You can of course improvise, embarking on a cycling adventure, but best not leave everything to chance. There are some basic tips to follow to ensure that you enjoy a peaceful cycling trip. If it’s your first time on a cycling adventure, do follow our advice to make the most of exploring La Flow Vélo.
Your cycling trip
First, you need to decide on the length of your cycling trip. Working out the number of days you can devote to the cycle route will allow you to organize it better from beginning to end.
Your personal route
Deciding on your start point, end point and the places to stop over in between is of great importance. The aim is to adapt the cycle route to your own level of fitness and expectations, so that it should really be a pleasure!
Follow your own desires
Riding at a peaceful average speed of 12kph, the time you take to reach your stopover will depend on the time you devote to breaks and discoveries. Taking breaks is of course indispensable. As to making discoveries, people tend to divide into two camps: those who focus on getting the riding done first, only exploring once they’ve reached the stopover; and those who take their time to relish tours or activities en route, unconcerned about arriving a bit later at the stopover. The important thing is to take your cycling trip at your own pace, according to your own wishes.
Your stages and breaks
You’ll have understood, according to the camp you’re in, if you prefer to take your time exploring, going on tours and visits, or photographing your journey, it is important to plan ahead, to ensure you have time to fit in all your stops through the day. If you are planning to enjoy lots of breaks along the way, best cut the stages in two to enjoy them to the full.
Your cycling day
Never head out too late in the morning, both so that you can be sure to fit in easily all the things you’ve planned for the day, and also to deal with any unexpected event or break, without having to stress out. Obviously, if the weather is hot, head out even earlier than planned. Finally, inevitably, depending on your fitness level, whether you’re cycling alone, in a group, or with children, and depending on shifts in altitude, the number of kilometres you can ride in a day will vary. Bear that in mind!
Your cycling trip
Once you’ve taken all these elements into account, it’s a good idea to write down all your ideas on paper. That will help you focus on the overall planning of your cycling adventure and advance to the more detailed organization of your cycling trip.
Your first cycling trip?
If embarking on your first cycling trip, then it’s perhaps best to opt to ride just a few days, doing stages of around 30km per day, choosing relatively flat stages. It’s a good idea, a few weeks before the trip, to get out on your bike to get your legs used to all the cycling ahead.
To end with, remember these useful tips for your future cycling trip:
- Only take essential items. After a few days of cycling, you’re likely to regret having made your panniers too heavy!
- Have the cycle route tracks downloaded on your mobile, or then use a paper guidebook –don’t head off without one of these travelling companions to guide you along.
- Make sure you always know your location and identify railways stations and towns near to where you’re cycling.
- Getting up, before heading out, do some warm-up exercises; these should help fend off tiredness until later in the day.
- Start off with shorter stages; you can then opt for longer ones as your trip goes on.
- Make sure you have suitable equipment.
