Where would your dream cycling vacation be? A few criteria...
04-09-19, 05:46 AM
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Where would your dream cycling vacation be? A few criteria...
Backstory: Mid-30s male from Canada, one brother, our final grandparent passed away recently. In his will, he left us each $10000 Canadian (around US$7500, 6600 euros, etc), with specific instruction to use it for something special to remind us of him. We've decided to take a cycling trip together. I'm 65kg, FTP 175W currently (so 2.7 W/kg), with him being similar. Expect to be around 3 W/kg by trip time. Neither of us have ever done group cycling or cycling in mountains (I live in a very flat place) or anything like this trip before.
04-09-19, 05:51 AM
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So....What are the criteria?
04-09-19, 06:54 AM
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Buy very, very nice custom bikes. Or at least very nice bikes. Then ride where he lived. You will remember him always as you ride your bike that was a gift from him!
04-09-19, 07:10 AM
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Is there a place where everything is always downhill?
04-09-19, 07:15 AM
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Supported or unsupported?
Camping or indoor accommodations?
Domestic or abroad?
How far are they willing to travel?
How long?
Terrain? (OP mentions not having done mountains, but doesn't expressly exclude them).
I'm nut putting any more effort into this thread until the OP does.
04-09-19, 07:20 AM
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04-09-19, 07:25 AM
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10,000 will go a long way in Spain. Girona is a great base for cycling. A wide variety of great riding, respectful drivers, good food and nice scenery. Plenty of hills, access to the beach and not too far from the Pyrenees if you want some bigger hills. We rented a nice house on Airbnb, had a private chef cook a few meals and sampled the local restaurants the other days. Nice to come home after a long exhausting ride to have dinner ready and waiting.
04-09-19, 07:27 AM
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It's the road to Hell. But don't worry, it's paved with good intentions. 
I think the Cambria area is the closest thing to cycling Heaven that any of us will find in this life, if you don't believe me, just look at some of the Eroica pics from last weekend.
I think the Cambria area is the closest thing to cycling Heaven that any of us will find in this life, if you don't believe me, just look at some of the Eroica pics from last weekend.
04-09-19, 11:49 AM
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Depending on what you want to do, $10k will get you a LOT of time in an inexpensive manner, or a decent amount of time in a decently luxurious manner.
I'd personally bum around Central Europe, the Baltics, and down to the Balkans for a couple months, staying at hostels and eating at cheap bars, but thats just me. As indyfabz mentioned, we need a lot more to go on.
I'd personally bum around Central Europe, the Baltics, and down to the Balkans for a couple months, staying at hostels and eating at cheap bars, but thats just me. As indyfabz mentioned, we need a lot more to go on.
04-09-19, 12:10 PM
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I'd go mountain biking in Whistler, or check out BKXC on youtube, he does a ton a of riding around the world but based out of California
04-09-19, 12:30 PM
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Fly To AMS , Schiphol airport put your bike together @ the arrival area , and ride away from there
Holland is flat too ..
I would go out to the Seacoast @ Zandvoort & Camp (jetlag, solution too) then go north or south from there..
1 trip I went north , looping around the Ijsselmeer and coming back across the seadam ,
next time I went south into Belgium ..
Holland is flat too ..
I would go out to the Seacoast @ Zandvoort & Camp (jetlag, solution too) then go north or south from there..
1 trip I went north , looping around the Ijsselmeer and coming back across the seadam ,
next time I went south into Belgium ..
04-09-19, 04:49 PM
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Himalayas, Lhasa to Kathmandu. Here's a tour company link: https://www.redspokes.co.uk/cycling-...w.php?c=23&t=4
04-10-19, 08:30 AM
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This was asked last year...
...and my answer hasn't changed. Epic climbs from the Tour De France. That's where I'd be headed.
Quoting from then:
Epic Tour Stage Climbs...
1. L’ALPE D’HUEZ
2. MONT VENTOUX
3. COL DU TOURMALET
4. COL DU GALIBIER
1 and 3 on a geared road bike. 2 and 4 on a fixed gear. That's my dream vacation. PG
Quoting from then:
Epic Tour Stage Climbs...
1. L’ALPE D’HUEZ
2. MONT VENTOUX
3. COL DU TOURMALET
4. COL DU GALIBIER
1 and 3 on a geared road bike. 2 and 4 on a fixed gear. That's my dream vacation. PG
04-10-19, 08:34 AM
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how about an S&P 500 index fund instead? then take the bike trip 40 years from now
04-10-19, 10:07 AM
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My benefactor would be funding a trip to Mauna Kea and Haleakala.
04-10-19, 10:29 AM
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Italy. I'd rent a house in Umbria and do day rides from town to town.
04-10-19, 10:38 AM
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My dream vacation would be to check out an indoor velodrome. No wind, no traffic, no hills, no bratty kids yelling at you when they're let out of school, nothing. Just me, the bike and perfect conditions. Let 'er rip! 
04-10-19, 11:31 AM
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This book on the Tour de France ride was pretty fun! About some people who supported some friends who were trying to ride one day ahead! This seems like a pretty cool experience.
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00LN0GGMM...ng=UTF8&btkr=1
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00LN0GGMM...ng=UTF8&btkr=1
04-11-19, 02:26 AM
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Criteria = $10,000
We'd be doing a little circle:
Heading to Japan ...
Hopping over to South Korea for a while ...
https://www.bookmundi.com/t/cycling-...a-5-best-paths
Then down to Taiwan.
And Hong Kong.
And Malaysia.
And Western Australia.
Then across the Nullarbor to Melbourne.
We'd need at least a couple months for that.
We'd be doing a little circle:
Heading to Japan ...
Hopping over to South Korea for a while ...
https://www.bookmundi.com/t/cycling-...a-5-best-paths
Then down to Taiwan.
And Hong Kong.
And Malaysia.
And Western Australia.
Then across the Nullarbor to Melbourne.
We'd need at least a couple months for that.
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04-11-19, 03:15 AM
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Japan. Live like a king for the entirety of your 90 day visa and see the weirdest stuff, while meeting nice people and eating great food
04-11-19, 06:54 AM
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Come here to Japan. The scenery is fantastic, you can drink the water and not get sick. The food is great, and cyclists have the right of way over cars. The roads are well maintained, you can stay in hostels, internet cafes, capsule hotels, or business hotels, camping is an option outside the cities. The country is completely safe, you won't be robbed, your pockets won't be picked, terrorism is nonexistent, and bike theft is rare.
There are mountains, but nothing like the Alps or Pyrenees in southern Europe. It doesn't take long to get acclimated to them. Bike shops are common, you can find parts or have repairs done even in small towns. The people are friendly, and if you get tired or sick, public transport is cheap and easy to find.
On the negative side, weather is unpredictable, and can vary from hot and sunny to very rainy in a day. Summers can be very hot and humid, winters there can be cold and snowy. Early May is very busy, flights and hotels can be hard to find.
There are mountains, but nothing like the Alps or Pyrenees in southern Europe. It doesn't take long to get acclimated to them. Bike shops are common, you can find parts or have repairs done even in small towns. The people are friendly, and if you get tired or sick, public transport is cheap and easy to find.
On the negative side, weather is unpredictable, and can vary from hot and sunny to very rainy in a day. Summers can be very hot and humid, winters there can be cold and snowy. Early May is very busy, flights and hotels can be hard to find.
04-11-19, 07:56 AM
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Backstory: Mid-30s male from Canada, one brother, our final grandparent passed away recently. In his will, he left us each $10000 Canadian (around US$7500, 6600 euros, etc), with specific instruction to use it for something special to remind us of him. We've decided to take a cycling trip together. I'm 65kg, FTP 175W currently (so 2.7 W/kg), with him being similar. Expect to be around 3 W/kg by trip time. Neither of us have ever done group cycling or cycling in mountains (I live in a very flat place) or anything like this trip before.
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Stuart Black
Plan Epsilon Around Lake Michigan in the era of Covid
Old School…When It Wasn’t Ancient bikepacking
Gold Fever Three days of dirt in Colorado
Pokin' around the Poconos A cold ride around Lake Erie
Dinosaurs in Colorado A mountain bike guide to the Purgatory Canyon dinosaur trackway
Solo Without Pie. The search for pie in the Midwest.
Picking the Scablands. Washington and Oregon, 2005. Pie and spiders on the Columbia River!
