Cycling in France or Spain even

[Gunzo]

How many of you have been to France?

I'm going alone for a week from the 20th of August, after a week I'm going to Spain where I'll meet up with my fiancée and her family.

 

What I want to do, is go to Mont Ventoux, and cycle this epic climb.

But maybe some of you have better suggestions? Where should I go and what should I do?

I'm a bit of cycling junkie at this stage, so want to plan a trip around a great cycling venture in France.

(Note that I am not bound to France, and other countries can also be considered. But hey, it's France!)

 

I'm on a tight budget, so I will probably be camping, is this advisable?

 

Another question: Should I hire the bike, or rather take my bike with.

 

Do any of you have any contacts in France? Maybe someone I can visit, or borrow a road bike from and so forth.

 

Please help me with any ideas and suggestions.

 

Thanks

[oli]

I've done some touring in France London -> Toulouse, camping wasn't an issue there where plenty on the way.

Definitely the way to go if you want to save money. Yet, this is touring holidays you're looking at, so you'll need

the right bike, camping gears and you'll be traveling heavy. In this case, forget about ventoux.

You could also look at super light touring. A friend of mine was looking at crossing the alps and managed to

get his camping stuff under 6k. Yet that is expensive gears.

The Ventoux area is awesome for cycling and you'll have plenty to do. You could set up camp around there do your ride with your bike

then take a train west next to the Pyrenees to get closer to Spain, set up camp etc... (you might need to put our bike in a bag if you use the TGV

otherwise make sure there is a bike area.) You could even cross the border east of the Pyrenees, along the coast.

That was my original plan but never got to do it.

 

Mind that August will be very busy in the south east so maybe book your camping spot in advance, south west tend to get less busy. People love cyclists there and being French myself i hope they will treat you well.

 

Good luck!

Edited April 19, 2011 by oli