For French Alps, go it alone or joina cycling tour?

[YancyFry]

I want to go on a trip to do some of the famous climbs, L'Alpe d'Huez, the Galibier, etc. I have been to Europe many times and have even done a cycling trip by myself on some of the classics routes in Belgium. I wanted to go with a group this time just because it seems it would way easier and less stressful then going alone. Does anyone have any tour company's they could recommend or that I should stay away from?

Also although going with a tour seems easier I was worried that they are very pricey and I might have double up with some stranger (*cough cough*, possibly a dentist Fred or something). Has anyone here gone it alone and done some of the climbs in this area? Was it fairly easy to find places to stay and get around?

Thanks!

 

[Race Radio]

Most Tours are a waste of money, besides 1/2 the fun is planing the trip.

Here is a good site with all the climbs and great maps.
http://www.cyclingthealps.com/

 

[ChrisE]

Most Tours are a waste of money, besides 1/2 the fun is planing the trip.

Here is a good site with all the climbs and great maps.
http://www.cyclingthealps.com/

Thanks for posting the link.

One of my (many) regrets in life was not to be able to go ride in Europe, specifically the Pyrenees/Alps/Dolomites when I was still riding/racing. Time/money/other commitments did not make it a priority and now it is too late. I will rent a car in the next few years and at least go see those climbs. Take advantage of what you have.

Plan your own trip as RR says. Base yourself in some centrally located place like Bourg d'Oisans or Chambery and knock yourself out.

 

[YancyFry]

Thanks for the replies. I think I am now convinced to plan my own trip. The only question is do I bring my bike or try to rent one? I managed to rent one in Belgium but it took me like 2 months to find a place and the quality wasnt that great. I would love to bring my bike but I have heard numerous horror stories about missing bikes and bad experiences.

 

[PinchFlat]

I would bring your own bike. Why spend so much to travel to the alps and then risk a bad experience either not being able to find a bike to rent or getting one that doen't feel right. I know it is expensive to bring a bike on the plane now-a-days but renting isn't free either.

 

[Le breton]

..........

One of my (many) regrets in life was not to be able to go ride in Europe, specifically the Pyrenees/Alps/Dolomites when I was still riding/racing. Time/money/other commitments did not make it a priority and now it is too late. I will rent a car in the next few years and at least go see those climbs. Take advantage of what you have.

....

and now it is too late.

What does that mean? Are you sick or disabled? Those are valid excuses, not being too old.

I do not climb as fast as I used to : yesterday a younger guy with white hair overtook me on my 4th pass of the day, but I still had two more climbs to do after that one, so I restrained from trying to follow him (besides, I figured he was on his first climb). I started my ride late, so, as it was a really hot day, it was also good training for the heat ( 4300 m uphill altogether).

If you want to climb the Alps in 2012 or 2013, start training now.

 

[Le breton]

Ventoux

The only question is do I bring my bike or try to rent one?.. .

If starting and ending in Bédoin, at the foot of Ventoux, is an option, I would suggest getting in touch and renting from "Jean-Michel Hurter" at his shop "La route du ventoux". He should be very easy to find on the web, you can even call him on the phone, he speaks English (worked in the States at one time).

 

[veganrob]

Thanks for link RR. That is fantastic. I am planning trip to Spain.

 

[Tangled Tango]

I say go it alone. I went to the last two Tours with my bike and it was great. If you can drive, you have the luxury of picking your start points at your choice stages. I suggest you find a hotel in the center of the action areas and hopefully ride directly from the hotel. Or stay in one place for a few days and move to another as the Tour moves. Shop in the local markets, breakfast in the cafés and ride the lengendary roads..........you´ll love it.

 

[oldschoolnik]

If starting and ending in Bédoin, at the foot of Ventoux, is an option, I would suggest getting in touch and renting from "Jean-Michel Hurter" at his shop "La route du ventoux". He should be very easy to find on the web, you can even call him on the phone, he speaks English (worked in the States at one time).

I'd like to second the recommnedation of Jean Michel at La Route du Ventoux - he has a nice shop at the base in Bedoin and 3 years ago in 2008 he was renting Dura ace equipped Scott full carbon bikes - and he was super nice and helpful fluent in english as well.

linky:
http://goo.gl/d6XZs

We were only doing 4 days of riding but we stayed in Vaison La Romaine - which allows you to do Ventoux (keep in mind you'll want to do all 3 routes up ) and also general riding in Provence - for 4 days there were plenty of epic rides. One trick we employed was to look at the Backroads Cycling and other cyclign tour companys and saw what cities and general routes they used and then booked our own hotels (less blinged and $$ ones)

Good luck and if possible please share with us what you end up doing after the trip.

 

[TourLeTour]

Go it alone, for sure, but pick your time. In 2009 I rode the route of the Tour de France, at the same time as the race. I did it on my mountain bike, carrying panniers with tent, sleeping bag, stove, and even a tiny netbook so I could write a blog as I went (http://www.tourletour.com if you are interested...). An absolutely fantastic experience. A few months later I did a race in Timor Leste, and met a young guy there who read the blog and asked a heap of questions. Now, two years later, he is doing the same thing. I am just trying to work out if I can join him for the last week, and have some fun in the alps. If so, you can come too if you want, BYO tent!

On a side note though, I did break an awful lot of spokes (the fully laden MTB came in at almost 40kg), and got some fixed at La Route du Ventoux. So I will add a third recommendation as a good shop...

 

[Dermie]

I want to go on a trip to do some of the famous climbs, L'Alpe d'Huez, the Galibier, etc. I have been to Europe many times and have even done a cycling trip by myself on some of the classics routes in Belgium. I wanted to go with a group this time just because it seems it would way easier and less stressful then going alone. Does anyone have any tour company's they could recommend or that I should stay away from?

Also although going with a tour seems easier I was worried that they are very pricey and I might have double up with some stranger (*cough cough*, possibly a dentist Fred or something). Has anyone here gone it alone and done some of the climbs in this area? Was it fairly easy to find places to stay and get around?

Thanks!

I have just finished a Tour of Italy, 3,000kms with the Bike Dreams tour, La Bella Italia, it was bloody fantastic.

The pros of going with this tour
For four weeks all you have to do is ride your freaking bike in some fantastic surroundings, all the rest is done for you & at Eu 3,200 its good value.
The cons
You have to camp between 5 to 6 out of 7 days.
Only one or two of the participants on my trip were **** heads but the majority of them were nice people, it may depend on what sort of person YOU are.
My tour finished at Lake Como after going through the dolomites & Italian alps.
The next tour starting after that was Les Dix Alps, 10 of the famous French & I think swiss tour climbs.
All you have to do is put up your tent after a great meal in the evening - sleep -pack up your tent, have a great breakfast - ride all day - repeat.

 

[YancyFry]

Another question, in terms of weather will I be able to ride all the climbs in Alps still in the first week of Sept? I dont want to go and get snowed out.

 

[Frosty]

Another question, in terms of weather will I be able to ride all the climbs in Alps still in the first week of Sept? I dont want to go and get snowed out.

Dont think you have anything to worry about. Snow cant be ruled out even in the middle of summer on somewhere like the Galibier - it had to be taken out of the tour in 1996 for that reason - but i dont think the chance increases much in early Sept. Could be a better time to go than the middle of summer actually as it shouldnt be quite as hot.

 

[craig1985]

Another question, in terms of weather will I be able to ride all the climbs in Alps still in the first week of Sept? I dont want to go and get snowed out.

It may not snow but make sure you have a jacket or two for the top. I've done the Tourmalet and it was a hot day but at the top I was shivering.

I went part of an organized tour with a mate in '07 for that year's TDF and whilst it wasn't cheap, I don't regret a penny of it. We had a pretty good group of people (even though our tour guide was bit of a downer), and it was my first time on continental Europe (I had been to England before the trip in '07) and neither did I have a driver's licence so hiring a car was out of the question, let alone driving on the other side of the road. As Dermie said, everything is taken care of and you don't have to worry about much and just ride your bike. I went with Sportingtours. I have a lot of memories from that trip, meeting Levi Leipheimer's family, that dude you see running along with the antlers on his helmet, yes him.

The con was the cost and if you do it on your own, it would be cheaper, but my French isn't too good though. The other was that we were heavily reliant on a schedule in that our bus driver could only do a certain amount of hours each day and we had to often drive for up to two hours to where we got off, for somebody like me, I like to travel to my schedule. I think if I were to go back now, I would do it on my own, I now have a driver's licence and I have would know where to go.

I brought my own bike, I flew with Singapore Airlines and it was free, no idea if it is still the case now though, although it may not be relevant for you though. Have fun and post photos and stories of your adventure

 

[simoni]

It may not snow but make sure you have a jacket or two for the top. I've done the Tourmalet and it was a hot day but at the top I was shivering.

I've ridden (and descended...) the Iseran and Galibier in snow in August. On the higher climbs there is always a risk but, by and large, the roads will all be open in September. It just might depend on how much discomfort you're willing to withstand. And how good your cold weather gear is.

If you're and experienced traveller who doesn't need your hand holding then you should be able to work it all out yourself. At least then you get to do what YOU want to do. The downside is that you'll potentially miss out on making new friends and then banter etc. you get on an organised tour.

Somewhere like Briancon might be a good place to visit too as well as places such as Albertville (handy for the likes of the Madeleine, Cormet de Roseland), Maurienne Valley (Madeleine again + Galibier, Croix de Fer, Glandon) and Morzine (Joux Plane, Colombiere, Ramaz) to the north. The weather tends to be that bit more reliable further south and you are well set then for the Izoard (which is unmissable in my opinion).

On another note, I'm just back from a fortnight in Vaison-la-Romaine (near to Ventoux) and even without climbing the big one, its surrounded by some of the finest cycling country you could ever wish to find. If you like your rides challenging without being ridiculous, warm weather and wine then its the place for you!

 

[Archibald]

I know it is expensive to bring a bike on the plane now-a-days but renting isn't free either.

not really.
it's costing me £32 to add an extra bag of luggage on a BA flight (do it online) to fly from London to Sydney. Bike bag with bike in it is under 15kgs so well inside the 23kg limit.
too easy to add a bike. i know of other people who took a bike to europe (from Aust) for free - not sure how though

 

[Dermie]

If you are going on a pure riding holiday you could get all your gear in the one bike bag & with a light bike squeeze in under the 23kg but I think on of the middle eastern airlines give you 30kgs. You can take your heavy stuff in your carry on. I've seen some very big carry on's of late. One of the guys on my last trip had a nice ritchy with a coupling that broke the bike in two & carried every thing on his case. This won't work of course if you are travelling on your own. Maybe you could end up in the place you started so that you could leave your case at the hotel.

 

[danjo007]

ive always taken my bike whe travelling OS. but do check the airlines to see who allows bikes on for free (so long as they arent overweight) or not. last time i got hit $200US each way - which i didnt realize until i showed up to go.

 

[craig1985]

not really.
it's costing me £32 to add an extra bag of luggage on a BA flight (do it online) to fly from London to Sydney. Bike bag with bike in it is under 15kgs so well inside the 23kg limit.
too easy to add a bike. i know of other people who took a bike to europe (from Aust) for free - not sure how though

Airline policy I guess? Singapore Airlines never charged me a penny to take my bike on board, maybe it has changed and I wouldn't be surprised that if it has. I paid $2600 to fly with Singapore, but I was flying in July so I always was going to pay a lot more.

I'm actually lucky that my former team captain last year is also a travel agent so he can find out how much it is for me to take my bike on a plane.

 

[Dermie]

Qantas just put on the new charge for more than one bag in June while i was a way, I was able to get away without paying the charge cos I paid for my ticket before they brought the charge in.

 

[TourLeTour]

Further to my earlier post - new plan is to head to the Pyrenees on Thursday, join route of the TdF there, and head on through the Alps. Forget work, pack your bike, I will meet you there!