Knowing when to visit a destination can be tricky. Can you cycle Ventoux in October? Can you ride Sa Calobra in January?
Use the search function on our destinations page to sort our destination guides by the best months to visit, or read on for more advice.
Know where you want to go (but not sure when to visit)?
Sometimes you know you want to go to a particular destination. Maybe it’s been on your bucket list forever, maybe you read an article or heard about it from a friend.
But what’s the best time to visit?
Each of our destination guides contains a “When to go” section. This gives our opinion of the best time to visit and also a detailed, colour coded chart that gives information on average temperatures, rainfall and what the riding will be like.
Head to our destinations page to pick the destination you want to visit. Or, if you know the country you want to visit, click the relevant link below and then head to the relevant region guide to find the best time to visit:
Know when you want to travel (but don’t know where to go?)
Check our cycling by season article series
In this series of article we pick a selection of the best places to cycle in each season of the year. We hope it forms a useful (if very subjective!) starting point:
Where to cycle at Christmas and New Year
Browse our month by month list
You can also browse our month by month list of cycling destinations below.
A destination is listed for a particular month if we think it’s a good time to cycle there.
Our test for what’s a good time takes into account the likely weather and that most of the big rides will be do-able. It takes less account of things like school summer holidays in July and August, but bear in mind that during these months temperatures may be very hot in the middle of the day, roads are likely to be busier and prices higher. It often comes down to – “would we book a trip there at that time of year”.
Once you’ve narrowed down the destinations you’re interested in, take a look at the detailed destination guides. The “When to go” sections give lots of information about each month of the year and categorises them as:
As you’ll appreciate, weather can be fickle so this information just provides a rough guide. If we could guarantee perfect riding conditions, we would!
We hope this gives you inspiration for where to ride in each month of the year.
January
February
March
April
USA: California: Santa Monica Mountains
USA: California: Santa Barbara County
May
USA: California: Santa Monica Mountains
USA: California: Santa Barbara County
June
France: Alps: Col de l’Iseran region, French Alps
France: Alpe d’Huez region, French Alps
France: Col du Tourmalet region, French Pyrenees
July
France: Alps: Col de l’Iseran region, French Alps
France: Alpe d’Huez region, French Alps
France: Col du Tourmalet region, French Pyrenees
USA: California: Santa Monica Mountains
USA: California: Santa Barbara County
August
France: Alps: Col de l’Iseran region, French Alps
France: Alpe d’Huez region, French Alps
France: Col du Tourmalet region, French Pyrenees
USA: California: Santa Monica Mountains
USA: California: Santa Barbara County
September
France: Alps: Col de l’Iseran region, French Alps
France: Alpe d’Huez region, French Alps
France: Col du Tourmalet region, French Pyrenees
USA: California: Santa Monica Mountains
USA: California: Santa Barbara County
October
USA: California: Santa Monica Mountains
USA: California: Santa Barbara County
November
December
Over to you!
Got any questions about when to travel to a destination? Give us a shout!
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