Best Country for Road Cycling

el_rey

We are 3-4 years from retirement and are seriously considering a move from the US to Europe. I have ridden in France and Italy and love both. If you could pick one location then where would you suggest I retire for great roads, good weather, and reasonable access to an airport or train. Thanks

MountainMonster

Those criteria are ticked by Western Austria, Southern Germany, bits of France as well as Italy. Personally I would say go where you feel most comfortable with the language and culture, as most countries will be great for cycling.

I'm partial to Austria due to the food, hospitality, price of housing and the cycling there. I love the Austrian culture!

arran77

I'd probably look somewhere in the Port du Soleil region in the French Alps, some iconic climbs right on your doorstep, decent summer weather and proper winters (if you like that sort of thing). It's easily within an hours drive from Geneva airport too.

briantrumpet

I'm biased

littledove44

Majorca. Wins hands down.

sloppyschleckonds

The won you're living in

DeVlaeminck

I'd avoid the high mountains, no good in Winter and who wants every ride to be a climb fest, plus the valley roads can be busy. South East France looks good and you are close enough to the big climbs if you want them.

briantrumpet

DeVlaeminck wrote:

I'd avoid the high mountains, no good in Winter and who wants every ride to be a climb fest, plus the valley roads can be busy. South East France looks good and you are close enough to the big climbs if you want them.

Exactement.

Though, to be honest, options for winter riding are rather limited in winter as French roads are rarely salted, and temperatures can be quite severe ... though on the other hand, the main roads dry out pretty quickly, as there's no salt to retain the moisture. Though, on the plus side, it was over 40 degrees in direct sun there last week...

littledove44

MountainMonster wrote:

Those criteria are ticked by Western Austria, Southern Germany, bits of France as well as Italy. Personally I would say go where you feel most comfortable with the language and culture, as most countries will be great for cycling.

I'm partial to Austria due to the food, hospitality, price of housing and the cycling there. I love the Austrian culture!

I would agree with you on hospitality and culture. I have no knowledge of housing prices.

But food??? Surely not.

arran77

littledove44 wrote:

MountainMonster wrote:

Those criteria are ticked by Western Austria, Southern Germany, bits of France as well as Italy. Personally I would say go where you feel most comfortable with the language and culture, as most countries will be great for cycling.

I'm partial to Austria due to the food, hospitality, price of housing and the cycling there. I love the Austrian culture!

I would agree with you on hospitality and culture. I have no knowledge of housing prices.

But food??? Surely not.

Wiener Schnitzel :P

Mikey23

@ bt... Looks amazing. The word benign stands out for me!

MountainMonster

arran77 wrote:

littledove44 wrote:

MountainMonster wrote:

Those criteria are ticked by Western Austria, Southern Germany, bits of France as well as Italy. Personally I would say go where you feel most comfortable with the language and culture, as most countries will be great for cycling.

I'm partial to Austria due to the food, hospitality, price of housing and the cycling there. I love the Austrian culture!

I would agree with you on hospitality and culture. I have no knowledge of housing prices.

But food??? Surely not.

Wiener Schnitzel :P

That is just the tip of the iceberg! Try Cordon Bleu (cheese and ham) or Bauer Cordon Bleu (with onions, cheese and ham). A lot of it is not healthy, but great for the soul, as I always say.

el_rey

Majorca sounds great but I am guessing it may be a little out of my budget range.

rolf_f

briantrumpet wrote:

DeVlaeminck wrote:

I'd avoid the high mountains, no good in Winter and who wants every ride to be a climb fest, plus the valley roads can be busy. South East France looks good and you are close enough to the big climbs if you want them.

Though, to be honest, options for winter riding are rather limited in winter as French roads are rarely salted, and temperatures can be quite severe ... though on the other hand, the main roads dry out pretty quickly, as there's no salt to retain the moisture. Though, on the plus side, it was over 40 degrees in direct sun there last week...

The other problem with such places is that, ultimately, there isn't the variety. One week in Samoens and we'd done most of the doorstep rides. Fabulous though those are, I like seeking out new roads to ride on.

littledove44 wrote:

Majorca. Wins hands down.

Mallorca - small island. Great for a cycling holiday. Would hate to live there as a cyclist. Not even that much variety - ie you have a choice of mountains or flat. Not much in between. Best to be a long way from the coast as the coast means 180 degrees of water that you can't cycle in so much less choice of routes.

What you need is variety - both in terms of numbers of roads so you aren't always on the same stretch - and in terms of scenery (ie flat, rolling hills, bigger hills, mountains etc). Apart from mountains, large chunks of the UK are pretty good but the mountains are an issue. I'd go with Southern France, Germany as having varied scenery and relatively easily reachable mountains plus potentially nice climates (at least in Summer).

pblakeney

I have not cycled there so this is not a fully endorsed suggestion. It is a bit left field but having driven there, how about New Zealand?

Quiet roads with a multitude of routes in a small area.
Plus the weather is quite nice and they speak English.. if a little funny.

de_sisti

SloppySchleckonds wrote:

The won you're living in

?

briantrumpet

De Sisti wrote:

SloppySchleckonds wrote:

The won you're living in

?

I think he's a homophone.

el_rey

From your responses and my own research, I am starting to focus on the South of France. We want to head that way in Dec. for some scouting.

ai_1

As mentioned earlier I'd focus on the cultural side of things before worrying about the cycling. You could have great rides on your doorstep and wonderful weather year round and yet be miserable because you just didn't find the culture to your liking.

badgerbeaver

I've always harboured a desire to retire to a small town outside Bordeaux.

Good cycling country. A couple of hours away from the rolling hills towards the massif central, a couple of hours away from the Pyrenees for hard riding and skiing, 3 hours train ride to Paris from central Bordeaux. Good place to be for most of the year, including summers near the beaches, and crucially, somewhere people are always keen to come and visit.

As I get older and demand less demanding terrain, there are flatter areas and a variety of landscapes.

The health care is good, the food is appetising, and there are international airports close by.

dodgy

I love France, but if I was to retire and was planning to spend the majority of my years cycling, I'd probably choose Spain, specifically Andalucia / Almeria in the SE part of Spain. It's regarded as technically a desert, rain is pretty rare, you have coastal flat routes, plus much hillier stuff further inland.

But realistically, the ability to cycle all year round is never going to be the primary realistic requirement, is it?

homers_double

We have a house in Italy on Lake Como and the scenery is outstanding and the potential for riding is massive. Admittedly I've only ridden my bike there a few times but what I rode was excellent and the weather is also excellent.

I do see lots of riders on the lake road possibly looping the entire lake in a day, 122 miles as I've drawn it up on bikely.

Food wise I don't think you'll beat Italy, and the cost of living can be relativly cheap compared to france.

el_rey

Part of the attraction of the Languedoc-Roussillon region is cultural, good weather, good food, wine, train and plane service, variety of rides and Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur is next door.

ilm_zero7

January in Oman would take some beat - beautiful roads, little traffic, nice people