Touring - Barcelona to Belfast

Hi all,

Under advice of another user, im just going to copy and paste my introduction into this forum, this is probably the forum im going to spend most time in:

Im wiles9 from Northern Ireland, currently i live in Spain, have done for about 8 months, im studying Mathematics out here. Im a big mountaineering fan of all types, but this challenge ive set up ahead is something new to me... long distance cycling.... and i need a lot of advice please from this community..

My girlfriend and myself have planned, what is to us a big big trip.. we plan to cycle : Barcelona -> Belfast

The route has not yet been planned, the training has not yet begun... and last but not least.. we aint even got ourselves bikes capable of the jobs.. so all advice is welcome.

We have april/may/june training time, and july/august/start september to do the trip, which i guess is gonna be about 1500 miles.. depending on the decided route.. ie. through spain, pyrenees, france, south ireland to north.

Maybe to some this is a small task, to us its huge, as we never have done anything like it, talk about going of on a tangent from rock climbing to this eh..???

People who throw some advice back.. anything is welcome and im grateful, brands, styles, price to spend etc etc... so far we have a budget, but havent been able to decide on an upper limit... as we our trying to work out how much we will spend a month on the road and during training... (living on pasta haha)

Cheers folks,
wiles9

-----------

That was my original post, since then we have trailed all over barcelona looking at all the bike shops, the three best so far have been "Pro Bike" and "Cycle House, Tomas Domingo", "Cicloturismo" if that helps anyone. Most shops dont stock the right gear, so far they have tried to sell us racers that they say they will drill holes in for us, others have even went as far as trying to sell us town bikes.. so were not taking anyones word. The three above were very helpful but still not 100% honest in my opinion. The fact that we are not fluent in Spanish does not help... we only know basics.

Few questions...

1. Spokes... will 32 do for heavy loaded?
2. Aluminion forks, much more vibrations??

and the bikes so far...

For my gf (user ang): Specialised Tricross Sport Triple

Me.. well im stumped, i also like the above bike, seems up to the job... but the other bike ive seen (hugely out of my price range, but hey.. we all splash out sometimes..) is a Canondale Touring, dont know the exact model..

It has 10speed with 3 front cogs, brook leather seat, Tubus front and back racks, shimano 105 gears etc etc.. im sure you pros know the model im on about, ill find out the exact year/model tomorrow.

Im not so sure what else to ask right now.. we have been reading some other threads but with uni work time on computers is hard to come by!!!

Em.. Cheers again :-)

I can only comment on a proposed route, and only the final leg of your journey: I recommend the ferry! :)

Sounds like a great trip. You will get good advice here.

The important thing is that you have lots of time and don't need to rush any purchases.

I recommend you get a bike that has the following bits:

1. Magura Hydraulic rim brakes. They have incredible stopping power, and it takes 10 seconds to change the brake pads when they wear out. And it doesn't require any tools at all to do.

2. Brooks saddle. Nothing else is nearly as good or nearly as proven. Your tushy will thank you!

3. An adjustable stem for the handle bars. Being able to raise an lower the saddle and being able to raise and lower the handle bars means that you will be able to fit the bike exactly to your comfort specifications.

4. My touring bike is a hybrid, the Raleigh Aspen. It is absolutely fabulous. I don't recommend road bikes with skinny tires because in Europe many bike routes are not on paved roads. My tires are 1.5 to 1.75 inches wide. Oh yeah, 28" wheels (700c), no 26" mountain bike wheels.

5. Use Scwalbe Marathon Plus tires, and you will never get a flat. Period.

Hi, I would also recomend a Brooks leather saddle, Champion Flyer (with sprinngs) or B17 (without) and the Schwalbe Marathon Plus tires, my wife and I both use 700x35c, they cant be beat for reliability and comfort.
As for a bike here is a site that has some pics fullyloadedtouring.com (http://www.fullyloadedtouring.com/), it will give you an idea of the different tipes used for loaded touring. I ride a hybrid and my wife a fitness bike both aluminum, good bikes, and they din't break the bank. We use them only for touring and long day trips, we have a couple cheap city bikes for everyday.
Also make sure you have low enough gears, (your knees will thank you), we use 42/32/22 up front and 11-30 on the rear, we can climb almost anything with this setup.

The cannondale i was looking at has the Brooks saddle without springs, and also has Scwalbe Marathon Plus tires, which im glad you mentioned, kevlar reinforced or whatever it says... seemed to fancy, but now you have backed them up.. it helps explain the price tag....

About explaining routes, what did you have in mind? Yep we planned to take the ferry from France, my girl knows where exactly... ill ask..

Anyone got any opinions on the Specialised bike?? We will go look up some reviews for it now, and ill see what i can get... so far i havent found any reviews on the Cannondale Touring, but im no google wizard :-)

Oh and about the tires... as i said they are the type you mentioned and they are cross tires, if thats the right terminology, so they can handle a bit of rough... thats on both bikes.

One of our worries about the specialised bike was that it might not be up to the job with the heavy loads, should we worry ??

After i clicked this ... i noticed the Edit.. would have been much handier for you all to only have to read one post.. but ah well.. ill do it from now on...

Hum.. cannondale website is confusing enough to navigate, but the bike that is too expensive, but looks the dogs balls, seems to come under Urban bike... so maybe i really dont have a clue, but have a look:

http://fr.cannondale.com/bikes/07/ce/urban/touring/model-7TR.html

The bike is only the sum of the parts. Name isn't as important as the price, the fit, and the key components such as saddle, tires and rack. Oh yeah, Tubus racks are bomb-proof.

You need to find a shop where you tell them you are looking for something suitable for touring, and they don't try to sell you a cross-racer or a road bike.

I don't recommend you buy a bike online. You need to ride it first. It is well worth the time looking for a reliable, honorable bike shop. Internet is good for buying parts when you know exactly what you want, but not for buying your first bike.

http://fr.cannondale.com/bikes/07/ce/urban/touring/model-7TR.html

That bad girl is pretty sweet!

So you think, although expensive, that this bike is more than up to the job? If i am going to invest in such a bike with a price tag like that... well i wanna make sure its gonna last me many tours.. im sure once ive done this one, ill be itching for more of it..

Brand isnt important to me, to be honest id never heard of cannondale before i seen this bike... i just researched it, read about components and thought.. hey this could be the one.. then i read another thread about a cannondale, as to whether the frame was up to the job... and no-one seems to doubt thier quality!!

What do you think of the specialised one, this is the one my GF is looking at.. she loves it, but doesnt know again whether its 100% suited for long distance touring...

Thanks again,
wiles9

The bike is only the sum of the parts. Name isn't as important as the price, the fit, and the key components such as saddle, tires and rack. Oh yeah, Tubus racks are bomb-proof.

You need to find a shop where you tell them you are looking for something suitable for touring, and they don't try to sell you a cross-racer or a road bike.

I don't recommend you buy a bike online. You need to ride it first. It is well worth the time looking for a reliable, honorable bike shop. Internet is good for buying parts when you know exactly what you want, but not for buying your first bike.

good advice from Becnal...if you can't get it fitted & ride it, don't buy it...

OK so working from the "That bad girl is pretty sweet!" comment, and that im no sure the components are good, well.. i bought the bike on friday, due to the fact that i managed to bargain with him and got him to chuck in some nice freebies...

Took her for a quick spin, only 20 minutes, because i had a day of via ferrata in the mountains the very next morning.. all i can say, as a purely mountain bike user.. is wow.. she is fast, i wish i had got into this a few years back....

My girl has her heart set on this specialised bike now, it also seems the job, but different shops have said it can take different weights loaded onto it etc, and supposedly, to get it in her size is pretty difficult.... so we will have to order it into the shop..

Has anyone used this bike, or got any opinions on it to put our minds at ease, being our first bikes and all that..

PS, ill send some pictures in when ive got some panniers for it.. still researching whats good in that area...

Wow, you're a man after my own heart. You saw the thing you lusted after, and you went out and snagged it! Good for you!!!! Can I take her for a spin too?

Was your new ride delivered from an internet company, or did you pick it up from a shop?

Get a couple recumbents. The trip will be a lot more comfortable. Wish I could do an extended bike tour like this. Unfortunately, I can't get off work. Have fun!

Anyone got any ideas about routes i could take on this one?? Or any sights we must see through spain/france/ireland ?? Starting Barcelona ...

For route ideas, go to http://www.crazyguyonabike.com and start clicking around there. Select "Journals" then "Locales" then "Europe" etc, until you find specific rides that people have already taken in Spain, France and Ireland. Besides being useful, it's very fun. I saw that you have limited access sometimes to Internet services, so this can be dangerous -- CGOAB can be somewhat addictive.

Much good luck in the planning, which is a big part of the fun of touring.

Ken

You absolutely must ride along the coast from Barcelona to France, then ride the Canal du Midi to cross France. GORGEOUS riding!

http://www.bikely.com/maps/bike-path/Barcelona-to-Bordeaux

Hi,
Barcelona to Ireland sounds a great trip. Wouldn't worry too much about the bikes you're using - it's probably about 800-1200 miles of paved road - most things over about 300 or 400 euros will do the trip fine, though obviously if you're bitten by the bug you might want to go higher and better spec.
Route wise, I cycled Amesterdam to Barcelona through the massif central, very beautiful, Dijon, champagne, Belgium. In general France is a great coutry for cycling through - loads of roads, loads of places to stop and friendly people. Have a great trip.

f you're bitten by the bug you might want to go higher and better spec.

I certainly got bit by the bug... twice over my budget and rising!!! Haha.. students eh ????

Thanks for advice on routes, ill get looking into these webisites, and start printing / gathering maps... seems like fun. Already being a mountain lover, i like that sorta thing...

Hi all again...

Im now starting to think about a few other things:

Food for the journey ?? What do you guys tend to munch on long tours? I plan on bringing my trangia stove with me.. we gotta do this on the cheap, not many restaurants for us.

Clothes? How many changes of normal clothes + cycling gear. I hear in some places in France its very frowned apon to go into restaurants, even cheap ones, in very casual, or say cycling gear !!


I have to get my camera working again, and i will upload a picture of my new bike soon, angs bike is still to come, we are working flat out trying to figure out how to get a 520 to Barcelona... they dont sell them in Europe at all..

Bring two bike shorts and two bike shirts. Wash one set and dry while riding and wearing the other set.

One synthetic, wrinkle proof (or perma-wrinkled) button down shirt, and one pair or baggy khakis or jeans. When going into a restaurant or some place where you need to look nice, then pull trousers over your bike shorts.

Just make sure you have a handlebar bag that's easy to unclip and reclip because it will be your purse (actually tell that to your wife) And don't be afraid to wear your spandex in public. Obviously restaurants are different, but we always paraded our bike shorts (and bike short tans).

Also consider getting those panniers that are roll up drybags instead of regular zip ones with pockets. I've used both, and I think I like regular ones better but the drybags are nice because they are huge and you don't need raincovers.

So, now you got both bikes worked out?

Yep:

Im on : Cannondale Touring Classic

Ang is on : Trek 520 , IN THE RIGHT SIZE... woohoo... that was about a week of solid shopping to find.

We are looking forward to recieving the Trek, takes one week to get her, only 60 quid for delivery, which is really cheap.

When we were buying some panniers, the guy in the shop asked what we were doing with all the panniers, and we told him of our tour home, so he decided to give us two free cycling tops, obviously advertising their shop, but we dont care, saves us some money... which we are very short on due to the bikes lol... one less to buy now :-)

Im going to start up a charity run for this as well, we thought why not... if we can get some money together for cancer research, its better than nothing.

PS Becnal, im gonna look in some of the routes now, and your suggested part of it..

The important thing is that you have lots of time and don't need to rush any purchases.

I recommend you get a bike that has the following bits:

1. Magura Hydraulic rim brakes. They have incredible stopping power, and it takes 10 seconds to change the brake pads when they wear out. And it doesn't require any tools at all to do.

2. Brooks saddle. Nothing else is nearly as good or nearly as proven. Your tushy will thank you!

3. An adjustable stem for the handle bars. Being able to raise an lower the saddle and being able to raise and lower the handle bars means that you will be able to fit the bike exactly to your comfort specifications.

4. My touring bike is a hybrid, the Raleigh Aspen. It is absolutely fabulous. I don't recommend road bikes with skinny tires because in Europe many bike routes are not on paved roads. My tires are 1.5 to 1.75 inches wide. Oh yeah, 28" wheels (700c), no 26" mountain bike wheels.

5. Use Scwalbe Marathon Plus tires, and you will never get a flat. Period.


Some time ago i almost bought this bike
http://trenga.de/details2007.asp?kat=3&ID=89&lang=NL

and one of the reasons it was an "almost", were the Maguras that came with it.
I figured, who needs hydraulic brakes on a touring bike? You want to keep a touring bike lean and simple, without any sophisticated gear(like the SON dynohub that it had).
Whaddaya say?

Magura brakes will greatly simply your life because they stop you faster, thereby avoiding any pesky trips to hospital. And also, changing the brake pads, especially when on tour, is incredibly simple with Magura hydraulic brakes. Zero tools are needed, and any novice can do it as the pads are changed via a quick release.

Hey, just reading the previous posts, about cog sizes, and the problems people have had with Trek 520 on uphills fully loaded...

We dont have any money to change any components, but will we have any problems with this set up :

trek 520 = 52/42/30 , 11-32, 9 speed

cannondale = 30-39-52 GXP , 10sp 12-27

People always seem to mention the problems with the trek, i guess my cannondale will have the same problems then ????

We are currently working on the route for this trip, ive PMed Becnal about the Barcelona to Rosscoff (where we take the ferry to ireland). If anyone has any advice on that part of the route please post anyway....

Probably only LollyPop can help with this bit, but maybe more Tourers in Ireland than i think... There is two proposed destinations 'routes' as such here... all depending...

Rosslare -> Donegal -> Belfast -> Bangor. ( The Belfast Bangor part being an easy part ^^ )

Or simply remove the Donegal from the above plan. The reason for Donegal is one of my friends has a house out there were we go to stay for a week every year, all old friends meet up... enjoy the booze and the fresh air. If we can plan our tour to arrive at her place on the right date.. it would be a perfect half end to the tour... Id guess Donegal to Belfast wouldnt be so difficult after what we had just done...

Absolutely no. You won't have any problems with the gearing your bike already has. Put your mind to rest.

The route I suggested has the benefit of being easier riding as France is much flatter in the west. You don't need to cycle directly along the coast to enjoy the benefits of flatter geography.

Your goal is to get to Ireland, so going for a tour through Spain won't be very helpful, unless you want to take a ferry from Spain to Ireland. if there is on. If so, then I definitely recommend biking the Camino de Santiago! I did that two years ago, and the Camino Bike Route is FABULOUS!

Yes the aim is definatly for Ireland.. the thoughts were either of your route you suggested via bikely, or to stay on the other side of the pyrenese until we hit the coast, then head for Bordeaux. ie Passing Zaragoza and Pamlona...

Im not sure if its a great area to cycle, everyone talks of France as the place to be.... The real only reason we are thinking of stayin in Spain as long as possible is because we have spent a good few months learning the language...

Though your route looks fantastic, along the coast, through Toulouse...

Btw, every time you mention a route, probably that everyone knows, im googling it, ive never heard of most of these routes, embarressing as that is.. my geography/history isnt great.

Few people specialise in long-distance tour routing. It is one of my passions!

Is there a ferry from Northern Spain to Ireland? Would you consider changing boats, perhaps at Roscoff or London? If so, the Camino de Santiago is FANTASTIC!

Ok so i edited my post after some quick thoughts:

Nah, we dont want to boat from Spain to Ireland, if that exists, or anywhere else, as we want it to feel like a Cycle HOME, not a tour, boat trip, then new tour. To make it a proper Cycle home.. it should be through England to Scotland, then the short ferry to Belfast, but we arent interested in cycling England, when we have never even cycled Ireland!! So i think.. we are sticking with Roscoff as our way of France, as thats a nice cheap ferry to the South of Ireland. So back to the original Q, how to get there...

Maybe we will do that other route when we come back to tour Europe, which i bet without a doubt we will be back to do in a few years....

On the internet side of things, i borrowed my friends laptop, started up a blog about this tour, and looked into charities, so soon, we will have a functional blog and charity raising means.

Hola again... i used that bikely website again, bit of a head to put a route in much detail. Becnal do you want to shed some light on that?? Is it really just a game of patience with it?? Or do you guys go on tour just knowing the general direction you want to head in?? Or is it a case of every point plotted and knowing when and when you will be somewhere ???

My rough route to take me to Roscoff is here:

http://www.bikely.com/maps/bike-path/33539

Well, from Pamplona to France, just take route 135. That's a great ride. I did it going the opposite way when I did the Camino de Santiago.

And don't sweat each point. It's enough to know the next town you want to head to. As long as you keep going north, you'll get there. Just make sure to turn left before you get to Paris. :D

You may want to pik up some of these maps: http://www.michelin.co.uk/travel/regional.htm Maps 524, 521 and 517

Again , thanks for the advice.

Yeah after quite a hell a lot of research and route finding, i stumbled across lots of ppl praising michelin maps... i was actually searching for spanish military maps, but they seem hard to get your hands on.. ill keep trying though.

Ang has he eyes on some GPS systems... being gadget lovers.. but i think if we can pull this off with only a few Maps , we might just do that.. cheaper.

FYI : Day one of our training for this started, only did 30 km, but it was a very hilly route (Tibibado in Barcelona), not quite the pyrenees, but enough to start on. Nice to get used to the bikes, both of us managed to fall twice, we arent used to the shoe clips, first for both of us.

Ang managed to fall just before a stop at a roundabout, as a Tour Coach was pulling up behind her, scared the hell out of the both of us... was a close call...!!!

The down hill was fun... 47.7km/hr ... rolling speeds... very impressed with the bikes!!! (Thanks to everyones advice about them, with that and self research, we are learning a lot, just need to figure about tweaking gears, been a while since i done it )

I was just looking at your bike again. It really is freakin' sweet. May I ask how much it costs?

http://gb.cannondale.com/bikes/07/ce/urban/touring/model-7TR.html

1700 euros... about twice my budget. Though like you already know.. we had problems finding ANYTHING suitable for touring.. so when i found this i jumped on it... literally...

EDIT Forgot to mention, i bargained him down by 120 euros, got a free front light, back light, and saddle bag all worth about 60 euros.. so a total of 200 euros savings.. And 10% discount on everything we have bought since, oil, spare tubes, pump, water racks + bottles etc for angs bike.

That price included the racks and mudguards, and their both good quality.

Cant seem to find out how to buy them maps from that website...

You won't have any problem getting them at any gas station once you are in the region. I bought mine on the road.

So i managed to twist my foot to get out of the pedal today, and it snapped out so quick i managed to kick a spoke so hard it snapped, and buckle my wheel. Raging!!!!

Took to a new LBS we found, and they fixed it up pretty cheap for me, and told me the pedals werent adjusted right, too tight, gonna try fix that tonight!!! Buggers that sold me the bike didnt mention this haha!!

Maybe gonna buy Shimano (insert number), so i can clip from both sides... Dont know, its 50 50, as some tourers say they like having a pedal on one side, and clip on the other...

I really like having a flat on one side. When riding through high-traffic areas, you don't have to worry about un-clicking. It's like cruise control. You don't use it all the time, but having the option makes life so much easier.

I adjusted the tightness in the pedal, still doesnt even compare to angs shimano pedal, they just have a much nicer feel to them.... another day, bit more testing, but im near sure im gonna change them.....

I can always get the clip in pedal for the one side, again like on angs bike (pics soon to come!! )... seems the best option, probably stop me getting stuck in my dam pedals so much

We are currently working on the route for this trip, ive PMed Becnal about the Barcelona to Rosscoff (where we take the ferry to ireland). If anyone has any advice on that part of the route please post anyway....

Probably only LollyPop can help with this bit, but maybe more Tourers in Ireland than i think... There is two proposed destinations 'routes' as such here... all depending...

Rosslare -> Donegal -> Belfast -> Bangor. ( The Belfast Bangor part being an easy part ^^ )

Or simply remove the Donegal from the above plan. The reason for Donegal is one of my friends has a house out there were we go to stay for a week every year, all old friends meet up... enjoy the booze and the fresh air. If we can plan our tour to arrive at her place on the right date.. it would be a perfect half end to the tour... Id guess Donegal to Belfast wouldnt be so difficult after what we had just done...

Rosslare -> Donegal = one hell of a trip! I bet it would be nice, though. Well, the later bits anyway. I don't like the look of the bit between Rosslare and Dublin, however, before you split off west toward Donegal.

I haven't cycled in the Republic, but having driven that area south of Dublin to Wicklow/Arklow etc, I wouldn't want to ride it. Perhaps there are alternate routes if you are on the bike. After that, I expect Cavan, Fermanagh, and Donegal would all be quite nice cycling. (Fermanagh always reminds me of Canada)

Are you actually going to Donegal town, or are you going somewhere like Letterkenny or Ballybofey?

Oh, forgot to say, the return trip from Donegal, you will have a tailwind back to Belfast if you take the A2 coast road. It starts in Derry and runs all the way to Belfast.

Cool thanks for info, still waiting on a reply from your friend. Check emails again later.

We might do rosslare to belfast, then possibly belfast donegal, depends on my friend, ( we party in her house in donegal for a week, once a year, reunion type thing ).. shes in the jungle right now in borneo, depends when she gets back...

http://www.bikely.com/maps/bike-path/Barcelona-Roscoff-North-France


Theres an update on how the route is looking... still developing it as i get more info

Awesome!

Any word from my mates?

http://www.bikely.com/maps/bike-path/Barcelona-Roscoff-North-France


Theres an update on how the route is looking... still developing it as i get more info

Hi,wiles9,
I road several parts of your tour.
About Bordeaux heading north: I would prefer the small Medoc roads west of Gironde river, Carcans --> Le-Verdon-sur-mer for example.
This is the best place for bathing I've ever seen (many of these villages have a "plage dependence").
There is a ferry from Le-Verdon-sur-mer to Royan (1 hour or so).

About pyrennees: If you like mountain climbing: that's bikers paradise, great views but steep. If you're a "flat lander": spanish car drivers don't seem to know what a bike is all about and there are not many small roads east --> west. I would thus prefer the french side (or via Vielha to Bagnères-de-Luchon)

marmotte