Contents: Tours (7)
Reports by Nick Taylor
All descriptions are in English, unless otherwise noted.
Tours
| Pyrenees - Toulouse to Barcelona - June/July 2013
tour started July 2013, submitted 29 April 2015 A 7-day tour from Toulouse to Barcelona. 620km cycled, stopping at Saint-Blancard, Lourdes, Sainte Marie de Campan, Vielha, Montferrer, Manresa and Barcelona. A stunning dream trip through the Pyrenees. A nicely-balanced route, taking in Lourdes for a blessing of the legs, three consecutive big mountain days and Tour/Giro highlights of Col du Tourmalet, Col de l'Aspin, Col de Peyresourde, Col du Portillon, Puerto de la Bonaigua, and Port del Canto, then a nice couple of days home run to Barcelona. |
 |
| Thessaloniki to Athens - September 2009
tour started September 2009, submitted 25 September 2009 A six-day tour from Thessaloniki to Athens in Greece. 637km cycled, stopping in Thessaloniki, Katerini-Paralia, Larissa, Lamia, Delphi and Thiva. The highlight was definitely the hills and archaeological sites around Delphi, but we loved dodging the wild dogs, chatting with priests and lapping up Greek Salad every day. Greece doesn't seem used to recreational cyclists, but it offers many spectacular views and challenging hills, and we encountered a warm welcome and considerate driving everywhere (even in Athens!). |
 |
| Bilbao to Valencia - May 2008
tour started May 2008, submitted 1 June 2008 A six-day tour from Bilbao to Valencia in Spain. 710km cycled, stopping over in Bilbao, Vitoria-Gasteiz, Calahorra, Calatayud, Teruel and Chelva. Highlights included: tasting percebes in Bilbao, wine for lunch amidst truckers at Los Arcos, tailwinds out of Calahorra, the plateau south of the Sierra Moncayo, 35K of downhill to Calatayud, Man Utd winning the Champions League (watched in Teruel), and getting a true taste of rural Spain at Bar Neutral in Chelva. |
 |
| Sardinia 2007
tour started October 2007, submitted 2 November 2007 A six-day circular tour around the island of Sardinia. 619km cycled, stopping over in Fertilia, Stintino, Oschiri, Cala Gonone, Lanusei, Macomer and final destination Alghero. Copious amounts of strenuous uphill pedalling, plenty of long speedy descents and hairpins, amazing scenery along coasts and through many ridges and mountains. Wonderful welcomes and hospitality from the locals, and some quirky, but lovely, local culinary specialities. Despite the need for extra effort, Sardinia is strongly recommended! |
 |
| Malaga to Madrid - May 2004
tour started May 2004, submitted 29 September 2007 A six-day tour through the hills and plains of southern Spain. 544km cycled, stopping over in Antequera, Castro del Rio, Fuencaliente, Ciudad Real and Toledo. This tour was a baptism of heat and hills through the olive groves north of Malaga, giving way to cooler weather, stunning landscapes and beautiful plains as we neared Madrid. |
 |
| Ljubljana to Budapest 2006
tour started September 2006, submitted 4 October 2006 A self-organised, seven-day tour for four through the countryside of Eastern Slovenia and Western Hungary. A total of 647km travelled. Highlights included: romantic Ljubljana, the socialist-realist new town of Velenje, traversing the Pohorje Massif via the Rogla ski resort, crossing the border at Kobilje, sampling erratic Hungarian driving techniques, having to off-road frequently, 85km of flat along Lake Balaton, the old town of Szekesfehervar (when we found it), and entering Budapest the hard way via the Buda hills. All that and sampling every beer we could find... |
 |
| Venice to Rome (Venezia a Roma) 2005
tour started September 2005, submitted 23 May 2006 A tour from Venice to Rome in bella Italia. We travelled a total of 668 kilometres in seven days, with around 32 hours of cycling time. After a couple of short easy days on the flat, we hit some evil hills and late summer heat as we headed south of Bologna into Tuscany, before finding an easy direct route straight into the heart of Rome and St Mark's at the Vatican. |
 |