Nantes to Palermo tour 2009

George Sportif and I are going on a 2 month cycle tour of Europe, first tour we've done and wondering if anyone has any advice to offer e.g. places to stay (we are mainly camping), places to avoid, sights to see, how much stuff to take, Locking up etc etc etc

This is a rough route that we will be taking, mainly sticking to the coast the whole way untill we get to Biarritz, then we are skirting the North side of the Pyrenees till we get to Perpignan and then staying on the coast all the way to the south of Italy.

It is roughly 2600 miles and we've got about 2 months, so around 40 miles a day...Does this sounds realistic?

Help and advice would be gratefully received,

Cheers,

Angus and George

40 miles a day will be a breeze. Camping for two months can still be expensive if you stay in proper sites, are you planning on wild camping? With regards to stuff, take as little as possible, my two month tour kit list:

http://www.londonfgss.com/post568543-37.html

i've done the rennes to bordeaux section nice and easy not too many hills get yourself to the coastal area directly west from bordeaux great ride through pine forest brilliabnt cycle ways arcachon very nice place to spend a few nights camping i loved bordeaux ancient centre and beautiful ride along the river

40 miles a day is pretty easy i was getting through 100miles + per day all the way from London to Bordeaux took me 5 days in total ( geared racer )
shame you aren't doing slightly further north the ciders in normandy were taste-tastic

lpg did the section all the way from nice to barcelona

Bombadil- very helpful list cheers, did you use your sandals much?

40 miles a day was a very rough estimate allowing for regular stops to see the sights etc

I heard from a friend who did the santiago de compstella (sp?) that it was a struggle to cycle through the mid day during a Southern European summer, is this true?

We are extreme wild camping, any advice for what type of tent is good and how you locked your bikes during the night?

Used sandals every day when not on the bike - always good to let the feet breath.
Locked up the bikes with 2 x evo mini and 2 x cables (2 bikes) to whatever was available. The tent I used was a vango banshee - was a bit too small - not enough porch space. Next time will be using a north face tadpole - bit bigger porch, only 2.1kg. Wouldn't fancy carrying a tent that was much heavier than that. If you want to be hardcore and superlight, hammocks and tarps could be a good look.

I reckon over 2 months 40 miles a day is a good average. Leaves you time to enjoy the places you visit and maybe take a day off a couple of times.

+1 on as little as possible. Extra weight is bad. My friends I recently went on a weekend tour with had Vango Ultralite tents. They were pricey but I think they weigh 1kg. They were awesome.

Does 2600 miles include that massive bit of sea your going to cover on the way to Sicily?

Does 2600 miles include that massive bit of sea your going to cover on the way to Sicily?

haha I think it actually does.

That ferry trips there in case we are behind time/fancy a ferry trip.

Yeh I was looking at tents and they all seem a bit pricey, but I suppose in the long run it'll end up cheaper as we won't be in hostels.

Just make sure everything is waterproof get a decent pair of panniers ortleibs are great used them last august over 3000 miles wettest august for 100 years rained near every day and they kept everything bone dry, i mean europe will probs be mainly dry but i promise you my friend had to sleep in a wet sleeping bag for weeks his life sucked.

Those ortleib pannier bags sure are pricey though.

Checkout alpkit for their dry bags, you can put them inside any pannier for waterproofing.

Also wiggle do some DHB ortielb copy panniers, no experience of them personally.

I like the idea of a hammock and lightweight sleeping bag. just add a couple of trees (don't have to carry wih you ;))

My flatmates brother was saying a couple of his friends cycled round europe last summer. I'll find out any info when `i next see 'im.

the best idea I have heard for locking up bike while camping is rigging it up to a rape alarm
tie cord to bike peg alarm pin into ground out of sight if someone pulls your bike it will go off

def invest in ortleib bags you will honestly not think they where pricey when you have just done a whole day riding in the rain and your tired and grumpy and realize your sleeping bag and clothes are soaked because your bags where not that water tight after all

I would not stress to much about distances some days you will go way over your quote some days you wont remember its not a race (that what I keep on having to tell myself when touring)
and you will find that as weeks fly past your mussles will get fitter and by end of trip what was a hard day will be a piece of piss

also I'm not sure if angus is a girls name but remember to take into account that 3-4 days in each month in my touring experience if your a female and you bleed all your mussles are going to get pissy at you and lazy when your trying to do 80km this tends to make you a bit slower which can frustrate your riding budy

oh and take nappy rash cream for your but sores :)

also I'm not sure if angus is a girls name but remember to take into account that 3-4 days in each month in my touring experience if your a female and you bleed all your mussles are going to get pissy at you and lazy when your trying to do 80km this tends to make you a bit slower which can frustrate your riding budy

oh and take nappy rash cream for your but sores :)

Thanks man, some good advice there. This bit made me LOL actually! Angus is a bloke though. :)

oh well :)

hope you guys have fun

the best idea I have heard for locking up bike while camping is rigging it up to a rape alarm
tie cord to bike peg alarm pin into ground out of sight if someone pulls your bike it will go off

Sounds like a good idea that

also I'm not sure if angus is a girls name

What the fuck????
Go to Scotland and say that and you'll know it's not a girls name

Checkout alpkit for their dry bags, you can put them inside any pannier for waterproofing.
personally.

OK i will second the waterproof bag idea my two cycle buddies resorted to this after everthing got wet and it worked fine it is however heavier and more awkward

I am thinking of doing a simillar thing, but doing sections, between places and people i know/want to go to/see, and linking it up with an inter rail ticket. Hitting berlin, Paris, and then heading down to the Tarn in the massif central for some proper hills and camping and minimal stuff. Gonna do a test run soon-three days between somerset and cornwall, will see what the kit looks like then....

OK i will second the waterproof bag idea my two cycle buddies resorted to this after everthing got wet and it worked fine it is however heavier and more awkward

yeah I would def second that have bagged up shit in panniers before but you have extra bag weight and the weight of all the water the panniers absorb.

Yep seems like a good idea, think ill definitely be doin that

two friends currently riding through europe to get to spain and then cross to africa
one guy just got injured after doing a couple of 100 mile days so there is another piece of advice dont over stretch your self

also camelbacks are great you get a constant steady rehydration much better than the sudden blasts you get from bottles. better for your body and it allows your body to better regulate your water intake it uses it more effectivly

I can safely say that there is no chance that I'll be over-exerting myself, I'm taking this one slowly and soaking up the views and the sun.

also camelbacks are great you get a constant steady rehydration much better than the sudden blasts you get from bottles. better for your body and it allows your body to better regulate your water intake it uses it more effectivly

Riding dozens of miles with something on your back is, imo, not a great idea.

two friends currently riding through europe to get to spain and then cross to africa
one guy just got injured after doing a couple of 100 mile days so there is another piece of advice dont over stretch your self

also camelbacks are great you get a constant steady rehydration much better than the sudden blasts you get from bottles. better for your body and it allows your body to better regulate your water intake it uses it more effectivly

I use a camel back type thing when MTBing and love it, however I do need to clean it regularly even though I only use water, I'd imagine it would be hard on tour.

Don't take a heavy lock. Just take a little cable lock, remember this isn't brick lane my friend.

Have a few recovery days, or days when you aren't touring (ie: just a little road ride to see something, or do a specific climb), that can be really fun to break up a touring trip.

Wear sensible clothes and wash your shorts every day. Two pairs is enough. You only need to carry breakfast with you on the bike all the time.. you can buy your lunch and evening meal when you have your lunch break, which saves you going shopping at night.

Most important of all, make sure you don't attack too early; but before everyone else.

Were you washing your clothes like this?

Or like this?