It is easy to get jealous of what other cyclists get up to. Sometimes I wonder if the only reason for social media is to make others jealous – the success theatre as my partner would say. And sometimes, what you end up looking at looks good. Really good. When I was in my mid-20s, and just about the time I setup a Facebook account, I was on the cusp of starting a working (backpacker) holiday based out of London. In terms of travelling with a bike, and riding and racing experience – it was the best thing I ever did. Australia is a long way from everything, and being based in London with copious amounts of work available, and cheap flights, made for plenty of opportunities.
But still, everything needed to be done on a budget. Rent still needed to be paid, bike parts replaced, beers drunk, travel paid for. It had to be affordable. But here are some things I learnt on how to make travelling to European Marathon and Stage Races a little more affordable. These are listed in no particular order, and you can choose to follow all, some, or none.
Choose your time of year wisely
This should be obvious, but you want to pick a time when events you are interested in are on, and close together. Make sure the weather is favourable, and where possible avoid peak season. Typically, May is too early for bigger races. After mid-September it’s a bit late. But of course you don’t want to be stuck looking for accommodation in late July or August. This is high season in most areas. Do some quality planning and research. Try our calendar, and other ones like radmarathon.at.
It’s easy to go too early. Want to go to the high mountains? Early June isn’t optimal.
Book in Advance
There are almost always benefits for booking in advance. The savings on flights, train fares, accommodation and race entry can be quite big. Yes, it reduces the spontaneity, nervousness and adventure of travel. But so do smartphones, ipads, wifi and Irish pubs.
Book Nothing
Conversely, maybe you are best to see what happens. If you are on an open ticket, this can be easier as you’re likely to have more time and open ended plans. This way, if the weather is great where you are, and you can extend your stay – why not? Running around from one booking to the next, and getting stuck in more bad weather, or getting worn out from packing up and travelling too much can be a waste of time, money and end up with lost opportunities and experiences.
Be ready to go with whatever opportunities come up. Want to come and watch a Tour stage? Why yes!
Get a Rail Pass – go full backpacker.
Hear me out – these can work in your favour, if you have a rough idea of when you are travelling, and if you are going long distances. If you want to go to a lot of places a long way apart, this will help. From the Ardennes, to the French Alps, to Austria, Switzerland, the Cote d’Azur and then then Pyrenees? A rail pass might make sense. Look at the cost of the pass, for the amount of days travel within a time period. Now, use a rail trip planner (bahn.de is one of the best). My rule of thumb was that a trip less than four hours meant it was usually better to just buy the ticket, and use the pass for really long rail trips.
Trains might take a little longer – but if you have the time they can be more economical.
Do a Stage Race
Maybe this is obvious. But if you do a point to point stage race, and use the camp, you’re knocking off a few costs in one hit. Take Transalp as an example. You start in southern Germany (and almost every town is easily accessible by public transport) and finish in Riva del Garda. Ok so the entry is a lot, then add on the price for the camp. You come out at about 100 euro per day. But what does that cover? A day of racing new trails. Accommodation, all meals, showers, toilets – and probably a new t-shirt or two. All of a sudden that is quite good value. More than that you should meet a lot of like minded people, who might give you some ideas of where to go, or just be great friends to ride, race and travel with in the future. I’ve met some of my best friends at stage races, and developed the most important relationship there too.
The camp in a stage race is not always that bad…
Even if the stage race you do isn’t point to point, it’s still worth while doing. Why are you travelling with your bike otherwise?
Understand What Countries Offer
The costs, and experiences, of racing in each European nation changes. Austria is brilliant for lots of climbing, gravel trails,steep descents, and beer gardens right at the finish. Travel, race entry, accommodation and food are all relatively well priced. Germany is similar, but it’s not so compact, and my own race experiences haven’t been as great – the events lack a bit of fun. Switzerland is premium. Amazing trails, amazing organisation, fantastic food and views. Everything else can be expensive, but there are ways to reduce those costs.
Now if you look to Poland, a lot of the racing is a bit better value. The Sudety MTB Challenge and Beskidy Trophy are two stage race options that are well priced to enter. Eating is cheap and great in Poland, same for drinking! It might be a bit harder to get around, making it a better proposition for a stage race than a marathon.
Italy can be magic. Excellent organisation (up north in the Sudtirol especially), absolutely stunning terrain, but fairly expensive to stay there and enter. Things change as you move further south.
Choose your Accommodation
Maybe you’re best to have an accommodation booking site open each time you look at a location or race, booking.com has served me well. It will help you gauge how much the stay might cost. But have a long think about what you require for comfort, especially whether it’s for one night, a week, and whether it’s for a race you really want to do well in, or you’re there for fun. I favour a small self-catered apartment when possible. And when you can get one for about 25euro per person per night – why not? But I’ve stayed in 12 bed hostels for 12euro a night including breakfast, and done some of the best training ever. Maybe that was the location, and sleeping well on 5euro bottles of sangria – who is to say? The thing is, one year on it wasn’t the same.
An apartment can bring a greater level of comfort.
Hostels should not be avoided at all costs. Hostels in mountain towns, and especially Swiss ones, are brilliant. The hostels in Santa Maria and Scuol have possibly proven to be some of the best places I have stayed to ride my mountain bike, or to race in the case of Scuol. The Swiss do very good breakfasts, have high quality coffee machines, comfortable beds, and fast wifi. Now, a 40 bed dorm at Munich in October, or a 6 bed room in New York City in August – that’s a different experience. Read some reviews and look at the location.
Maybe a hostel wont have quite enough room?
Booking a hotel will not necessarily be better. Will they have somewhere to keep your bike? Is it close enough to find something good for dinner? Is there free wifi? If you’re like many mountain bikers, you want some freedom and a bit of room. Many hotels won’t offer that.
Meet up with friends
If you are travelling alone, and enjoy meeting people, don’t discount how good it can be to meet up with friends from home. This is less of a cost saving function and more of a mental health function. I always found that I was ok travelling alone, as long as I met up with friends now and then. And after doing a couple of stage races, I certainly had a few different friends around the place to catch up with for a ride, beer, or both.
Look after your bike
Chances are you only have one with you, and not a huge budget for spares. Keep your bike lovingly clean. In Europe, you’re best to embrace the jetwash. No, that doesn’t mean you have to jetwash straight into your bearings. You control where to spray goes. But it’s a much better way to get the cow poo, mud and grit out of your bike. Just always make sure you dry it and lubricate it afterwards. Understand what you can service easily, maybe your pivot points are easy to disassemble with a multitool? That gave me something to do waiting for a hostel to open once. If you run full length cable outers with sealed ends, sintered brake pads and reliable, high quality parts – you’re unlikely to have too many problems. Out of rags? Wait for the room service trolley to be parked in a hallway.
Learn how to hand wash
While you might come across well priced laundromats – you might not too. Be comfortable hand washing your kit, and know how to do it. It involves more than just wetting your gear and wringing it out. There’s a fair amount of scrubbing involved. Hopefully you can hand wash a few times between laundromats. It’s always good to get your gear hygienically clean.
There is more to come! Make sure you read part two.