IMO the roads in north Buckinghamshire would give them a run for their money. Pot holes of all shapes, and depths, mostly on the line that cyclists would take, cracks, humps and gravel on the road surface. The problem is that you're often presented with the choice of riding through this lot or being whacked by irate motorists. The HS2 construction lorry drivers at least have better manners than the car drivers. The joke being much of it is on roads marked as being national cycle route.
We seem to be being ushered in that direction. Mine has a 40T chain wheel and a x12 cassette 10t-44t. Last three steps down (up?) to 44t are fairly big, but elsewhere I rarely find myself hunting for a comfortable gear. This is with 559 wheels. On the level (we do have bits of that in Dorset) I can fizz along at 30kph. Like the look of the 3T Strada, for once a blue that looks good. Particularly like the curve on the line of the rear wheel. Kinda neat, functional too.
What do you use for winter? That doesn't look like a bike for a wet day...
Hi Steven. The 3T StrADA is my lightness bike and for 'Sunday best': chainring is 48T and, IIRC, the cassette is 12-40 - that works pretty well for me as for climbing I'm geared only a little higher than my 'everyday' road bike (53/39 and 11-32), though I do spin-out a little earlier on fast descents. The 3T doesn't have extreme geometry and is pretty comfortable on long rides, helped by the fact that it is designed for 28mm tyres, which I run tubeless. I've never lost the chain on the 1x drivetrain, derailleur is a clutch-equipped Ultegra and a WolfTooth wide/narrow chainring. Shifter/levers are Shimano GXP and the wheels are obviously carbon rims, but not so deep to be a handful when its windy. You can't see it in the picture but the blue has a very subtle metalic finish, you need to catch it in the light just right.
My everyday bike is a carbon-framed Viner Mitus and I also have a carbon Vitus Aero-ZX1 but neither of them get ridden in the winter. For winter riding I have a carbon Specialized Sirrus (hybrid but with drop bars) that is equipped with a Tiaga groupset and has mudguards but a lot of my winter riding is actually in the garage on Zwift, which is much more effective for keeping a good level of fitness when its dark, cold and wet.
I also have an aluminium framed gravel bike and a retro hardtail mountain bike, though it rarely gets an outing since I put the gravel bike together.
My everyday bike is a carbon-framed Viner Mitus and I also have a carbon Vitus Aero-ZX1 but neither of them get ridden in the winter. For winter riding I have a carbon Specialized Sirrus (hybrid but with drop bars) that is equipped with a Tiaga groupset and has mudguards but a lot of my winter riding is actually in the garage on Zwift, which is much more effective for keeping a good level of fitness when its dark, cold and wet.
I also have an aluminium framed gravel bike and a retro hardtail mountain bike, though it rarely gets an outing since I put the gravel bike together.
I have a really old hardtail steel mtb bike. I friend up the street just got a new Canyon gravel bike, carbon frame, campy groupo etc. I swear it's heavier than my old Bridgestone.
jeff
I enjoyed stage 8 of the womens TdF today, quite an epic and it looks like the changing of the guard, albeit within the Netherlands...
My retro MTB has a Reynolds tubed steel frame but is noticably heavier than my gravel bike - a lot of the difference is the wheels/tyres.
I'd been considering something similar. I'm 67 and find the lack of cycling during winter to be a problem with maintaining fitness levels. I have used the bikes at the gym but the saddles are pretty horrible and after a couple of weeks my a**e is so sore I really don't want to ride.
At our age it's so easy to lose strength and fitness if you don't keep pushing at it and I'd been looking at Zwift, Wahoo or similar.
I have plans to cycle the length of Spain next spring, Santander -> Bilbao -> Barcelona largely along Eurovelo 3 & 2 from just north of Barcelona down to Motril in the south. I'd take my time over it, probably the full 90 days I'm allowed post Brexit to allow time for tourismo. It was supposed to be last year but STH got in the way. Still route planning and picking likely accommodation.
I've used Zwift for two whole winters now, coming up to the third, and I highly recommend it. It has allowed me to maintain a high level of fitness, which translates to genuine strength on the road in the spring. There are a good variety of routes with varying levels of 'challenge' and I find it very time efficient. The races are a really good intensive workout and have helped me to ncrease my FTP by close on 20%. Some of the routes are accurate replicas of iconic real-world routes, such as Alpe d'Huez and Mt. Ventoux - I've done the Alpe several dozen times and Ventoux a handful, it is a real brute. With a good smart trainer (I use an Elite Drivo 2) you'll find the software constantly changes the resistance to replicate the terrain and it knows about things like drafting if you ride behind another rider. If you don't already use one, I recommend getting a heart rate monitor, especially for use on Zwift.
I use a normal road bike on Zwift, but nothing special and its not used for anything else. It has no back wheel because the smart trainer has the cassette.
Your Spanish odyssey sounds good. If I can make it work I would love to do Vatenrunden in Sweden.
I use a normal road bike on Zwift, but nothing special and its not used for anything else. It has no back wheel because the smart trainer has the cassette.
Your Spanish odyssey sounds good. If I can make it work I would love to do Vatenrunden in Sweden.
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Have you ridden in Spain before?Mostly Spanish drivers are considerate of cyclists but a lot of head-on crashes in Spain are down to drivers falling asleep at the wheel. BTW you will be riding a dogleg across Spain not the length, your going west/east and then south. There aren't a lot of minor roads in Spain unlike France. Stick to the Ruta Nacionals, they have an inside lane meant for motos and ciclistas.
Not ridden so much, but travelled fairly extensively over the years on foot/cars/busses. Spanish driving is 'interesting'.
I'm actually starting in Santander, heading toward Bilbao following the coast riding in reverse a part of the Camino del Norte and using El Montes de Hierro Greenway, diagonally down from Bilbao to Barcelona (ish) and EV2. Plotting a route has been fun so far, trying to avoid major roads and climbs that'll make me want to cry, as well as stitching together cycling routes to give me a scenic (if meandering) trip across to EV2.
My experience in Andalucía and Galicia is that cyclists have plenty of routes available and if you can read Spanish there are also guides to cycle paths and routes prepared by Ayuntamientos. Part of the fun of this is in the route planning and the chore is sorting out the accommodation. I'm not going to carry a ton of stuff with me and I'm going to be staying in hostels or hotels not camping.
I'm estimating anywhere between 50-120km per day depending on terrain. When I get somewhere interesting I'll stop for a few days, explore, then move on.
A streamer called Hitch is currently cycling Norway. Looks absolutely amazing:
His previous cross-Canada cycle streams - thousands of miles on the shoulders of primary highways - forever erased any lingering regrets over not having tried it.
I used to live in northern Galicia, Ortigueria. There are not a lot of routes there. Are you arriving by ferry? If so the Portsmouth-Bilbao is good, as Bilbao is a start point for both the new Ruta Nacional (avoid) but the old RN will be virtually empty and is a good way to follow the coastline all the way to Ferrol. In Spring the coastal towns will be empty of tourists. This is the secret Spain, completely different from the totally built up/ruined Med. You pass through Asturias and the Pico de Europa which is fantastic for off road riding. The old RN takes you through coastal Cantabria which is flat and when you enter Galicia you encounter the fantastic rias. In summer there are lots of Celtic festivals, shame your not going then.
You could then cut across country making your way to Andaluz. I would definitely take a small lightweight tent in case you can't make it to a pension. In Spring going across country be prepared for heavy rains, Navarro is green the same as the NW because it rains a lot. The battle of Marston Moor for the film, Cromwell was filmed there for that reason and the same dry stone walls as in Yorkshire. I wonder what Mayday will be like in Pamplona now. In 68 it was bloody and dangerous.In rural Cataluyna be prepared for Catalans to speak to you only in Catalan. Spain under Franco was very different from today, each region was very different, especially the food, nowadays it's chips with everything. What country roads exist can take you nowhere. The RNs are good and only have a lot of traffic near big towns - enjoy the trip.
You could then cut across country making your way to Andaluz. I would definitely take a small lightweight tent in case you can't make it to a pension. In Spring going across country be prepared for heavy rains, Navarro is green the same as the NW because it rains a lot. The battle of Marston Moor for the film, Cromwell was filmed there for that reason and the same dry stone walls as in Yorkshire. I wonder what Mayday will be like in Pamplona now. In 68 it was bloody and dangerous.In rural Cataluyna be prepared for Catalans to speak to you only in Catalan. Spain under Franco was very different from today, each region was very different, especially the food, nowadays it's chips with everything. What country roads exist can take you nowhere. The RNs are good and only have a lot of traffic near big towns - enjoy the trip.
That would be the plan. Was going to go to Bilbao but when I last checked the ferries weren't accepting foot/bicycle passengers, but they were to Santander. I need to look again, though the coast from Stander to Bilbao looks sooo inviting.
Yup. Spain has an interesting history, a lot of violence, poverty and division and the rich culture that always seems to spring from those things. I read Beevor's history of the Spanish civil war with increasing disbelief and dismay. Also, Laurie Lee's As I walked Out One Midsummer Morning is an eye opener on the poverty and warmth of rural Spain in the 1930's before the war. A statue to him is in Almuñecar.
I think the regions are more homogenous than they used to be, and membership of the EU has hastened those changes, but the autonomous regions still manage to retain their character. If you're prepared to travel away from the tourist hotspots, have learned a little Spanish, then there's a lot to be enjoyed.
Thanks for the advice/help/encouragement
In 68 you had to be careful what you said and to whom. I went with a friend who refused to learn any Spanish but would open his mouth without thinking (very dangerous). On the train from Irun we shared a carriage with a professor who taught at the Sorbonne. he drew a picture of a man with some years and asked us who he was. I knew Brian, A Londoner from the east End would open his wa-wa without thinking "keep stum Brian". I said we "havn't got a clue" he replied "that is the great generalissimo Franco". If Brian had said what I'm sure he would have, the Falangist would have reported us at the next station and we would have found out just how bad the food was in the local prison - if you didn't have family to bring you food from home - you didn't eat well.
The poverty in Spain then was bad but there was great pride in family, life was hard but there was real dignity and integrity. Now it's all about money, that's how the Med became a totally overbuilt and exploited s~~thole. The NW is where the Madrilanos take their holidays.They don't care about the rain, it's the oppressive heat they want to get away from. Don't expect the people to speak to you in castillano, it's all dialects like in France. Spain has something that northern Europe doesn't have - space, lots of it. You love it or it frightens you, same as America or Canada or Australia - we love it.
The poverty in Spain then was bad but there was great pride in family, life was hard but there was real dignity and integrity. Now it's all about money, that's how the Med became a totally overbuilt and exploited s~~thole. The NW is where the Madrilanos take their holidays.They don't care about the rain, it's the oppressive heat they want to get away from. Don't expect the people to speak to you in castillano, it's all dialects like in France. Spain has something that northern Europe doesn't have - space, lots of it. You love it or it frightens you, same as America or Canada or Australia - we love it.