Cycling Holidays

Any recommendations for maps for an Edge (800) for France?

Talkytoaster do a modified/improved OSM for £10 (IIRC - the website is broken at the moment). Currently downloading (1.3GB) of OSM map from VeloMap.org and will bung that on a spare micro-SD card to see how it looks.

Needs to be routable, though having read around some very minor roads might be missing on OSM.

Garmin's official topo maps seems to be ££££.
 
#Chri5# said:
Any recommendations for maps for an Edge (800) for France?

Talkytoaster do a modified/improved OSM for £10 (IIRC - the website is broken at the moment). Currently downloading (1.3GB) of OSM map from VeloMap.org and will bung that on a spare micro-SD card to see how it looks.

Needs to be routable, though having read around some very minor roads might be missing on OSM.

Garmin's official topo maps seems to be ££££.
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I downloaded them from this place:
http://garmin.openstreetmap.nl/

Did it a while ago now so can't remember exactly how it works. I only downloaded a few tiles for around the area I was going rather than the whole of France though. Worked fine on my 800. Planned my routes on ridewithgps and it was a tad optimistic on some of the 'roads' that turned out to be more like gravel tracks, but that was nothing to do with the maps on the garmin.

At one point I was faced with a difficult dilemma when faced with such a track:
a) Take a 10 mile detour
b) Walk the ~0.5 miles to avoid puncturing
c) Smash down it on my 23mm tyres at full chat to avoid dropping my average speed

Option c won :cool:
 
PCol du Galibiereople that have been to Bourg D'Oisans, if you have any routes could you please post them up.

Looking for routes including the following Cols

Col de la Madeleine
Col de Sarenne
Col de la Croix de Fer
Col de la Colombière
Col Agnel
Col d'Izoard
Colle Sestriere
Col du Sabot
La Bérarde


I'll be covering off the following in the Marmotte....

Col du Glandon
Col du Télégraphe
Col du Galibier
Col du Lautaret
L'Alpe d'Huez
 
Got back from a great week in Provence late last Saturday, so thought I'd write a bit here if anyone else is thinking of heading to that area.

Took the Brittany Ferries overnight economy service from Portsmouth to Le Havre. The website says it's basic - it is indeed nothing flash but there's a cafeteria for food (didn't use it) and a small bar to get a beer or two in. The two of us also had a private showing of King Arthur in the small onboard cinema before going to bed. Benefit of going overnight on the ferry is not having to worry about securing the bikes if staying at a hotel or B&B and arriving fresh for the drive through France the next day. Some cars do go on an open-air deck, so we could see some bikes getting wet. Not sure how we ended up on an inside car deck - perhaps getting to Portsmouth before check-in opened or having a tow-bar rack helped.

Took about 12 hours for the drive (going past Le Mans rather than the Paris route), though we initially stopped in Port Audemer to fuel up and get pastries, then a couple more stops for a driver swap or toilet break. Would highly recommend getting a Sanef toll tag for the motorways from https://www.saneftolling.co.uk/ to get through the tolls without faffing. If you have a valid Eurotunnel booking, it's cheaper from here though : https://www.eurotunnel.com/uk/traveller-info/sanef-tolling/.

We stayed here:

https://www.ownersdirect.co.uk/accommodation/p8051704
https://www.domainedemourchon.com/visitstay/holidays/ (we booked direct)

Six adults (two of us cycling) and one baby, so loads of space in the house with a couple of spare bedrooms. Plenty of space both inside and out, with a safe garden area leading to the large (fenced off) pool area. Big gas BBQ on the front terrace for long, leisurely evening meals. The house is right next door to the wine cave(au) should you run out drinks. Wonderfully quiet at night (the cave closes around 6pm), leaving you in peace to enjoy the sunsets and star gaze. Not somewhere to book if you want nightlife though as there's nothing else in sensible walking distance.

For non-riders in a group, you're in Provence so loads of places to visit and see. Or, just sunbath by the pool and glug the excellent wine they produce on the vineyard!

The downside to renting a house at ~350m altitude is you have to climb back up at the end of each ride. The climb from Seguret would normally be fine (no worse than a lot of climbs in the Peaks or Wales) but once you've got 40 to 50 miles in your legs and it's pushing 40+ degrees, it becomes a horrific, sweaty slog. Makes an ice cold drink and jumping in the pool all the more enjoyable though :D I started freezing a drink bottle of High5 Zero overnight, so I'd have a cold second bottle of drink as it thawed during the ride.

It's an hour's ride to Bedoin for the bottom of Mount Ventoux, less if you want to head up from Malaucène. The beauty of going to Bedoin is that you get to ride the Col de Medeleine (http://veloviewer.com/segments/8018870). Easy, big ring climb on smooth tarmac with some great scenery and a fast, flowing descent into Bedoin. Bedoin is quite a cycling mecca, with way more cyclists than cars. Must be at least five or six bike shops in the village, with lots of bars/cafes for refreshment.

For our Ventoux attempt, we left the house at 07:00 and started the climb about 08:15. Happy to have family in a support car as both of us had drunk both bottles by the time we reached Chalet Reynard. Strava says 2:16 (2:05 moving time) for the full climb and I'm very happy with that.

I got a OSM map from TalkyToaster for £10, but as @mpledge52 says, watch your routes as we found roads that after a few KM of tarmac road turned into a dirt track (rides planned on RideWithGPS). Could have great fun getting lost / exploring with a CX or gravel bike though.

We went for the Eurotunnel option back home as the ferry timetables weren't great and we wanted the quickest route home. Left the vineyard about 08:30, traffic was a bit slow through Lyon (nothing major) and we arrived at the EuroTunnel terminal about 17:30 (one stop for fuel & driver change).
 
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BennyC said:
^Stayed there in October. Pretty sure I posted my thoughts further back for reference.
Pollenca 'old town' as it's referred to is a little more inland. Stay by the port as you have the beach front etc. Had a coffee in the Old Town and a walk around on another day but other than the chapel with about 300 steps there's not much there.
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Old town get lively at night. I was there last summer and the whole centre of old town was filled with people eating and drinking. There is also a huge market that sells everything you could think of which I think is every Sunday; lots of meat and olives! :-)

Base yourself in the port, visit old town for something to do/eat/coffee stop/culture. I found the port to be lacking somewhat, probably because its so stretched out along the beach.
 
That sounds like a good trip Chri5! We were on holiday with family near Biarritz and spent a day in the Pyrenees doing the Tourmalet and part of Hautacam - I'd hoped to make it all the way up but the weather was killer - definitely makes me want to visit Ventoux.
 
All packed for my jaunt tomorrow. Got so much gear! So good not having to worry about how much to take with the car.

Bike has been pretty much fully rebuilt and degreased in preparation. Got few rides/climbs I want to do. Marmotte next Sunday, then planche des belles filles next Wednesday for le tour!
 
One More Solo said:
@SoliD, when do the Marmotte entries open for next year? Did you have much trouble getting a spot? Cheers.
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Somewhen around early November, I registered on 14th Nov, but think this was a few days after initial opening, it took a few weeks to sell out from recollection. Get your accom sorted asap, that was the problem. I can recommend a Chalet in Vaujany if there are a few of you.
 
Flying to Alicante mid April 2018 for just over a week with the boneshaker. Recommendations on area's to stay in or around Calpe would be welcome. After a mixture of climbs and rolling & undulating roads.

Calpe itself looks to provide some particularly lumpy rides with plenty of elevation but access to shorter climbs and some flat stuff wouldn't go a miss too, without having to ride up & over a mountain to get there :p ;)

Denia caught my eye though I know little about the region.
 
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BennyC said:
Flying to Alicante mid April 2018 for just over a week with the boneshaker. Recommendations on area's to stay in or around Calpe would be welcome. After a mixture of climbs and rolling & undulating roads.

Calpe itself looks to provide some particularly lumpy rides with plenty of elevation but access to shorter climbs and some flat stuff wouldn't go a miss too, without having to ride up & over a mountain to get there :p ;)

Denia caught my eye though I know little about the region.
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Been to that area the last three years now. Have usually stayed in Tarbena which gives access to some of the better climbs in the area quite quickly.

Would say col de rates is a great climb, nice and steady gradient from the parcent side. Good for FTP reps, at about 16 mins or so if going well. The Aitana is a bit longer but again lovely climb too. Cumbre del sol is probably worth a look to, up the coast slightly but it was the finish of yesterday's vuelta stage. Pretty tough, steep climb.

I imagine mid April will be starting to get very warm too!
 
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