France – Page 5

November 11, 2013November 10, 2013

Planning My Tour de France 2014

I bought Frommer’s France Day by Day to help me plan my Tour de France 2014 adventure. My intention to follow the 21 stages of the Tour will take me through many regions of France. It made me chuckle to read the sections called, “Champagne in 3 days,” and “Champagne in one week.” At the speed of le Tour I will be lucky if I am able to stop and taste champagne at one winery.

I have watched Paul Sherwen and Phil Liggott announce the Tour for so many years I cannot count. Paul provides a great many details about chateaus along the way, so I want to see at least one.

I took my Frommer’s with a country map to a coffee shop and began to look at the things I can do and see while I chase legends.

Stage 4 is the first on French soils from Le Touquet Paris-Plage to Lille. According to Frommer’s they call this region The North and Picardie. Tucked between the UK and Belgium, there are World War I battlefields, gothic cathedrals, birdlife and marshes.

Stage 5 from Ypres to Arenborg Porte du Hainart is still in Picardie and then Stage 6 moves on to Champagne with 194 km stage from Arras to Reims. Only bubbles from this region can legally be called champagne. Everything else is sparking wine.

Stage 7 is from Epernay to Nancy in Alsace and Lorraine. Luxembourg and Germany are across the border. The German influence can be found in architecture and food. Stage 8 finishes in Gerardmer nestled next to Parc Naturel Regonal des Ballons de Vosges. Mulhouse hosts the finish of Stage 9 and the start of Stage 10. July 15 is a rest day and then the race enters the mountain stages.

November 9, 2013

Planning My Tour de France 2014 Adventure

Not sure if it is the caffeine (and sugar) I consumed at lunch or the sheer thrill of booking two legs of my Tour de France Adventure earlier today. I am stoked. I put a $100 deposit with Thomson Bike Tours so they would send me an announcement about their spectator tours as soon as they came available.

I received the email this morning and already booked two tours! I previously determined that mountain stages are easier to view with help from a tour company. I learned on October 23 that le Tour 2014 has 3 mountain ranges! I looked at the tour operators sanctioned by the Tour de France and zeroed in on Trek Tours and Thomson Bike Tours as they are English speaking.

Thomson especially offers more for spectators in the mountains. This morning I spent some time looking at the itineraries of the Alps trip and the Pyrenees and Paris trip. The Alps trip offers better access to 3 mountain stages, but substitutes site-seeing instead of Stage 12. They organize it so we will stay every night in Albertville and then transport us to the various stages. I can spend my travel energy on le Tour, not shifting hotels. I weighed not viewing the start or finish of Stage 12 with the upside of a tour operator worrying about the details for me and pressed “Book this Trip”.

The second trip is longer and tackles more challenging logistics. It offers 5 nights in St Lary and 2 nights in Paris. There is another trade-off: travelling to Paris instead of viewing the 20th stage, the time trial. By this time I will have been travelling for a month and I anticipate appreciating anyone who is willing to sort out my details.

I have not gone on organized tours very often. It can be challenging moving about with a group of people (any number greater than 4). Yet there is also built in camaraderie and professional guides offer greater knowledge and access.

I also plan to start le Tour with Trek Tours. This is a trip for cyclists, not spectators. For this trip (not yet published), I am improving my cycling ability and endurance. I am purposefully planning it for the start of my adventure when my energy level will be at the highest level (and before the mountains). I am so excited about riding from Cambridge to London that I want to jump up and down.

One of the great benefits of planning your own travel is that it increases your overall enthusiasm and anticipation for the adventure. I will be traveling on my own until I get to Yorkshire, and then again when I leave Trek Tours (probably in Reims). I have to sort out hotels, and transportation between towns (I am not worried about food in France!) until the first rest day on July 15, about 2 weeks into my trip.

The good news is that my friends the Watson-Lovells will be coming from their Germany adventure to join me for one or two days during that period. Brian is very good at travel planning, so it is good to have someone to consult for part of that on-my-own section.

I also have a couple of other gaps that I will need to sort out lodging and/or transportation. Then I will stop planning the details because I want to leave room for the spontaneous delights of the unexpected.

October 23, 2013October 24, 2013

Le Big Announcement: Tour de France 2014

I woke up at 5:50 a.m. this morning and my very first thought: What is the tour route?

I knew it was going to start in Yorkshire, England and I heard hints about London. The start date is July 5 and the final stage will finish in Paris on July 27. Now I know there are three stages (of 21) in England: Leeds to Harrowgate, York to Sheffield, Cambridge! to London. Then the route returns to France and, on the anniversary of World War I, visits many of the famous battlefields of France: Lille, Ypres, Reims. There are three mountain ranges. This will be the most serious challenge to following the Tour in 2014 as the access to starts and finishes is limited and hotel rooms in small resort towns will be scarce. There is only one time trial, no team time trial, and two rest days.

Let the logistics planning begin!

October 22, 2013October 20, 2013

On the Eve of the Tour de France Route Announcement

Comparison between REI flexlite chair and Target camping chair

The 2014 Tour de France route will be announced tomorrow October 23rd. I anticipate an adventure following it, so I bought a lightweight and small foldable chair to take on my trip. It will provide a comfortable place to sit while I hold my preferred spot at the start or finish of a stage.

The photos show the highly portable chair ($69.00 US) next to typical soccer chair from Target ($9.99 US) to give perspective. I also compared the amount of time it takes to set up.

The Target chair takes 3 seconds to unfold. The REI chair takes about 3 minutes and I was able to only after consulting instructions. Both are comfortable. The REI chair is obviously much lighter and more compact.

It is another step in preparation for a splendid adventure.