HOLIDAY OFFERS - Road Cycling Holidays - Ride the Alps

• Price Details
• Itinerary

Ride the Alps

An all inclusive 7 day cycling treat

Saturday 6th June - Saturday 13th June 2009

Price: COMING SOON Click here for a price breakdown.

Have a look or print off our poster and leaflet.

Highlights
• Vehicle supported rides on classic Tour de France routes including Cols de Lauteret, Izoard, Manse, Noyer and Alp d’huez.
• Stunning local rides through beautiful alpine valleys making the best use of expert local knowledge.
• Full board accomodation including afternoon tea to help keep those legs turning.
• Bike pick up and return to England. No more flying with bikes headaches!
• Rafting and Via Ferrata - to help forget about your aching legs and to see more of what the area has to offer.
• Guaranteed blue skies and sunshine......well almost, we do receive 300 days of sunshine each year!

This is a week of cycling paradise! Everything is included, even bringing your bike over by land, so all you need to do is ride, enjoy the views and have fun. We've even thrown in a couple of other activities (non-compulsory of course) to take your mind off aching legs! Have a look at the detailed itinerary .

We will be with you all week as your dedicated 'logisitcs team' so if you have any questions, want to change groups or want anything at all (within reason - we can't magic you new legs - but a physio would be no problem!) during the week, we will do our best to provide it!

You'll be staying in the Gite L'Aventure in dormitories of between 4 and 8 people and Fabien, will be doing your cooking - breakfast, lunch, afternoon tea and dinner. He's a very good cook and is happy to adapt his menu to suit ravenous, carbo addict cyclists! In the Gite there's a large communal room where you can relax, play games, read or chat and a beautiful garden to sit out in, when you aren't cycling.

Each day you will be able to choose from two rides, one easier and one more challenging. After the first day, you'll soon get to know what category you want to be in! And we are flexible, so if there is a group of you who would like to do a specific route, that isn't planned in the itinerary, we will do our best to support it.

For some of the more complicated routes you will be with a local cyclist who will show you the way. They aren't guides or coaches so won't be taking responsibility for your safety, but are very experienced cyclists who know the roads and the best way to ride them extremely well. Both our leaders have competed in the Etape du Tour, the Alpigap and various triathlons and this year Donald will be doing the Marmot and the Embrunman triathlon!

For the straighforward routes we will give you route cards and maps (easy foldaway ones to fit in your pockets).

For all rides, we will be on the end of the phone with a van if you need us.

For the big day rides to Alpes D'Huez and Col D'Izoard our vehicle support will be with you all day with plenty of refreshments to keep you going.

As it is not physically possible to cycle all day everyday, to give your legs a break, we have scheduled in some fun outdoor activities like rafting and via ferrata and a trip to the lake for sunbathing and to have a go on the high ropes course there if you want! These aren't compulsory (nor are any of the rides for that matter!), but they are always a good laugh - no experience necessary!

For the bike transfer, once we know where everyone is coming from we'll work out a route with specific collection points (usually at bike shops). At the moment we will be collecting from Harry Hall Cycles in Manchester and Elmy Cycles in Ipswich, so if you are anywhere in between - no problem! We'll collect your bike (you can either box it up or leave it as it is) and drive it over in a van. The van will also act as our main bike transporter throughout the week so your bikes are safe from the elements!

Visit our Bookings page for details on how to book.

Price Details

PRICE: £COMING SOON per person (minimum 20 people, maximum 30 people)

What's included?
• 7 nights full board accommodation (3 meals plus afternoon tea) at the Gite L'Aventure.
• 2 days of vehicle supported rides with refreshments - for Alpes D'Huez and Col D'Izoard.
• Man (or woman!) with a van on the end of a phone during all rides.
• Experienced local cyclists as leaders on first ride to show you the ropes.
• Route cards and maps for all rides.
• One rafting session.
• One via ferrata session.
• One entrance to the lake and access to the high ropes course there.
• Transfer from Marseille airport
• Overland bike transfer from selected collection (tbc) points in UK to France and back again.

What's not
• The cost of one evening meal in restaurant in Alpes D'Huez.
• Flights

Please note, to keep the price down we can only do one transfer per group. You can fly to Marseille from Gatwick and Bristol with Easyjet and from Stanstead with Ryan air on those dates. If you would like more information on getting here, please contact us. We can suggest places to stay overnight in Marseille if you arrive early or can advise on trains and buses from other airports.

Itinerary

We have scheduled a variety of rides taking in a few of the famous Tour de France cols and also exploring some lesser known but equally spectacular Alpine roads! It is a demanding itinerary and you'll need a good level of cycling fitness to be able to enjoy it. However, there is a choice of rides to do each day and within those there is plenty of flexibility as most rides can be easily extended or shortened. This is something that we can advise on during the week so you can make the most of your time here.

We may need to change the itinerary should we be unlucky with the weather - but hopefully not!!


Have a look or print off our poster and leaflet.