Has anyone done this? If so, where did you ride?

Have gone several times. First time did England, Netherlands, Gemany, Austria, Switzerland.<BR><BR>Next time just Germany. Then France and England. most recent time France. <BR><BR>Next time France.<BR><BR>I have found that it is more fun and relaxing to stay in just 1 or 2 places per week and do day trips. Then either bike or take the train to the next spot.<BR><BR>I think France is the best place - the most roads. If you ride on the roads that are in white on Michelin 1:200,000 scale maps, you will have virtually no traffic.<BR><BR>The Loire Valley is my favorite

Had a very enjoyable eight days in Italy, renting from Mototouring in Milan. Milan, Venice, Florence and Rome in a round trip.<BR>Great roads, great food ....and great weather (late May).<BR>And bikers are not regarded as lower life forms there.

For those of you who did bike, did you have your own bike or rent them? Did you stay in hostels or hotels?

Just as a suggestion, for more budget related travel advice you might want to check out the thorntree message board at lonelyplanet.com<BR>I have found good advice there on ways to save $$!

I thinl you need to plan carefully. Last summer we wanted to bike in France. I bought the Lonely Planet Biking in France book. Our plan was to stay in several locales and do day trips from there. LP even had numbers of shops that rented bikes. No problem we though. I speak enough French to arrange for bike rentals so I called and inquired before we left. Got many guarantees that these were good quality bikes. What a joke. With one exception they were $5 junker garage sale type bikes. You might want to ride for an hour or 2 but not much more. If you locate yourself in the right region of France there are firms which will supply you with a good quality bike. But, businesses like these are rare. We have a trunk mounted bike rack that adjusts to all car sizes. We discovered it fits in the large zippered canvas tote bag I have from Lands End. We actually took it with us (and also put our helments in the bag) in case we found decent bikes that we wanted to keep for the entire time. didn't wor. So, all in all, the largest hurdle I see is finding good bikes. Or, take your won which is another big hassle.

Did more than a dozen trips varying in length from 8 days to 7 weeks. Scandinavia, England, Benelux, France, Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Italy.<BR><BR>France &amp; Switzerland are the countries I liked most. In France I like to use the small campingsites at farms. Even during high season they are very quiet.<BR><BR>I do not recommend the Michelin 1:200 000 maps for biking trips. For France I prefer the 1:100 000 scalke maps from the Institut Geographique National. These beautiful maps give much more detail, including cycle tracks (OK, there are not many), hiking trails and contour lines.

jack - may I suggest the Mosel Valley in Germany. Though my biking days are alas now over though I have biked throughout Europe, Nova Scotia, and PEI and enjoyed every minute. Never-the-less last summer we rented a small cottage in a small town on the Mosel with bikes included and enjoyed cruising the neighborhood - especially on &quot;Happy Mosel Day&quot; when almost the entire length of the main highway from Koblenz to Trier was closed to all but cyclers and rollerbladers. We were also impressed by the number of Germans who just loaded their bikes on the trains for a day or weekend cruise. Oh! to be young again. Do enjoy your trip wherever you choose to go.

CharlieB - I have a friend touring by bike into her 80's!<BR><BR>I took my own bike (bought one in England on the first tour). I stayed in hostels and some camping on the first trip. I don't think hostels are particularly good when cycling. When I get somewhere, I want to get a room, shower and relax some, not wait until 5 or 6 pm for a hostel to open.<BR><BR>I like staying in b&amp;b's or small hotels

bigtyke- how fortunate for your friend! Life, however, is not so lenient with some of us. I wish to God that I could go biking again, but I can't. Thank you for pointing out my disabilities!