Tour Update - Mt Ventoux

After a week of getting your legs and lungs used to the demands of long climbs up high mountains to elevations where the air is a little thinner, its now time to head down to Provence to tackle the infamous Mt Ventoux.

The Climb 

This classic climb is notorious for the unpredictable and often harsh weather conditions, wind being the biggest factor that can turn this tough climb into something more of character building exercise. The "moonscape" landscape at the top of the mountain is the image that may first come to mind to most, this is the image most seen in the TV coverage of the "Tour De France", don't get me wrong that part of the climb is not exactly flat but the toughest part of the climb happens back in the forest. Nothing under a 10% grade for what seems like forever, I'm not sure if its the fact that you get to see the top and the end is in sight when you come out of the forest but it does seem to get a bit easier once you get to this open section.
There are 3 routes to choose from when tackling this climb, Bedoin, Malaucène and Sault, the most well known and the toughest is the route from Bedoin, this of course will be the route that we will be taking (no guts, no glory guys).
Here is the profile, note the consistent 9-10% in the middle of the climb....

The Ventoux Triple

If you are mad enough you can climb all three routes in one day. This would entail 72 km of climbing with 4300 meters of vertical gain, approximately similar to a major day in the mountains in the Tour de France (except far more concentrated). If you can do it you will be able to join the Club des Cinglés de Ventoux (literally the Maniacs of Ventoux Club!).
Please note - if you did happen to want to do this you will need to let me know if advance so we can make arrangements.

Hotel des Pins

Our accommodation for the next 2 nights is at Hotel des Pins, located in Bédoin, within easy riding distance of the base of Mt Ventoux, a 3-star hotel with a warm Provençal welcome.
The hotel’s style has been designed by hotel owner Guillaume Roux, a trained architect and painter, and his wife Anne-Sophie. Whether the rooms have a natural, designer, Baroque, contemporary or romantic theme, each one combines cosy and comfortable surroundings with unrivalled tranquillity.
In the shade of the pine trees, dive into the swimming pool and unwind in the garden, soothed by the gentle song of cicadas, a great way to ease some of that muscle soreness after your big day of climbing and if thats not enough then there is the option of treating yourself to a massage.

The Food

Hotel des Pins’s restaurant, L’Esprit Jardin, is aptly named, given that the garden spirit is well and truly present in the form of the dining room’s green wall, or vertical garden, which will both surprise and charm you as you enjoy your meal.
Chef, Laurent Archias, offers guests the opportunity to discover his creative cuisine, peppered with a Provençal accent. He selects his produce with the upmost care from local markets, giving priority to regional ingredients and flavours.
For example, you may enjoy the renowned Luberon green asparagus with a parmesan crisp, and confit Ventoux lamb served in a cabbage leaf.
Mediterranean fish is also on the menu. L’Esprit Jardin offers guests its fish of the day with a tapenade sauce or its bouillabaisse-style sole.
These dishes celebrate Provençal culinary traditions, and use some of the finest ingredients the region has to offer.

Your time in Provence may be only short but have no doubt it will be memorable.

Tour Update - Bike About Tour of Paris

A Parisian Day Tour

Please excuse the fact that I have gone from the first part of our tour in the Alps and skipped ahead to the very end in Paris for this post, but I thought I'd do this as a way of letting everyone know that something has been added to the tour as a result of a request from Hamo.
By the time we get to Paris it will be time to slow down and enjoy the scenery now the mountain climbing and exhilarating descents are behind us, a leisurely paced bike tour of Paris will be the ideal way to wind down. There is no better way to get an overview of this amazing city, we have now booked the group onto a private Parisian Day Tour with Bike About Tours.
We will be joined on this tour by Hamo's sister and partner, should be a fun day!

Our PARISIAN DAY Bike Tour lets travelers experience Paris like a true Parisian! We’ll cruise through Europe’s most amazing city, tell you all the history & unknown stories, ride through charming back streets, stop on our favourite bakery street, and feel Paris come alive in the process!

We realize that most travelers will see the touristy areas on their own, so we focus our DAY bike tour on the back streets and local areas that we have discovered (don't worry, we see many famous sites too)! We’ll also recommend all of our favourite things to do at the end of the tour.

This tour lasts approximately 3 ½ hours - we ride at a very leisurely pace.

Cyclerides Private Tour details

Date : Saturday 26th July, 2014
Time : 9:30am
Meeting point : inside the underground 'Vinci Car Parking' on the corner of Rue de Rivoli & Rue de Lobau- just behind the Paris town hall (Hotel de Ville).

Please note that more detailed meeting instructions will be advised closer to the time.

Click here to check the updated full itinerary

Tour Update - No 1 - First stop The French Alps

To all the members of our Taste of the Tour d France 2014 tour :
It's now only 6 months until your cycling trip of a lifetime, although I must warn you that there have been many before you that start off with the intention of crossing the “cycling trip to France” off their bucket list as a once in a lifetime venture only to realize that you can’t do it just the once. This of course is not a bad thing although it may be a little difficult to justify/explain to your non cyclist partner.
I will be sending out a monthly update on your tour as a way of keeping you informed on any changes as well as sharing any useful information. I will try and cover everything you will need to know but I do ask that you don’t hesitate to contact me if there is anything that I have missed.
I will be using this blog for these updates, as well as the updates for this year’s tour this blog follows last year’s tour and will also be used to follow our tour this year. Group members can comment on the updates for all to see offering the opportunity for a group discussion and I encourage you to do this. This blog will also then convert to the live blog of your tour offering the opportunity for your envious friends and deserted partners to keep up with your exploits.

The Itinerary

So first up is the updated itinerary for our tour, please note we work on the basis of flexibility for our itinerary and the day to day routes may change due to the weather, road closures or even group requests. Click here to check out the latest itinerary for your tour

Here is the Tour de France route 

The French Alps

Our first stop is the mountain village of Venosc,  a beautiful village in the Oisans region of the French Alps riding distance from the base of the infamous Alpe d’ Huez. We have exclusive use of Chalet Morville for our 7 day stay, a luxury chalet that features 5 bedrooms all with ensuites, a cinema, an outdoor hot tub and an infrared sauna.

This is superb accommodation in a stunning location, you will be treated to a big breakfast every morning and a sumptuous 3 course dinner including wine on 6 of the evenings.
Click here to check out Chalet Morville.

Riding in the French Alps 

This region features some amazing cycling including many of the routes/climbs made famous by the Tour de France and there also plenty of other equaling amazing routes that are less famous but hidden gems. We’ll be doing a mixture of both.
Here is a link to 30 bicycle touring routes in Oisans, the routes are described as “The discreet”, “The iconic”  “The untamed”, I’ve got some hard copies of this guide which I will post out.

Some General Information and Tips

Some of things that you can start thinking about:

Passport: You can’t leave home without one, most importantly your passport will need to have a minimum validity of 6 months from the date that you depart Europe ie. The expiry date of your passport must be no earlier than 28^th January, 2015 if you are departing France on 28^th July, 2014. CHECK THIS NOW just in case you need to renew your passport to comply with this condition, it’s definitely not recommended to try and do this at the last minute I can assure you.

Travel Insurance: You should also take out travel insurance now to cover you for cancellation due to unforeseen circumstances (conditions apply, mostly health issues that prevent you travelling), your travel insurance should cover you for cancellation fees and most importantly UNLIMITED medical expenses whilst overseas.
We are able to offer QBE Travel Insurance at a 20% discount when taken out online, click here to take out QBE Travel Insurance. 

Travel Money : I would recommend getting a travel money card of some sort for the trip, there are numerous products out there, the best solution is to find one that you are able to load with foreign currency at the current rates and able to use for purchases without fees, you mostly have to pay a fee for withdrawing cash.

Here are some options:

CBATravel Money
Qantas Cash
AustraliaPost Travel Cards
CashPassport

Alternatively talk to whichever bank you currently deal with locally.

Global Roaming : You are able to set your phone to roam overseas but beware this can be very expensive and a rude shock when you get your bill on your return home (may also make it hard to justify your next trip with the partner you left behind).

You are able to buy a local sim on arrival but this can be a very stressful process as you will need to try and work out the instructions that are also in the local language. A much better option is to buy a glocal roaming sim before you leave, I have had success with the Woolworths Global Roaming card, this card allows you to:
·       Add a local Australian number so your friends can contact you for the price of a local call
·       Add a bundle that includes data so you can use email and internet (this is much much cheaper than paying Telstra overseas rates)
·       Track your credit and usage
·       Top up easily online.
There are other options out there but I’ve only tested this, here is a link to WoolworthsGlobal Roaming

Well I’m thinking that’s enough to get everyone started, please feel free to leave your comments for all to see especially if you find something that is useful that I have missed.