booked for September based around the Ba Sportive (previously known as the Bealach Mor) but hopefully taking in some remote gravel routes, I have an eye on an Attadale - Bendronaig Lodge - Pait Lodge - Maol Buidhe - Killilan - Glen Ling loop which will probably be 50% hikeabike. Also a couple of out-and-backs, possible to Carnmore Bothy but also to check out Poca Buidhe (which is locked, last I checked, I just really want to head in for a look).
Also in April I've just adapted two 200km routes into one 400km loop which I'm very tempted to split over three days, it looks like it might have the makings of a great loop. It was originally planned as a gravel ride but has sort of turned into just a very long MTB route (as so many of my gravel routes tend to do 🙄 ).
https://www.strava.com/routes/3444249890681881714
I have a big birthday this year so using it as an excuse to buck the trend of the past decade or so and go on a couple of overseas trips.
Next week I'm going cat skiing in Georgia. Cat skiing in Georgia
In September, an MTB trip to Bulgaria. Out The Park
And hopefully some UK weekends climbing and biking in between, as well as family hols.
As a slight aside, I'm genuinely uncomfortable with the footprint (partly hence no big trips or flights in recent years) so I'm also firing up a regular donation to https://treesforlife.org.uk/.
Ferry to Spain booked for mid May for 6 weeks of exploring in the van with gravel bikes, 2/3 weeks in Normandy later in the year again gravel biking.
Week in Wales in Feb
Two weeks in France in May/June, we're going to brave taking the dog on the Chunnel
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As frothed about on another thread, I'm looking at White Room's Backcountry Enduro trip for early September. Did Basque MTB's High Pyrenees trip last year, so wanted to see how everyone's other favourite guiding company stacks up.
Besides that, I'm swithering between locations for a weekend away in May - never ridden around Ballater, so maybe there or a return visit to Torridon.
Probably Morzine and Center Parcs/Disneyland depending if we take the kids or not. But it’ll most likely be the 7 year old twins first time riding the easy green DH trails in PDS, most likely in Les Gets and Avoriaz
Week at BikeVillage is a non-negotiable, been many, many times and always return.
Prob get a week-10 days 'active' holiday and a week-10 days pool holiday with the missus, plus a few long weekends here and there - travel with work so easy to tag a few extra days on. Florence in Feb for starters, Finale in March/April hopefully, and maybe Korea or Whistler later in the year. We'll see...
Australia for a few weeks in spring to catch up with the daughter.
Nothing booked yet as need to tie it in with a lull in work and where she's going to be
Retired last March with a view to take each day and each ride as it came.
Retired last March with a view to take each day and each ride as it came as well and, since the start of June, we have been living in our holiday home and enjoying every minute of it. No plans to return to UK for any great length of time at present and so I’m a bit ambivalent about holidays this year as I seem to be on a big long holiday at present.
Mrs Kilo is planning a week xc skiing in Austria soon but skiing sucks big time so I won’t be going. Otherwise we might go looking for some sun in late spring, maybe Albania or South Africa and put off any big trips until next year.
White Room just booked for a week in July with a couple of mates. Much excite!
Extended family gathering in the Peak at Easter.
Long weekend in Kintyre with friends in April.
Two weeks in Galway round to Rathlin in June.
Definitely want to get to Colonsay and Oronsay after 3 years of attempts...
Fist week of October booked off, so hoping we might get out to do Barra and Uists if the weather plays nice, if not maybe Cairngorms.
All in camper van.
Currently in Patagonia. Wolfs Way in UK, going to try Canadian canoe trip on River Wye, another bikepacking trip in UK somewhere, enduro gnarr in Southern Spain and as many long weekends away in van as I can manage.
Thought I would update on our first trip.
Been back a week and missing it already.
Managed to ride the trails in some awsome places. Only had four days bad weather in 6 weeks. Helicopter uplift didn't happen due to adverse weather so will need to do it next time.
Spent the last couple of days finalising our next trip in the summer.
Anyone else got stuff booked or in the pipeline
Only had four days bad weather in 6 weeks.
That's disappointing - you should have come to Australia instead to avoid all that bad weather 😉
... we're currently lining up a 3-week trip to Victoria and Tasmania winter trip with riding, hiking, and some snow. The Tasmania bit may be dependent on the amount we get for a car we're selling, so fingers crossed.
My 400km in Ardnamurchan has morphed into a 600km on-and-off-road tour of the Monty Python and the Holy Grail film sets 😂
Accommodation was tricky but once I had unlocked it with a wee B&B in Ford the other bookings fell into place 😎
this year I am determined to take my fatbike to the uists to ride all the beaches. I have been wanting to do this for a few years. 2 weeks on maderia looks likely as well.
i want to do more of the motorbike club camping weekends as well. I only made 2 of 9 last year
Aiming to do a lot more miles on the bicycle as well
I am retired tho so every day is a holiday 🙂
Got the last week in March to myself, so weather dependent either cycling or motorcycling in Scotland (not been for ages) alternatively same in Brittany.
A week plus in may/June in Singapore & Queensland for nephew's wedding, back in time for youngest sons wedding end of June 🙂
Then 9 day motorcycling trip in Nepal in October - very excited about that one.
Driving to Corfu. Via France, Belgium, Germany, Austria and Italy, ferry from Venice.
The bike will be going, and I'm hoping to have a crack at getting to the top of Pantokrator, if the heat/legs allow it - the last 600m are 18-20%.
On the way back, dropping in to see my sister in Saint Aignan, France
Was meant to be on a cruise around Dubia/uea ect in a few weeks but that ain't happening for obvious reasons (wifes idea tbh, but I was starting to look forward to the idea of some warm weather!) Otherwise caravan in Cayton bay in August, and a week with freeride Madeira in early October, looking forward to that one.
Afew odd weekends away on the bike in between too hopefully
A fractured hip has scuppered my plans for a Spring gravel cycling holiday week in Spain, hoping to get back cycling (and fit enough) to do Traws Eryri in June (over 4 days inc. riding back to the start on road). Then likely either a road or gravel cycling week somewhere in Europe late summer (probably Spain or Italy as did an Algarve gravel trip last October, Slovenia looks interesting to though).
Just booked a week in Portugal down near Porto for June. My first summer holiday abroad in decades. We're hoping to hire some eBikes for a few of the days and tour the coast a bit - so if anyone has any tips or inside knowledge about where to get decent eMTBs from, please shout here! 😀
Started the year with 3 weeks in New Zealand so we're not topping that.
Long weekend in Wales is incoming in April/May.
Then we're debating going back to the White Isle for some silliness over the summer.
Then finishing with a city break in December. Munich maybe.
Skiing in a weeks time, 2 weeks in Scotland in May, first week up round torridon, second week slowly heading south via the tweed valley. Summer, alps for as long as possible, hopefully 10 weeks, just trying to get some vague plans and costs together
It would be great if everyone posts a few photos of their holidays. I love seeing pics from different places
Go on then. One from each of the main areas we rode in NZ
From our trip in 2024 Mt Cook in the sunshine & Coronet Loop - one of only two days of biking, but the very best day of 9wks so can't complain. 
Slight hijack:
Does anyone know any decent riding destinations in Tuscany or the Abruzzo? There are loads of trails on Trailforks, but don’t know where to start. We’re considering heading there in late June/early July.
Cheers.
We have spent quite a bit of time exploring the trails on the western side of Tuscany using a mixture or Trailforks, Komoot and the local riders knowledge. Mainly in the coastal hills.
Had some amazing rides on awsome trails, however never managed to get a shuttle uplift or guide and so expect some hard long climbs. Saying that it was well worth the effort.
Have ridden trails in Sestri Levante, Levanto, Vernazza, Massa, Livorno, Punta Ala and Massa Marittima. All are different. You need to search a bit to find the best ones
Eurovelo 15 with my better half. Not my usual sort of thing but looking forward to it.
Daughter is in Oz at the moment, so the plan was to tie in with the heat being off on a couple of big contracts and heading out late April/early May for a month on the Gold Coast - will see what's going on in the world though and may postpone