Touring - First touring ride through spain and france

Hi

I am planning to cycle from Bilbao in Spain to Avignon in France with a group of friends. We have only been on rides that last one day, none of us have cycled so far befor.

Could someone please suggest a route or a good way of going about planning it.

Thanks for your time

Try searching here for starters:

http://www.crazyguyonabike.com/

Sounds like a nice trip. I was in Bilbao back in '98 to visit the Geary. Are you there now? If so, do you still see tar balls, needles and used condoms floating in the river?

Hi,

Thanks I will try crazyguyonabike.com.

No I am not there now, I am planning on going sometime in spring, but I will look out for the tar balls, needles and used condoms and let you know if they have tidied up the place or not :)

Thanks

It's difficult to advise you on planning your route without knowing what sort of ride you'd like it to be. You'll be crossing the Pyrenees. There is, therefore, the opportunity to do some of the most famous, beautiful and very tough climbs. I would certainly be doing that if I were making this trip.

However, suffering on big climbs isn't everyone's idea of fun, and I wouldn't recommend the Tourmalet, for example, to those who weren't reasonably confident of their fitness. So you might want to think about how strenuous you want your trip to be, and then plot a route across the Pyrenees accordingly.

It's a very beautiful partof the world, you'll have a great time. I'll be cycling in the Pyrenees myself next year, can't wait.

I've done much of that by car and, if you want to avoid the hard climbing, you could follow the coast to Bayonne and, then, cut east.

It's a very beautiful partof the world, you'll have a great time. I'll be cycling in the Pyrenees myself next year, can't wait.

Chasm, if at some point you want to put out ideas of where you think of going, I could dig out my maps from my Pyrenees trip and try to remember areas to suggest. That said, Id have to say that all the places I went were really enjoyable, I dont have negative memories of any particular places. I would actually recommend Tourmalet, just cuz it is so beautiful and rugged (I would not want to be there in cold rainy conditions however)

Chasms recommendations on being aware of and planning of how strenuous a route you are thinking of is spot on. Overloading and perhaps undergeared bikes are common mistakes with firsttime touring, but this is an area you would really not want to be overloaded or undergeared....its really beautiful but....
cheers

It would be a pity to ride this route without attempting some of the classic Pyrennean climbs. There are also loads of minor climbs worth riding. The classic Raid Pyrennee route (ridden within 100hrs) takes in many of the big mountains but you dont have to stick to it.
De[pending on your budget and bike load you could stay in pensiones, hotels or campsites. there are plenty of campsites along the way: local tourist information have guides for their region but not for adjacent regions.
I found that camping was the best value; that meant I had more to spend on food. I ate in restaurants rather than take lots of cooking gear. This region is food heaven and you won't experience the full wonders of the region by eating packets of noodles
Take a note of wind direction and weather conditions for the high peaks.
Travel light, this is bike country with excellent bike shops in every small town.
Don't over-plan, you can make your route up as you go along.
Take in some off-bike experiences; such as the pre-historic cave painting in Niaux.

Since he says he's going in srping, does he have to worry about snow closing some passes?

Since he says he's going in srping, does he have to worry about snow closing some passes?

I would think so, but I was there in Aug so dont have personal experience. Its easy though to find out average temps etc for a given period, get thee to a interwebz and search OP.