Tour for the spring

Cycle-touring, Expeditions, Adventures, Major cycle routes NOT LeJoG (see other special board)
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RobinS
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Joined: 9 Apr 2015, 10:01am

Tour for the spring

Post by RobinS »

It's now looking almost certain that I will be made redundant in the new year, so myself and MrsS are looking at taking the opportunity for a tour longer than can be done in a normal holiday.

We are thinking of starting in April, from Roscoff, following La Velodyssee as far as Lacanau, cutting cross to Bordeaux to join the Canal des duex mers, following the Gironde and Canal du Midi to Sete on the Mediterranean coast (I know some parts of this may not be rideable - taking road alternatives is no problem). From there, roughly follow the route of the partially completed Via Rhona to Geneva, followed by the Swiss Rhone Route to Andermatt. That connects with the EV15 Rhine route that leads all the way back to Hook of Holland and home.

As far as I can ascertain this is something over 4000km and would occupy us for a couple of months or so (MrsS is not keen on high daily mileages). We would be camping - aside from the first bit through Brittany where many sites will be closed there should be no problems.

So - a few questions - any comments on the proposed route generally? Anyone done anything similar?
The Switzerland bit - anyone toured there recently? How expensive will it be? (We will have nearly 800km there)
What are the German and Dutch parts of the Rhine like? Plenty of campsites?
Any other advice or suggestions?

Robin
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foxyrider
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Re: Tour for the spring

Post by foxyrider »

Switzerland - maybe 10% more expensive for food and camping than Germany - honeypot destinations higher still but self catering needn't be too bad. You should be early enough in the year to just turn up at sites but areas such as Interlaken/Luzern can get to the 'no room' stage quickly once the better weather comes along.

German Rhein - regular campsites, well signposted route - again prices can be higher in popular areas but i've had as little as €6 camp fees but average @ €14 - with current exchange rates its still a bargin!
Convention? what's that then?
Airnimal Chameleon touring, Orbit Pro hack, Orbit Photon audax, Focus Mares AX tour, Peugeot Carbon sportive, Owen Blower vintage race - all running Tulio's finest!
iviehoff
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Re: Tour for the spring

Post by iviehoff »

I think you could be surprised how cold it is. I've been surprised how cold it is in April in the Mediterranean - and quite far south like Sardinia and southern Greece - let alone north of the Alps. Up in the Alps, like Andermatt, it still snows quite a lot in April - climate chart here https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Andermatt

The Swiss Franc was managed to a close band against the Euro until recently. But they stopped that and it appreciated by about a quarter in a few days. So Switzerland will be about 25% more expensive than it was before that happened... It is now the most expensive country (putting aside small tax havens) in Europe, because the weakness of oil has hit the Norwegian krona somewhat. So I think you'll find it a notch more expensive than just 10% for supermarket food, camping and transport than Germany. And if you go into a restaurant, it will be quite astonishingly expensive.
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foxyrider
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Re: Tour for the spring

Post by foxyrider »

iviehoff wrote: So I think you'll find it a notch more expensive than just 10% for supermarket food, camping and transport than Germany. And if you go into a restaurant, it will be quite astonishingly expensive.


I was basing my numbers on a trip i made to Switzerland in early October, haven't seen any big changes in exchange rates when i've looked but thats always the big if - one wrong word and the pound drops like a brick!
Convention? what's that then?
Airnimal Chameleon touring, Orbit Pro hack, Orbit Photon audax, Focus Mares AX tour, Peugeot Carbon sportive, Owen Blower vintage race - all running Tulio's finest!
RobinS
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Joined: 9 Apr 2015, 10:01am

Re: Tour for the spring

Post by RobinS »

Thanks for the responses so far. As far as temperature goes, if we start in mid April it will be late May at least before we get high in the Alps. While it can still be cold at night ( and sometimes during the day!) we can easily cope with that. (we have years of experience camping, ski touring, and mountaineering).
Costs-wise we expect Switzerland to be expensive, as long as it is not prohibitively so - we have stopped going skiing there because in big name places prices have got stupid, but it should not be so bad in valleys, and campsites.
Any more info on what it actually like cycling that route through Switzerland would be appreciated. Also the Rhine route - which side is best? There is a choice between France and Germany for a couple of hundred kms.
bretonbikes
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Re: Tour for the spring

Post by bretonbikes »

Sounds a wonderful adventure - I'm deeply jealous... Re campsites in France. You are right in saying most will be closed inland Brittany, but Carhaix-Plouger may well be open (usually opens in April) and is a lovely site - http://www.ville-carhaix.bzh/accueil_ca ... de_lhyeres -

The campsite at Josselin will also be open http://www.camping-josselin.com/ and if you want to camp in our garden to split the 2 just send me a U2U or email (you can find it on my site http://www.bretonbikes.com/)

So that would be V6 -> Carhaix then take the Canal first to us then (with a bit of V6) the Canal to Josselin. It'll make a lovely easy start to your trip. Beyond that you get out of our area and so I can't give personal recommendations, but campsites will remain tricky until mid June in many areas - you'll find a couple of usful links and info here - http://www.bretonbikes.com/homepage/cyc ... tels-b-b-s - but you really need to get the camping guide mentioned there and ring every campsite in advance as their opening time can be misleading and arriving at a campsite after cycling 50 miles to find it closed is not good...

Good luck and hope to see you on the road!
38 years of cycletouring, 33 years of running cycling holidays, 8 years of running a campsite for cyclists - there's a pattern here...
iviehoff
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Joined: 20 Jan 2009, 4:38pm

Re: Tour for the spring

Post by iviehoff »

According to this website, the backpacker index for Berlin is $56 and for Zurich $123. As a comparison, London is $106 and Paris $77. But this would include a mix of accom prices, transport prices, etc.
http://www.priceoftravel.com/13/germany/berlin-prices
http://www.priceoftravel.com/82/switzer ... ich-prices

The Swiss franc was floated back in January, and retrieving reports from the time I see they say it rose 30% against the Euro practically overnight. But I just compared some on-line supermarkets in Germany and Switzerland, and certainly for internationally traded branded foods, such as say Philadelphia cream cheese, etc, the difference was about 10% as you said. So evidently those kind of prices have adjusted for the exchange rate movement. But to get an on-line price at all, I had to go to an up-market German supermarket, Edeka, whereas the German grocery market is increasingly dominated by the discounters - Aldi, Lidl, Netto and Pennymarkt have become ubiquitous, and even Kaufland is fairly downmarket, Asda or Morrisons kind of level. I expect you'll find things like fresh meat and bread, which don't travel so much, markedly more expensive in Switzerland.
RobinS
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Joined: 9 Apr 2015, 10:01am

Re: Tour for the spring

Post by RobinS »

Thanks for the info and offer Bretonbikes. We used a lot of your online information when we toured Brittany for a couple of weeks last June - even then some inland sites were closed.
I have just discovered though that the Velodysee website http://www.velodyssey.com/ marks cycle friendly campsites, with links to their websites - and those ones seem to open in April. It does seem that once you get further south than Brittany a much higher proportion of sites are open in low season.
bretonbikes
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Re: Tour for the spring

Post by bretonbikes »

RobinS wrote:Thanks for the info and offer Bretonbikes. We used a lot of your online information when we toured Brittany for a couple of weeks last June - even then some inland sites were closed.
I have just discovered though that the Velodysee website http://www.velodyssey.com/ marks cycle friendly campsites, with links to their websites - and those ones seem to open in April. It does seem that once you get further south than Brittany a much higher proportion of sites are open in low season.


I've looked at that site and the interactive map marks about 1 in 10 of the campsites and they don't have any relation to whether they are cycle friendly (they all are;-) - you are better off just using Google if you don't want to buy the guide as it lists more campsites than any other interactive map - strangely the site for the camping guide lists every campsite in France but doesn't include a map so it's impossible to use - the paper guide on the other hand has maps. Drives me nuts... I did do a rant on this - http://www.bretonbikes.com/homepage/cyc ... ce-problem - and has a screenshot from the very site you mention, one that shows how the map misses practically every campsite, restaurant, hotel in the area. It's because to be on the map you need to subscribe and most don't...

The out of season opening seems often to be department led, especially for municipal sites - also in some areas like the Dordogne and Provence you'll get loads of Dutch sites which habitually open longer - all very confusing - as I said don't trust any guide, ring the day before to check! For example the one campsite marked for the whole of the central Brittany section (Mur de Bretagne) never opens before the end of June...
38 years of cycletouring, 33 years of running cycling holidays, 8 years of running a campsite for cyclists - there's a pattern here...
Ron
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Re: Tour for the spring

Post by Ron »

RobinS wrote: Also the Rhine route - which side is best? There is a choice between France and Germany for a couple of hundred kms.

I think the west side is probably best, the Bikeline guide keeps you on the west side most of the time. There are numerous ferries so It is possible to dot back and fore when you want a change, just check your map first!
Duisburg area is quite industrialised, best to keep to the west side of the river there and time things to cycle right through as campsites are non existent in that built up area( although motor traffic not a problem). The campsite at Nijmegen is a bit out of town and in a hilly area. Both Gorinchem and Dordrecht are worth a visit but on opposite banks. If you are tiring at Dordrecht you can catch a fast ferry from there to central Rotterdam at reasonable cost.
Given the choice I would choose Germany before France where there is an option.
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