Compiling a bucketlist - any suggestions please?
Comments
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Fenix wrote:
One of the best things I have ever done for a number of reasons, the company I was with, the scenery, the drinking, camping on beaches and the fact I managed to drag the GF round with no training! I would recommend it for anyone's bucket list. Because of poor weather we cut off part of the coast road north of ullapool and went up and over a giant climb down to the Kylesku bridge which was excellent despite the weather.
We also cut off at Wick because of a storm, I would recommend taking a different route back from the North coast to avoid the east coast section entirely. The scenery is a tad monotonous after the west, the A9/99 is rubbish and there is meant to be excellent cycling down the alternative routes (B871, A897 or A836). The A836 cuts off quite early from the north coast bit from Tongue (we camped there, it was stunning) and runs down past Ben Hope, It looks like you could take that route and avoid the A9 altogether, I haven't ridden it but it looks perfect0 -
"As an aside, has anyone ever used those coach services - there is a website I have seen, but I think it works that your bike goes in the luggage section, along with your minimal kit, and then it stops at a few locations down through Europe, and you choose where you get off to ride, and or to come back I guess. Would mean credit card B&B travelling I guess, which is fine."
I used the Bike Express once or twice a year for many years to get me to and from France and Spain for cycle camping holidays. I no longer use it as I have bought a camper van. The bike bus is quite expensive but worth it for me as it gets you to the heart of great cycling country completely hassle-free. It's just a question of you getting with your bike to the pick-up points in U.K. and France at the right time. You can then relax on the journey as everything is done for you. Your bike is safely stored in a big covered trailer and you have a rather gruelling overnight on a coach with reclining seats, snack meals and DVDs to watch. You can take as much kit as you like. If you are going, say, to the Alps, Pyrenees or Provence, the coach drops you off early the next morning. Definitely recommended.
http://www.bike-express.co.uk/
I love climbing the big mountain passes you see in the Tour de France - even when loaded with camping gear. It gives a huge sense of achievement - there is nothing like it in the U.K. You can catch the bus to one spot and go home from another if you fancy a linear ride. Some of my favourite climbs are up Ventoux, Galibier, Bonette, Cayolle, Allos, Izoard, Croix de Fer, Cormet de Roselend, Croix Fry, Glieres, Cret de Chatillon and, in the Pyrenees, the Tourmalet and Port de Bales. I could go on ... and on.
One sort of trip you might want to consider, if you have the time, is to catch the Bike Express to somewhere like Montpellier, Orange or Perpignan in the far south of France and cycle home (or go the other way), taking in the virtually empty countryside of central France. Or follow all or part of the medieval pilgrimage route across France to Santiago de Compostela in north west Spain.0
