Have you got any favourite routes you like to share? Why not post them here for the benefit of the forum members?
This one is my all time favorite. It is a circuit of the high Pyrenees in both France and Spain. The French side winds its way over many of the most iconic passes in the range and through pretty towns in the valleys. Whereas on the south side the road is sweeping and fast and with less elevation change but still lovely scenery. Starting (randomly) at the Eastern end at Bosost in Spain. 1 Over the Col du Portillon and down into Bagneres de Luchon in France on the d618. Luchon is a beautiful town dubbed the"Queen of the Pyrenees" 2 Continue on the 618 over the Col de Peyresourde and down into Arreau. 3 From Arreau take the d918 over the Col d'Aspin and descend into St Marie Campin from where you turn...... 4 left up the Vallee du Gripp and over the Col du Tourmalet down to Luz ST Sauveur. 5 At Luz turn right and head north to Argeles Gazost and there head left up the Val d'Azun to Arrens. 6 The road continues on up and over two consecutive passes the Soulor and the Aubisque (huge drop offs on the right hand side) before heading down into Laruns. All the d918. 7 There you turn right (north) towards Pau on the d934 but at Bielle take the d294 west over the Col de Marie Blanque and head down into the lovely Aspe Valley at Lurbe St Christau. 8 The Asp valley will take you over the scenic Col du Somport back into Spain and down into Jaca. 9 The return East is on the famous sweeping n261 and n 260 via the Viella tunnel back to Bosost or on wherever. There are also many worthwhile detours en route including:- Gavarnie south of Luz with its Unesco heritage circq. Just breathtaking. Lourdes, north of Argeles, the mega pilgrimage site. Pau, which is an elegant and cosmopolitan city with a spectacular view of the chain. And over in Spain the Ordessa Canyon, known as the European Grand Canyon. The circuit is a comfortable two days and could of course be extended as stops and side trips dictated. Unmissable.
Here you can download all the pre-installed routes that are included with the great routes editions TomTom devices, they download in the .gpx format. https://www.vulcanrider.se/en/gps-gpx-routes-etc/
We've got a week based just outside perpignan in France later this year..... Has anybody got any must do rides in the area to note? We're based at perpignan and will be looking to ride in differing directions avoiding traffic and motorways, mountain roads and scenery are a massive plus. We're looking at max 200 mile days if possible. Riding at a reasonably lazy pace that includes stops for smokes, drinks, food, views and no break neck time schedule.
I was inspired to look for gpx route files after downloading the Scenic app, and recalled that Ride magazine occasionally bundles rideout guides with the magazine. Well, all their routes are available as gpx files here: https://www.ride.co.uk/magazine-routes/routes-from-ride-magazine
If you have the Scenic app, I’ve just made public 4 circular routes from the AA book Biker’s Britain by Simon Weir. My username on the Scenic app is Outliar. They are: - Brighton Loop: 151 miles, just over 4 hours starting from Goodwood - Salisbury Loop: 173 miles, 4.5 hours starting from Salisbury - Woodstock Loop: 171 miles, 4 hrs 40 mins starting from Woodstock - Cromer Loop: 150 miles, 4 hrs 15 mins starting from Norwich
Just spent a few days with friends in Croatia and Slovenia. The coast road the length of Croatia was fantastic. A biking dream. Mountains one side, the sea the other side. Windy road along the edge. Lots of bikes. Made an agreement with the Mrs to return next year. As there were six of us and luggage I wound up doing the driving. We hired a big van. It's a must do ride.
The best thing I have found for touring is the Kurviger app and companion website https://kurviger.de/en Unfortunately, the app is only available on Android but on the other hand, I have found that I far prefer to navigate with a cheap rugged Android phone rather than the offerings from Garmin and TomTom. The website can export routes to Scenic (available on IOS) however. Kurviger is written by and for motorcyclists and will help you devise great routes in seconds. Friends and I used it to great effect in the Alps, Dolomites and Slovenia this year.
The locals call this road the Magistrale, British soldiers had a big hand in upgrading it into a half-decent road after WW2. As the missus is from Zadar, I have driven this road many times but sadly, have never done it on a bike. Before the motorway was built inland, on the other side of the Velebit mountain range, the Magistrale was a right pain in the ass to drive, as it took all the big lorries and tourists - everything and the road was in poor condition. However, once the motorway took all that traffic, they also re-surfaced the Magistrale and it was transformed into a drivers'/riders' playground Interesting that you call the road windy as it is exactly that in both senses of the term. It is windy in that it winds around all the hundreds of coastal inlets but it is also windy in that there is a local katabatic wind called the Bura which is caused by cold dense air dropping off the Velebit mountains and accelerating fast downhill towards the sea. It can be so powerful that it will blast trucks, buses and cars right off the road, over the cliff and into the water below. Love to do it on a bike and the train service that used to deliver and collect bikes somewhere in or near the Alps sounded very attractive to an old git with a neck-crunching sports bike but sadly, I don't think it exists any more.
Yeap, the AutoSlaap sleeper trains from Den Bosch ('s Hertogenbosch) in Holland to Koper (Slovenia) and Livorno & Alessandria (both in Italy) went pop a few years back. You could get the bike shipped from Northampton to Geneva using Bikeshuttle.
Just had a weekend in Wales and followed this route from the ride magazine, revised to start/finish at Platts farm campsite in Llanfairfechan. Roads are sublime and very fast once the traffic is cleared. Superb route... Snowdonia https://goo.gl/maps/gDKW8JTgFB3iUguc6
In case anyone missed it, loads of routes here from the 2020 Ride mag all available for GPX download https://www.ride.co.uk/routes-1/ride-guide-to-europe-third-edition
Apart from the above has anyone used https://www.motowhere.com/explore/at/50.2422,8.4217,7 in anger? Planning a route through Germany and of course google maps doesn't let you 'explore' - bestbiking roads is 'OK' but I like the map details on this motowhere site and it allows you to download the GPX file ..
These are some of the pairs of one day rides we've done over the years with the EMM, range of areas, Dolomites, Alps, Provence, Andorra, Picos etc. Some have GPS files, if not send me a PM and I might have them Dolomites https://www.motoroutes.net/emm2014/content/46-Rides_&_Events Andorra https://www.motoroutes.net/emm2015/content/53-Rides_&_Events Provence https://www.motoroutes.net/emm2016/content/58-Rides_&_Events Picos https://www.google.com/maps/d/viewe...&ll=43.08240937090687,-4.838720250000051&z=10 Alps https://www.motoroutes.net/emm2018/content/65-Rides
I have seen a few references on here to the Scenic App which I have recently downloaded so would appreciate some feedback. How do people find using it in free mode? Is it pretty useless without the add on maps? up till now Ive been researching routes online and then saving them to Google maps. I use an iPhone on the bike which works pretty well, apart from the time I didn't lock the case properly and it got run over by a truck!
