The joy of riding – Is a cycling holiday something for me?

When I first bought a racing bike, it wasn’t my intention to travel with it for several days. In my (sport-oriented) circle of friends, friends and I went on trips for weeks at a time. Alps or the Pyrenees. With a tent, in an apartment or luxury in a hotel. Bikepacking wasn’t yet hip back then. I first heard about the existence of ‘La Marmotte’ and ‘the Maratona’. When they asked me if I wanted to go along, I always replied: ‘I’m not crazy, right?’ How different it is now.

That’s why I thought: is a cycling holiday suitable for everyone? Why would you want that? And how do you go about it? In short, I’ll explain how I approach it and give you some handy tips. Will you read along?

Text: Sander Kolsloot

The joy of riding – fun is number one

The most important thing I want to tell everyone who thinks: ‘Is a cycling holiday something for me?’ ‘The joy of riding’ is the most important reason to finally go for it. That seems logical. After all, you want to do things on vacation that you enjoy and/or find fun. With that, the most important question is immediately answered: if you enjoy cycling, then a cycling holiday is something for you. Now, just decide what ‘cycling holiday’ means to you. I’ll give you a few tips that can help you take a step further in the process.

Many types and sizes

Cycling holidays come in many shapes and sizes. A long weekend to the Luxembourgish The Ardennes, a week in Basque Country of Switzerland, a winter training camp at Tenerife or a bikepacking Trip for as long as you want. Anything can be a cycling holiday. You can think about the following options:

• Do I want to cycle every day, or do I want to cycle 40% of the days out of every day, or maybe just a few days in total?
• Do I want to cycle all day? Or do I want to go for a ride in the morning and do something different with your family in the afternoon, for example?
• What is the purpose of the vacation? Is it a training camp or is it a vacation for fun?
• Do I take my Bring your own bike or I can rent a bike?
• Should I fly, by train or by car? Or by bicycle?
• How long am I actually going away for?
• Mountains or plains? Walking along the river, through the hills or hopping around the island?
• With friends, with your partner or family?
• Do I stay in one place or move from hotel to hotel (or camping to camping)?

This overview already shows: all the variants of a cycling holiday cannot be summed up in one term. So you can start looking at what suits you. Because no matter how you look at it, everyone can find a cycling holiday that suits them. The question is: is a cycling holiday something for me? Then you can answer with ‘yes’!

These are the most important tips

• Are you going on a cycling holiday for the first time? Start small. Don’t start by cycling every day for a week straight away. For example, go for a long weekend, or if you’re going for a week anyway, include rest periods in it. You’ll benefit from that.
• Are you going to fly to Mallorca or a Canary Island? For your first vacation, just take a rental bike. There are many good providers in these regions. You won’t go wrong there and it saves a lot of hassle with bike bags, getting them on and off the bike, and more
• Preparation: If you choose a place to cycle, check the map to see if there is a flat route. For example, if you are sitting at an altitude of 1200 meters in Vaujany or Crans-Montana, that’s great, but you ALWAYS end up with a climb. Then you’d better be in the valley.
• What do YOU like? Do you just want to cycle for an hour and then have a nice cup of coffee? Do it! Do you want to go on a pro training camp? do it! But choose what YOU like and not what the group does, but what you don’t feel comfortable with.

Starting small

My cycling holiday virus has slowly taken hold. How did that happen? I started small. After a long period of no or hardly any cycling, I picked it up again in 2014. That year, a good friend of mine got the cycling bug. A round of the tank track led to a big round of Utrecht roads. hill country And suddenly there was the ‘MTB weekend’ in the Belgian Ardennes. Three days of cycling abroad. My first ‘cycling holiday’. The ingredients were clear: cycling during the day, drinking the light out of your eyes in the evening to go again the next day. Not a success for my body. The following year I went again, not on the MTB. The race bike went along and so I rode alone a number of familiar Liège-Bastogne-Liège classics, such as the Stockeu. A year later, a few days followed in the Vosges and then the spark was sparked.

Accustomed

The first time you go cycling on vacation will be different than at home. On vacation you have more time than in everyday life with work, family and social obligations. Chances are you will cycle more than usual. Or you might think: what the pro cyclists can do, I can do too. Habit is the key word. If you are not used to cycling 150 km and 4000 meters of elevation gain per day all at once, then ‘The Ride’ or a week-long training camp is not exactly what you are looking for. So keep that in mind as well. Also check out our tips for riding in a group with a difference in skill level. That really helps.

Prepare yourself

The success of a cycling holiday depends on preparation. That starts of course with bringing the right things along (check out our basic packing list for that). But even if you’ve never cycled in the mountains before, it might be useful to find a place where you can also do a ‘coffee tour’. For example, if you’re going to Mallorca If you are going, it is advisable to choose a place on the beach to spend the night, such as Palma, Alcudia or Port Pollenca, and not to stay in Soller. Soller is beautiful, but you can only go ‘up’ there. The same applies to Crans-Montana of Tenerife. Beautiful destinations, but a coffee run often includes several hundred meters of elevation gain. Then it is advisable to choose another destination where you can also do a ‘valley run’. Or, as in Crans-Montana: descend and then take the gondola up.

Nothing is necessary, everything is allowed

What I’ve noticed over the 15+ years I’ve been cycling: everyone has an opinion on everything. About the equipment, about the clothing, about the hours on the bike, about the speeds. Thanks to Strava, a whole subculture has emerged in which KOM/QOM, averages and other non-trivial things matter. I mean: does it really matter if you’ve cycled 99.9 or 100 kilometers? Unintentionally, it puts a damper on it. While cycling in all its forms is fantastic. If you want to go on a cycling vacation, it’s very important to remember: nothing has to be done, everything is allowed! Strava It’s nice for reference. Average results don’t matter. Anyone who does that is my guest. But don’t bother others with it. That you can keep up with Robert Gesink for 100 meters once is good for you. He rides past you backwards on Alpe d’Huez. And that for 3 weeks.

Choose what suits you

As I said earlier: choose what suits you. Want to travel from Utrecht to the Eifel in ten stages? Why not? Want to do it in 1 day? Let’s go! Want to see the North to South Portugal Like Pedro? Go for it. Discover all the beauty of the Wadden coastThat is possible. Micro adventures For a day, it’s always fantastic. When I go on vacation, I take my bike with me. Of the seven days a week I bike, I only do four at most. When I go on a trip for Cycling Destination, the ratio is different; about five to six days. When I’m on vacation with my family, for example, I bike in the morning and am with my children in the afternoon. Or I meet my family at a lunch spot. I also do a 35-kilometer or less bike ride. The fun of cycling is the most important thing.

But what should I do now?

First of all: you don’t need to do anything. But if you think: I just want to cycle for a few ‘days’ in the Netherlands or abroad, then just remember: I’m doing what I want to do and that will work out fine. Don’t let what others do mislead you. Especially not that one neighbor who goes on a cycling holiday for 35 years already, or the group of friends who are always busy chasing each other. Think about what you like and go for it. Here are a few handy tips

• This is ours Basic packing list. Here you have everything you need to leave well prepared.
• Use the functions of the route planning app to plan your route. Komoot. We are not being paid for this, but we just love this app. Always pay attention to the ‘you are not allowed to cycle here’ warnings.
• Choose a place where you can enjoy a variety of routes. Netherlands That goes pretty easily, but abroad and especially in the high mountains it can be an issue.
• If you bring your own bike, always take a good look at it before you leave. If you rent a bike on site, check your measurements (especially the ‘stack and reach’) or at least your saddle height (measured from the center of your handlebars to the saddle). That way you will always know that you are sitting properly.
• Check with a local landlord or coffee shop if you can join a group. You can also use apps like Cyql of Linkmyride Use. On a coffee ride/club ride/social ride, the speed is adjusted to the group; you meet new people and you don’t have to think about the route. Delicious!
• If you don't want to plan a holiday yourself, but would like to join an existing offer, you can for example go to Roadbike Holidays Check out BikeVillasTravel. For the beginner cyclist Amateurfietser.nl A very nice organization.