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:

https://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.

You may want to pik up some of these maps: https://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?

https://gb.cannondale.com/bikes/07/ce...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

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...

https://www.bikely.com/maps/bike-path...f-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?

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