[Closed] Mountainbiking / touring holiday ideas please

Fly into Biarritz and ride down to Bilbao using parts of the Camino del Norte? Some of it is rubbish, some of it is steps and some of it is lovely blue (maybe a hint of red) singletrack / a bit wider than singletrack. You would have to do some serious map studying to pick your bits and routes. You won't find many places with a bigger cycling culture than here and it has to be one of the most stunning coastlines there is.

Alternatively, there's the Camino de Santiago, it's all rideable but maybe a little bit boring in places. It also runs a bit south from here so will be a lot hotter and dryer, that's a minus for me but maybe not for you.

Give me a shout if I can help. I have some maps and with a big of google translate could get you some info on it.

Ta Doug - I was thinking about Spain.

don't mind the odd tricky bit or hikabike - we can ride red trails fine - but really want to be cycling along relaxed and looking at the scenery most of the time.

Hot and sunny is good. Is water easily available in span - like in Italy where every village has a tap?

TJ every village has a fountain here. Also, on the hills there are usually old fountains where you can fill up, the water's not treated but it's good to drink. If you're on the main camino then there are regular water stops. If I was doing it then i'd go for the Camino del Norte, you guys might prefer the main Camino de Santiago. The scenery in the Camino del Norte is stop you in your tracks stunning. The CdS is just pretty nice! 2 seconds and I'll see if I can find a rough online map to give you the idea.

Ta muchly

Camino del Norte: http://caminodesantiago.consumer.es/los-caminos-de-santiago/del-norte/

And the main Camino that everyone talks about: http://caminodesantiago.consumer.es/los-caminos-de-santiago/frances/

You can see that there are a pile more of them all heading that way.

Could put you in touch with our tandem buddies, they have been across a lot of Europe and were in Croatia and Dalmation islands recently.... They may have a few options for you...

Thought of Morocco...?

Rick

If you have the time, I would avoid the Camino Frances and do the del norte, as above.. The Frances (ie the most popular one) doesn't really have any proper MTB*. It often runs parallel to the road, and when I did it, I often found myself using the road to avoid the crowds of walkers.

If you want hotter, consider the Via de la Plata maybe? Again, not really MTB though.

*edit - that said, if it's wet then the mud in La Rioja will be a test of tyre clearance... it ripped my rear mech off and left me singlespeeding 100km to Burgos...

Morocco - dunno. we want it to be nice and easy in terms of logistics.

Doug - I guess you could be persuaded to work out a bespoke itinerary / trip / custom holiday for us for a reasonable fee? Local knowledge saves a lot of faffing about

Edit

Bob - if its wet there will be dummies out of prams - after getting rained on the last two years tours 🙂

I know that you are ruling out northern europe,but how about the GTMC from Claremont Ferrand to Montpelier,it is excellent,many off road with the vast majority on gravel but some excellent singletrack. We did it carrying tent,stove etc. and had no problems.
Here are some photos... http://www.flickr.com/photos/carlandsian/sets/72157624933743513/
It really is worth doing

thebiglad - liking that very much - its just I have promised Mrs TJ sunshine the last two years and ended up with rain - If I do that again I might be in big trouble 🙂

TJ, I'm doing a week's tour down the coast but it's tough and not really what you're looking for I think. I'm happy to point you in the right direction for some information and suggest some bits to miss out etc if you'd like. I wouldn't be happy to charge for something like you're planning because it's not what I ride / what I know. Stick to what you know is my motto 🙂

One thing to say is that on this coast there is always the chance of some rain. It's what makes the area so green and beautiful. It depends a bit on time of year but it's unlikely to be prolonged and shouldn't be cold!

Ta doug. Makes sense.

Just looking for ideas right now really

What about the Grande traversee du jura? 380 km one way .

Otherwise Tolouse, or Carcasonne through the Arieage (Foix/Ax les thermes) into the Capacir/Cardagne and back via Quillan. You could link lots of this on waymarked trails from the various centre vtt ffc. Or Girona over the border into France, up the Tet valley and back into Spain at Puigcherda, through the Spanish side of the pyranees back to Girona.

Not sure how long these last two would be but I am sure they could be extended to meet the criteria.

More an avenue for investigation but friends who've done the Finale Ligure 24 hrs event in Italy said that the riding round there was great and obviously it ticks most of the boxes you listed.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Finale_Ligure
http://www.24hfinale.com/

And you could make a nice tour of it - Easyjet to Nice, ride, easyjet back (from Nice or somewhere else in Italy?)

have you thought of crossing liguria in Italy? riding the Alta Via dei Monti Liguri.

fly into nice, follow the alta via from Nice airport over to piza in tuscany, thats about 600km.... or you can make it even further to rome!!!!

The trails follows the coast so easy for beach stops and other than the eastern part of the trail (where we are based) the mountains are easily rideable on a tandem and a mix of doubletrack, easy singletrack and asphalt.

The trail is all waymarked and the dedicated site is here [url= http://www.altaviadeimontiliguri.it/portale/en/tappa_per_tappa.wp ]here[/url] also the trail is littered with catered mountain refuges etc.. and being Italy all very good quality, cheap and excellent hospitality.

[img] [/img]

Drop me a line if you want any further info, email in profile.

EDIT, As clubber said, Finale is half way around and the trail crosses Melogno (where ther is some nice trails down into Finale)...worth a nights stop as there is nice camping in Le Manie where the finale 24hr is based.

Ta nasher - that looks interesting

How about Sardinia?

I went there this summer with the missus - its an amazing place.

Loads of great riding both on and off road,

Brilliant food and wine,

Really friendly locals who love cycling,

Hills and amazing beaches

Very chilled, relaxed place 🙂

We were looking at Sardinia but thought it might be a bit small for a fortnights tour 😕 Maybe if we decide to stay in one place and do day trips? all a bit up and down?

Camino Del Cid 870km from Burgos to Valencia might be worth a look as are several on [url= http://www.misrutas.net/ ]this[/url] website. Del Cid is number 40 on the Rutas - de Gran Recorrido section. I can vouch for the routes in the Els Ports area of Valencia region. Enjoy

We were looking at Sardinia but thought it might be a bit small for a fortnights tour Maybe if we decide to stay in one place and do day trips? all a bit up and down?

Sardinia is bigger than Wales and with higher mountains! We made our holidays bike toruing here for years before moving here where we now run a guesthouse for outdoor sportspeople.
You can do a Transardinia down and then cycle back up the east coast in two weeks using these sources:
1. From the [url= http://singletrackworld.com/forum/topic/draft-cover-mtb-guide-sardinia ]forthcoming guide to mountainbiking in Sardinia English edition, to be published in December 2011[/url] "There are two Transardinia N-S routes, each 450 km long with 8-11.000 m climbing. The publication of the GPS routes on [url= http://www.transardinia.net ]www.transardinia.net[/url] has enabled riders to tackle the route by themselves, managing their own logistics and carrying the minimum of luggage. The decision by Giorgio Pupillo to “open up” the TranSardinia to a wider audience led [url= http://www.ichnusabike.it ]IchnusaBike[/url] to also propose the TranSardinia Classic with a similar formula, which it calls TranSardinia Self guided. Today you can ride the TranSardinia Classic at all times of the year, by yourselves and with a minimum of cost, bringing all that you need with you and relying on your own means throughout. No back-up cars, transport of luggage or guides, but both operators, to make this possible, have modified the route, to avoid some technical or remote sections or private land, access to which is possible only with a guide. The TranSardinia by yourself or Self guided is, then, a TranSardinia Classic made slightly easier, in terms of the type of riding, although the total distance remains 450 km."

2. The[url= http://http://www.sardegnadigitallibrary.it/documenti/17_81_20100119153458.pdf ]road book of tours secondary roads/fire roads published by the Regione Sardegna[/url].

ciao Peter

Ta muchly. Lots to think about

There's a cycleway all along the Danube.. although not very hilly I don't suppose but it'd have some nice places to see along the way. Might be a bit easy for you but I thought it sounded cool just from a cultural/historical aspect.

Sunshine a must Molgrips - that is on the list to be done one day however.

this summer - rained on in Italy, last summer rained on in the Netherlands - this year we must have sun or it will be all my fault 🙂

go to mars. olympus mons is the highest peak in the solar system but apparently with a gentle gradient. and it [i]never[/i] rains!

Hmm.. you MUST have sunshine eh? How about North Africa? Too hot? What about Greece?

Or if you REALLY want guaranteed dryness, try the Atacama Desert in Chile.

The average rainfall in the Chilean region of Antofagasta is just 1 millimetre (0.04 in) per year. Some weather stations in the Atacama have never received rain. [b]Evidence suggests that the Atacama may not have had any significant rainfall from 1570 to 1971[/b].

😯

got to be the south of france innit ? done a fair bit down there myself.

thousands of kilometeres of waymarked, graded trails. fabulous consistent weather that stays a little cooler in high summer than the eastern med. velo friendly culture, great food. never ending list of villages, towns, heritage sites, beaches and nature reserves to see before you die. all served by a multitude of start/end point airports.

visit the ffc website vtt pages for a breakdown of the waymarked stuff by department.