Escorted Cycling Tour around Bordeaux: May to October 2008

Day by Day Listing of Tour

Tour Highlights

The lower stretch of the Dordogne river is rightly celebrated for the wines produced in its fertile valley, but there is so much more to the area that should not be missed. The rivers here are broad, meandering and majestic, and the hinterland is richly forested. Between the vineyards, fields of sunflowers and maize jostle for space.

Man has left his mark on the area from prehistoric times, with notable cave paintings at several grottes along the river valley. Later, the Romans arrived and vestiges of their works are cattered across the region. The region's heyday, however, came in the 12th century when King Henry II of England married Eleanor of Aquitane and gained the Bordeaux region for the English crown.

The marriage led to a rivalry between France and England for control of Aquitane and the enormous English territories in France that prospered under English rule, whose love of the region's red wine claret to the English helped the region gain a worldwide reputation for quality wines. This was the golden era for Bordeaux, and as a result, the region boasts suberb medieval architecture in the form of chateaux, churches, abbeys and monasteries.

As far back as the third century BC, when Bordeaux was founded by the Romans, the regions wines began enjoying a favourable reputation. The vineyards cover 520 square miles spread over the valleys of the Dordogne and Garonne river system. This treasure chest of viticulture contains some of the most glittering stars of the wine-lovers firmament: St-Emilion, Pomerol and Fronsac in the Libournais to the east, Graves and Sauternes in the Entre-Deux-Mers region to the south-east, and Pauillac, St-Julien and Margaux in the Medoc peninsular to the north-west. Nestled in these famous appelations are Chateaux bearing some of the most famous (and expensive) names to be found on a wine bottle & Lafite-Rothschild, Latour, Lynch-Bages, Mouton-Rothschild, Margaux, Yquem, Cheval-Blanc, Petrus the list is endless!  

Although there are some hills, we follow the rivers on predominantly easy cycling routes. Our tour will take you on through some of the most famous vineyards in the world, but we will make sure you don't miss the other man-made and natural glories the region has to offer !

Pricing

Price Per Person                 Twin Share            Single Supplement    

Tour prices per Person   1676 EURO            435 EURO

Departure Dates

10th MAY 2009
24th MAY 2009
7th JUNE 2009
21st JUNE 2009
16th AUGUST 2008
30th AUGUST 2008
13th SEPTEMBER 2008

Whats Included...

Transfers
We provide the transfers to and from the local airports and the nearest TGV stations, and other locations by arrangement. If you have driven down, we arrange secure parking for your car and return you to it after the tour.

Hotels

Le Bon Laboureur, Chenonceaux
We stay in very comfortable hotels, mostly 3***, occasionally 4****, and very occasionally superior 2** hotels which we choose if they have charm and comfort above their rating. All rooms have en-suite shower or bath facilities. We select our hotels for their character as well as their facilities, and avoid chains in favour of independent privately run hotels. Prices are based on two sharing in twin or double rooms. Singles are available on request. Where possible, we choose hotels with swimming pools as there is nothing quite like a dip after a day in the saddle!
 
Meals
Restaurant Le Pistou, Arles
All evening meals are included, and we carefully select the restaurants for cuisine and ambience, and favour those with a strong regional flavour. All meals include a starter, main course and desert, some will have an additional cheese course. We also include wine with the meals, again favouring the local appelations of which there are so many! Breakfasts are included, usually continental although many hotels will provide a buffet-style breakfast. We do not include lunch as different people have different requirements, but we do suggest restaurants for lunch. On some tours, a picnic lunch may be provided on one or two days.

Bikes and equipment

24-speed hybrid bikes from Trek

We provide lightweight alloy framed Trek ‘hybrid’ touring bicycles with 24 indexed gears, fully equipped with lock, pump and toolkit (although our guides will generally be on hand to fix punctures and minor mechanical problems). For carrying the items you might need during the day (camera, wallet, windbreaker etc.) we fit a capacious handlebar bag which also features a large map pocket. These clip on and off the bike in a flash so that you can always take your valuables with you when off the bike. The bikes are meticulously maintained and we keep a wide range of sizes. We do not provide helmets automatically, as we find people prefer their own if they want to wear one, and sizing and fit is quite personal; however we always have a few helmets available for use. We also carry rain-capes should they be required (but hopefully not!). For certain tours we also have available 27 speed drop-handlebar race-style bikes, and tandems are also available by special request. Please contact us for details.

Guides and backup
There will be two guides on every tour; one cycling with the group and one in the minibus which will follow the group.The bus carries all luggage not required for the day's ride and will always be available for anyone at any point during the day. If for instance you want to take a day off the bike, or if a particular day seems a little hard, the bus will take you for as long or as little as you wish it to. Everybody is provided with detailed route maps for each day, and both guides are easily contactable by mobile phone. The guides are enthusiastic experts on the local area and will be able to sort out any problems or special requests that you might have.