jefnvk

I know I asked about France a few months back, but now that I have actual dates in mind, I have a more specific question.

The wife has July 10-31 off from work. I can pick any two week timeframe in there, plus bookending weekends if applicable. I'd really like to see at least one stage of the TdF while I am there, but it really doesn't coincide with my original plans of riding the EV6 west from Burgandy to Loire, then up the coast on EV3. We'd use trains on both ends to/from Paris.

Is seeing an actual stage worth changing these plans, and if so does anyone have a recommendation on a similarly easy route? Or is it just as worthwhile to watch in Paris, and stick with my original plans? I've been given the OK on this trip with the guidance of 50ish mile days, credit card touring, and wineries being a must.

For reference, here is this year's stage map:

alan s 

Two years ago, I saw 2 stages in Switzerland. The first was a sprint finish in the city and the second, a mountain stage. The mountain stage was much more enjoyable because it included riding up the route in the morning, and the riders came through a little more slowly. If you have some flexibility, make sure the weather is good because you will be waiting quite some time. The caravan is also entertaining prior to the race coming through.

indyfabz

I did an organized tour built around the last week or so of the Giro. The guy who owned the company told us the TdF is a logistical nightmare in terms of finding places to stay since you not only have all those associated with the race, but the spectators and press from many parts of the world. If you don't mind tenting along the race course like you see so many people doing, or staying in some obscure/out of the way place, things might be easier.

axolotl

The 2018 Tour route almost entirely avoids areas with vineyards. There are some vineyards near Carcassonne in the Languedoc region, however. It will be hot there in July. The canal trail from the Atlantic to the Mediterranean, the Canal des 2 Mers (Canal of 2 seas), goes through Carcassonne.
https://en.canaldes2mersavelo.com/

After touring in the sublime Dordogne, Lot, & Célé valleys last September, my friends & I biked along that canal trail for a day and half (west of Toulouse). Though the trail is popular, we found it to be quite dull compared to where we had just been touring.

I saw the Tour by accident once while I was touring in the French Alps. I found it to be a zoo and I think it has only gotten worse since then. But to be fair, I've never had much interest in the Tour, or in racing.

jefnvk

Ah, that is a valid concern I hadn't even considered. Tents are a no-go on this trip, she was fine biking but not tenting on our honeymoon!

Maybe I'll just stick with the original plan and hit up the last stage in Paris. I assume I'll still be able to find accommodations in such a large city just fine.

alan s 

Rows and rows of grapevines aren’t all that interesting, and certainly less interesting than the TDF. You can drink fine wine in virtually any restaurant in France. Not sure why riding to wineries is so high on the list, but to me that would be truly boring. There are a lot of festivities surrounding the TDF that make it a great spectator event, if only once in your life. I’m sure the finish in Paris is fun enough, but there is nothing like climbing a mountain stage to get the full experience.

jefnvk

It is first and foremost a honeymoon, and the wineries are something she really wants to do. Also, as it is a honeymoon and she hates pedaling up big hills, there will be no climbing up Alpe d'Huez (as much as I may want to)

alan s 

No problem if that’s what you both want to do. Personally, I don’t find grape farming all that interesting.

Rob_E

Read a Crazy Guy journal a while back where someone's tour intersected with Le Tour. I think this is the relevant bit: Some sort of hobo: Day 22: Port de Bales - Col du Portillon
I want to say that there were two opportunities to see the race, but I might be making that up.

Sounded entertaining, even though I've never been interested in the race itself. It did sound like it was a little crazy out there, though.

fietsbob

Motor Caravan Rentals?


Lots of Europeans have Big Tents and stay in 1 campground for a week + .. drive it all there in their car.






...

fietsbob

DC they Drink the Wine others Make.. I worked in the California Wineries during Harvest-Crushing..
Maybe real work is not interesting..




..

BobG

Perhaps not the honeymoon destination that Jef is looking for but I agree with Alan. It's fun to catch the Tour on a climb. Back in 1995 I did a camping tour from Paris down to the Pyrenees and joined friends for a week on a hotel tour. Their organizer was able to book hotels through the region during the Tour. Not sure how far in advance he reserved the rooms. We climbed the Col du Tourmalet in time to catch the race at the top coming from the opposite direction. We had hotel rooms in nearby Argelès-Gazost. We also rode up the Col du Soulor in the direction of the race until we got pulled over. That night we had rooms in Lestelle-Bétharram.

Not sure how the six of us kept up with the Tour for two days without a car. Guess we took a short cut!

gerryl

A few years ago, I accidentally stumbled on a stage. If you catch them on anything near flat terrain the whole peloton goes by in seconds. It's sort of cool, but I wouldn't go too much out of my way to catch a stage on flat ground. In the mountains a different story, you might actually get to see some action.
In 2016 I cycled through the Ardeche gorge on the same route as the Tour used a few weeks prior, what took me a hours to do they did in minutes.

DropBarFan

I don't know about the alternate routes but if possible wouldn't seeing the final stage in Paris be pretty spectacular?

jefnvk

Thats what I'd love to know

I'm used to rally racing, I understand the concept if it being over before it started. Was more wondering if Paris atmosphere matched up with the rest, as the winner is already decided, and even if they were if seeing them come around multiple times was a good payoff. And how early one must show up on the Champs Elyse

axolotl

I don't know where you are planning to begin cycling in Burgundy, but I suggest you take a close look at this Burgundy bike path map. Eurovelo 6 is one of the routes shown.

Le Comité Régional du Tourisme de Bourgogne : La carte de la Bourgogne à vélo

I've cycled various parts of this, and there are routes shown on the map which are not part of Eurovelo 6 which have lovely riding with scenery which I suspect that your wife and you would really enjoy. Indeed the bike routes I toured on in Burgundy which are not part of Eurovelo 6 were nicer than what I saw of Eurovelo 6. Specifically, the part south from gorgeous Beaune to Chalon-sur-Saone, a canal trail, then on a superb paved rail-trail to Macon. The part from Dijon to Beaune and especially from Beaune south to Santenay is mostly on signposted quiet farm roads through gorgeous villages, with a backdrop of steep hillsides with some of the most famous vineyards (Cote d'Or) in the world. The scenery is so much more than rows of vineyards. There are also very nice chateaux which can be visited. The rail-trail south to Macon is wonderful, with a fantastic tunnel, and the trail also goes right through Macon-villages vineyards, more chateaux, and an interesting abbey which also can be visited.

jefnvk

No specific plans in place yet, just a generic east to west transit roughly mapping EV6 and then up the coast. I'll check out those routes you mentioned!

alan s 

Just a word of unsolicited advice. Not sure if you have been married before, so you may already know this. Neither of you should sacrifice your wants and needs for the other’s sake. You should both be fully enthusiastic about your decisions as far as your trip is concerned, which concept also extends to all aspects of married life. Sounds like you are making sacrifices, and she is as well. This is a recipe for an unhappy trip and ultimately an unhappy relationship. My suggestion is you both find what you are eager to do and not establish a bargaining system where one person does something they don’t want to do and the other does the same. Just my two cents. Carry on.

jefnvk

I've never been on a vacation with any other person that wasn't a series of compromises. About the only place we'd ever go if it weren't a series of compromises would be to Cedar Point.

Compromise is simply part of traveling with others, in my experience.

alan s 

Never said you don’t compromise. Read again. There is a difference between sacrificing your needs and wants and compromising. Compromise means you are both happy with the outcome. Sacrifice means one wins and the other loses.

jefnvk

Not really sacrificing anything, its all compromise. I can go ride a mountain stage by myself sometime (for example I will be doing the amateur Roubaix one of these years, likely without her because she has no desire to go to rainy northern France in April), and to be honest, I liked sleeping in hotels far more than tenting it. I merely mentioned those things to stave off suggestions of epic-ness that aren't going to happen this trip, not as sacrifices I am making.

Can't say I've ever been to a vineyard, but as much as I enjoy breweries, I'm not really balking at that either.

Sacrifice is deciding which of my bikes get left home

ironwood

As someone mentioned above, unless you are watching a long uphill section , the tour goes by in seconds. It's better on TV. If you happen to be near it , you might want to take a look, and you might get a free candy bar or something they throw at the crowd from the publicity caravan.

Eggman84

I have seen 3 stages of the TdF in the Pyrenees, 3 stages of the (now defunct) US Pro Challenge (in Colorado), and multiple stages of the Tour of California. In all cases, the ambiance of the crowd is more interesting than the race. You wait on the shoulder of the road, then the (in the case of the TdF the caravan) comes thru, then more waiting, then the lead moto bikes and cars come thru, then more waiting, then in a flash the leaders, then in another flash the peloton, then, what seems slower, the last riders usually sprinkled in among the team cars, then the ambulances and the broom wagon. In the case of the TdF, many people go just to see the caravan. It really is worth it see it once. You need to be there I believe 2 hours before the expected time of the peloton to see the caravan. As for spectating, I believe you only see the riders in any action if you can be on a switchback looking down on them; anything on a straight stretch and all the moto bikes and cars block your view until the riders are right there, and then they are past.

My recommendation, I would do your trip as you were planing, and then see the last day in Paris. You probably need to get a spot hours before the race (remember Paris is a big city and there just might be others with nothing else to do but go see a bunch of grown men in spandex ride bikes really fast. I wouldn't worry about being near the finish. A turn is better where you can see how fast they are going.

Congratulations on your getting married, and hope you have a fun trip . Oh, and if possible, get Michelin Green Guides and Michelin Yellow series maps (1:200,000 scale) of areas you will be passing thru. Check them out at a bookstore to see if they could be useful. The Green Guides have the best descriptions you will find, and the maps show all the back (departmental or 'D") roads, scenic stretches (high lighted in green), and steep sections (marked with chevrons). My wife and I use the maps almost exclusively to navigate between major sites/cities we want to see, supplemented by google maps to navigate in larger towns.

Doug64

My wife and I watched the last stage of the 2011 TDF from a spot about 200 feet from the finish line. This was a great place to watch it from; we were up close and personal, and could see the earlier part of the stage on a huge screen. The end of the stage is 8 laps around the Avenue des Champs-Élysées where the sprinters really start ramping it up. We got to the line about 4 hours before the peloton was scheduled to arrive.

If you plan on catching the finish, book lodging early. I scheduled a critical doctor's appointment in Paris for the last week of the TDF and reserved an apartment several moths before our arrival.

We were on a 3-month tour, and timed it to be in Paris at the finish.

It is a great time for people watching.

My wife staking out her spot as she works on her journal and waits for the arrival of her hero, Mark Cavendish.


the crowd grows fast, so it pays to be early.



A good view of the pre-finish activities and the finish.

BobG

Heh! Here come the apricots and peaches. Apples and pears are back in the shadows! (sorry about the quality...old scanned slide)