Planning a bike trip? (page 6 of 37)

Hi Jean-Luc,

It’s decided—we’re crossing the Atlantic again to film a road movie.

Cheers,

Enzo and Corinne

Will 2010 be the year I finally resume my Silk Road journey? I’m hoping so, starting again from Yerevan in Armenia and continuing through Iran. To simplify the visa situation, though, I might just do a round-trip flight from Lyon to Tehran and focus on exploring a single country: Iran. A three-week getaway in August, from the Armenian border to the Turkmenistan border. I’ve got all winter to prepare for this next destination...

Change of plans. I’ve got my ticket to Tashkent. So from July 31 to August 20, 2010, I’ll be on the Silk Road after all, between Khiva, Bukhara, Samarkand, Tashkent, and Margilan near the Kyrgyzstan border.

Hi Corinne, hi Enzo, Great news I just read! What made you decide to head back to South America? The movie? Going back to chase images left behind? Any regrets about missing certain routes, landscapes, or encounters during your first trip? When are you leaving? What’s your main motivation?

That’s a lot of questions—I’m just really curious!!!!! Best to you both! See you soon

For us, it’ll be the Canal du Nivernais and the Canal de Bourgogne with our 8-year-old daughter in July for about 3 weeks—around 400 km. Not bad for the little one! Cheers, Nico

Hi there, I’m taking on a challenge and a dream: On July 18, 2010, I’ll be riding the Tourmalet stage with a few folks from Quebec http://www.veloquebecvoyages.com/destination-etape-du-tour-de-france-2010 and over 8,000 participants in the peloton. After that, a more relaxed week from July 19 to 25, cycling from Bordeaux to Arcachon (vineyards and beaches) with www.espace-randonnee.com.

I’ve been prepping since September 2009 (training, nutrition), and I really think I’m gonna have a blast.

Anyone else going?

I’ll keep you posted... Réjean, Quebec.

Kudos to you for this challenge and good luck with the preparation—sounds like you're taking it very seriously! Fair winds!

Hi Enzo and Corinne, when are you leaving and what’s your itinerary? Who knows, maybe our paths will cross? I’m planning to arrive in Ecuador in late September/early October. After that, it’s Peru , then Bolivia, Chile, Argentina, Uruguay, and southern Brazil. Speaking of Ecuador, there was a show on France Inter today about Charles Marie de La Condamine, an 18th-century French explorer and scientist who led an expedition in the Andes to measure the Earth’s meridian. Apparently, there’s a monument on the "line" with his statue where you can have one foot in the Northern Hemisphere and the other in the Southern Hemisphere. Where is it? I don’t want to miss it . I know you’ll say, "It’s on *the Line*," but *the Line* is 40,000 km long—I don’t feel like biking the whole way to find La Condamine’s monument . Pierre.

Hi,

Let’s check out this monument together!

I don’t know yet when we’ll fly to Ecuador, but it’ll probably be no later than early October.

Cheers,

Enzo

Pierre, Corinne, and Enzo, I’ll be following your prep for this South America crossing with great interest—and even more so your actual trip, especially in Ecuador where you’ll have one leg in each hemisphere. That sounds magical!!!!

Enzo, will you be using your website to document your journey?

Looking forward to more conversations between you all, which I’ll be keeping an eye on through this post or another one you might start.

Safe travels for the road ahead.

After Les Landes last summer with our 3-year-old son, we're heading to Sweden this summer: our flight tickets are booked. We're thinking about the hold transport bags for our gear (2 bikes + 1 Trek Go bug trailer).

By the way, if anyone has bike transport bags to sell or rent, we're interested!

We're going for about 10-15 days and haven't finalized our itinerary yet. If you have any route suggestions, places, or spots to recommend, don't hesitate—we're flying in and out of Stockholm...

See you soon,

Blandine

Hi there,

For me, living in Buenos Aires and needing to leave the country in May, things will wrap up with a counterclockwise tour of South America for at least 8 months: from Buenos Aires to Ushuaïa, then heading back up through Brazil, Venezuela, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, Bolivia, Chile, and Argentina...

My goal is to be in Ushuaïa by December 31, 2010, to ring in the New Year there...

There’s a shop where you can buy good bikes near Lumpini Park. I don’t remember the name, but it’s pretty well-known in BKK. Happy travels!

Hi there, this is my first project, taking place in June 2010—a tour of Brittany starting from Pas-de-Calais, sticking as much as possible to the coast. Departure on May 29, return on June 27. Solo for now. Anyone interested? For info, search for "Brittany bike June 2010" in the search bar. Hoping for good weather!

Hi there :) For us, it’ll be a bike tour around Africa, starting from Lyon, and (hopefully) returning to Lyon. We’re aiming to leave in July 2010. In a month or two, we’ll have made enough progress on the project to share it here with the more experienced folks who can weigh in on its feasibility... (countries we’ll cross, gear we’ve chosen, etc.). In the meantime, I’m reading, selecting, and dreaming ;)

I can’t see myself traveling any other way than by bike. With gas, you get around. Without an engine, you *travel*. So it’ll be by bike and a bit of boat. You’re never safe from the unexpected, but this trip is measured in years, not months. We’ll have musical instruments and drawing paper to keep a travel journal. Short stops to savor the mountains and countryside of France, the coast of Spain, surely the Portuguese beaches, and definitely the Moroccan ones. Then... always heading south. Mauritania, Senegal, Mali, Burkina, Togo, Benin, (Nigeria??), Cameroon, Gabon, (Congo?), Angola, Namibia, South Africa, Tanzania, Mozambique, Madagascar, and Réunion Island to visit my friend Doud, who’s moved back there. After that, we’ll return to France via Kenya, Tanzania, then up through Egypt, and Israel, Turkey...? Or maybe head to Latin America? Asia? India, Nepal, China, Tibet—spending several months in a community to practice Kung Fu... The ideas are wide open, especially since everything could change depending on the people we meet. Plus, in January 2011, there’s the World Social Forum in Dakar, Senegal. http://www.africansocialforum.org/francais/forum.htm A chance to dive into global and African issues, help shape alternatives to the dominant economic, political, and environmental systems. Another Africa is possible... And biking the France/Dakar route would be a little jab at those who do it by motor.

That’s what’s been unfolding in my head for the past few months, and it’s becoming more concrete every day... I’m already set with my budget, gear, route, and administrative formalities. I still need to leave my apartment in March to get rid of a good chunk of my stuff. And I’ve got to fine-tune the health, insurance, and visa aspects...

Stay alive. J.

Hey,

It's a well-known fact, but if you want to treat yourself to an amazing experience in France, I’d recommend the Pyrenean raid—790 km of pure joy! !

For my part, I'm planning to leave from Beijing in early July. I'll be cycling 700 km across China to reach Mongolia, then 1,000 km to cross Mongolia from south to north, followed by 700 km around Lake Baikal... I’m scheduled to return in early September.

For now, I’m going solo and can’t wait to get started!

Hi,

I can't read the document in the attachment. Could you send it to me via PM?

Thanks,

Jacques

Hi everyone, I’m delightedly preparing a trip to Mongolia :) planned for August and September 2011. I’m looking for as much info as possible since I’d like to follow a clean, fish-filled river to help with my food supplies by fishing. Also, if anyone wants to get rid of an audio method for learning Mongolian like Assimil, I’m interested. In the meantime, I’ll be between Agde and Toulouse in June along the Canal du Midi, and in July, I’ll be canoeing and biking in the Marais Poitevin :) :) Safe travels, everyone.

Less exotic: Starting from Haute-Provence by train to Bordeaux, then Bordeaux-Arcachon (to see the ocean), and returning to Haute-Provence. Departure at the end of July. Planned route along the lateral canal to the Garonne, up to Montech (Montauban), and then we'll see...

Mirabo junior (12 years old) has agreed to come. He’s talking about it more and more. This will make it possible to include people who might have been put off by the "sporty side 😉 "

hello we're leaving Ankara in a few days, heading east, hopefully to Kathmandu. Maybe we'll see each other in Uzbekistan... safe travels...and fair winds to everyone!!! www.roulmaloute.com