Tour de Pistonheads 2015
Discussion
We have had two club groups out to Mallorca so far tho year wityh a third departing at the end of this week.
Always stay in Puerto Pollensa, it is a cyclists mecca and the town is VERY well set up for cyclists; bike shops, hire shops, cafes, the lot.
We all stay at the Pollensa Park hotel which is spot on.
Tony, if you come to Yorkshire, come to the proper bit, not West Yorkshire ;-)
(and try to factor a night out in Harrogate into the equation).
Always stay in Puerto Pollensa, it is a cyclists mecca and the town is VERY well set up for cyclists; bike shops, hire shops, cafes, the lot.
We all stay at the Pollensa Park hotel which is spot on.
Tony, if you come to Yorkshire, come to the proper bit, not West Yorkshire ;-)
(and try to factor a night out in Harrogate into the equation).
Marcellus said:
Gruffy said:
My thinking is to return to Yorkshire but not tie ourselves to the TdF routes. Avoid those A-road slogs and favour the beautiful lanes between the headline climbs. Circular routes to/from a good hotel we can call home for the duration (packing up took too long and ate into recovery time) and I can put together a Regular and Epic route each day, rendezvousing for lunch.
Hopefully that opens the event up to many more riders (and drivers!). I think the suggestion to shift this to later in the season is a sound one.
Sounds good to me, are there any mountain bikes centres that way too?Hopefully that opens the event up to many more riders (and drivers!). I think the suggestion to shift this to later in the season is a sound one.
burriana said:
...Tony, if you come to Yorkshire, come to the proper bit, not West Yorkshire ;-)
(and try to factor a night out in Harrogate into the equation).
Ripon is nice. I was posted there for two years, and found some glorious riding all within striking distance of the city. Everything from early mining landscapes, to reservoir valleys and the 'proper' Dales market towns, with a fair bit for t'other 'alves to do if'n they don't do cycling. In bad weather the roads are a proper "man test", yet in good weather the whole place is absolutely glorious, and you'll be wanting to stay out on the bike for as long as you can.(and try to factor a night out in Harrogate into the equation).
burriana said:
Tony, if you come to Yorkshire, come to the proper bit, not West Yorkshire ;-)
(and try to factor a night out in Harrogate into the equation).
Just looking at when to do a trip now actually - thinking mid July. Will definitely factor in riding days and going out days (well, nights!)(and try to factor a night out in Harrogate into the equation).
Gruffy said:
If the numbers were high enough for a mainland trip we could also justify a big Transit to transport the bikes/luggage and then fly sleazy with just hand luggage.
If a Europe trip was being planned i would think we know of some awesome routes with classic climbs and monster descents from a base an hour(ish) from GVA 
Lots of ideas for the next ones then, UK or otherwise! 
I have previously done some planning for a cycle club trip to Nice as well, a couple of big climbs within easy reach and the ride over to Monaco is enjoyable. You also have a pan flat run to Cannes in the opposite direction for some TTT action!
The advantage being although its a long drive through France to get there, its only a drive and not a flight thus bikes can go on the roof or in cars/vans and no one needs a bike box etc. A lot of PHers manage to get themselves sorted in groups for trips to Le Mans so I dont think its impossible for us to coordinate ferries etc and then truck through France in a convoy of sorts.... Hotels arent cheap but Nice is worth it, could be a viable long weekend?
I'd definitely do North Wales again though and am gutted to have missed out on PH does TdF so would like a go at those roads.
I have previously done some planning for a cycle club trip to Nice as well, a couple of big climbs within easy reach and the ride over to Monaco is enjoyable. You also have a pan flat run to Cannes in the opposite direction for some TTT action!
The advantage being although its a long drive through France to get there, its only a drive and not a flight thus bikes can go on the roof or in cars/vans and no one needs a bike box etc. A lot of PHers manage to get themselves sorted in groups for trips to Le Mans so I dont think its impossible for us to coordinate ferries etc and then truck through France in a convoy of sorts.... Hotels arent cheap but Nice is worth it, could be a viable long weekend?
I'd definitely do North Wales again though and am gutted to have missed out on PH does TdF so would like a go at those roads.
As Marcellus alludes to, I have some prior experience with this kind of thing. Over a decade ago I started a tour company organising driving holidays and I've guided clients over nearly every classic cycling climb in Europe, albeit on four wheels (I've even ski-toured over some of them in winter!). There's some learning to do to port that knowledge across to cycling but last weekend was a huge headstart on that.
Just as it was 10 years ago, we have a big advantage here in that we've already got a strong community. That's the hardest part right there.
Putting the Tour together has rekindled the excitement I had back in the road trip days. I get an enormous buzz from encouraging people out of their comfort zones and watching them smash it. You build great bonds when you're really challenged together. I can't wait to do more.
Just as it was 10 years ago, we have a big advantage here in that we've already got a strong community. That's the hardest part right there.
Putting the Tour together has rekindled the excitement I had back in the road trip days. I get an enormous buzz from encouraging people out of their comfort zones and watching them smash it. You build great bonds when you're really challenged together. I can't wait to do more.
Black can man said:
Would a London to Paris be out of the question ?
Without wishing to be dissmissive it's a bit too easy to ride.... the issue is timing your crossing.London to the Coast is what 70miles?
Then lose time crossing which pretty much means that that's it for day one.
Then Calais to Paris.. 170miles.. too much for one day? or to make it "epic" then you're adding bits on to both days and northern France is pretty flat!
There are a few "recognised charity" routes such as London to Paris, London to Amsterdam etc where they're fully supported usually along the lines of raise £200 for xyz charity and you ride for free, the issue being that they also "guide you" and some are really flexible so will let you loose if you agree to wait at a certain point but others will make you stay with them.
I had one ride where the organisers let us treat the whole thing as a series of 20mile team time trials but then we were waiting for over nearly two hours at each rendezvous for the rest of the riders to catch up, stop, rest, eat, set off, give them a head start then set off for another 20miles....
On another you were not allowed to overtake the "ride leader" nor set off after the "ride sweeper"!
Gruffy said:
As Marcellus alludes to, I have some prior experience with this kind of thing. Over a decade ago I started a tour company organising driving holidays and I've guided clients over nearly every classic cycling climb in Europe, albeit on four wheels (I've even ski-toured over some of them in winter!). There's some learning to do to port that knowledge across to cycling but last weekend was a huge headstart on that.
Just as it was 10 years ago, we have a big advantage here in that we've already got a strong community. That's the hardest part right there.
Putting the Tour together has rekindled the excitement I had back in the road trip days. I get an enormous buzz from encouraging people out of their comfort zones and watching them smash it. You build great bonds when you're really challenged together. I can't wait to do more.
Grufs, I wasn't even going that (FB5K) route I was thinking that you and I have both lived within an hour(ish) of GVA and probably know every decent cycling road there.Just as it was 10 years ago, we have a big advantage here in that we've already got a strong community. That's the hardest part right there.
Putting the Tour together has rekindled the excitement I had back in the road trip days. I get an enormous buzz from encouraging people out of their comfort zones and watching them smash it. You build great bonds when you're really challenged together. I can't wait to do more.
I had a play on Strava last night for someone else and using Chamonix as a base created 3 routes, each was circular around the 100 mile mark, 2 were 12,000ft of climbing and 1 was 18,000!
Chunnel, 7 hours drive with a couple of estates taking gear and bikes, the rest flying in to GVA and then Easybus for €5 to Chamonix!
Marcellus said:
I had a play on Strava last night for someone else and using Chamonix as a base created 3 routes, each was circular around the 100 mile mark, 2 were 12,000ft of climbing and 1 was 18,000!
I suspect that big one looks very much like this https://www.strava.com/routes/919273 which I fancy a pop at later in the year.Gassing Station | Pedal Powered | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff