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ridelikeapro
Joined: 16 Aug 2009
Posts: 61
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 Posted Wed Nov 18, 2009 11:00 pm |
Where do you recommend for a training camp, or a week's fun riding? I'm gonna start the ball rolling by giving a heads-up for Italy in general, and Tuscany as a specific area. The roads are great fun, and there's a big cycling culture there.
What are your favorite places?
check our the Tuscany gallery: http://www.gregarios.co.uk/cycling_clubs/Cycling_in_Tuscany.html
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Casbar
Joined: 21 Oct 2008
Posts: 60
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Posted Thu Nov 19, 2009 7:23 am |
Mallorca
Great roads,fantastic views, some good hills and best of all you can cycle 2 abreast and its legal.
Im trying Tuscany in May....more then
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NWLondoner
Joined: 11 Aug 2007
Posts: 1311
Location: NW London
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Magibob
Joined: 23 Aug 2007
Posts: 97
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Posted Thu Nov 19, 2009 8:48 am |
Anyone coming to Mallorca, particularly the south west, (palma Nova, Santa Ponsa etc, ) let me know and I can point you towards some great bars and restaurants.
Andy
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mrushton
Joined: 15 Jan 2003
Posts: 3193
Location: United Kingdom
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Posted Thu Nov 19, 2009 9:42 am |
Majorca. Varied terrain in a small area but a lot of riding available, generally good weather,cycle friendly.
Riccione,Italy. Less hilly but some steep climbs. Some stunning vistas esp. when you are riding on the ridges overlloking the valleys. V.cycle friendly and it's Italy 
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singlespeedexplosif
Joined: 20 Feb 2007
Posts: 1356
Location: Lost down a bridleway that I followed whilst slavishly following my sat-nav
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Posted Thu Nov 19, 2009 9:49 am |
VeloVentoux
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The Other McHoy
Joined: 13 Jun 2008
Posts: 76
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Posted Thu Nov 19, 2009 10:14 am |
When Johann Bruyneel says the Spanish Costa Blanca is the best place in Europe for winter training then you have to sit up and listen. US Postal, Discovery and Astana were all brought to Javea for camps. Throw in visits by Rabobank, Quickstep, CSC, Euskatel, Liquigas, Unibet, Silence Lotto and a smattering of Italian and French teams and you know he has a point
The Marina Alta mountains are ideal for a week or two of training, lots of long steady climbs and descents, much quieter and smoother roads than Mallorca and loads of small villages with cafes and bars for those who want to take time to enjoy the experience.
This year's Vuelta spent 4 days criss-crossing these coastal climbs, providing some of the best racing of the year. The area is home to the likes of Alexander Kolobnev and Oscar Freire as well as the base for 3 Garmin riders. Guys from the British Endura team are here in Denia for the winter along with former British Road Champion Hamish Haynes.
If you are a sportive rider and looking to get some great coaching thrown in with the riding then ex-pro Dave lloyd and Sportstest's Garry Palmer are running camps in Denia in 2010 (see their sites or check www.traininspain.net for details).
If you do Mallorca every year, why not try something different? It's a great island but it is not the only dish on the menu.
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Galatzo
Joined: 05 Feb 2008
Posts: 137
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Posted Thu Nov 19, 2009 10:53 am |
Another for Majorca, although I've never ridden anywhere else abroad.
Go a couple of times a year with the family
Last year I rode in the mornings, back for a swim with the kids, watched Le Tour in afternoon followed by more swimming with the kids and then out for dinner - perfect.
I have only ridden in the southwest of the Island same as Magibob as that's were we stay and it takes too long to go any further than Valdemossa or Arenal (it's the wifes holiday too!) but hopefully I'll get a pass next year to go without the family and explore a bit more of the island.
Roads are great as are the car drivers. Climbs meander up the mountain side with loads of hairpins, unlike the climbs here which take the steepest route, making you really feel liker a climber and the views at the top are stunning.
Magibob you have mail.
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ridelikeapro
Joined: 16 Aug 2009
Posts: 61
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Posted Thu Nov 19, 2009 4:26 pm |
Interesting... lots of votes for Mallorca - and I agree that it's great there and offers everything - i've also been to the Bike Hotels in Riccione, and its good riding over there 'cept quite a lot of busy roads. But since I discovered Tuscany, I've got to say for me it's the best - just can't get enough of it (Tuscany I mean!). check out the Tuscany gallery:-
http://www.gregarios.co.uk/cycling_clubs/Cycling_in_Tuscany.html
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The Other McHoy
Joined: 13 Jun 2008
Posts: 76
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Posted Thu Nov 19, 2009 5:28 pm |
| ridelikeapro wrote: | Interesting... lots of votes for Mallorca - and I agree that it's great there and offers everything - i've also been to the Bike Hotels in Riccione, and its good riding over there 'cept quite a lot of busy roads. But since I discovered Tuscany, I've got to say for me it's the best - just can't get enough of it (Tuscany I mean!). check out the Tuscany gallery:-
http://www.gregarios.co.uk/cycling_clubs/Cycling_in_Tuscany.html |
King Canute stood a better chance at turning the tide back than you do at getting UK cyclists to abandon Mallorca. Tuscany, Costa Blanca, Girona, Tenerife etc. all offer great training terrain - much of it better than Mallorca - they all have good hotels, bars and restaurants, they all have great scenery and they all have their devotees - but Mallorca got there first at commercialising it and the island gets a lot of local government support to promote it as a cycling haven.
There are clubs and groups of friends who have been going there every year for 20+ years and they like what they get. They like the predicability of Mallorca and the chance to meet old friends, they know the routes, they know the hotels etc.
Other people like to try new things, go different places, see new scenery and ride different routes. I love scuba diving and think the Red Sea is unbeatable - but I have still gone to Australia, Mexico, Barbados, Bonaire and Tobago to dive other sites.
There is no shortage of fantastic cycling locations, just a pity some get overlooked by not being called Mallorca.
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ridelikeapro
Joined: 16 Aug 2009
Posts: 61
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Posted Thu Nov 19, 2009 5:51 pm |
Hey McHoy
I agree with you completely. There is a sort of "I always go to Blackpool for my holidays" mentality with Mallorca devotees - and I have to admit was one of them, a veteran of around a dozen trips to Mallorca the ultimate cycling destination - until I discovered somewhere else that IMHO is better on many counts - and has a fantastic cycling culture.... Tuscany.
It's going to be interesting to see what other destinations crop up here.
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RICHYBOYcp
Joined: 01 Jan 2006
Posts: 969
Location: United Kingdom
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Posted Fri Nov 20, 2009 3:39 am |
Never did mallorca...but have did Lanzarote, Tenerife & Gran Canaria.
Lanzarote too windy for my liking (and so sparse and volcanic), Tenerife is superb, Masca in the Teno Mountains being some of the most beautiful scenery ever, and the climb of Mount Teide a must!...very tough cycling with huge ascents!
But Gran Canaria tops them all, superb but very,very hard...in fact madly hard! So much so that theres 2 ascents on the Island that are by far the toughest climbs Ive ever did...way tougher than anything Ive experienced in France or Italy.
Great weather all year round aswell.
www.sportivecentral.com |
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ridelikeapro
Joined: 16 Aug 2009
Posts: 61
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Posted Sun Nov 22, 2009 8:46 pm |
Good call... Gran Canaria is by all accounts truly spectacular. The legendary Claudio Chiappucci runs an early season training camp there. Now that's a good way to get a total batterin', a shedload of mardy climbs - and Claudio Chiappucci setting the pace!
I'm still for Tuscany - if it's good enough for the British team to base themselves there - and good enough for Paolo Bettini and Mario Cippolini to live there, then I'm headin' back there for the third time.
Tuscany gallery: http://www.gregarios.co.uk/cycling_clubs/Cycling_in_Tuscany.html
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FransJacques
Joined: 28 Jun 2008
Posts: 108
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Posted Tue Nov 24, 2009 8:33 pm |
+1 for Mallorca.
But yes, there's NOT many places in Provence, the east coast of Spain, the Canaries, and Tuscany that are not worth a look. But habit keeps taking me back. Andy Cook is a great guide.
Further afield Tucson is well know as is Southern Cal. Even close to LA is great if you go inland into San Bernadino, the roads up and around up to Big Bear Lake are fantastic. Defo a place for April as Jan/Feb would be a bit a question of how low down the snow comes at that time of the year. Not to say it's cold, you can find low to mid 60s out of the mountains.
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bicialmeria
Joined: 26 Nov 2009
Posts: 1
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Posted Thu Nov 26, 2009 4:25 pm |
you cannot beat Almeria's southern Spanish sun in late winter/early spring. fantastic low traffic roads, mountain passes up to 2100m, coastal rides, sierras, great accomodation, easy access from Uk. drop into www.bici-almeria.com to have a look what Almeria can do for you.
Maybe see you for Spring Break in April 2010?
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dcj
Joined: 31 Oct 2005
Posts: 225
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Posted Mon Nov 30, 2009 6:25 pm |
another vote for tenerife. the scale of the place is impressive and it offers warm weather high altitude riding all year round.
climbing above 1,000m by 9am and seeing a bank of cloud rolling up and over a ridge below bathed in sunlight is a sight to behold.
tuscany also fantastic in the summer and as someone said, it is locked into the cycling culture, plus the food is sensational.
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ridelikeapro
Joined: 16 Aug 2009
Posts: 61
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Posted Sun Dec 6, 2009 9:42 pm |
I'm organising a trip to Tuscany and may be interested in a couple more riders - 7 nights, steady riding and enjoying the scenery. Maybe May, maybe some other period. Anyone out there interested?
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FCE2007
Joined: 01 Mar 2008
Posts: 236
Location: Selby, North Yorkshire.
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Posted Sun Dec 6, 2009 11:14 pm |
Salzkammergut - Austria (when it's sunny) 
Epic.
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TheStone
Joined: 04 Oct 2008
Posts: 432
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Posted Mon Dec 7, 2009 12:59 pm |
Where would be best for 5 days in early Feb?
Would aim to take on 3 rides (150km ish), mountains and flat.
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mrushton
Joined: 15 Jan 2003
Posts: 3193
Location: United Kingdom
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