1-week cycling vacation?

[saab2000]

Originally Posted by tv_vt

You might enjoy going to Provence and riding up Mt. Ventoux with Veloventoux folks in Puymeras, France. UK couple run it and have lived there for decades. Talk to Craig or Vicky. Beautiful area for riding even if you take Mt Ventoux out of the equation. Should be nice in the fall. Was there last September. VV also have riding guides (Andy is one) who can help you out and ride with you - they know the area like the back of their hand.

Fly into Marseille and Craig can pick you up, or rent a car. Bring your bike or rent a nice one in Maulacene or Bedouin. Food and wine - yes!

Just as an aside: I have never done the real Mont Ventoux but I did the fake one on Zwift and it was pretty neat and also really hard!

Also, I could get on board with a trip to Nice or Palma de Mallorca. Neither has a direct flight from the US but both have great cycling.

[tv_vt]

Originally Posted by saab2000

Just as an aside: I have never done the real Mont Ventoux but I did the fake one on Zwift and it was pretty neat and also really hard!

I've ridden all three routes up to the top now, all done in my 60's. Last year I finally rode the Sault route, which is by far the easiest, but still includes the awesome 'lunar' landscape in the last few km. My amazing wife rode it with me, her first time up to the top. Came down via Maulacene and back to the Veloventoux base about 15km from there.

It would certainly be a memorable trip for OP if he wants to go far from home. But lots of good ideas posted here.

[meyatt]

Just one thing to consider is if you go international from the U.S. the first day gets washed in jetlag — lots of beautiful places in the U.S. to ride. Overseas, recently I went to Girona and it was everything it was hyped up to be, I'm eager to go back again next year.

[rogerspam]

US options would likely be the least expensive

Europe--Portugal might be a good mix of good riding, food and low cost especially outside the big cities. We stayed in one of their historical schist villages and the roads up and around the area looked like they would be fun to ride.

Asia--I did a guided Japan tour (not cheap) but there are certainly much lower cost self-supported options. You can also look at Taiwan which is well developed, bike friendly (home of Giant!) and low cost (food/accommodation wise esp outside the metro areas)

[christian]

Your timing is impeccable and makes the answer easy:

The Bike and Taste Tour with Paulo Bettini. You get to ride four days with Paulo Bettini in Tuscany and then participate in the Gran Fondo Paulo Bettini. And it’s cheap! 1499 euros for five nights, four days, including room, board, and cycling clothes laundry service.

https://www.bikeandtaste.com/en/bike-experience/3003/

Start packing though - Sept 18-22.

[Mr. Pink]

Originally Posted by CNY rider

For 5-7 days I would stay in the States and come to the Finger Lakes region of NY state.
You can't beat it in the fall and you won't have to deal with the time, hassle and expense of international travel.

I was just thinking the other day that Saratoga Springs is an excellent destination for this. Two bikes would be ideal, one road and one gravel, and a car would help, so a bit of a hassle if you're not driving in. Just find maps for the Tour of the Battenkill for the gravel, or venture over the border into Vermont for the dirt roads. Miles and Miles of excellent paved roads. Saratoga has great food and drink, some music. My favorite bar, 9 Maple, is there.

[KJMUNC]

I'm partial to the Costa Blanca region of Spain....basically the area between Altea/Calpe/Denia. There's a reason most of the professional teams spend weeks a year there (MVDP and Remco live there). Roads are generally very nice, weather is great, and drivers are courteous. Food is awesome because, Spain. It's pretty affordable on a relative basis and there's tons of cycling infrastructure to support you (bike rentals, shops run by former pros, etc.)

Check this out as an option: https://www.cyclingcalpe.com/

[bigbill]

Tuscon, AZ. The fall is the best time to be in Arizona and Tucson has some of the best road riding and you can head south toward Patagonia and do some gravel. Further south, close to the border is Sierra Vista which has good roads with shoulders, mild fall temps, and many dining options.

Another option is Flagstaff and the Grand Canyon. The main roads in the NP are a no-go, but there are all kinds of trails for gravel bikes that take you along the western part of the South Rim. The road riding around Flagstaff has seen its better days, but Lake Mary Road and the Mormon Lake loop are great. There is some good road riding around Sedona as long as you avoid the heavy traffic roads through town.

[SDJ]

There are of course a lot of opportunities in southern Europe.

I saw Annecy being recommended which is a great base for fantastic riding BUT starting to get late in the season - so would recommend southern coast France and the inlands plus Spain, Portugal, Italy

The summer this year has been very weird and changing in Europe so if unlucky it can already get cold and rainy from now in Central Europe.

I am partial to southern Spain as spent all my summers there as a kid and now riding there since 20 years.

These guys do a good job of showing the best riding in the area:
https://www.sierranevada.cc/autumn-c...holidays-spain

Enjoy! I’ve had the same opportunity this past year so taken advantage of it and done a lot of bike packing trips in Switzerland and Europe

[texbike]

Originally Posted by christian

Your timing is impeccable and makes the answer easy:

The Bike and Taste Tour with Paulo Bettini. You get to ride four days with Paulo Bettini in Tuscany and then participate in the Gran Fondo Paulo Bettini. And it’s cheap! 1499 euros for five nights, four days, including room, board, and cycling clothes laundry service.

https://www.bikeandtaste.com/en/bike-experience/3003/

Start packing though - Sept 18-22.

Ooooh, this looks like fun!

Outside of the US, I'd place another vote for Annecy. We were there a few weeks ago and it's just about perfect from a cycling perspective. So many different routes and options. Great hiking, great food, and the lake. Easy access to Switzerland and Italy. Geneva is close and their airport makes getting to Annecy a breeze. Plus, the place will be essentially empty right now after the Summer crowds have gone back home.

Inside the US, I can't think of anything better than what you have right in your backyard. I'd love to have a weeklong cycling vacation this time of year based out of downtown Tiburon or Sausalito. So many ride options, great food, hiking, etc. AND one of the coolest shops in the Country - Above Category. You're truly blessed to live where you do!

Texbike

[Ken Robb]

Originally Posted by CNY rider

For 5-7 days I would stay in the States and come to the Finger Lakes region of NY state.
You can't beat it in the fall and you won't have to deal with the time, hassle and expense of international travel.

Les and have enjoyed 2 trips to Canandaigua and the Finger Lake area in both Summer and Fall. It was never uncomfortably crowded. There are some challenging climbs (for me) and some easy cruising along the Erie Canal Tow path too.

Fly to Buffalo, rent a car, drive to Canandaigua, Watkins Glen, or another cool small town. I would check for special events like auto races, football games, college homecoming weekends before deciding on your base of operations because you may find something very appealing or repugnant to you.

[chismog]

As others said, pick a spot and do days from there. You probably don't want to deal with a loaded tour and the associated logistics of finding a new place every night.

Not sure if this is your cup of tea, but I'd strongly suggest Bormio, Italy. You can do day trips up Stelvio, Gavia, Mortirolo, and more. It's completely epic. Easy to rent bikes there, and stay at the wonderful Hotel La Genzianella....

A nice thing about Bormio is the routes are very straightforward. You don't need a guide, so your expenses are just travel, hotel, and food.

Not sure about snow conditions in September/October.

If you want to stay local-ish, I'd suggest the Santa Ynez valley. Weather will be great, good local rides and also easy day trips to ride Santa Barbara, Malibu, etc.

[SDJ]

just FYI regarding picking somewhere in the alps...(like Annecy mentioned above)

we live in Central Switzerland and last night it snowed from 1500m altitude (4500 feet?) - this will drop to 1200m the coming days

it is quite cold and very early in the year for this - next couple of weeks staying cold

I had to use a thermal jersey the last couple of days here and we're in the low lands...

[ojingoh]

Tucson. October through April. Good trails, inexpensive. Mount Lemmon! Roads are kind of beat up outside of the central business district/ U of A. Excellent food.
Southern France. Excellent travel connections. I was in Rognes, close to Aix. Tour goes through this part of the country every year. Good food. Good cultural stuff.

[benb]

Ah.. sounds awesome. I have not done this one single time since I got married. My wife made a brief try at being a cyclist but gave up a long long time ago and I have to work pretty hard to work cycling into vacations at all. (We did get to MTB in Sedona last year, and we have "home base trips to VT and Cape Cod where I ride)

I am jealous, I gotta try to figure out how to do this at some point. I usually take a couple weekend trips a year on my own and sometimes cycle, but that is mainly about getting together with college friends.