Me and a friend have decided to try a bit of cycling touring, having never done it before. We will be riding on road bikes, well I'm on a cross bike and it looks like route planning is falling on my shoulders but I'm a little overwhelmed trying to find the best information and routes to take.
Has anyone done this route before or can point me in right direction? and don't say "That a way"
what do you want from your route?
shortest route, scenic route, hilly route? how many days?
Dave
A couple of really good route planning tools:
Sustrans mapping. It doesn't automatically plan routes, but it shows cycle-friendly routes (local routes and National Cycle Network), generally on quiet roads, not necessarily flat or direct but this is Wales after all. Some of it is deliberately planned to take you a scenic route so it's great for more leisurely touring.
A lot of the National Cycle Network is signed on the ground too - poorly in some places but good in others, which emans you don't have to keep checking the map every mile. You can also download a free smartphone app with OS mapping on, and cache the maps for the inevitable reception deserts. Sustrans also do paper maps of the NCN.
http://www.sustrans.org.uk/map
Cyclestreets. This one plans routes for you and you can specify quiet, direct or balanced routes.
+1 for sustrans routes. Although I find [url= http://www.opencyclemap.org/ ]http://www.opencyclemap.org/[/url] is a better map for seeing the NCN/Sustrans routes and planning how to link them together.
I also have the OCM app on my iphone which is very useful for getting back on track if you've lost the path!
Dave
We are planning on riding for anywhere up to 7 days, its in the early stages of planning as this was talked about on Friday and I've pushed it into a reality and said lets just do it. This is going to be our test before we take on some where in europe to try and raise money for charity.
I've just ordered two maps from Sustrans as they had north to south routes planned out. I don't think we will be missioning it across the ride.
I'm planning on running a double chainset as I don't think my cross bike can handle a tripple. What size rings up fron would you recommend?
It depends what you're used to, and how much kit you're carrying, but compact gearing (48/34 or thereabouts) should do you fine.
Have a search for "Lon Las Cymru" and you should find loads more advice.
A55, M6, M5, M4