One of the great things about cycling is that you can do it almost anywhere. This can make a cycling break all the more exciting, with endless adventures and hundreds and thousands of fantastic roads to choose from. There are some things you need to consider when planning the perfect cycling break. Think of a country you want to visit, there’s a high probability that there will be a road worth riding. Regardless of your level of cycling and what type of trip you are looking for, there are some important considerations to make it as stress free as can be.
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Plan your journey well
There are plenty of obvious things to consider when booking any trip. This includes your budget, how long you want to stay and your luggage allowance. However, there are some crucial elements of cycling holiday planning that can often get overlooked. One of them being a well planned journey. By this we mean a journey that takes into account whether the roads are suitable for cycling, whether you fancy visiting a tourist destination or heading away from the beaten track.
Our top tip is to incorporate a large town or city that definitely has a bike shop, this is to prepare for the possibility of anything happening to go wrong. If a maintenance issue was to arise that you were unable to fix, being in close distance to a bike shop is a great way to minimise the risk of your whole cycling holiday being ruined.
Pack the right cycling tools
Regardless of whether you are planning a cycling break or just plan to use your bike a few times whilst being away, it’s always a good idea to carry certain tools with you. This is so that if something breaks on the road side, you’re fully equipped to fix the issue. If you don’t bother to pack these tools, you could be left unable to cycle for the These cycling tools and spares are a great way to complete repairs on the spot:
- Spanner
- Levers
- Inner tube
- Tyre patch
- Puncture repair kit
- Pump
This is just a small list of the basic cycling essentials that can help fix the most common problems that occur. If you want to find out more cycling tools and spares that are recommended to take on a longer holiday or a long touring holiday, visit Cycle Maintenance Academy’s site where they explain which cycling essentials you need and how to use them.
Service your bike before you go
Our next tip is to make sure that your bike is fully serviced before you go away. Although it’s still a good idea to carry cycling equipment just in case anything happens, there are some additional precautions you can take. We suggest having new tyres, tubes and rim tapes fitted. It is also a good idea to get new brake pads, new gear and brake cables and finally a new chain.
Get cycling insurance
Before booking your holiday it’s worth looking into cycling insurance. All too often people get carried away with booking holidays and forget a crucial part, insurance. Anyone looking to book an action packed holiday should consider insurance. Whilst we always hope that nothing goes wrong, unfortunately accidents do happen. It’s better to have the piece of mind that in the event of something going wrong, you’re covered.
Choose the right level of holiday to suit you
Choosing the right terrain and altitude that is suitable for your experience and level of fitness is important. You need to decide whether you can handle steep hills and mountain passes or whether you want flatter land focused around scenic river paths. Generally there are three levels you can choose from:
Easy– An easy level of cycling holiday is most suitable for beginners or those looking for a more relaxed trip. This level trip can be found in Europe, focused on scenic river cycle paths across a flatter landscape.
Moderate– If you are looking for a bit more of an exhilarating cycle trip that does include some steep areas but also provides enough flat areas for respite, a moderate cycling trip would be for you. You could also choose an area that has mountain routes as well as quiet and flatter roads.
Hard– If your a hardcore cycler who can handle an uphill battle up steep and potentially uneven terrain, the french and italian alps could be the place for you. There are plenty of other mountain ranges to choose from too which will be a great bucket list item to tick off the list.
Overview of planning a perfect cycling break
We hope this article has helped to prepare you for your next cycling adventure, but always remember, no cycling tour is ever perfect. We hope these tips will make it as perfect as possible for you though. If you want to find other cyclists just like you, join the cycling UK community and get involved.
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