Cycling on places far away from home

[ClemondS]

Hello to all first :razz: .

I have some questions about cycling adventures far away from home. What did you do before you go on vacantion - for example on Gran Canaria, Lago di Garda, Dolomites and places like this?

What is your biggest question before start of your cycling vacation in unknown places?

Where to rent your bike?
Where to ride?
Where to find bike guide for your ride?
Which page/app to use for preparation for your rides?
what you should see on your rides?
Some other questions??

Thanks for your feedback.

 

[dhungerf]

1) Locate a good bike shop in the area where you plan to ride.
2) For shorter trips, I rent a bike from the shop in the area (research them on the internet)
3) Any good shop will set up the bike to fit you properly (send them the info ahead of time)
4) Seek out riders in that area (Strava is a good start) and look for some local rides (again, the bike shops web page)
5) Stopping to visit local vinyards / micro breweries is always a popular activity

 

[King Boonen]

All of those questions are massively dependent on location, its pretty much impossible to give general answers.

 

[iamparker]

How can it be possible to answer all of these questions precisely as each answer differs one from another subject to different places of the visits and times? It would be easier to answer for any specific place and time. Thank you

 

[AussieBob]

I rode in the Dolomites in September. I took my own bike over and borrowed as bike case from the local bike shop. I went with two friends and the routes were mapped prior to departure. Book accomodation prior to departure. We also hired a car for the time. Take your usual accessories such as spare tubes. I suggest you take clothing for all conditions.

The other consideration is food. We had small bite sized sandwiches as well as gels and bars.

We had thought of stopping in towns for coffee and lunch but that disappeared as we started and would have a decent break at the top of a difficult climb.

The important thing is to plan your rides. Decide what you want to do and the town you wish to ride from.

 

[Piton]

Hello to all first :razz: .

I have some questions about cycling adventures far away from home. What did you do before you go on vacantion - for example on Gran Canaria, Lago di Garda, Dolomites and places like this?

What is your biggest question before start of your cycling vacation in unknown places?

Where to rent your bike?
Where to ride?
Where to find bike guide for your ride?
Which page/app to use for preparation for your rides?
what you should see on your rides?
Some other questions??

Thanks for your feedback.

Biggest question is often "Where do all the friends want to go to" With preference high mountains like Dolomites or Alpes.

Bike rental only for short trips, for longer trips always my own bike.

Use Strava to draw routes.

Sometimes good to see snow on the mountains, riding in the sun along 3 meter high snow wals is amazing.

Some other questions? Where is good coffee and good restaurants ;-)

 

[winkybiker]

Bit of an old thread. But Strava "heat maps" make the popular local cycling routes pretty obvious. The one for Vancouver where I live pretty much nails the best rides. Cyclists tend to cycle on the best roads to cycle on (duh).

http://labs.strava.com/heatmap/#10/-123.18695/49.31259/blue/bike

They can be a bit hard to relate back to a proper map if you're not already familiar with the roads. It's possible with a bit of patience, though.

 

[Piton]

Next week I'll be cycling on the Cote d'Azur. Don't know if that is really far from home in your opinion.