Tag: Trek Travel

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Planning 2017 Bike Trips

It’s that time of year. Tomorrow the ISO will announce the official 2017 Tour de France route. Rumors are flying on Twitter and Facebook about some of the stages being more than 400 kilometers. Ugh. When will they learn from the Vuelta and the Giro that shorter stages are more competitive? The race is already an endurance test. As a fan, the main reason you should tune in to the route announcement is to begin planning your own adventure–especially booking your hotel.

You can cycle or spectate with an official tour, such as Trek Travel or Thomson Bike Tours. Or you can plan your own adventure. I recommend looking for places where there are starts and finishes close together. The Pyrenees are also terrific: beautiful, many viewing spots within reach, lots of hotels to accommodate teams and fans.

The catalogs for bicycle trips are also arriving. Trek Travel’s beautiful brochure arrived and I spent several happy hours looking at the possibilities. With Trek you know your hotel will be fabulous, the food fantastic and the guides/support reliable, and you pay dearly for this top of the line experience. The Adventure Cycling Association tour catalog also landed in my mailbox this month. These trips are less expensive, generally a bigger time commitment and a bigger physical challenge than your typical bike tour. Two people in my RAGBRAI 2015 group met while riding across the USA with Adventure Cycling Association and they had all positive things to say. You can select from fully supported, Inn to Inn, self contained or van supported rides (and more).

I’ve been dealing with some health issues so my goal is to work my back to the place where I can consider one of these adventures. My ideal trip in 2017 would include the start of the Tour de France in Dusseldorf, Germany in July. What destination is in your future?

 

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Tour de France: Making New Memories

Jens Voigt in his element: media interviews. He earned the KOM jersey in Stage 1 2014.
Jens Voigt in his element: media interviews. He earned the KOM jersey in Stage 1 2014.

This time last year I was having an absolute ball in Yorkshire with Trek Travel. This year the Tour is in Holland for the first two stages and I am watching it from California. Today in Stage 2 the wind, rain and nerves resulted in a split in the Peloton with a group of a couple dozen riders about a minute ahead of the rest of the Peloton. Crashes and pressure created a third group that fell off the back of the race for awhile. It was exciting to watch. One additional bonus was hearing Jens Voigt’s commentary scattered throughout the broadcast on NBC Sports.

When I arrived in York and met my Trek Travel tour guides I had a mental list of my cycling heroes that I definitely wanted to meet and ask to sign my California state flag. 1. Greg LeMond, 2. Jens Voigt, and 3. Fabian Cancellera.  Just 24 hours later I had all three!  And Jens Voigt and Fabian Cancellara struck me as opposite personality types. Fabian seemed almost shy whereas Jens is an extreme extrovert.

Cancellara's nickname is Spartacus and his Trek bike is tricked out accordingly.
Cancellara’s nickname is Spartacus and his Trek bike is tricked out accordingly.

Whereas Jens retired, I am still following Fabian Cancellera’s career. He had a serious crash at the beginning of the season and it was uncertain if he would make the Tour team. He is definitely coming on form as he came in third in the Stage 1 Time Trial. As he started Stage 2 he said in an post-race interview that he had not been thinking about winning the yellow jersey for the 29th day in his career. I guess it is possible that it was not a conscious thought, but he is such a canny cyclist that I do not believe that he had not figured out the scenarios where he could win the yellow jersey (fastest time overall).

The Trek Team must have given him a free pass to do what he can as he was the only Trek team member to get into the breakaway group. The three great sprinters were also in the group: Mark Cavendish, Peter Sagan and Andre Greipel. (Of the four favorite GC riders only two made it into the breakaway: Chris Froome and Alberto Contador.) If Cancellara placed third, the bonus time in the sprint would give him the yellow jersey. Tony Martin was in a similar situation and he also made the breakaway. However, there is a difference between theoretical opportunities and having the bike skills, experience and confidence to execute.

Cancellara preparing for Stage 2 in 2014
Cancellara preparing for Stage 2 in 2014

The sprint started at 500 m to the finish. It may have been too early for Mark Cavendish as he was out fast and first. The Peter Sagan broke wide and poured on the gas. Then Greipel’s huge engine kicked in and he surged forward. But who was the only rider with them at the finish? Fabian Cancellara. And he took advantage as Mark Cavendish faded to take third place and grab the yellow jersey.

I am delighted. This may be his last Tour and I am enjoying the new memories he is making!

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AMGEN Tour of California, Midtown Fashion Show and More

I had such an exciting morning. It is a great way to warm up to a busy and fun Mother’s Day weekend.

The entrance to the bike trail is just behind Blue Diamond Almond factory on C Street.
The entrance to the bike trail is just behind Blue Diamond Almond factory on C Street.

I am getting ready for RAGBRAI (7 day bike ride across Iowa in July). After 7 days off my bike because of travel to Southern Utah, I was trying to find the motivation to begin training. The good news is there is a cool training plan by David Ertl on the RAGBRAI blog. I am getting a late start, so I set out to ride for 2 solid hours and see how many miles I cover. As a bonus I thought I might see some professional bike teams working out before the AMGEN Tour of California.

I was about 4 miles down the trail when I saw a lone rider in a Trek team kit. It was one of my all time favorite riders: Jens Voigt! I said something like, “Are you Jens Voigt?” He said yes and he needed directions to his Sacramento hotel. I gushed about being a fan and was so excited that I left out an important left hand turn in my directions. I continued riding and felt an adrenaline rush. It was as exciting as the time I saw All Blacks Captain Richie McCaw at breakfast in Chicago. Only this time I was not so gobstopped and I was able to say something to him. Maybe it helped that I met Jens before in Yorkshire.

Riders from the Trek Factory Racing team were among the very first people to sign my California state flag.
Riders from the Trek Factory Racing team were among the very first people to sign my California state flag.

Afterward several more teams passed me from behind. You can hear them coming from a distance–they sound like a light rail train. It is not a question of being “dropped” since I could not keep up with them for any pedal strokes. It is great for inspiration. Team Giant-Alpecin, Team LottoNL-Jumbo, Cannondale-Garmin, and Hincapie Racing, Optum Pro Cycling, Drapac Professional Cycling teams whizzed past me. The much larger Tinkoff-Saxo team has a different standard for passing space (barely any)!

I turned around after 70 minutes and one the way home I saw Jens Voigt returning with the Trek team. He recognized me and gave me a big “hey” wave. It made my day. It also reminded me of my wonderful Tour de France experience with Trek Travel in Yorkshire when I collected the signatures of the entire Trek Factory Racing team on my California state flag. It is framed and hanging above my couch. You can experience your own one-on-one moment with Jens Voigt. The Tour de California is selling tickets to three meet and greets with Jens with the first one for Stage One in Sacramento on May 10 (tickets only available for Stages Four and Six). You can download the map for Stage One and watch the race near the Capitol or along the Delta route.

The Tour of California is going to go down 18th Street and turn onto L in the closing circuits of Stage One on Sunday. But first on Saturday I am throwing a little supper party before the fashion show on Capitol Avenue and 19th Avenue at 6:30 p.m. to benefit WEAVE (Women Escaping a Violent Environment).

Then on Sunday after the kids and I go to church it will be the Amgen Tour until mid-day. I am really looking forward to it.

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How Trek Travel Surpasses Expectations

Complimentary photo book of Tour de France adventure in Yorkshire
Complimentary photo book from Trek Travel

I picked my mail up from the post office and what did I find? A surprise from Trek Travel. They put together a beautiful photobook of our Tour de France adventure in Yorkshire. It was very satisfying to go through the photos and see pictures of all of us riding our Trek bikes, meeting our favorite riders, standing on the podium in London, and the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, of course.

I loved my Trek Travel experience and this is just another example of how they surpassed my expectations.

P.S. Trek Travel has also added Jens Voigt to their team. He will be joining a handful of trips in 2015!

P.S.S. Read more about my Tour de France adventure–from Leeds to Paris–in my earlier posts.

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Art of the 101st Tour de France

Supporting Greig Leach’s Kickstarter campaign to bring his beautiful drawings together in a book was a no-brainer. I’d seen some of his drawings in the news. We were both following the entire tour. I like how he captured pivotal moments of each day in line drawings with watercolor in his Book du Tour. I received my copy about 2 weeks ago and I have been going through it slowly. It brings back so many great memories.

book du tour

It is also time to sign up for cycling tours at the 2015 Tour de France.  I can personally recommend either Trek Travel or Thomson Bike Tours.

If you are interested in a spectator tour, then Thomson is the only one offering these. The brilliant Jacinta McHale is returning to lead them.

And on a completely silly note, those of us who traveled with Jacinta in 2014 were thrilled to see Enriique Iglesias’ song Bailando won the Song of the Year at the Latin Grammys.

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Tour de France Finale in Paris

It was a very emotional day: the final stage of the Tour de France. After 21 stages in 23 days I can hardly believe it is actually over. It was also an exhausting and hot day. It took some staying and recovering to appreciate that I was actually on the Champs Elysees watching the last eight laps of the 2014 Tour de France.

IMG_3206My favorite moments were actually trying to snap a picture of the lantern rouge, the only Chinese rider Jl Cheng of Giant Shimano.  At the start of the day he was almost 6 hours behind Vincenzo Nibali. Today he was lapped by the main peloton. Ouch.

We were about 150 feet from the finish line, but it was on the other side of the road so it was only on a distant large screen television that I could see Marcel Kittel just barely beat Andre Greipel. 

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The end of the race was a nice surprise. Much of the crowd stayed and cheered for the riders as they made their way to the team buses. Some even high-fived us as we reached over the barrier. The winner of Stage 19 stopped to speak to his friend. Families helped to celebrate the end. 

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Thomson Bike Tours went on a river cruise. I chose to walk slowly back and see the team buses and savor the last moments of this magnificent event. The Vittel water sponsors were peeling off the logo from the vehicle and I got a section of it. Sounds strange I know, but it looks really cool.

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I paused to see Jens Voigt, Frank Schleck and others at the Trek Racing Team bus. Then I spied Gabe, my Trek Travel guide. It was great to give him a big hug and bring my experience full circle. 

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Now I cannot wait to get the DVD from NBC Sports so I can hear about this year’s tour in English!

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Absolutely Fabulous Stage 3 in London

When I met my Trek Travel team in the hotel lobby I was so excited that I was shaking. We were about to ride from the Olympic Village to the finish line on the Tour de France route. This is a once in a lifetime opportunity to ride through London without traffic.

We set off from the Olympic Park in Stratford and only made it a short distance before we had to pause because the streets were not closed on time. It is the largest annual sporting event in the world and it is a logistical marvel, but nothing is perfect. I learned a “traffic leak” is when traffic is stopped and a car gets through.    

Trek Travel arranged it so we could ride the last 25 kilometers of the race. Guide Gabe followed us in the van with rock classics blaring. We were a moving party and the spectators and volunteers cheered us on. We stopped several times for photos and marveled again and again at “pinch me” moments. We rode through the Limelight Tunnel, past Tower of London, along the Thames, then under the shadow of parliament and Big Ben with no traffic. 

When we turned the corner and saw the Queen Victoria War Memorial my heart skipped a beat. It is so beautiful and iconic and here we were on our bicycles. In addition, the crowds began cheering and beating the boards on the barriers. It was beyond thrilling. We all had silly grins on our faces and felt like rock stars. 

When we arrived at the finish line we stopped for a brief photo op on the podium. Then it was a quick commute back to the hotel, lunch, and then off to the finish line with our VIP credentials. My orange bracelet gave me access to a viewing bus. I hopped up to the top (3 stories) and could see the finish line about 100 yards away. I scored two more autographs: Alexander Vinokourov (rode with Lance and with Astana) and the announcer Paul Sherwen. 

Marcel Kittel won the sprint to the finish. It was fun to watch from my birds nest perch. Will not likely have that opportunity again. My favorite moment was a few minutes after the Peloton crossed the finish. A racer from Tinkoff-Saxo came straggling in and stopped on the side of the route and handed his water bottle to a 4 year old little boy. The boys face lit up and beamed as he cradled the water bottle in amazement. It was the sweetest moment.

I finagled my way to the side of the podium to see the Stage 3 jersey presentations. I spent quite a bit of time wandering around “behind the curtain” photographing the electricians, journalists and others who make the Tour go. (Look for blog on rest day.) Then I returned to the hotel to shower and change for dinner. 

Our team went to Rowley’s in St James for dinner. We had a splendid meal and some good laughs. The night continued at the Hard Rock Cafe and the hotel bar. It was a late night especially as I have not been training for partying any more than I have for climbing hills! Good times. 

If you have ever considered taking a Trek Tour bike adventure and were a little taken aback at the price, it is worth every cent because of the fabulous guides who make so much magic happen for our team. Thank you Gabe, Ilona and Sam. I will miss you in France.

 

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Amazing Start at Le Tour Stage 2

Life is great. Such a fabulous day. I have been WhatsApp’ing my friend Ray and I realize that I want to bring you all over with me so we can have even more fun. Sorry this blog is a poor substitute. Today I enjoyed the full benefits of Trek Travel access.  We got the yellow wrist band that gave us access everywhere at the start including the VIP staging area and around the team buses. 

We got there before 8 a.m. because they were going to close roads soon afterward so we had a few minutes waiting for things to get rolling. I saw “the Badger” Bernard Hinault, five time winner of le Tour, walking towards me. I whipped out my flag and pen and boldly asked him to sign. He was very gracious. Score!

The VIP area is interesting. They give away some free stuff and there are opportunities to take goofy fun photos. Some of the team members come in to their sponsors area after signing in and most go back to the buses. 

The buses are where the action is and I was able to see Fabian Cancellara work with his mechanic on his bike. Then Jens came out in the polka-dot jersey for King of the Mountain and he was mobbed by fans and reporters. He handled it all with aplomb signing his autograph and posing in many photos. He made sure to stop and pose for pictures with Tanya (President of Trek Travel) and JB (President of Trek).  

We began walking back to the beautiful horse racetrack where the start was staged in York. There was the injured Mark Cavendish rolling out of the parking lot with his wife driving the Mercedes SUV. He rolled down the window to greet someone and everyone began shouting encouragement and you could see he was feeling very emotional about leaving the tour. 

We all met back at our bus and rode a short distance to the Cedar Court Hotel for another gourmet three course meal. I just had a starter. What I really wanted was a cheese toastie and cup of tomato soup. Then we walked a short distance to the train station and caught the express train to London. 

We are staying at the Athenaeum Hotel in Mayfair. This is the biggest hotel room I have ever had in London. Tempting to just stay in but a caesar salad sounded good. This was our one night when dinner was on our own. I went in search of Chop’d for salad and it was closed. On my way back to get room service I bumped into Jim from the team and we agreed to relive our college days and go to the Hard Rock Cafe.

An hour later Jim, Steve and I were standing in line with all the 20 year olds to put our name in for a table. Two and a half hour wait so we went to the bar where we had a lot of fun remembering our favorite songs from the 70s, 80s and present day (yes I skipped the 90s on purpose). Steve’s mom was a big band singer so he had met a lot of famous musicians. We stayed out late for a night before our last ride. Totally worth it.

Tomorrow we are back on our bikes. I am excited. We get to ride the last part of the course and have VIP access again. 

 

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Brilliant Day in Yorkshire

On the eve of the Grand Depart of the Tour de France, Trek Travel gave me a taste of the wicked hills of Yorkshire. 

 

We met below the Timble Inn (excellent ***** accommodation) and got fitted on our bikes. Love the all carbon bike with the new shifting system. Sorry I do not know all the names of the bike model and gear–I am saving that brain space for remembering the names of my fellow riders!

Off we went with our trusty directions and 2 guides, Sam and Gabe.  Ilona was driving the van and she kept reminding us the van was our friend. How true! First she gave me a lift through A59 so I did not have to cope with the traffic whilst going uphill. Then she helped me get the last 3 miles to Grassington so I could eat lunch before 2:30.  It was a long day of hilly climbing. The amazing Yorkshire countryside made the suffering joyful.

Even though there were snacks and drinks galore, I could barely take on water from the heartburn. My fellow rider Laurie thinks it from all the time over our handlebars. We stopped at Boulton Abbey along the way and I met a group of riders near the restrooms who are from all over North America and New Zealand, met on a ride in India, and reunited to ride in Yorkshire and watch the Tour.

We enjoyed Grassington and had a lovely sandwich in a pub next to a table with 2 giant yellow labs and a Schnauzer. The atmosphere was fun from all the cyclists who have come into the County to see the Tour de France. 

We got a lift in the van to the Timble Inn and had time to shower and rest. Then met for our coach to the Trek Racing Team’s hotel in Skipton. Gabe downplayed what we might see since on the eve of the Tour the team had a lot on their minds. We met the team liaison Nathlie and she gave us an opportunity to see the Trek Racing Team vehicles including bike mechanic/kitchen van and the team bus. The German members of the team were watching the Germany-France World Cup game on the big screen at the front of the bus. Thankfully Germany won and there was much cheering. 

The bus is fascinating–a motorhome like interior with every inch cleverly providing some function. Not a lot of comfort though when you think about 12 people are in it when they are on the go.

Then Nathlie arranged a meet and greet for us. WE GOT TO MEET THE ENTIRE TEAM. It was awesome. The staff came too. Afterward the people who spoke with the chef shared that the racers have a calorie count on their computer and it is his job to replace those calories everyday. Sourcing wholesome nutritious food is easy now that he has done it a few times.

We then went to dinner and enjoyed traditional Yorkshire pudding with beef and gravy. Yum. This is not what the team ate. They had quinoa and salmon with lots of vegetables. Jens Voigt was telling us that he will start the race at 4.5 body fat and drop to 3.9 by the end! 

It made us feel better when we heard the racers say Yorkshire is hilly! Even to them.

Then it was off to the the Timble Inn for a much better night’s sleep than I have had since I left the States. Good thing because we have another challenging day of riding ahead to get to our viewing Pub on the course. Cheers!