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Cycling or biking in Europe from one hotel
Want to do cycling in central or southern Europe for up to 6 days in June 2021 preferably from one or maximum two hotels. 40 to 80 km per day. Moderate hills ok. Any suggestions.
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Bilboburgler, who is in the UK, is very knowledgeable about cycling trips. Hopefully he will see this, but if not, you might try topping the thread when Europe is awake and answering posts.
Good luck! Lavandula |
Rides I've done:
Look at along the Elbe in Germany. I've done Dresden to Dessau and think it was nearly all on bike path which felt safer. it's about 150km, and also Dresden towards the Czech border. Out and back on a long 100km ride or something like that. You may be able to ride all the way to Prague - not sure. I've done numerous 30km routes around Dresden with some friends, but couldn't tell you what the routes were. In Belgium I've ridden only one long day trip, a ~80 or 100km loop out of Bruges. I hooked up with a local riding group at a LBS there that I rented from. |
Central/southern Europe is an enormous area. Can you be a bit more specific? What do you consider "moderate" re climbing?
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Big question. Elbe is a bit linear, lake constance is a bit circular. The places that jump up if you want flatish are Denmark, Holland ( by far the best 2 countries) with almost unlimited cycle paths. Girona in Spain is especially good with a load of radial routes and one massive cycle ring path, then the PO valley in Italy jumps up with miles of quiet roads and cycle paths. I'll have another think and cone back
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Ok, back home now
A lot of northern Europe has long distance bike trails of which the Elbe Hamburg to Prague is but one. https://en.eurovelo.com/#routes-and-countries but these are long distance which is not really your sort of thing. Having cycle paths the whole way is unusual and they normally link up cycle paths with very low traffic roads. As well as the two areas in Italy and Spain which I have recommended you might also like. Bordeaux city which has a lot of radial routes and again a ring road (but beside and seperate from a busy car-path). Alsace is another nice area with a mix of cycle paths, paths through the vinyards and quiet roads. The area along the Yonne (Auxerre, Chablis etc in France) is nice with a few gentle hills. If you decide roughly where you want to go, come back to me and I can nudge you into the better bits. You can just hire bikes, stay in a hotel and use their bikes or do full-service cycling holidays. I've used these guys https://www.headwater.com/ who are pretty good, but your needs will vary by age, energy, interest in hills etc. |
good info bb. I've had good luck connecting with local bike shops (that rent road bikes) both in the US and Europe to get local routes online - whether it's strava, ridewithgps, mapmyride, or whatever....They are the best source for local info. From time to time I've also been able to meet up with a riding group based out of a shop. The only thing I'm wary about with a riding group is being able to keep up, and finding my way if (when) I cannot... I also always bring my own shoes, pedals, clothing, and spares/tools, but as long as I can get a bike that's the right size for me it saves lugging my bike on travels.
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lavendula, sorry I just realised I hadn't thanked you for your compliment. Thank You.
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A cycling holiday is a great opportunity to see parts of a country most tourists never find.
If you decide on the Netherlands, which I know isn't in your search area, then it would be possible to stay at one or maybe two hotels have a long bike ride and get the train back (or vice versa of course) to your hotel. Like some other European countries it is possible to plan your own route using numbered junctions, or you could cycle one of the marked routes or download one. Have a look at https://www.hollandcyclingroutes.com/ I'm sure you an do the bike train hotel thing in other countries too, or maybe consider a bike/boat trip. You sleep on the boat, cycle on your own or with others during the day and then meet up with the boat again at the end of the day. If you feel like a day off you just stay on the boat. |
Spain, France, Italy, Switzerland and Austria. Moderate slope up to 500 m per day.
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You could cycle in the area between Vienna airport and Hungary's capital. That is mainly Danube following but there are still lots of quiet roads around. Switzerland does have flat bottomed valleys but no.
But not as good as the areas I've suggested. |
Thank you Bilboburgler. I will check Girona and Auxorre. I have done Konstans that is an excellent radial site. One day we biked to Reinfalls and back with a train. After Konstans we went to Dornbirngen that had many mountain paths excellent for El bikes. I am interested in areas near Malaga or other sites in Andalusia. Have been considering a base in Ronda. Dont know the area or the biking paths. Quite hilly I think, but then El bikes are excellent.
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