Preparation is key if you don’t
want to hurt yourself. We took
our latest trip in the spring this
year and had to do our training for it in the
Swedish winter, which isn’t ideal – we put
in about 500km on winter roads and spent
a lot of time in the gym.
I’m not just saying this, but we always
fly Norwegian when we go on a bike trip
because it’s really convenient and cheap
with a bike bag. We all have the same
bag, an insulated soft shell Evoc bike
bag – you basically take off the wheels,
handlebars and the saddle, and pack it
carefully. It’s really portable, with wheels,
and we’ve never had any accidents or
anything broken.
We put a lot of money and time into
our bikes. We ride carbon fibre bikes that
weigh around 6.5kg, with a gear cassette
that allows for lighter gearing in the steep
mountains. We always use clincher wheels
(with an inner tyre tube) down here, since
a flat tyre can be quite a hassle in the
mountains with a tubular wheel.
Then it’s about figuring out where you
want to stay based on the kind of trip
you want...
The preparation
This page,
clockwise
from above
⁄
Lightweight
clincher wheels
avoid problems
with flat tyres in
the mountains; on
the way to Saint
Vallier de Thiey;
the Evoc travel
bag the group
uses; Patrick,
Claes and Erik
take a short walk
to the house
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