Bikes....a great way to explore an area

If you like bikes and your predominate means of transport on your holiday is a Car/Motorhome . Take a bike.

For us the bikes have significantly contributed to our holiday beyond what we ever anticipated. I guess it just increases the radius that you can easily explore within a given day………and explore is probably the key to what the bike allows.

It fits in that comfortable middle ground between walking and driving. The distances you can explore is a lot greater than what is easily achieved on foot yet you don’t have the parking hassles, fees and congestion issues of a car.

But here’s my tips……. 

   

1.       Make sure that the car is big enough to throw the bikes in fully assembled. The convenience of opening the back door and jumping on the bike has a lot to do with the amount you use them.
2. Remember to have a fully charged battery on your phone, map downloaded and you have pined the location of the vehicle. Forgetting this step is not smart.
3. Get a rough idea where you want to be. ....and way you go. Don't limit yourself to main road but take the side road, gap between buildings and paths.  In a lot of these area the definition between road and foot path is blurred and the tolerance of the drivers to one another on the roads here are astonishing.

4. Don’t take an excessively expensive bike that you are perpetually worried that it will get nicked.

5. A road bike is too limiting. The narrow tyres are likely to get stuck in the cobblestones and anything off hard surfaces is almost impossible. Besides they don’t jump curbs to well. A fully suspended mountain bike seems over the top for most street work ……but is much better when you come down a set of stairs …….you will pay for it if you have to go the other way.

6.We have opted for light hard tail mountain bikes with fat slick tyres that rolls well on the hard surfaces. They easily jumps curbs and is okay off road provided it isn’t too lose or wet.

7, For easy of securing, remove all quick releases so you still have a seat  and wheels when you come back to the bike and make sure the lock is long enough to attach the bike to some object.

8.  In Spain helmets and lycra  are optional.

The concept is that you will often get lost and in doing so you'll see and find things that trip advisor or loney planet failed to mention. In the big scheme of thing you will never be more than 8-12 km from your car which is probably less than 30min away. This is where the fully charge phone comes into play.

Mr Cool, No helmet, no lyrca no hands