Suggestions for a 3 week European tour in May

clanton

Have got the first three weeks off for a tour in May. Looking at Europe, self supported, camping. On road or a mixture of on-road and not-too-rough off road stuff.

Ideally I want to take a ferry or train or even bus and preferably not have to bag the bikes.

Considering Spain or Southern France currently - is it too early in the year for the Pyrenees - will all the cols be closed? Have looked at the ferry to Bilbao but the dates they sail don't work that well - would lose a few days of the trip.

So suggestions as to where is good at that time and easily accessible please!

PS European Bike Express only start running 07 May so not an option unfortunately.

pneumatic

My fantasy for this year is Rhine + Rhone. Rotterdam to Adermatt along the Rhine cycle route, Andermatt to Geneva, Geneva to Lyon, Avignon, Camargue. In three weeks, you could do some or all of that and then get the train (or the bike express) back to the Channel ports.

So far, I have whipped up some enthusiasm down the pub for the escapade and had a firm, absolute, you must be joking, no way, not till Hell freezes over etc. at home. I am regarding the latter as a mere negotiating position.

andymiller

If you don't want to have to bag your bike then France is the best bet - a sleeper train is likely to be the best option (although there are TGVs with bike carriage facilities).

Taking a bike on a long-distance train in Spain, even with a bag, is difficult (if not, officially at least, impossible). Regional trains are generally OK - so if you were thinking about a ferry to Santander that might be an option.

Getting a bag would give you a greater range of options. I appreciate that having to take the wheels etc off is a hassle - but packing the bike takes an hour tops and could mean that you can take a fast train rather than having to make a complicated odyssey on regional trains. - And the bag could well pay for itself in one trip. My recommendation would be a Ground Effect Tardis.

clanton

Thanks for the replies so far. My reluctance with regards to the bike bag is the need to store it somewhere and return to your starting point - I am hoping to do an end-to-end type trip rather than a circular/ there and back thing.

clanton

pneumatic wrote:

My fantasy for this year is Rhine + Rhone. Rotterdam to Adermatt along the Rhine cycle route, Andermatt to Geneva, Geneva to Lyon, Avignon, Camargue. In three weeks, you could do some or all of that and then get the train (or the bike express) back to the Channel ports.

So far, I have whipped up some enthusiasm down the pub for the escapade and had a firm, absolute, you must be joking, no way, not till Hell freezes over etc. at home. I am regarding the latter as a mere negotiating position.

Out of curiosity - how far is that trip in all?

andymiller

clanton wrote:

Thanks for the replies so far. My reluctance with regards to the bike bag is the need to store it somewhere and return to your starting point - I am hoping to do an end-to-end type trip rather than a circular/ there and back thing.

With the Ground Effect bag you can simply pop it into one of those polythene mailers then either send it to a hotel/hostel at your final destination (best to arrange when you make the reservation) or send it to a post office - marked 'poste restante' in France, or 'Lista de Correos' in Spain. Yes it's an extra hassle, but sometimes that's less hassle than the other alternatives.

Garrigou

Depending on how early/late in May you'd be in the Pyrenees (and the weather between now and then) you might get lucky & find just about every col open (or rideable if you lift the bike over a barrier).
There's been very little snow so far this winter & 2-3 weeks of sunny conditions recently have melted what was around right up to 1500m or so. Unless there are some big 'dumps' in Feb/March, that might raise hopes of the higher passes opening a bit earlier than usual. By mid/late-May, you'd usually find everything below 2000m is rideable (so, only Tourmalet & Port de Pailheres with much real chance of being a problem). So, if those big snowfalls don'y materialise you might find everything open by early May.

pneumatic

clanton wrote:

pneumatic wrote:

My fantasy for this year is Rhine + Rhone. Rotterdam to Adermatt along the Rhine cycle route, Andermatt to Geneva, Geneva to Lyon, Avignon, Camargue. In three weeks, you could do some or all of that and then get the train (or the bike express) back to the Channel ports.

So far, I have whipped up some enthusiasm down the pub for the escapade and had a firm, absolute, you must be joking, no way, not till Hell freezes over etc. at home. I am regarding the latter as a mere negotiating position.

Out of curiosity - how far is that trip in all?

Very roughly 2000km, I think. Once you get to Geneva, you would just go as far South as you had time left to go. European bike express picks up at Valence, Orange and Montpellier. There is one serious climb (after Andermatt, the aptly named Furka-pass, which is the Rhine/Rhone watershed, is about 2300m); the rest should be pretty fast (and very varied scenically).