My two-week Tour de France trip on the program arranged by Graham Baxter Sporting Tours from the UK were great - we saw a lot and rode a fair amount – we all took our bikes over. I had a fabulous time, and all the while I was there I was thinking about how much someone like my son would have liked to be there with me.
One could ride more than I did, depending on ability, guts, strength and risk tolerance (1000 ft sheer drop offs with crumbling guard rails about 3 feet high) at the L'Alpe de Huez and Les Deux Alpes mountain locations in the grand French Alpes. I opted out of those two rides – I was on vacation, not a death dare to test my health and life insurance policies. But we climbed some nasty grades, including one leading out of Grenoble up to a stage finish in Villard de Lans. It was an 8 mile long hill with many switchbacks, and it never let up, even once, to give us a breather. We knew we had accomplished something when we crested the ridge.
France was, as usual, gorgeous, and the food scrumptious. A high point was the town of Annecy about 40 km from Geneva, which many of us on our bus of 40 decided we would like to move to. Check it out on the web and you’ll see why. Three nice sites are:
The finale in Paris was top notch - Lance Armstrong was a real class act as he rode victoriously down the Champs Élysées - and Paris is simply one of the most beautiful cities in the world – if not THE most gorgeous. Ever since I went for the first time in 2002 I’ve been bitten by the Parisian bug; wow, what a town!
The advantages of going on a bus with a biking group were many and outweighed the disadvantages of all large groups - delays in getting everyone on board (though these were not too many), the wide varying range of cycling abilities, the lack of flexibility and such. For first time participants like me the bus tour program is THE way to go. We developed lots of camaraderie, shared our experiences, cheered the US Postal Team at each stage we attended, traded war stories, had some great evenings together, and became good friends. Getting a good room mate is key - mine was excellent and was he ever a tough biker, despite his being 50+!
Next time (2005 or 2006?) a few of us are thinking about putting a smallish group of 4 to 8 together, renting an appropriately sized van, and doing our own thing. The Giro d’Itália or Vuelta a España races (similar to the Tour de France) are high on my list. And a colleague at our Embassy in WDC says we should opt for Italy, Tuscany, if I remember correctly. If you are into cycling, or want to be, perhaps you’ll go with me and my friends. We all could have a fine time together.
Jusqu'à la prochaine fois.
Bill
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