Drupalcon Barcelona is 21-25 September 2015. Several people already showed interest for another Tour de Drupal.
Let's document the route options here.
Amsterdam to Barcelona (via Perpignan)
This is the officially published route from Drupalcon Amsterdam to Drupalcon Barcelona :-) http://www.cyclingeurope.nl/cycling/routes/barcelona/index.php. A booklet with maps and description (in Dutch) is for sale.
Some notes about the last part:
You enter Spain via a low and relatively unknown pass that is not used by cars. Tiny roads lead to the Baix Emporda, a beautiful region between the hills and the sea. In this area, the cycling route makes use of a local network of cycling paths that take you - almost entirely along car-free roads - to the coast at San Feliu de Guixois.
Unfortunately, the final fifty kilometres to Barcelona can hardly be seen as a "cycling route". There are plans for a cycling path next to the road, but at this time you have to cycle into town on the main coastal road's wide shoulder.
London to Barcelona (train to Perpignan)
Eurostar London St Pancras->Paris; across Paris to Gare Lyon (?); TGV to Perpignan. Book via loco2.com
Eurostar rules: tbc.
TGV rules: book the bike for E10 at the same time as booking your ticket, or have a foldup in a bag.
Comments
I've got a copy of the first
I've got a copy of the first book (the part from the NL to Beaune) and have ridden the best part of it (backwards) and can say the choice of route is good, lots of quiet and off-road (but not the shortest) and it's well described. The maps aren't bad too, though I remember not always knowing if it was following the main route or turning off. They also stick very close to the route - so if you have to come off for whatever reason (eg. accomodation) you also need more.
Translating
I'm happy to translate the route description into English.
Site builder and Documentation WG member
Looking forward to this! The
Looking forward to this! The 4 days from Zurich to Amsterdam with trains worked pretty well. I would love to dedicate more time for this one, but not sure how many holidays will be possible. Another option would be to mix in some remote working days for a longer trip from Zurich to Barcelona.
Last Leg
Hi all
I don't think logistics will allow me to do a full trip as per 2014. But I'd love to do the last day or last 2 days. This time I'd fly to Barcelona early, hire a bike, jump on a train/bus and meet up with the group on the ride into Barcelona.
So if some locals could help with finding a suitable place to hire a bike, and pointing us in the right direction for busses/trains, then that would help greatly.
In terms of help, the 'take-aways' in https://groups.drupal.org/node/444898 are exactly what is needed. If dates, routes, and local guides are in place early, I'd imagine there will be a big take up next year.
Regards
Alan
Eurostar & TGV gets UK people to Perpignan
Hi all,
Sorry I'm only just discovering this. I think it sounds like a great idea and I like the route. A shame about the very last bit, but the pass through the Pyrenees sounds great. And if there are plenty of us, then even bad roads aren't so bad.
One option for people coming from the UK is to take a Eurostar to Paris and then a train to Perpignan. A TGV is feasible for those of us with folding bikes or bikes that can somehow otherwise be packed away. But then that would mean we could meet up with others at Perpignan and have around 200km (?) all together.
J-P
Well, cycling 200 km sounds
Well, cycling 200 km sounds like that would be doable for me. My max km on one day is 100 km now (yes, that was on the day of cycling from Monster to Amsterdam. While that was only 78.5 km that night the train back to Amersfoort stopped a few stations earlier, requiring me to cycle another ± 20 km.)
When this plan came up first, I wondered how I would do the about 1.500 km from Amersfoort to Barcelona and how long that would take. That would require at least two weeks I think, and that could be a problem for the number of days off I have. And also for the amount of luggage I need to take with me, unless a van would ride the whole route. Are there still plans that a van rides a long? Even for the last 200 km it would be handy if I do not need to pack all my luggage on bike.
I have some concerns about cycling on the road that is meant for cars if that is what "you have to cycle into town on the main coastal road's wide shoulder" means. Last time I was in Spain I noticed the roads are quite small compared to the ones in the Netherlands. I imagine me a traffic jam (or flat bikers :o [I hope not]).
Just discovered EuroVelo 8:
Just discovered EuroVelo 8: http://www.eurovelo.com/en/eurovelos/eurovelo-8
Barcelona is on the route, maybe an option for some of us. Sadly it is only partially realised.
Here is nice map: http://cycling.waymarkedtrails.org/en/relation/2766092
There seems to be some realised parts between Avignon, Perpignan and Barcelona.
Booking hotels / Route
Booking hotels in Barcelona
Who has already booked hotels for Barcelona? If possible, maybe it would be nice to stay in the same hotel.
I have found two hostels so far that report that they offer bike parking. They are priced 20 to 30 euro per night for rooms with 2 to 8 beds. Maybe some of us could go as a group to one of these hostels.
Twentytú Hostel
Pamplona, 114, 08018 Barcelona, Spain
360 Hostel
Calle Bailen 7, 08010, Barcelona, Spain
Location of the conference building is at:
Plaça de Willy Brandt, 11-14, 08019 Barcelona, Spain
Route
Other question, what is the considered start position for the last days? I heard some discussion had taken place about this on Drupalcamp London. It could be this:
Or this:
Personally, I prefer to bike from Perpignan to Barcelona in two days (first table from above). I'm currently on the level of recreational biker (cycling ± 90 km a week). I think 200+ km in one day would be too much for me.
If we take the two days route, we probably need to book hotels in Perpignan and Girona as well. Or do we just go to the first hotel that has still room for us and decide the hotel on the day of arrival? Sorry if this question seems obvious, I have zero experience with cycling from place to place in multiple days.
Intercités de Nuit - The Night Train
For people traveling by train via Paris, besides the TGV option there is also the cost effective overnight train that takes you all the way to the Spanish border. Bicycles have to be pre-booked at a small fee but are allowed.
See the write-up (including a video) by The Man in Seat 61 here http://seat61.com/lunea.htm#.VPORaxCnxdY
Stefan van Hooft
iCompute
Twitter | LinkedIn
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Pirinexus
So I've made up my mind. I'll fly to Barcelona two weeks before Drupalcon, and ride the Pirinexus (an unpaved cycle route) and a few other nice curvy roads in the Pyrenees. Then I'll meet you guys somewhere along the way.
Along the way would be Girona? Sant Feliu de Guíxols? Blanes?
From Girona to Sant Feliu de Guíxols runs a former railway track, now a bicycle path.
From Sant Feliu to Blanes the road swings along the coast, curvy & hilly. Said to be beautiful and not too busy.
From there to Barcelona it's just flat, and busy, though on Sunday perhaps a little less frantic.