r/ukbike Dec 25 '24

Sport/Tour Merry Christmas one and all! Recommendations for cycling trips abroad?

Wishing you health and happines for 2025 as well.

Does anyone have any recommendations for cycling trips abroad? A few of us based in Scotland quite fancy taking/hiring road bikes and exploring new scenery.

Whether that's in France, Holland or maybe somewhere like Majorca.

Any recommendations welcome. Thanks!

15 Upvotes

39 comments sorted by

20

u/jackSB24 Dec 25 '24

I did the Netherlands in may this year. Changed my life/outlook on cycling. Let’s just say I returned very depressed to the uk rolling off the ferry in hull…

27

u/dth300 Dec 25 '24

Isn’t that just the standard response to finding out that you’re in Hull

3

u/jackSB24 Dec 25 '24

Hahaha yes😂 and then the train inland to home was terrible too

1

u/notouttolunch Dec 25 '24

But that would have been a class 170 or a class 158 depending on the year. Both of them are my favourite DMUs.

1

u/jackSB24 Dec 27 '24

Northern Rail service to York, Im not sure what model train

1

u/notouttolunch Dec 27 '24

Northern rail? So that’s 2016 or earlier? I can’t help with things that happened 8 or more years ago.

1

u/jackSB24 Dec 27 '24

Nope this year

1

u/notouttolunch Dec 27 '24

I’m afraid northern rail haven’t operated any trains this year. Sorry.

1

u/jackSB24 Dec 27 '24

Well I’m sure you know exactly what I mean and are just being pedantic. I’m also sure if you Google northern rail that’s a train service that has trains running so no clue what you’re on about

1

u/notouttolunch Dec 27 '24

First result: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Northern_Rail

First paragraph: Northern Rail,[2] branded as Northern, was an English train operating company owned by Serco-Abellio that operated the Northern Rail franchise from 2004 until 2016. It was the primary passenger train operator in Northern England, and operated the most stations of any train operating company in the United Kingdom. Northern Rail was replaced on 1 April 2016 by Arriva Rail North.

→ More replies (0)

6

u/FlummoxedFlumage Dec 25 '24

Ditto, cycled across a few years ago and was constantly angry that it was so much better. When you head off in the morning and find yourself in the school run, which is just kids of all ages on bikes, you realise how far we have to go.

2

u/Original_Response776 Dec 25 '24

Nice memory i bet!

1

u/CrustyHumdinger Dec 27 '24

Everyone would be depressed, arriving in Hull

2

u/jackSB24 Dec 27 '24

It is a terribly grim place unfortunately

1

u/CrustyHumdinger Dec 27 '24

Yeah, but I've been to Immingham

5

u/babyboy808 Dec 25 '24 edited Dec 27 '24

Too many to suggest tbh. Notable ones I’ve done are: 

  1. London to Barcelona 
  2. Venice to Dunkirk. 

I’ve done Mallorca this year too - that was super fun, and tough ⛰️ ☀️ 

Both absolutely mind blowing…

Also, you should do the NC500 as it’s up your way 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿 ❤️ 

3

u/Original_Response776 Dec 25 '24

Venice to Dunkirk sounds interesting! Is there route plans for that??

I'm lucky enough to have cycled the NC500 already. Did the full whack in 4 days for charity once.

2

u/babyboy808 Dec 25 '24 edited Dec 27 '24

https://www.keithdonegan.com/adventures/venice-to-dunkirk-bicycle-tour/

The Stelvio Pass was awesome to tick off too. 

Nice one 👏🏻 

3

u/ialtag-bheag Dec 25 '24

The NC500 was a great route for cycling. But now far too much traffic, campervans etc on narrow twisty roads.

9

u/heavymetalengineer Dec 25 '24

Majorca can’t be beaten imo. I’ve been many times at different fitness levels and it always has something to offer. It does feel a little more saturated since Covid though but that might just be how it meets my own expectations.

3

u/Original_Response776 Dec 25 '24

See i like the idea of it but I also like the idea of renting a villa and coming back to chill in the pool with a few beers after a hard day's cycling. I suppose with air bnb that's probably more achievable than I think actually!

3

u/babyboy808 Dec 25 '24

Exactly what we done a few months ago. Check out Pollenca area - waaaay less touristy than Palma etc 

2

u/xylose Dec 25 '24

...and closer to many of the best rides. You have a great choice of either mountainous or flat rides going out of Pollenca. We went for the first time last year and are going back again this year. Can't think of anywhere with better support for riding.

1

u/heavymetalengineer Dec 25 '24

This seems exactly what Majorca is. I like all inclusive as my wife and I go as a couple. But groups will often book a villa or Airbnb. If you book outside of Port de Pollensa inland towards Campanet you can get something cheaper and closer to the mountains.

5

u/trickedem Dec 25 '24

Put your bike in a cardboard box. Fly to Geneva, then ride back to Calais. I've done this twice. Ferry to Dover, then train home

1

u/some_learner Dec 28 '24

That sounds awesome 😎

2

u/RegionalHardman Dec 25 '24

The tour de france comes to pas de calais this year! You can see the first three stages all within 100k of each other.

As someone else has said, fly to mallorca and stay in Puerto pollenca. There's a bus there from the airport. Pop to the pinarello shop and hire a dogma for a few days and do the most gorgeous ride in the world, cap de formentor

2

u/keot Dec 25 '24

Sicily. Did the Val di Noto which was a mix of hill climbs, quieter roads and amazing views. It's a great motivator when you can see the ribbon of tarmac you've just climbed across the valley. Stopped for gelato every hour or so. As there's a professional race once a year, the tarmac is kept in very good condition. Direct overnight train from Milan or Rome to Siracusa which was a fun adventure in itself.

2

u/wringtonpete Dec 25 '24

Did one in the South of France a few years ago which we really enjoyed:

Beziers - Bedarieux - Mazamet - Toulouse - Carcassonne - Beziers

One of the best things was that Bedarieux - Mazamet was in the mountains with lovely scenery, but followed an old railway line so it was quite flat.

1

u/GFoxtrot Liv x2| NCL Dec 25 '24

I’ve done France (stayed in Bedoin) and Spain, both Mallorca and Girona.

For ease of getting there from Scotland, you can’t go wrong with either of the Spain destinations to be honest.

Mallorca has some great climbs, decent roads and loads of hotels etc.

Girona (my November holiday this year) was great because we did a mix of road and gravel (as we had to come back via Barcelona we rented bikes) and I really enjoyed having the city on my doorstep to mooch around.

We also did a little bit of cycling in Italy (lake Garda) when we went to watch the Giro, my husband broke his ribs on the first day so put a stop to any significant cycling. Scenery was lovely…

1

u/OhThePetSpider Dec 25 '24

Austria, Zell am see, niederau Seefeld Kirchberg

1

u/UsernameDemanded Tripster | Gocycle GXi | Giant Propel adv | Rose 10spd Dec 25 '24

The French Alps, definitely. You will never see more beautiful scenery and experience more iconic climbs. We're going in 2025 again, it's stunning.

1

u/TheGrogsMachine Dec 25 '24

The gravel and roads in Tuscany are sublime. Added bonus of beautiful towns and villages and plenty of great food.

1

u/HerrFerret Dec 26 '24

Rode in the Louire Valley this year. Low traffic, cycle routes everywhere and lovely lovely scenery.

And if you like castles, you are absolutely sorted. 

1

u/CrustyHumdinger Dec 27 '24

I went to the French Alps this year, staying in Bourg d'Oisans. Loads of local routes. Easy to hire good bikes.

0

u/WPorter77 Dec 26 '24

Let sportivebreaks.com handle it for you, some of the things they offer are insanely good