My husband and I have decided to plan a trip to London and France next July, to do some riding and see some Tour stages (not planning to rush around and see as many as we can or anything). At this point, we have hotel reservations in London and Paris for the overall start and finish, a few guidebooks, and a Michelin map of France where I've marked the stage starts and finishes with stickies (oh, and a new bike trainer for the winter - it snowed here last night , so winter seems to be here already).

I know there are many members here who have done trips to the Tour in the past, so wondering if anyone has any tips or suggestions. A few questions or areas I'd like opinions on are the following:

- tour company or do-it-yourself (we were thinking a bit of both, ie. join a tour for some mountain stages perhaps and do the rest on our own).

-tips about transporting bikes - we've heard conflicting opinions for instance about whether to pack your bike in a hard case vs. a cardboard bike box with lots of padding.

-any recommendations based on this year's route of places/stages that would be "must-sees".

-training tips for riding in France (my husband is convinced we're going to ride up Alpe d'Huez and/or Ventoux at some point, even if the Tour isn't going there).

I'm sure I'll think of other things to ask, but there's a good start for now. Thanks!

I saw about 10 stages in 2003. I haven't looked at this year's route in detail, but did notice that there is a finish and start in Marseille. Pretty cool port town in the south of France. I would definitely recommend seeing at least one start and one finish. Also seeing the start of a TT is fun, but makes for a long day!

Let me know if you have any specific questions.

If you are interested in seeing some of the Pyrenees stages, I highly recommend staying with these people:

http://www.ariege.com/aubergedelarac/info.html

Mark and Julia are a lovely couple from England that dreamed of owning a B&B in France and made that dream come true. Their inn has both hotel rooms and private studios, all reasonably priced with homemade gourmet food available as well. They are also cyclists and will advise you on rides all around the Pryenees. We found them on the internet and stayed with them in 2005--it was great. All of their rooms are named after famous cyclists. We stayed in the Eddy Merckx.

Here is a site for other inns located in their same general area--these are the kinds of places that are the most fun to stay in and sometimes hard to locate: http://www.ariege.com/lodging/hotels/index.html

I can also recommend a few places over on the western side of France if you end up needing them, as well as a place in the Basque Country, Axe les Thermes and Lourdes (we stayed in Lannemazan too but it wasn't too nice). Plus a place in Paris that is only two blocks from the Champs--we parked our car on Friday and never moved it until we left Paris on Monday (parking is horrible in Paris, so you won't want to drive if you can avoid it!).

I'd suggest booking your flight as soon as possible! We have been working on London Tour de France trip for several months, and just completed the process yesterday. It took many long hours on the airline websites, plus many long waits on hold to the airlines to make this trip a reality, so don't hesitate, if you care about reasonable airfare.

Take 1/2 what you think you'll need, or less. Baggage weights are limited, and the airlines don't budge on this. Bikes cases are heavily scrutinized, and strongly discouraged, IMHO, so be prepared to be ignored. Keep bike case below 50 lbs. If you wanted to carry extra bike clothes, tools, and spare tires in your case, you will be unable to do this now, as the weight of these items will cause an overweight condition. My case weighs 30 lbs. empty. Lucky for me my bike only weighs 14 lbs., with helmet, water bottles and shoes, and a few tools to reassemble my bike, the total was 47 lbs.

Since your bike is your check in luggage, your going to be carrying all your clothes, bike and after-bike, in your carry on luggage. With judicious paring down, this can be done. We carried the least amount of clothes we have ever taken on our last trip to Spain May, and didn't suffer. Smart packing and not carrying extra stuff that weigh a lot, like multiple pairs of shoes, will save you much grief. We just bring the pair we're wearing, and no more. I'd suggest sandals, like Keens. We've used our Keens on all our rescent trips to Europe and South America, they are comfy, and serve all purposes.

Another cool thing to take would be a GPS, with Euro software. Forget the maps, this thing will get you everywhere.

I hope I've given you some useful information to ponder. Hope you have a wonderful trip.

If you decide to do a portion with a tour company I couldn't recommend Marty Jemison Cycling Tours highly enough. They are well connected, incredibly generous, extremely knowledgable, and wonderfully run.

patrickbpenguin is going too,

we have a bet, 100 bucks up alpe d'huez in under an hour. I dont reckon he can do it.

See you guys in London, should be a fantastic couple of days.

Unless he's a Cat 2 or above cyclist, I don't think he can do it in an hour - don't underestime Alpe d'Huez, it is not one of the "easier" climbs when you're riding it...

How about a head-to-head Chris? Winner takes all, be it an hour or 10 hours. Whatdaya say? Are you man enough to accept the challenge?

Thanks everyone for all the suggestions and tips so far - keep them coming



Yeah, we've been looking at flights already but from here the best seat sales generally are yet to come (and won't be anywhere near as good as from anywhere in the US I'm sure, so we're already prepared for that cost).

Of our (limited) airline choices, one actually doesn't allow you to consider a bike as part of your baggage allowance - it's an automatic $50 extra per bike. Which might actually be ok as then we'd still get the full baggage allowance otherwise - still planning to keep things to a minimum as you suggest, but relying less on carry-on baggage; after the problems earlier this year with the temporary severe restrictions on carry-ons and still more limitations than before, I don't want to plan to rely on carry-on for anything ...

See the finish in Paris! If you are going to catch only 1 stage, that is the one to see! At least that's my opinion. It (the stage, not my opinion) comes with the added benefit of being in Paris, which is a wonderful place to be.

I've always been most satisfied with the mountain stages. In particular, get a good spot a couple or three kms from a summit finish (i.e., below the dreaded barricades). Plateau de Beille is a great climb for spectating, particularly the switchbacks 2-3 km from the finish - you can see the riders coming up to you well before they arrive and it's a tough climb to boot. Be prepared for the madness of the Basques, but to me that's part of the experience.

If you want to ride a lot of the famous cols then I would suggest staying somewhere near Lourdes. I stayed there last year in September and rode Hautacam, Luz Ardiden, Col du solour, Aubisque, Aspin, and Tourmalet. From there you can also do the Peyresourde and Marie Blanque. I also went down to Ax-Les Thermes and rode Ax-3-Domaines and the col de paliheres. hope that you have a super trip.

Alex

Check this web

if you go to pirineos,a place to go is Troumouse

If you are going to the Alps, Briancon and the surrounding areas are a great place to base yourself (Short drive from the Galibier and a beautiful area).

Anyone here done a trip with Graham Baxter Sporting Tours? They have one that we're thinking about, wondering if anyone here has any feedback on them?

Paris is good. Get there eeeaaarrrlllyyy to get a good spot. Crowds are 4-5 people deep on the Champs by race time, especially the parts to the northwest of the finish line.

Also, consider the shade will change on you during the day, and it will be HOT.

If you're going to see multiple stages, then seeing the last 2 is good - the TT is a good chance to see riders up close and see the "behind the scenes" if you go to the start.

I wish the tour would do more finishing circuits on flat stages like the Giro and many of the US races, because those are more fan friendly.

they have a good reputation - i have only used them as a coach journey but have spoken to many people who have used their training camps/ race viewing/ race riding options who have always spoken highly of the service/value for money etc.
I think mapeifan has used them.
i have only used them as a coach option to drop me off at roubaix velodrome or in Ghent and ithey give an efficient and good service, they have good connections however and i spoke to people who had taken more extended tours who had ended up riding with Roger Hammond over the pave the day before the race.
i would reccomend them anyroad.
thanx
kom op bianchi boys!
pedallo

Indeed the Dp's own Marianne Werz O'Brien did a four part "Excellent Adventure" or her trip to the Spring Classics.
The articles started here:
Marianne's Excellent Spring Classics Adventure I
http://www.dailypeloton.com/displayarticle.asp?pk=5985

And ended here :
Marianne's Excellent Spring Classics Adventure IV
http://www.dailypeloton.com/displayarticle.asp?pk=6014

Great reading, lots of Photos and yes they got to ride with Roger Hammond!
enjoy guidemd

Yes I did a 12 day Spring Classics trip with Graham Baxter in 2002 (the year Tafi won Flanders!!!). You can see our fun here. Rode the Flanders and Roubaix routes including Arenberg with the Mapei team. Big time fun trip.

Spring Classics Part 1

Spring Classics Part 2

I can unreservedly recommend Sporting Tours. Graham runs a tight operation and you will see everything you want. Keep in mind the Tour trips are heavy on group logistics- lots of people wanting to be lots of places.


Tour de France trip is here

Tour trip 1
Tour trip 2



For my first Tour de France trip , I did a trip with another group and I have to say I will never do a Tour de France trip with a commercial group again. Get a map, pick your spots and you will be so much better off. The group trips will perhaps get you into some spots you might not see, if you're shy about pushing through crowds and sticking your nose where it doesn't belong (village depart, finish area, team bus are, etc.) but to me, a small van, 4-6 friends and and a little French will give you so much more flexibility in your Tour watching. That said, I'm glad I did a group Tour trip once to show me what was possible, now it's self-guided all the way. It's really no different than planning your own holiday anywhere else. Get the best maps you can find, work out two or three plans per day to deal with weather and road closings and you will spend lots of time riding and seeing the action and a lot less time waiting for the fourteenth person that wek to be late to the bus, to have forgotten shorts so you have to go back to the hotel, etc, etc, and all the other fun "bus trip" stuff. Personal indispensible item- Tom Tom Go portable GPS unit. I never leave home without it!

Another thing about the stage on the CE in Paris--they don't show it on tv here in America, but in reality after the stage is over ALL of the teams take a parade lap, stop in front of the Arc to have their team photo taken and then ride back down the other side. So it's a great spot to watch from to get your own photos at the end, although you are no where near the finish line and you will not be able to hear/see any of the presentations since you will be at the top of the loop.

Cathy

thanks to everyone for their great suggestions and replies, I'm sure I'll have more questions between now and July as well.

For now, we booked our airfare the other day, going to be gone for 4 weeks, flying into London and out of Paris ... plan to see the Prologue and start of Stage 1 in London, then have signed up for a group trip with Graham Baxter Sporting Tours for 2 weeks. It covers the Alps and Pyrenees stages with numerous opportunities to ride and watch stages, plus gives the opportunity to ride up both Alpe d'Huez and Mont Ventoux even though they aren't on this year's Tour (goals of my husband, not sure yet whether they're my goals as well , we'll see how the training goes between now and then). Then we have booked somewhere to stay in Paris to see the last stage as well.

You may as well ride up the mountains with him or youll be on bidon duties at random points on the climb.

re: Ventoux: If you don't want to ride the whole thing- at a minimum, get a ride in the support van until Chalet Reynard and then do the last 4km to the top with him. You will never forget it!

We timed a trip to France last year to see a couple of stages, including the finish. We really didn't do anything special to plan for it. I caught a portion of the Gap stage, literally arriving 20 minutes before the riders came through. I was able to park about 1/4 mile away and grabbed a nice spot along the road with the crowd (I did miss the caravan, though). In Paris we arrived VERY early (3 hours), taking the metro to the Arc De Triomphe exit and got nice front row seats. As more people start showing up they will try to crowd in and you have to guard your spot carefully or you will be squeezed out. We had one man and his son sit directly in front of us with folding chairs and proceed to eat his lunch. People around us came to our rescue and insisted that he was being extremely rude, finally shaming him into moving to the back of the crowd. I've attached a photo showing the crowd size on the Champs Élysées during the race.

Have a great time!

Just to make you all jealous, I have to go all of 6km to see the Tour. Hope I can make it!

If anyone is in the area (not far north of Joigny where the 4th stage finishes), send me a PM.

Sarko and I are gonna be following the Tour together in the CA team car, so I wish I could join you, Fry. I'll wave as we go past. Drop me a line and I'll see if we can squeeze you in for a stage.

I am very likely to be in London during the Prologue and first stage. It will be my first view of a real, live, big race up close

Any suggestions for the best way to watch the Prologue? That is, would it be good to plant myself where the riders are starting out one by one, or where they’ll finish, or somewhere midway? Maybe I should start at the start and walk my way to the end, with riders whizzing past once every couple of minutes or so?

Most likely I will be at the finish of Stage 5 and possibly the start of Stage 6

We aren't entirely sure where we'll watch the Prologue - as we're staying in the Kensington area, we'll probably end up watching somewhere near Hyde Park I suspect.

We did actually try your latter strategy (start at the start and walk to the end) in San Francisco in February, and it worked out well there - but I suspect it wouldn't be a good strategy for London for 2 reasons:
1) the TdF prologue is longer than in SF (though with the almost out-and-back course the distance between the farthest points would probably be similar), and
2) I'm sure there will be a ton more people around at the TdF, making it harder to get around and to get a good viewing spot (not to reopen the whole "how many spectators were really there at the Tour of Cali" debate, but while the start area was packed and the final hill was packed, in between there were only scattered spectators along the course).

For us in SF, as our first ever live race experience, it was great to see the team areas at the start (riders getting ready etc), and then to see a number of racers actually start the prologue (our decision was helped by the fact that a number of racers we particularly wanted to see for various reasons were starting within the first half hour or so - Basso, Voigt, and of course Gatesie ). We made it within sight of the finish for the last 5-10 riders, so that was exciting too (Leipheimer being the last rider, Rogers and Julich also in the final few).

As for the first stage of the TdF (London to Canterbury), we've recently decided that since we've already seen a race start (Sausalito in February) that instead we'll try to make our way to Canterbury (train early in the morning I think) to see the stage finish instead. Then after that, we have 6 days before we'll catch any more TdF action ...

(and in case I don't get a chance to mention it again here or elsewhere on the forum as I've got a really busy week before we leave for Europe, I'll be trying to put a few updates on the same blog I used for the Tour of California).

And what ever happened to those DPF t-shirts that were talked about for member identification at major races? Guess I will have to break out my "I agree with chris t" cap afterall...

We (finally) got our photos organized online, and most of the captions done too - there's a link from my blog as above if anyone's interested.

Wow!! Thanks, Guidemd. I've only looked at Stage 20 and Paris, so far. Many days of viewing pleasure ahead.

Very cool - even agreeing a meeting place in London, I reckon it would have been hard to get there.

In the end, we went to Marble Arch and found a pub, had a few pints

And as Kitty on Wheels pointed out elsewhere, a few of us got together after the team presentation . Maybe some other time we'll all manage to get together in the same place on the same day .

We also stayed in Marble Arch, pro'ly drank a few at the same pub! We looked for other DPers, but without any identifications (no DP Forum T-shirts!), You were all hard to locate.

Thank you for posting the link to your pics, I enjoyed viewing them.
(I am soooo jealous!)

Glad that people have enjoyed the pics - and now, an article I wrote about some of our experiences is online at DP . (to be followed, when I get around to it, with something on "Tips for Going to the Tour").