It’s no secret that some of us find swinging the leg over and riding up endless bloody hills for training really hard! At some point, chasing Strava KOMs can lose their appeal.

But, for those heading overseas to the hills for a holiday, to watch the Tour, or do Etape du Tour, it pays to push through the disinterest and find something that helps you train. Because if it’s one thing I’ve learnt, the biggest impact you can have on your hill climbing, is training and eating right (thus losing weight).

I find that watching cycling always gets me pumped.

So for those looking for a bit of extra encouragement, or some specific training that can be watched on TV whilst you train on your rollers or training device, let’s take a look at Cyclefilm’s Etape 2012 – Roads to Glory recce and training DVDs.

Markus Neuert, the owner of Cyclefilm has teamed up with Cannondale UKs Michael “Cottydale” Cotty who provides the expert advice on the Etape recce as well as training advice and encouragement.

Etape 2012 – Roads to Glory Pyrenees Edition Review

I got my hands on the Etape 2012 – Roads to Glory Pyrenees edition (there’s an Etape 12 Alps edition too) and immediately began watching it, sans bike.

Etape 2012 - Roads to Glory Pyrenees

After a brief intro, the DVD immediately dives into the 2012 Etape Pyrenees route, providing key insights and on-the-ground information about potential pain points.

Set against a backdrop of interval training (and workout music) with Mike traversing the course, the video takes us across the major climbs and points of interest of the 2012 Etape Pyrenees.

Michael’s instructions and insights are clear and obviously well informed by a wealth of experience and a load of hard Col bashing (he finished 22nd in the 2006 Etape – yowsers!). Mike is a man who knows his stuff, having suffered through these very climbs multiple times.

Although many people do not treat Etape as a race, instead treating it as something to finish, the race-ready tips that Mike provides will help maximise your results.

His experienced eye and commentary provide lots of really useful information on feeding and hydration as well as pacing yourself. These tips will help ensure you don’t just survive Etape and finish in a broken mess, but finish it comfortably.

For those who want to smash Etape, his insider information will let you know exactly where to pace yourself and use the bunch, or, open the pipes and drop the hammer to pick up useful positions against the 10,000 other souls battling the ride.

The videos itself is super high quality – Markus is an absolute pro at this stuff.

There is no fluff, just a tremendous amount of useful insights, and a very handy training video.

Although Etape 2012 – Roads to Glory obviously focuses on providing recon advice for Etape, as well as specific training, the training aspect of the video is good enough to use anytime you’re indoors on the trainer, either as encouragement or as a tempo marker to help you really build your climbing skills.

For those stuck indoors, or, who don’t mind training along with a TV-based training program, and for those heading to Etape, definitely check these DVDs out.

Summary

This is a great Etape 2012 recon and Etape training workout, that doubles as a general hill training video.

This video got me so pumped to go out for a spot of Col bashing that I wanted to be there racing Mike up the hills.

The DVD package itself is really quite beautiful and of very high quality. Matte gloss cover, great typography and an awesome insert booklet with some nice words about riding by Cannondale UK’s Michael Cotty, all of which provides a quality feel to the package.

The DVDs are available in PAL and NTSC format.

Etape 2012 – Roads to Glory Pyrenees gets a 10/10 for me.

You can get Etape 2012 – Roads to Glory Pyrenees and Alps editions from the Cyclefilm online store.

Don’t Forget VeloNomad’s Etape Training Guide

Don’t forget VeloNomad’s Guide to Training for Etape, a training program specifically developed for Etape.

There is now a dazzling array of content regarding overseas cycling trips on VeloNomad (something I am in the process of tidying up…sorry, I lag).

And with the time when many of us begin to head overseas for the Tour de France, the Etape or just to ride our bikes (if you’re lucky – all three!) rapidly approaching, I thought it might be useful to provide some starting points for planning your trip to Europe.

Actually now I think about it, this post would be super helpful for a trip to anywhere in the world, really, so bookmark this article right now!

So here we go – my must-read posts for those heading overseas to ride their bicycles, or watch some bicycle racing.

VeloNomad Resource Page

The VeloNomad resource page is your one stop shop for the things you’ll need to know for a cycling trip. It’s not perfect yet by any stretch, but will continue to evolve and grow.

Make sure you bookmark the VeloNomad resource page!

VeloNomad Product Reviews

The VeloNomad product reviews page is starting to fill out nicely (with more on the way soon!). These products are all ones I use myself.

And hey, if you work for a company producing cycling/travel related products and would like a review, drop me a line.

Planning and Execution

Planning your trip is exciting. It’s also essential in ensuring you have a hassle free trip.

Here are a bunch of articles to help you.

Which Airline to Fly

Wow, this is a tricky topic – start with the article on the initial stages of planning your trip.

Don’t forget CO2 canisters are verboten on airlines except on Emirates who give you a double thumbs up.

Also don’t forget airline baggage is an absolute KlusterMess – be very, very careful regarding your airline baggage allowance (read this article to see why).

Cycling Through France, the Series

The 7 part series on planning your trip to France is a good starting point for a lot of high level information.

The Cycling Through France guide covers all the information you’ll need to plan and execute an awesome trip to France.

Cost Comparisons (Car Vs Camper) and Budgets

It’s easy to spend a lot of money overseas, but it’s also easy to be sensible and not come home with a massive credit card bill (or, come home with leftover savings!).

For budgeting, check out the VeloNomad Cycling Trip Budget Planner (with a downloadable spreadsheet).

You might also want to check out the VeloNomad Campervan versus Car Comparison post that includes a downloadable spreadsheet.

The Campervanning France guide covers all the information you need for a Campervanning Trip to France, plus more!

Insurance

Getting your insurance for your bike is, I think, pretty easy.

Include it on your travel insurance (possibly expensive), include it on your house and contents (and cover it for overseas trips), or, have it covered under your credit card insurance (pay for your flights on your credit card).

I’ve covered the insurance topic extensively in the Cycling Through France Guide, but you can also read about it in my How to Insure Your Bike and Save Money and my general insurance tips articles.

Phone/Internet in France (and Spain)

The Prepaid Mobile Internet in France page is one of the highest visited pages on VeloNomad – for good reason. It contains loads of useful info about getting internet on your mobile phone.

If you want a SIM for France, Italy, Spain (or many other cycling holiday locations) you should definitely check out my MobiPassport review.

What to Pack/Take

Here are a bunch of useful links for packing.

• Download my Packing List, print it off, add your own stuff and make sure you don’t forget anything.
• Video and post on why you should pack light.
• Deuter Race Exp Air Backpack Review – this is an awesome backpack for the plane and for day trips on and off the bike (e.g. to the Tour).
• Helmet bags review – don’t fly without packing your helmet properly.
• Cycling Trip Equipment List – an earlier post I did.

Eating on the plane

Eating properly on the plane is really, really important.

Load up on plane food and booze and expect to land in a foggy haze and suffer for days (yep, been there, done that).

Eat lean and clean and only imbibe a bit, and arrive alert and ready to smash Cols! (Did you know Guy Pearce flies from London to Melbourne and eats nothing! I’ll bet he arrives hungry but alert.)

I’ve previously written about Why and How to Avoid Bad Food on Long Haul Flights (and what to eat instead).

I’ve also written what is a kick butt how-to guide (with ingredient list) on how to make your own high protein, low sugar cereal that is perfect for flights AND pre-Etape/sportif/long-day fuelling.

Taking Your Bike

I get a lot of emails from people asking if they should take their bikes on their trip (my answer is yes).

I also get a lot of questions about the best way to get a bike to Europe. There really is a load of information on the site about this, but briefly:

• Article about the Best Way to Get your Bike to France without Damage.
• Bike Bag Shootout comparing most of the most well known bike bags.
• There is a wealth of information on the site about packing your bike including this one about Packing your bike in an EVOC Bike Bag.
• What Bike to take for Etape.

Watching the Tour de France

Make no mistake, watching the TdF is TRICKY BUSINESS – read my 2011 trip wrap up, 2010 lessons and Stage 13 from 2009 to see why.

This article deals with the ins and outs of watching a TdF stage and this (you’ll admit) hilarious post shows How to Outflank a Gendarme.

The Etape du Tour

Well, where to start with the Etape. One of the main goals of this website is to help people have an awesome time when doing Etape du Tour and to this end, there really is a LOT of great information on the site. Click here for a Google Site Search covering all the VeloNomad Etape articles.

In terms of gearing for Etape, you should make sure you have the right gearing for Etape.

You should also make sure you have the right fuels.

For those who want all their information in one spot, check out the (very, very) thorough Tackling L’Etape ebook and the 2012 Surviving Etape Guide.

And for those hopelessly overwhelmed

Check out the VeloNomad Trip Planning Concierge – I’ll help you plan your trip overseas!

The Short Version of this Post…

We’re launching hand made musettes, which you can check out on the VeloNomad webstore.

If you’re reading this on our website (not in email) you can click the images below for a bigger version.

Chirpy

Checkmate

The Italian

For those interested in how our musettes were born, read on!

The Humble Musette

Musettes are probably not something you give a lot of thought to, right?

After all, they’re pretty simple and practical – strap, bag, maybe a press stud, and some screen printed logos. In fact most musettes are the same which is understandable given their heritage as feed bags in races.

I’ve used musettes a lot – particularly for riding to work and for travel. I’ve always found them extremely useful, but not given them a lot of thought.

I always take one on my travels (or when doing a car trip) as I’ll put food for the plane in one, and then dump everything from my pockets in one and roll it up before going through the metal detectors.

I can never have too many.

Time for a Change

However, riding along recently, I pondered musettes, and realised they weren’t being done justice.

Whilst I love simple products, musettes are a little too simple when used outside of a race. And really, how many of us buy musettes to use in a race for feeding and then dump them?

Answer: not many.

Yes some readers would use them for that (Melbourne-Warrnambool, Grafton-Inverell and any long races with feed stations), but they have much more practical value beyond racing.

After all, musettes aren’t just musettes.

They’re so, so useful to carry “stuff”. Whether at a concert, going shopping, riding to work, travelling or any other number of situations, they just work.

Given their range of uses and how much they get used, I thought a little personalisation might be in order.

Re-tooling the Musette

Upon returning home to VeloNomad headquarters, Kate (for readers new to VN, that’s the lovely better half of this operation – she’s the creative brains behind Sleepy Turtle Photography), mum and her partner, and I deconstructed the humble musette and rebuilt one by hand.

We spent 5 days thinking about every facet of the construction (the design is pretty much rock solid), how they’re put together and what could be added.

After 5 days of hard work and trial and tribulation, we couldn’t be prouder of the results.

Introducing the VeloNomad Musettes

All our musettes are hand-made (HAND-MADE!) at our house near Byron Bay, Australia, after hours of “discussion” about patterns, button colours and contrast stitching.

The most visible things we’ve done are made our musettes a bit more noticeable, strengthened them by improving stitching and added an internal pocket.

The Checkmate

Here’s how our musettes are put together:

• Twill cotton, calico or canvas bodies.
• Twill cotton, calico or canvas pockets.
• Twill cotton, cotton, calico or canvas straps.
• Gutermann thread (it’s the best stuff).
• Double stitched seams on all weight bearing seams including in pockets.
• Straps are not “sewn through” the side seams but are attached internally with rectangular+cross stitching.
• Slip button on all bags.
• Happy Flags to keep you happy when riding.
• Contrast stitching in lots of places.
• Wider straps – we never liked how the straps on most bags bunched up, or cut into our shoulders if the bag had a bit of weight.
• And don’t forget, a machine doesn’t make these, we hand make them in our home!

Happy flags

Internal pocket - fits smartphone and more

Meet our Musettes

The Italian

This bag celebrates Italy and the Giro with Italian and Giro styling. With just a dash of pink (not too much to make the manly-men scoff) and lots of green, white and red – this bag screams Cipollini, pizza and cycling.

All orders received before April 20 will be shipped in time for the Giro. (Yay – the Giro – May 5!)

Sneak a look at The Italian here.

Close up of The Italian

Checkmate

We really love this bag a lot. Bold but not loud, with dashes of red, this bag definitely makes a statement.

Check out Checkmate.

Checkmate

Chirpy

Aimed at the ladies, Kate adores this bag. It’s super cute, that’s for sure.

Click here to meet Chirpy.

Chirpy

Order Now, Get a Discount

Our first three designs are all available for order on the VeloNomad webstore.

Order The Italian before April 20 to ensure delivery before the Giro commences.

All orders before April 23 will receive our special launch pricing. At 8AM on April 23 (Australian Eastern Standard Time), all bags revert to standard pricing.

FAQs

Backpacks, backpacks, backpacks!

How hard is finding a good backpack?

REALLY HARD!

With the thousands of backpacks on the market, finding a good travel backpack involves a lot of trial and error and potentially wasted money.

I’ve wasted hundreds of dollars buying backpacks online only to be disappointed with the real thing when it arrives.

Here at VeloNomad, you know that I aim to save you money, time and hassle, so in this post I’m going to take a look at what I think is a great backpack not only for travel but for day trips on and off your bike.

What I look for in backpacks

Regardless of the application (general travel, photography gear, day pack and so on), there are a few features I always look for in backpacks.

• Quality construction including bash material/guards in appropriate spots
• Quality, large gauge zips
• Storage
• Side accessed laptop sleeve if applicable
• Appropriate amounts of padding
• Quality ergonomics
• Chest/sternum strap, waist straps
• Capacity
• How it feels when riding and wearing in general
• Overall design, utility

The Deuter Race EXP Air

Deuter Race Exp Air

The Deuter Race EXP Air is one hell of a backpack.

Suitable for mountain biking, road cycling or general day pack use, there’s a lot to like about this bag.

Here’s what I REALLY like about it.

1. It doesn’t have a lot of volume – big bags encourage you to pack more stuff. This bag forces you to choose wisely, and I like that – I really love products that force you to make choices. It’s especially important if you’re riding a long distance or carrying it around all day, or travelling.
2. Air flow – Deuter’s kick butt air system makes this bag great for riding and travel (travel = hot and sweaty).
3. Rain cover – a carefully hidden rain cover lets you cover your bag in the event of rain which is great if you have camera gear or other valuables in your bag.

Detailed break down

Construction

Made from Microrip Nylon and HexLite 210 (read more about Deuter materials here) this bag is tough and light. Reinforced and padded in the right spots, its construction is more than suitable for its intended use.

Apparently the Microrip Nylon (abrasion resistant) and HexLite (rip resistant – within reason of course) pretty much render this bag indestructible.

Obviously this will be more important during the rough and tumble of travel and mountain biking, but is also important when watching the Tour as you’ll likely have the bag on the ground, hanging off stuff and so on.

Do you like ripped back packs? No. Then HexLite 210 is for you.

Material close up

The buckles are reasonably robust. By reasonable, I don’t mean, “Go and hang off an ice cliff like Sly Stallone in Cliffhanger” type of robust, I mean, “clip ‘em together and they won’t just snap for no reason” robust.

Buckles

Quality, large gauge zips

It’s all good news in the zips department.

• All zips are YKK.
• The main compartment is double zippered.
• All external zips have grab tabs to make grabbing the zips a cinch. The main compartment zips have a male & female button so you can button the two zips together.

Zips are an oft-overlooked part of a bag. The people at EVOC also have this figured out – their products have nice, big, strong zips. Other companies fail dismally.

Happily, Deuter, with their German engineering sensibilities, have provided the best zips in the business. So, you can sit down and zip/unzip these zips to your hearts content.

At no point should the zip snap, leaving your bottom lip quivering and your other hand holding a broken zip tab, wondering what one earth just happened.

YKK zips

Storage

Compartments

When I look at the storage in a bag, I look at stash pockets (to stow stuff in all day, and not have to access) and general compartments.

In the compartment department, this bag provides:

• The main body compartment, big enough to fit a few things like laptop, spare tshirt/underwear, deodorant and some food for the plane/day, or a DSLR and a couple of lenses and some other odds and ends, for a Tour de France or cycling event.
• Small compartment at front, which really just serves as a holding compartment for the stash pocket, but which could fit a few other small things (energy bars etc).
• Two water bottle holders, one on each side of the bag.

This bag is not generously endowed with compartments, but, that’s the nature of the bag. Pack light. Remember, you do NOT need half the stuff you usually pack.

One teensy-weensy problem with having one main compartment is you’ll end up with your odds and ends in there which means ratting around for stuff. The ladies amongst the readers with big ol’ handbags full of stuff will know what I mean.

The main compartment can be expanded by undoing one zip. So, if you are not carrying much, you can zip it up and have an ultra low profile bag.

Main compartment expansion zip

Stash pockets

Obviously in a small bag like this, it wouldn’t make sense to have loads of compartments or stash pockets.

I find stash pockets invaluable. They are great as you can put your keys/wallet/etc in, not worry about them and come back to at the end of the day and know your stuff will be there.

• This bag has two stash pockets.
• One is inside the small front compartment (along with a key clip) and one is inside the main compartment.
• Both are zippered.
• The one inside the main compartment is deep but narrow so it’s a bit tricky to get your whole hand in regardless of hand size.
• The one in the front suffers no issues for hand access.
• Together, these pockets could hold keys, wallet, phone, point and shoot camera and a couple of other odds and ends but not much else.

Front stash pocket

Front stash pocket

There are two water bottle (or for the traditionalists amongst you “bidons”) holders; one on each side. I use one to hold stuff – like sunscreen for example.

Water bottle holder - one per side

Hydration

There is a sleeve for a hydration pack, along with a hidden outlet.

Hydration sleeve and outlet

Laptop/iPad sleeve

Not applicable on this bag.

You’ll fit an iPad/tablet or a Macbook in this bag when travelling/getting about but not much else (I’ll talk more about this later in the review).

Padding

The padding in the shoulder straps is adequate. Keep in mind you won’t have a LOT of things in this bag (unless you’re carting gold bullion around, in which case I recommend a transportation upgrade), so you don’t need a lot of padding to counteract the weight.

The mesh in the back effectively pads the bag out from your back and almost acts like suspension.

Quality ergonomics

I believe that ergonomics are overlooked by a lot of backpack manufacturers. I have an F-Stop travel bag for camera gear and the ergonomics (strap padding, placement and where the bag sits) are just horrible.

Happily, this is another area where this bag is a winner. It sits nicely on the shoulders, the mesh sits snugly on the back and the bag simply gets out of the way (a hallmark of good design).

Many bags suffer from sag, where the bag falls down and off the back, no matter how tight the straps are done up. This bag doesn’t suffer from that. It’s marvellously contoured for your back.

I have had two broken clavicles and as a result have two small bone protrusions on my shoulders. Most bags sit right on these and become very uncomfortable. This bag sits in just the right place so is a joy to wear.

On the bike

On the bike

Comfortable

Straps

This bag has good shoulder straps, a sternum strap and waist strap. All are decent quality and appropriate for the size of the bag.

The waist/hip strap has no padding, which reflects the fact the bag isn’t intended to have a lot of weight in it.

The sternum strap is adjustable up/down to suit people of different sizes.

Sternum strap rails

Capacity

As I mentioned earlier, this bag is not designed to carry everything.

If you’re on the bike – say for a day trip, touring or a Tour de France/race stage – it will carry everything you need for the day.

If you’re in transit on a trip – for example on an aeroplane – it will carry spare tshirt, jumper, compression clothing (read this post to see my compression product reviews), some food, a laptop, iPad, phone and a few other odds and ends.

You do not need more than that.

How it feels riding

An important part of a bag is how it feels when you’re wearing it.

Happily, this bag more than does the job in this regard. On and off the bike, this backpack fits like a glove. On the bike especially, even with a decent camera and 2 lenses (e.g. Canon 5D/40D/7D, a tele and a wide angle) this bag is great.

Remember, it’s not intended to carry a lot of stuff, so by cutting back on what you pack, you consequently make the bag noticeably lighter and thus more comfortable to wear.

I’ve ridden bags with loads of gear up the big cols of the Alps and I wish I’d had this bag instead.

The shot below is from the 2009 Stage 16 TDF stage. We rode 22km up the Col du Petit St Bernard and I had 8kg on my back. This tweaked my back and I am still paying for it 3 years later. In this bag I had two camera bodies, 4 lenses and “stuff”. Don’t be silly, pack light.

2009, Stage 16

Other features

There are some other neat touches on this bag.

• Rain cover – a stowed-away rain cover, for when you get caught out
• Helmet stash – a hidden helmet stash – this is useful but will NOT fit a helmet if the helmet inside a helmet bag/pod
• Water storage – internal water bladder compartment and hidden water hose outlet

Rain cover

Rain cover

With regard to the helmet net, there is almost no way you can secure a helmet that’s inside a helmet bag/pod inside the net. So, when in transit, expect to carry your helmet pod/bag separately (I definitely recommend travelling with your helmet in a helmet bag – read my reviews of helmet bags here).

If you ride somewhere then want to stow your helmet, the helmet net will hold a helmet.

Helmet net

Overall design, utility

This is a great bag; very well designed, excellent quality and very typical of German design (think EVOC, Audi, Mercedes, BMW, Jan Ullrich, Tony Martin, Oktoberfest – you get the drift).

Given its application – “don’t put a lot of stuff in me” – this bag is almost perfect.

Whether for a Tour de France stage, travelling, day pack or mountain bike smashfest, this bag has your back (feel the pun!).

With just the right amount of compartments, straps, hooks (including the main grab handle on the top) and features, this is the Audi of backpacks. Practical, stylish but not flashy (certainly not a Mercedes AMG 4WD which to be honest I’d also be very happy to own – in gunmetal grey please!).

Well worth a look, this is my go-to travel/day bag, along with my Dakine Pro bag.

“Is this bag right for me?”

This bag will suit your needs if you’re looking for a bag for:

• Airplane travel
• Day pack use (concerts, hiking, on the bike etc)
• A bag for commuting
• MTB enduro use
• Riding out to see the Tour de France or other races

Don’t get me wrong, there are a lot of other very capable bags on the market – many equally as good as this – but what makes this bag a stand out is the air flow on the back and its overall quality and practicality.

When travelling and riding, lots of people can get sweaty backs. The airflow reduces sweat and heat and that alone is enough to make it a standout in a very crowded market.

Bottom line? You will not regret buying this bag. I LOVE using it.

Get the Deuter Race EXP Air

You can get the Deuter Race EXP Air from Chain Reaction Cycles (http://bit.ly/HfFSxR) for less than AUD$80 – a bargain.

Disclosure: Chain Reaction Cycles provided this backpack for review. I would recommend this regardless as I only recommend products I use (and would buy/have bought) myself.

Insurance Options

Sigh. Travel insurance. A necessary evil that many of us – me included – have gotten at the last minute and overpaid for. You just can’t go without it though, especially if travelling with an expensive bike.

Most of us hate dealing with it, we feel ripped off, so wouldn’t it be great to have our bikes covered year-round?

Personally, my bike is now covered on my house and contents insurance (including on overseas trips) 24x7x365 – for those wondering who my insurance is through, drop me a line via email or on Twitter and I’ll let you know.

Previously, I’ve discussed the benefits (in terms of travel insurance) of booking your trip on your credit card (usually on Gold or Platinum cards) – read more here and here.

When travelling overseas you have a few options to make sure your bike is insured:

• Include your bike and other expensive items on your traditional house insurance – a good option but can be expensive or limited by per-item limits
• Get bike-only insurance additional to your house/contents insurance – expensive, but usually pretty thorough
• Use your credit card insurance – usually good but check the fine print for item limits
• Traditional travel insurance – can be hard and expensive to get a bike covered (especially if you’re doing Etape)
• Get no insurance (good luck!)

The CycleCover Hack

However, I’m always on the lookout for clever travel hacks that lower your costs and make your life easier.

So, it was nice to receive this email from David J from Oz. Basically the hack is to get your house/contents insurance including your specified bike stuff through a bike insurance provider, making sure it’s covered overseas. This little hack got his bike covered, AND lowered his overall house insurance costs!

Obviously, this cost saving hack won’t work for everyone as it depends what level of insurance you’re paying for now as well as how much insurance you get for your bike.

Got an Insurance Tip?

I’d love to hear it, drop your insurance tip/hack below in the comments.

2013 – The Tour heads to Corsica for the first time

I remember the sense of absolute adventure I felt when I headed off on my first trip to France for Le Tour and Etape du Tour. It’s something all of us dream about but not all of us are fortunate to be able to do. I know lots of people who shrug their shoulders and say “one day, maybe.”

If you’ve been wondering, wishing or dreaming of finally heading off on your big cycling adventure to Le Tour or to France for some cycling, I think I’ve got something that might be able to convince you!

Yep, the Tour is finally heading to the rugged little island of Corsica. The little islands of Corsica and Sardinia have always intrigued me and I thought they’d be worth a visit. Well, what better reason than for a cycle race!

It’s hard to believe that the TdF has been to all the departments of France except Corsica until now, but Corsica finally gets its turn.

The Tour will spend 3 days in Corsica, with a flat stage for Stage 1, followed by two hilly stages.

History

My interest in Corsica was piqued after seeing a lot of Corsican Pirates stickers on motorbikes and cars when travelling around France. Who doesn’t love a good story about seafaring pirates!

Like the Provence, Alsace and Brittany regions in France, Corsica has a very autonomous or independence-from-France leaning due to the fact that its inhabitants have been overrun by the larger homogeneous French culture – Corsica was “acquired” by France in the 1700s.

It has a long history of being occupied by a wide variety of armies, cultures, empires and countries. Check Wikipedia’s Corsica page out for some great starting points.

Planning for a Cycling Trip to Corsica

Probably the best place to start is Liz’s website, Corsica Journeys. Liz is a cyclist and has some cycling tips on there as well as a load of useful information.

Additionally, she has written an ebook – Cycling Through Corsica – which you can get for free with the VeloNomad Cycling through France ebook as a special bundle (her usual price is $14). You can get it directly from this link.

Included in the guide is information like:

• Cycling routes
• Guided tours and self-guided tours
• Getting there – plane, sea, hiring a car
• Hotels, campsites
• Water, food
• Language
• Business hours
• Getting around – bus, train
• Driving in Corsica
• Internet
• Resource section – hotels, bike hire locations and tour operators

Some of the information below is summarised from that guide.

How to Get There

Direct Flights

Corsica is served by 4 airports: Calvi, Bastia, Ajaccio and Figari (near Bonifacio).

Both Air Corsica and Air France fly there. Air Corsica flies into all four Corsican airports, from from Nice, Venice, Toulouse, Rome, Paris, Lyon, Marseille and Clermont-Ferrand.

Air France flies into Calvi , Ajaccio and Figari and flies there from most of the cities above.

SkyScanner is a great website for working out flights.

Your best bet for getting to Corsica with a minimum of fuss is by first flying into Paris, Lyon, Marseilles, Nice or even Milan then connecting to an Air Corsica or Air France flight to Corsica. Most airlines will fly into Paris (as a hub) but be aware that most flights to Corsica are from Paris-Orly, not Paris Charles de Gaulle so you will need to transfer to Orly from de Gaulle if flying into Corsica.

Emirates flies into Nice direct from Dubai which is good as they have a 30kg (unofficially, 35kg) baggage limit and are one of the better airlines for new planes and customer service. Singapore has a 35kg baggage limit but only fly to Paris so expect to get a connection on Air France.

US visitors will be able to get an AirFrance flight ex JFK into Nice then into Corsica.

You could also just drive to one of the ferry points if you have a hire car. What’s neat about this is if you’re on your trip and are passing by one of the ferry towns, you can easily accommodate a side trip by hopping on the ferry with your car.

If flying into Corsica, you will probably have to connect with Air France from Paris, Lufthansa from Frankfurt or any number of carriers from Heathrow. For the North Americans and Brits, your choices are considerably more expansive. For the Aussies and Kiwis, fly with Emirates direct into Nice with one stop in Dubai.

Be aware if you have a bike or lots of luggage you will probably incur excess baggage charges into and out of Corsica.

If you are a Qantas FF with Qantas Club membership I’d certainly consider a NZ/AU-Singapore-LHR-Nice flight, or even into Corsica if you can somehow book that without needing to change airports anywhere in between LHR and Corsica. Having lounge access in Singapore, LHR and possibly Nice (British Airways) would be well worth it though as it becomes a very long flight with a lot of stops.

Ferries

Ferries serve Corsica (and Sardinia which is very close by) from France and Italy.

Check out Direct Ferries for ferry timetables.

The ferries serving Corsica are likely to book out very quickly – I have heard that they are filling up fast, even now.

You can catch a ferry from Italy as well, from:

• Civitavecchia
• Livorno
• Piombino
• Savona

If you want to catch the ferry across from France, you’ll need to fly or drive into Marseille, Nice or Toulon.

My Suggestions for How to Get There

As I have said before, multiple flight connections and transfers are an utter pain in the bum, so if you’re like me in this regard, you’ll want to minimise mucking around by landing as close to Corsica ferry departure towns as possible, or, flying into airports that directly service Corsica.

Personally, since I’m from Australia, I’d certainly fly with Emirates into Nice, and jump on the ferry with or without a car.

This would be the simplest way. One flight, with one stop (Dubai). Grab a car or van in Nice, jump on the ferry for Corsica. This is a sweet option as you could check out Sardinia too.

Then once I got back to the mainland, I’d follow another Tour stage or two, then head into the Alps which are only a couple of hours from Nice (map Nice-Briancon) – Google Maps link.

View Larger Map

The Izoard and Col de la Bonnette would be beckoning as well.

I’d then look to head north into the high alps to Bourg St Maurice to knock out some big climbs (d’Iseran, anyone?).

Another option is to head east in Italy; the famous towns and climbs of Milan-San Remo are also very, very close by.

You could really dial it up by heading into northern Italy to do the Stelvio, check out Lake Como, Switzerland and Austria. There’s a lot to do and see!

Don’t forget, I do offer a Cycling Trip PLanning Concierge service if you want to have some or all of your trip planned for you, with my forensic planning skills brought to bear. Read more about the service here.

Where to Ride

As a starting point check out The Cyclists Touring Club (UK) – they have information on several routes in Corsica.

Corsica Journeys has a good summary here.

I find the best thing to do is get there and just start riding. You’re on a pretty small island so the best bet is to just explore.

Corsica is very hilly so don’t expect to cruise along flat roads.

Where to Stay

The beauty of travel is finding those random little spots that let you have a proper holiday. For me this means places like Bedoin (busy, but small, and cycling mad) and Cadaques in Spain and all the little places along the way that you just find.

If you want a bit of inside knowledge, check out Corsica Journeys in particular this place.

Drop Liz an email and ask her as she is a local.

Don’t forget, I do offer a Cycling Trip Planning Concierge service if you want to have some or all of your trip planned for you, with my forensic planning skills brought to bear. Read more about the service here.

Taking Your Bike

Taking your bike is very doable. Whilst it limits the number of airlines you can fly without incurring excess/sporting goods baggage charges, it’ll save you about 30-40EU a day in bike hire and a lot of hassle.

It will make getting trains/ferries a bit more unwieldy and taxis to and from airports will be a pain if you have more than one bike.

I’ve written many posts about this topic:

• To Take or Not Take Your Bike
• Best Way to get your bike to France
• Bike bag shootout

There are rental shops in most of the major towns like Ajaccio, Algajola, Bastia, Porto, Porticcio, Propriano, Porto Vecchio and Bonifacio.

The Tour

Ah the Tour! The Tour will be epic on Corsica. Hundreds of riders and their teams in close proximity, thousands of other cyclists, all packed onto a small island.

I’ve covered watching a Tour stage on numerous occasions, below are some links as starting points:

• How to Outflank a Gendarme on a Tour stage
• 2010 Tour de France trip wrap up (good tips!)

Train Information

Corsica has a train! Check out SNCF’s Velo page (no English) and their Corsica page. Liz’s Cycling Through Corsica guide tells us that bikes can be taken on trains for 12Euros but there is usually only space for 5-6 bikes. Avoid doing this in summer as Corsica gets packed.

Guides to Cycling Through France and Cycling Corsica

Don’t forget you can get a free copy of Cycling Through Corsica in the Cycling Through France/Cycling Through Corsica bundle.

You can get it directly from this link

Alternatively, check out the Cycling Through France guide for all your trip planning tips and tricks.

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Kapai Puku and how to make it

In this post, I’m going to show you how to make your own version of Kapai Puku – a seed based cereal and arguably the best “cereal” on the market – with the exact same ingredients, saving you money, improving your health and giving you loads of vital protein, energy and amino acids.

This is quite a long post so the main sections are shown below. Feel free to click straight through to each section.

*Update – anti-sugar crusader Marisa Peer has picked up on this post. Cool!

1. Why normal cereals are bad for you
2. Why Kapai Puku is a good food
3. Why Kapai is good for cyclists
4. List of Kapai Puku ingredients.
5. Why Make Your Own
6. Where to buy the ingredients
7. How I make my own Kapai Puku and Mixing Tips
8. Breakdown of Protein, Fat, Carbs etc
9. Taking it overseas
10. Customising your blend

Why normal cereals are bad for you

For those of you who aren’t aware, there’s a fair bit of evidence that the grains widely used in normal breakfast cereals are not good for you.

This means breakfast cereals – usually processed – are a ticking time bomb of insulin-spiking and sugar and grain-laden badness.

Even Weetbix ® and muesli are bad. I could even make a case that porridge – consisting of a grain (oats) – is also less than ideal.

Why Kapai Puku is a good choice

Kapai Puku is made almost entirely of seeds. Seeds are the complete opposite to grains in terms of health benefits. Seeds are totally good good for you.

I always feel sick, lethargic and almost immediately hungry after any normal cereal whether it’s porridge, cornflakes, Weetbix ® or anything processed.

Conversely, when I have Kapai Puku (or my home made version):

• I feel a million dollars
• I don’t get hunger cravings
• I don’t get sugar cravings – it actually reduces my sugar dependence
• I don’t need to eat a lot of it as it is so filling
• It absolutely keeps my digestion in tip top shape
• It gives me loads of minerals, amino acids, protein, fibre and healthy fats
• It helps me strip fat – as soon as I remove all cereals/grains from my diet I will drop 1-2% body fat

It’s difficult to describe all the benefits of the ingredients in Kapai Puku. Most people realise to some extent the damage a modern diet does to our bodies, which are essentially the same as thousands of years ago.

Dough (bread, grains), coffee, alcohol, sugar and so on all serve to wreak havoc upon your body in particular your digestive tract.

Anyone who has been on a no-grain/wheat/gluten, paleo-like diet will know how much better you feel, sleep and perform when you only eat essentially unprocessed food.

Why Kapai is good for cyclists

Kapai is energy and nutrient dense, meaning you don’t have to have a lot to get loads of energy. Its “bang for buck” also means it’s perfect for travel. I took Kapai on my last trip to France and it was my staple breakfast. With all the French croissants, ham, baguettes and cheese, Kapai kept me in tip top shape.

It’s the perfect pre-race, pre-training and pre-sportif breakfast. It is satisfying, is light on the stomach and will keep you going for hours. Generally speaking, my fuel for any 3-4 hour ride is simply a bowl of my seedy breakfast, some milk, yoghurt, cinnamon and a cup of coffee. Even after 4 hours (and around 100km in the Byron hinterland and its hills and heat) I won’t be hungry.

Kapai Puku ingredients list

Here are the actual Kapai Puku ingredients. This list is straight off the back of a packet of Original Blend®. There is no information about ratio of each ingredient, which is something I’ll deal with later.

I’ve linked to Wikipedia for most of these, so you can read about each ingredient’s benefits.

• Buckwheat kernels – nope, not related to wheat. It’s of the sorrel, knotweed, and rhubarb family – read more on Wikipedia
• Linseeds
• Millet
• Sesame
• Poppy seed
• Rice bran
• Amaranth
• Raisins
• Sunflower kernels
• Pumpkin seeds (also called pepitas)
• Chia seeds (black or white)

Why make your own

You may be wondering why you’d bother making your own.

• It’s fun – yup, it’s fun to make your own cereal. You can change the ingredients as you wish to suit your tastes and budget.
• It’s hard to find outside Australia – for all the UK, US, NZ, ZAF and other visitors to VeloNomad from around the world, you’ll struggle to find this cereal in your local shops.
• Save money – Kapai Puku is expensive. It’s around $35 (2kg) in shops for the original blend. This is equivalent to $8.75/500grams which is pretty pricey (not outrageous by any means) compared to other cereals. If you make your own, you can cut the costs in half. If you buy 2kg of Original Blend online, expect to pay $50 including shipping – which works at out a hefty $25/kg or $12.50/500grams.

I’ve done a detailed cost comparison per ingredient between the official Kapai Puku and a DIY mix. This is in a downloadable spreadsheet which also contains nutrient breakdowns per ingredient.

Download the cost comparison spreadsheet here.

My cost comparison is based on you buying 2kg online, because it is the most cost effective way to do it, if you can’t find a 2kg supply in shops.

If you want to buy the official Kapai Puku, I encourage you to support this awesome company by buying it online or at your local shop.

Where to buy the ingredients

Most supermarkets will have most of these ingredients, as will health food stores.

If you want to pay the absolute least amount of money as possible, you’ll have to do some price comparison as it’s a bit of a crap shoot as to which will be cheaper.

My Kapai Puku ingredients spreadsheet describes which location (supermarket/health food shop) is cheaper as well as what you can typically expect to pay.

For the Aussies, you’re best off looking at Woolworths (spice aisles and the Macro Foods section), Fundamental Foods (Byron Bay, Lismore etc) or your local health food shop. Fundamental Foods have most of the ingredients available online.

You’re best off buying 500 gram bags of seeds as once you mix everything up, you’ll have around 6 weeks supply.

I’ve created a shopping list for you to take shopping when you’re buying the ingredients.

Download the shopping list here [pdf, 109kB].

How I make my own Kapai Puku and Mixing Tips

Firstly, a disclaimer: I am NOT a health food professional. I am NOT a food scientist. This suggested mix reflects how I made my own Kapai Puku and in no way constitutes medical or dietary advice as to how you should mix your own. My mix does NOT take into account any suggested daily intake limits of these ingredients. It does not take your circumstances into account. This is simply an article on how I did it.

Remember: you’re an adult. If something goes wrong because you copied my mix, that’s your responsibility.

By mixing your own, I assume you’ve read this disclaimer and accept full responsibility.

Inspecting the official Kapai Puku Original mix, it appears that the ingredients are largely mixed on a 1:1 basis.

So, mixing this is pretty easy. Simply mix everyone on a volume basis; that is, 1 cup of each ingredient.

Because almost all the ingredients have a similar composition, 1 tablespoon is roughly equal to 12gm. Amaranth is the only exception as it’s very light. In this case, 1 tablespoon is equal to 2gm.

Here’s a photo I took of my initial mix, with 1 tablespoon of each ingredient. I call this the Ola Mix (Ola means health/life/well-being in Hawai’ian). Note, I have substituted sultanas for raisins.

Your mileage may vary according to your scales and how you measure out each ingredient – I just scooped each one out.

For bulk mixture, just mix 1 cup of each ingredient into a big bowl (trust me, you’ll need a big bowl) and then mix it all up and put in my cereal container.

1 cup of seeds is equivalent to around 200 grams; 1 cup of amaranth will be about 1/6th of that.

If you mixed 1 cup of each ingredient you’d have 1.6kg or about 16 days supply.

Breakdown of Protein, Fat, Carbs etc

Many of these seeds have a recommended daily intake as they are quite high in fats (albeit good-for-you fats) and in some cases carbohydrates.

So if you were really conscious of fat/energy/etc intake, you might want to know what the breakdown was in terms of fat, protein and so on.

I was able to *roughly* worked out what this all works out to in terms of energy, fat etc for my own information.

This is based on 1 tablespoon per ingredient. One tablespoon of every ingredient will add up to around 95 grams or 1/2 a cup, which is enough for 1 serve.

Remember, this is NOT 100% accurate.

Taking it overseas

This type of food is perfect for pre-ride, pre-Etape or general holiday duties! It is therefore perfect for taking overseas, especially if you’re likely to be hitting the delicious French croissants, cheese, baguettes, ham and pizzas hard.

So, how to work out how much to take overseas?

Based on a daily serve of 1/2 cup (~100grams), simply multiple the number of days of holidays by 1/2 cup a day.

Example: if your holiday is 20 days, take 10 cups or 2kg.

As an aside, this mix is also perfect food for the aeroplane; read here to find out why.

Customising your blend

Here are some ideas for customising your cereal. Remember, keep it simple. Unprocessed is best.

If you have some good ideas for customisation, drop your ideas into the comments below

• Sultanas instead of raisins
• Dried apricots (minimise though because of sugar)
• Carob
• Cinnamon (also good for lowering sugar cravings)
• Cacao (nibs are great)
• Goji berries
• Macadamias, almonds or other nuts (minimise though – a LOT of fat)
• Dried banana chips

Plan a Campervanning Trip to France

Enjoy a hassle-free campervan trip, saving hundreds of dollars along the way with this must-read guide.

I won’t lie to you. Planning and executing a campervan trip to France – especially to follow the Tour – is damned hard work. Lots and lots of fun, but hard work.

After seeing all those campers on telly having fun roadside at the Tour, I’ll bet the allure of a campervan cycling trip is huge. It’s not all cycling, sunshine and baguettes, though. There is a lot of planning, driving and stress involved.

The Ultimate Guide to Campervanning France

After spending a lot of days across multiple trips on the road in a campervan, and after receiving a lot of emails about campervan trips, I have put all my expertise, obsession for trip planning, experience, insights and knowledge into the ultimate guide to Campervanning in France.

Free Preview

You can check out a free preview of the guide below with Google Books Reader here or below.

You can get more info on the Campervanning France page or get the guide below.

PLEASE NOTE: This product is in ebook format only. You will not receive a hard copy.

The Spring Classics Challenge

Well friends, it is on like Donkey Kong!

If you ever needed some incentive to fire up your training for Etape du Tour (Etape 2012 information page) or your cycling trip to Europe this summer, this is it.

Specialized has joined forces with Strava to create the Spring Classics Climbing Challenge. Read more and sign up here.

Based on the Spring Classics, the challenge involves climbing the cumulative elevation of the Spring Classics – 3 times – for a total of 105,312 feet or 32100 m (32km!) in just 45 days from March 15 to April 30. Actually there is some conjecture that it is 47 days (go on, count March 15-April 30 just to check!) but let’s stick with 45.

The Spring Classics have a bit of climbing, and here’s the break down. I didn’t realise Leige-Bastogne-Leige had so much climbing! What a beast.

• Milan-San Remo – 6,260 feet / 1908m
• Tour of Flanders – 5,709 feet / 1740m
• Paris-Roubaix – 3,259 feet / 993m
• Liège–Bastogne–Liège – 10,883 feet / 3317m
• Amstel Gold – 8,993 feet / 2741m

Why you should do this

Whilst Strava is giving away a custom Strava/Specialized water bottle and another secret surprise for all finishers, this shouldn’t be your incentive.

Adding 32km of climbing into your legs in 6 weeks most definitely should be your incentive. This amount of climbing is perfect preparation for Etape du Tour in July or your trip overseas in the European summer. I would be shocked if you also didn’t shed some weight as a nice side effect.

I know some VeloNomad readers are using the VeloNomad Etape du Tour training plan, so you may choose to ignore this challenge (interrupting your training for this won’t hurt), but for those heading to Etape du Tour or even just to Europe for a cycling holiday, this is the perfect tune up for your legs.

Why this is totally doable

Whilst 32km of climbing in 45 days may seem an overwhelming amount, it’s not.

Breaking it down into bite sized chunks, we get:

• 713m a day, or
• 5333m a week (6 weeks), or
• 1778m a ride (3 rides a week)

How you can do this

For those with full time jobs, kids and so on, this is going to seem impossible. However, it most certainly is not. All you need to do is commit to doing your required climbing each day, every second day or however you decide to break it down. If you have a small hill nearby, getting 700m a day done is not hard at all.

Look for the biggest climb nearest your house, preferably something you can do multiple repeats up. Some might say this methodology is against the spirit of the challenge, but I don’t agree. The challenge is purely about climbing the requisite number of kilometres in the stated time frame. As far as I am concerned, it doesn’t matter how you get there.

Obviously with a full time job, family and other commitments, you want as much bang for your buck as possible and this means the closest hill with the highest elevation gain.

You could easily achieve this target as shown below. The key thing is to work out a plan and stick to it. Hit the challenge hard, early so you have spare kilometres up your sleeve.

• 6 days of 900m – 1 day off a week
• 3 x 800m (weekday commutes/afternoon rides) plus 1 x 3000m (weekend ride)
• 3 rides of 1800m each ride for 5400m total

How I will be doing this – a practical example

There is a hill near my house that is 2km long with a 152m elevation gain. It takes me about 7m30s to climb and about 2 minutes to to descend. So let’s say 10 minute loops. If I climb it 10 times, I have 1500m under my belt and have only ridden for 100 minutes. It takes me 10 minutes to get there, and 10 minutes to get home, for a total of 120 minutes or 2 hours.

If I do this twice a week, I have 3000m of climbing, for 4 hours of riding.

I have another loop that is 135km with nearly 2000m of climbing (1926m to be exact), across 5 hours.

So those three rides give me 5000m of climbing per week, for 9 hours spent. The target is 5333m a week, so I only need to find 333m, which I get on my way home with two small stretches of 10%. I can always add another 70km loop in which gives me another 1000m, or another 2 hour/1500m to get to 6500m for the week.

I think most people who train with purpose will agree this is not insurmountable.

Sign Up Now

So, if you need a bit of an extra push along in your Etape du Tour training, or you want to improve your climbing or lose some weight, this is the perfect way of doing that is a measurable, quantifiable way.

Sign up to the Strava/Specialized Challenge – it’s free to enter, and free Strava accounts can enter.

Although I’ve written a post on What Bike To Ride on Etape, I thought I’d explore the topic a bit more. There are a lot of very knowledgeable readers from around the world on the VeloNomad mailing list and website, so I thought it would be interesting to get your take(s) on great bikes for Etape du Tour (or any long sportif).

What I Look For in an Etape/Travel/Training Bike

To be honest, any bike that is suited for the Etape will also be suited to long training rides and of course climbing.

Whilst the glamour of a flash full-on race bike is alluring (think Roubaix S-Works, Dogma, Look 695, Wilier Cento etc), the practical realities of long rides and a lot of climbing, coupled with your probably lack of professional fitness levels, means that it makes more sense to have a practical bike that will suit long rides (be they sportifs or training) and climbing.

It also makes no sense to take a bike worth loads of money overseas. It will almost certainly get knocked, scratched or damaged.

When looking for a bike that meets my basic requirements for a training/climbing/travel bike, there are a few rules I try to stick to.

1. Complete bike – it’s almost always cheaper to buy a complete bike rather than buying a frame and retro fitting your old components on (I’ve done it a few times though). For this reason, we’re looking at complete bikes, however, if we can locate frame/s that are so cheap online it makes sense to buy them frame only, then we can highlight those. A good example of this is a Look 566 (get a Look 566 frame from Wiggle) and Wilier Izoard XP (Competitive Cyclist).
2. Compact chain rings – as I wrote in my post on Gearing for Etape and Get the Right Gearing, unless you’re pretty elite, do not even contemplate full size chain rings for your Etape/climbing bike. Even a 53/39 coupled with a 27 or 28 will not be enough for most people. So with complete bikes, let’s stick to compacts.
3. Long head tube – bikes that have slightly longer head tubes, coupled with more relaxed head angles mean you’ll have a more comfortable bike. They give you a bit more “play” in that you can slam your stem, raise it, run a longer stem, rotate your bars a bit more; all to accomplish your desired comfort. I like bikes with a longer head tube as they tend to lend themselves to a more comfortable position.
4. Shimano Ultegra or SRAM Force – I look for Ultegra or Force as I think they offer a great sweet spot in quality and price. For me, Ultegra brakes are better for descents as the levers have a touch more play. This means you can have one or two fingers holding the levers slightly in (the brakes won’t be engaged), and be ready to fully engage. Of course, you could run your SRAM Force brakes with a slightly loose cable too but I haven’t tried it. For me, SRAM Force offer better stopping power, especially when coupled with Yokozuna Reaction cables (read my review of SRAM Force + Yokozuna cables). I actually like Ultegra shifters more.
5. Stiffness isn’t everything – A super stiff bike isn’t everything. Definitely sacrifice some power transfer efficiency in return for more comfort. You’re not Cavendish or Cadel – you don’t need super high levels of power transfer from legs to road.
6. Full carbon steerer – on rough roads, carbon soaks up vibrations. This is really important where I live in Northern NSW, as the roads are quite frankly shocking.
7. Not too expensive – sub $3000 AUD. You want something you can ride day in and day out and not worry about. However, you probably want something you’re not too ashamed to prop up outside the coffee shop.
8. Non electronic group – for me, the simplicity and reliability of traditional mechanical groupsets outweigh the benefits of electronic groups like Durace Di2 and Ultegra Ui2. The last thing you want is an electronic failure 100km from home, or, halfway through an Etape. Keep it simple.
9. Non-integrated seat posts – it makes sense to stick to standard seat posts due to the bike bag/travel considerations.
10. Price – I like to stick to under $3000 for a complete bike that covers all these areas.

My Suggestions for a bike for Etape and Travel

The below bikes are ones I’ve ridden or bikes I’ve researched a lot and would like to ride. They’d all be suited for Etape (and the requisite climbing), depending on your skill and fitness, and of course, how deep your wallet is. They’d also be good for travel, as whilst they’re good bikes, they’re not stupidly expensive.

• Look 586 – I have a Look 586 RSP from 2011. I love this bike, and I think the 2012 model with a standard 27.2mm seatpost will be even better (I think proprietary seat posts are stupid). Check this bike out if you don’t mind a slightly racier position, but want something that climbs like a rocket and descends like a fighter jet. The Look 586 UD 2012 frames are available from Wiggle.
• Specialized Roubaix – My first serious bike was a Roubaix Expert, quickly followed by a Roubaix Pro (upgraded under warranty). I switched away from Specialized after some warranty drama (left without a bike for a month) to a Look 586. Looking back now, I realise how perfectly suited to training on rough roads and lots of climbing the Roubaix is. The model that makes the most sense for training, travelling and sportifs is the Expert (full Ultegra). The Pro and Pro Ui2 are worth a look. Keep in mind my point above about mechanical groupsets.
• Look 566 2012 – For 2012, this bike is shod in a Frankstein mix of Ultegra, 105 and Tiagra (!). You might be better off getting a frame from Wiggle and building this yourself.
• Wilier Izoard XP – this bike seriously appeals to me as a climbing and training weapon. It has won a lot of awards too and is a good mix of quality and value. Check the Izoard XP out on Competitive Cyclist.
• Wilier Gran Turismo – designed to be a step down from the pro level Cento, it’s slightly more racy than the Izoard. This is worth a look too, check them out on Competitive Cyclist.

Brands I Would Love to hear about

I’m seriously looking at a Bianchi Sempre and Izoard XP however would love to hear your thoughts on bikes for Etape, training and travelling. Some brands that I think worth of consideration include (but are not limited to):

• Scott
• Cannondale
• Felt
• Bianchi Sempre or Infinito
• Cervelo
• Ridley
• Focus

What Are You Riding, and What would you Love to Ride on Etape?

So now it’s your turn. Feel free to tell us your preferred Etape/travel/training bike. Or if you are in a similar predicament to me, drop any questions in the comments below and we’ll see if the VeloNomad community can answer it.