OT: family cycling holiday ideas

2»

Comments

  • cjcp
    cjcp Posts: 13,345
    Got it - cheers, fella. Thanksgiving party last night, so about to read over my bowl of Shreddies.

    @Bomp & Basso - much appreciated. I did some touring through Belgium (Ostende, Bruges, Ghent) and the Netherlands (Middleburg, Amsterdam, and down the coast to the Hook) back in the mid '90s, and even then the cycling network was very good. Gonna have to think how lumpy a route I can get away with. For example, if I go with Rower's suggestion, I should prepare for bikes being thrown into the Atlantic :), but cycling along river banks should be ok. The camping could be a plan, too - got a five man tent we can stick in the car. I think we'll avoid the French holidays in August, and opt for May instead; I don't think I'll be able to take any time off in August anyway.
    FCN 2-4.

    "What happens when the hammer goes down, kids?"
    "It stays down, Daddy."
    "Exactly."
  • cjcp
    cjcp Posts: 13,345
    FLIPPIN' 'ECK, BOFF!

    Nearly choked on my Shreddies!
    FCN 2-4.

    "What happens when the hammer goes down, kids?"
    "It stays down, Daddy."
    "Exactly."
  • anonymousblackfg
    anonymousblackfg Posts: 2,029
    Two ideas, i've read Bordeaux is meant to be very well set up with Paths up the into the Medoc.

    Else, I really enjoyed Zeeland in Holland and will go back with young kids, bike paths through the forests at the back of the beaches. Zeeland is their version of Rock but less public school tw4ts with their collars up.

    Two German ideas,

    Along the Rhine near Bonn/Cologne
    Around Lake Constance (tried it camping but arrived in solid rain with the idea of some riding, the rain was forecast to last 7 more days so bailed west into France to see family), still keen to give it a go.
    If I know you, and I like you, you can borrow my bike box for £30 a week. PM for details.
  • elbowloh
    elbowloh Posts: 7,078
    cjcp wrote:
    FLIPPIN' 'ECK, BOFF!

    Nearly choked on my Shreddies!
    Swingers holiday?
    Felt F1 2014
    Felt Z6 2012
    Red Arthur Caygill steel frame
    Tall....
    www.seewildlife.co.uk
  • mtb-idle
    mtb-idle Posts: 2,179
    cjcp wrote:
    Ventoux: hmm. There's a train to Avignon, right? But a bit pricey, iirc. But worth considering...

    Trained it there in June, surprisingly cheap (and easy) depending on when you book. beautiful place, tons of riding but probably not family friendly in terms of the amount of climbing

    My recommendation was going to be the Loire valley around Chinon. We spent a beautiful unfortunately for me non-cycling family holiday there some years ago but I do recall seeing a family cycling between the towns and villages and bumping into them every second village we stopped in.

    The benefits aside from the stunning scenery are small distances between towns, quiet roads and as it is the river valley nice flat roads.
    FCN = 4
  • cjcp
    cjcp Posts: 13,345
    I think Kingstonian may have ridden in Zeeland; I didn't go that far north.

    @MTB - yep, Ventoux probably a too lumpy.

    At the moment, the two front-runners are the Loire and Germany, so need to look into these a bit more.
    FCN 2-4.

    "What happens when the hammer goes down, kids?"
    "It stays down, Daddy."
    "Exactly."
  • ugo.santalucia
    ugo.santalucia Posts: 28,334
    cjcp wrote:
    I think Kingstonian may have ridden in Zeeland; I didn't go that far north.

    @MTB - yep, Ventoux probably a too lumpy.

    At the moment, the two front-runners are the Loire and Germany, so need to look into these a bit more.

    Been cycling with wife in both... I'd say Germany has more segregated cycling paths, which are tarmaced over and wide... they are really great facilities, occasionally they run far away from the roads. The Loire valley is more a mix of roads and lanes.
    I'd say you can have a very nice holiday in either places... very similar in fact... rivers and castles and cute towns. The drive from Calais to Saumur is similar to driving down to Koblenz, give or take.

    If you are a wine person, probably the Loire valley has more to offer... but if you like beer, Germany is the place to go
    left the forum March 2023
  • itboffin
    itboffin Posts: 20,072
    Koblenz home of Canyon ;-)

    a lovely place, stunning town, forest and river views
    Rule #5 // Harden The Feck Up.
    Rule #9 // If you are out riding in bad weather, it means you are a badass. Period.
    Rule #12 // The correct number of bikes to own is n+1.
    Rule #42 // A bike race shall never be preceded with a swim and/or followed by a run.
  • shirley_basso
    shirley_basso Posts: 6,195
    The Loire A Velo is several 1000K of segregated bike path!
  • cjcp
    cjcp Posts: 13,345
    ugo.santalucia wrote:
    cjcp wrote:
    I think Kingstonian may have ridden in Zeeland; I didn't go that far north.

    @MTB - yep, Ventoux probably a too lumpy.

    At the moment, the two front-runners are the Loire and Germany, so need to look into these a bit more.

    Been cycling with wife in both... I'd say Germany has more segregated cycling paths, which are tarmaced over and wide... they are really great facilities, occasionally they run far away from the roads. The Loire valley is more a mix of roads and lanes.
    I'd say you can have a very nice holiday in either places... very similar in fact... rivers and castles and cute towns. The drive from Calais to Saumur is similar to driving down to Koblenz, give or take.

    If you are a wine person, probably the Loire valley has more to offer... but if you like beer, Germany is the place to go

    Cheers. I'd probably prefer paths over lanes -- riding on dedicated cycle paths along riverbanks and what not between towns or villages, and then stopping in said towns or villages to eat and drink, is the picture I have in my head anyway. Mrs J is definitely taken by the idea of checking out the castles, and began looking into Germany a bit more.

    Beer or wine, either will do :).
    FCN 2-4.

    "What happens when the hammer goes down, kids?"
    "It stays down, Daddy."
    "Exactly."
  • cjcp
    cjcp Posts: 13,345
    Shirley Basso wrote:
    The Loire A Velo is several 1000K of segregated bike path!

    Just to complicate things.

    Argh!

    :)
    FCN 2-4.

    "What happens when the hammer goes down, kids?"
    "It stays down, Daddy."
    "Exactly."
  • cjcp
    cjcp Posts: 13,345
    itboffin wrote:
    Koblenz home of Canyon ;-)

    a lovely place, stunning town, forest and river views

    It's a sign from the gods...
    FCN 2-4.

    "What happens when the hammer goes down, kids?"
    "It stays down, Daddy."
    "Exactly."
  • ugo.santalucia
    ugo.santalucia Posts: 28,334
    cjcp wrote:
    ugo.santalucia wrote:
    cjcp wrote:
    I think Kingstonian may have ridden in Zeeland; I didn't go that far north.

    @MTB - yep, Ventoux probably a too lumpy.

    At the moment, the two front-runners are the Loire and Germany, so need to look into these a bit more.

    Been cycling with wife in both... I'd say Germany has more segregated cycling paths, which are tarmaced over and wide... they are really great facilities, occasionally they run far away from the roads. The Loire valley is more a mix of roads and lanes.
    I'd say you can have a very nice holiday in either places... very similar in fact... rivers and castles and cute towns. The drive from Calais to Saumur is similar to driving down to Koblenz, give or take.

    If you are a wine person, probably the Loire valley has more to offer... but if you like beer, Germany is the place to go

    Cheers. I'd probably prefer paths over lanes -- riding on dedicated cycle paths along riverbanks and what not between towns or villages, and then stopping in said towns or villages to eat and drink, is the picture I have in my head anyway. Mrs J is definitely taken by the idea of checking out the castles, and began looking into Germany a bit more.

    Beer or wine, either will do :).

    It is a wine producing region too, although for variety and price it doesn't compete with the Loire Valley.

    In 2013, we stayed in this hotel, which was fabulous

    http://www.zum-weissen-schwanen.de/home/

    image09.jpg

    Burg Eltz is very close by, one of the most fab castles in Germany

    Wierschem%2C_Burg_Eltz%2C_2012-08_CN-01.jpg
    left the forum March 2023
  • shirley_basso
    shirley_basso Posts: 6,195
    cjcp wrote:
    Shirley Basso wrote:
    The Loire A Velo is several 1000K of segregated bike path!

    Just to complicate things.

    Argh!

    :)

    Edit: Do both in consecutive years.!
  • itboffin
    itboffin Posts: 20,072
    Ha small world we also stayed there, i might have also eaten a wheel sized sausage there as well
    Rule #5 // Harden The Feck Up.
    Rule #9 // If you are out riding in bad weather, it means you are a badass. Period.
    Rule #12 // The correct number of bikes to own is n+1.
    Rule #42 // A bike race shall never be preceded with a swim and/or followed by a run.
  • cjcp
    cjcp Posts: 13,345
    ugo.santalucia wrote:
    cjcp wrote:
    ugo.santalucia wrote:
    cjcp wrote:
    I think Kingstonian may have ridden in Zeeland; I didn't go that far north.

    @MTB - yep, Ventoux probably a too lumpy.

    At the moment, the two front-runners are the Loire and Germany, so need to look into these a bit more.

    Been cycling with wife in both... I'd say Germany has more segregated cycling paths, which are tarmaced over and wide... they are really great facilities, occasionally they run far away from the roads. The Loire valley is more a mix of roads and lanes.
    I'd say you can have a very nice holiday in either places... very similar in fact... rivers and castles and cute towns. The drive from Calais to Saumur is similar to driving down to Koblenz, give or take.

    If you are a wine person, probably the Loire valley has more to offer... but if you like beer, Germany is the place to go

    Cheers. I'd probably prefer paths over lanes -- riding on dedicated cycle paths along riverbanks and what not between towns or villages, and then stopping in said towns or villages to eat and drink, is the picture I have in my head anyway. Mrs J is definitely taken by the idea of checking out the castles, and began looking into Germany a bit more.

    Beer or wine, either will do :).

    It is a wine producing region too, although for variety and price it doesn't compete with the Loire Valley.

    In 2013, we stayed in this hotel, which was fabulous

    http://www.zum-weissen-schwanen.de/home/

    image09.jpg

    Burg Eltz is very close by, one of the most fab castles in Germany

    Wierschem%2C_Burg_Eltz%2C_2012-08_CN-01.jpg

    Oh my days, that looks awesome. Just shown at Mrs J, and these castles are possibly clinching it. We've had a couple of holidays in the Dordogne, so it'll be good to see something new. Cheers for sharing that.

    @Shirley - consecutive years could be a distinct possibility if next year goes well.
    FCN 2-4.

    "What happens when the hammer goes down, kids?"
    "It stays down, Daddy."
    "Exactly."
  • itboffin
    itboffin Posts: 20,072
    If that's your chosen destination Chris email me and i'll ask my wife if her friend can arrange for you to meet Roman and/or Franc if you'd like
    Rule #5 // Harden The Feck Up.
    Rule #9 // If you are out riding in bad weather, it means you are a badass. Period.
    Rule #12 // The correct number of bikes to own is n+1.
    Rule #42 // A bike race shall never be preceded with a swim and/or followed by a run.
  • cjcp
    cjcp Posts: 13,345
    Very kind, fella. Wouldn't want to impose on them in the way Chevy Chase and his family did in National Lampoon's European Vacation :)
    FCN 2-4.

    "What happens when the hammer goes down, kids?"
    "It stays down, Daddy."
    "Exactly."
  • inbike
    inbike Posts: 264
    MTB-Idle wrote:
    cjcp wrote:
    Ventoux: hmm. There's a train to Avignon, right? But a bit pricey, iirc. But worth considering...

    Trained it there in June, surprisingly cheap (and easy) depending on when you book. beautiful place, tons of riding but probably not family friendly in terms of the amount of climbing

    My recommendation was going to be the Loire valley around Chinon. We spent a beautiful unfortunately for me non-cycling family holiday there some years ago but I do recall seeing a family cycling between the towns and villages and bumping into them every second village we stopped in.

    The benefits aside from the stunning scenery are small distances between towns, quiet roads and as it is the river valley nice flat roads.

    We rented a whole mini castle near Chinon this year for two families.

    Private pool, BBQ every evening, sunshine, good wine, no internet at all. Perfect in every way.

    We did about 20-30 miles per day and didn't really repeat any routes. Very little traffic and it was pretty flat except for Chinon itself - I towed two toddlers in a trailer up a 12% hill. Good workout to make space for lunch.
  • mtb-idle
    mtb-idle Posts: 2,179
    Glad to hear it fella.

    Which reminds me, July 2014 I rode the pyrenees HC's following Le Tour with my eldest son and then drove up to Bordeaux to meet my wife and youngest son at the airport before spending a great week in Arcachon on the west coast.

    Another stunningly beautiful part of France with hundreds of klicks of bike paths and all pan flat and family friendly
    FCN = 4
  • ugo.santalucia
    ugo.santalucia Posts: 28,334
    cjcp wrote:
    Oh my days, that looks awesome. Just shown at Mrs J, and these castles are possibly clinching it. We've had a couple of holidays in the Dordogne, so it'll be good to see something new. Cheers for sharing that.

    Next time, we'll probably stay on the Moselle side, rather than the Rhine side of Koblenz... the Moselle cycle path is virtually endless and you can go all the way to Strasbourg in France. We'll probably catch a train there and tour it with the Brompton...

    Staying somewhere like Cochem, you probably get the best deal around

    weinhotel_cochem_impression_cochem_001.jpg
    left the forum March 2023
  • twotoebenny
    twotoebenny Posts: 1,542
    That looks amazing, stunning picture
  • cjcp
    cjcp Posts: 13,345
    This is getting too close to call!

    That picture is stunning.

    I now need to check this Moselle route.
    FCN 2-4.

    "What happens when the hammer goes down, kids?"
    "It stays down, Daddy."
    "Exactly."
  • ugo.santalucia
    ugo.santalucia Posts: 28,334
    cjcp wrote:
    This is getting too close to call!

    That picture is stunning.

    I now need to check this Moselle route.

    it's one of the most popular cycling routes in the world among non lycra cyclists. Lots of tour operators offer packages to ride it all
    left the forum March 2023

Categories