The Travel Thread

[pmcg76]

I am a big fan of travelling and always looking for new places to visit, I think cycling has helped develop my interest in travel because I have seen so many fantastic places during races on TV. I always used to think, I would love to go there and that is a big part of the beauty of cycling for me. I had seen the Dolomites on TV and in magazines but they still blew me away when I visited in 08, great place for riding.

I am originally from a very rural but incredibly beautiful part of Ireland. I moved to the urban jungle of Birmingham in the UK to go to uni and I stayed there for over 4 years. I then lived in Maine, USA for 18 months which is when I really started to develop my interest in travel. Since then I have also lived in Australia for a year, Belgium for a year (which of course was great for cycling and beer) and have spent a good bit of time in Spain. I am currently back home in Ireland but cannot decide where I want to live.

My travelling is also reflected in the bike races I have enjoyed attending
Tour of Ireland/Ras/ Irish Nationals
Tour of Britain/PruTour
Tour de France(Dublin, Belgium, Paris, Pyrenees)
Giro/Vuelta
De Ronde/Paris-Roubaix/Ghent Wevelgem/Fleche Wallone
Het Volk/GP Denain/Circuit Franco-Belge/Tour of Switzerland
Tour down Under/San Francisco GP/US Pro Champs, Philly

In total I have visited over 40 countries in Europe/Asia/Australasia/Africa/NorthAmerica. I am planning a trip to South America and then Mexico and through the Rockies up to Alberta in Canada next year.

I would like to hear if anybody has any advice on my planned trip or what others people favourite travel destinations are, maybe I might discover a new place or thing to try. I know there is a good mix of nationalities on here so would love some ideas, suggestions.

 

[Anonymous]

I am a big fan of travelling and always looking for new places to visit, I think cycling has helped develop my interest in travel because I have seen so many fantastic places during races on TV. I always used to think, I would love to go there and that is a big part of the beauty of cycling for me. I had seen the Dolomites on TV and in magazines but they still blew me away when I visited in 08, great place for riding.

I am originally from a very rural but incredibly beautiful part of Ireland. I moved to the urban jungle of Birmingham in the UK to go to uni and I stayed there for over 4 years. I then lived in Maine, USA for 18 months which is when I really started to develop my interest in travel. Since then I have also lived in Australia for a year, Belgium for a year (which of course was great for cycling and beer) and have spent a good bit of time in Spain. I am currently back home in Ireland but cannot decide where I want to live.

My travelling is also reflected in the bike races I have enjoyed attending
Tour of Ireland/Ras/ Irish Nationals
Tour of Britain/PruTour
Tour de France(Dublin, Belgium, Paris, Pyrenees)
Giro/Vuelta
De Ronde/Paris-Roubaix/Ghent Wevelgem/Fleche Wallone
Het Volk/GP Denain/Circuit Franco-Belge/Tour of Switzerland
Tour down Under/San Francisco GP/US Pro Champs, Philly

In total I have visited over 40 countries in Europe/Asia/Australasia/Africa/NorthAmerica. I am planning a trip to South America and then Mexico and through the Rockies up to Alberta in Canada next year.

I would like to hear if anybody has any advice on my planned trip or what others people favourite travel destinations are, maybe I might discover a new place or thing to try. I know there is a good mix of nationalities on here so would love some ideas, suggestions.

If you mountain bike at all, take a left in CO, go to Moab UT, and ride Slickrock...and Poison Spider if you are good and you still want the sh!t scared out of you.

Copper Canyon in Mexico too. But be careful when you get within 100 miles or so of the US border. SKETCHY with a capital S. They keep finding policemen's heads and stuff. Ugly drug war going on.

 

[Race Radio]

I love to travel as well, almost always with my bike. Next trip is Maui next week to climb Haleakala.

Pyrenees, Provence, Tuscany, The Marche, THE DOLOMITES, all amazing places

 

[Machine]

I'll be hitting the training camp in Mallorca in a little over two weeks.

 

[53 x 11]

I'll be hitting the training camp in Mallorca in a little over two weeks.

You thinking of moving up from "Cat 3 equivalent"?

Personally I loved staying in Portugal, keen to get back one day.

 

[Oldman]

PMCG-
skip North from the Mexican border all the way up to the Napa wine country. check the coastal ride routes that Levi's Grand Fondo covered and bring a friend...they are amazingly tough, sketchy and beautiful from extreme climbs to F-1 speed descents. You don't really want to do them alone unless your next of kin can wait awhile to find out what happened on that tight corner you overshot. Riding the Coleman Valley out of Occidental California when the coastal mist lifts will raise the spirits of the most jaded cyclist and the food is really good.

Then go East of Eugene, Oregon for more secluded mountain roads. There were some fabled stage races played out in some scarcely-paved logging roads.

Further North-drive up I-5 to Burlington, Washington and drive East to a small town of Newhalem. Have someone drop you off there and ride East to Winthrop; a small cowboy town. You will have ridden through a condensed version of the Alps, usually with a tailwind. The beer's really good in Winthrop and they have a fine little stage race there in May.

Everything North of there gets spotty with the urban areas but the Tour of White Rock, BC happens in a nice, pseudo-Mediterranean village complete with Euro fans. It is one tough mo-fo of a race and every Commonwealth stud you see in the Pro-tour has done it. The female population that turns out is world class as well.

 

[craig1985]

I love to travel, and sometimes I wonder if I could write a travel book. I have taken by bike to Europe for the 2007 Tour de France. Last year I visited Japan and Vietnam, I didn't take my bike (you would be crazy to ride in Vietnam, or at least in the big cities), and I personally love Japan very much. Every day I want to go back there.

I must say it was a bit tricky for a while adjusting to riding on the opposite side of the road.

 

[krebs303]

But be careful when you get within 100 miles or so of the US border. SKETCHY with a capital S. They keep finding policemen's heads and stuff. Ugly drug war going on.

Mexico is lovely really. Crime is down 23% this year in Rosarito. If your not a drug dealer or a cop/soldier it's just fine. I haven't seen any loose heads rolling down the street in several hours

 

[craig1985]

Rosarito:

Win.

 

[auscyclefan94]

Someone just tweeted this web page and I was amazed to find out what country these picture were taken in. Amazingly it was Iran.

http://www.washingtonsblog.com/2012/09/where-was-this-picture-taken.html

I probably wouldn't dream of travelling to Iran but there are some very scenic areas in that country.

 

[Alpe d'Huez]

While I have never been to Iran, I would love to go. I have crossed paths with Iranians in my travels which did nothing but make me want to visit more. Just like the US, in Iran it's not the people that screw everything up, it's the politicians (and a fraction of he idiots that make the news.) As that link correctly pointed out, Iran, for the most part is a democracy, while Saudia Arabia ("friends" with the west) is an autocratic dictatorship.

The most scenic country I have perhaps visited was Bolivia. Beautiful and wild.