12 Day France and Alpine Tour June 2020

byron

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I’m starting to plan a trip through France to the Alps around the second half of June 2020.
I’m looking for up to 3 more riders to join me on a relaxed sightseeing tour of this beautiful country. My riding style is observing speed limits and enjoying the sights, with coffee, food and camera stops as appropriate.
The route will be based on the Ride magazine (France Total Touring 2017 Alpine tour). This is my third tour from the magazine and they are so well constructed by Simon Weir , so fingers crossed.
The trip will be nine days riding through France together with a further three days circular mountain touring in the Grenoble area. At the moment the tour is based around 2500 miles but may vary.
The ride will include touring through the Morvan, Auvergene, Tarn gorge, Cevennes, Provence, Jura and the Vosges.

I have created three basic circular routes around Grenoble, travelling west, east, and north.. Some or all of these could be rest days or ride on your own time.
At the moment my intention is to depart 16th or 17th June on the Eurotunnel and either meet at Folkestone by 10 am or meet together the night before to complete the first 200 miles of the trip. Leaving at this time of year will hopefully this will mean that all the mountain passes will be open.
The accommodation would be based around three or four star hotels, ideally with secure parking and perhaps an Airbnb place in or near Grenoble for the four nights.

Now I have made a decision for my main tour next year , I can plan the route in detail and sort the accommodation ideally by the of next month.
Please feel free to message me for further information but the only thing really set in stone is the departure date.
Byron
 
Good luck with the offer and planning. I do something similar every year and we used Grenoble as a base for 3 nights in 2017. It is ideally located where many valleys converge but my recommendation is to find somewhere in the suburbs or nearby village, maybe somewhere near a station on the excellent tram service. This was free after 6pm when we were there. I booked a city centre hotel which had garage parking (Hotel Gallia) which was fine in one aspect, as it was only a short distance (2 stops on the tram) from the city centre. On the other hand, Grenoble traffic is horrible and it took a long time to get out of the hotel in the morning and back in during the afternoon. No wonder they are in the Crit'Air scheme so get yourself a sticker.

Also, you may find many hotels will show as unavailable until the ski season has ended and they have had their post-season break. I have sometimes booked somewhere before Xmas and then changed my mind as a much better option becomes available. I only book places with free cancellation for this reason and also, when up to 12 people are travelling, there will inevitably be a life disturbing event that mean changes to the booking.

Are you still on the powder blue RT? My group will be in France a little after you. Not sure of our route yet but our most southern point will be Nantua on the edge of the Jura. Might go down via Vosges or Black Forest. Undecided. Home via Morvan or Burgundy so might wave if I see you :)
 
Good luck with the offer and planning. I do something similar every year and we used Grenoble as a base for 3 nights in 2017. It is ideally located where many valleys converge but my recommendation is to find somewhere in the suburbs or nearby village, maybe somewhere near a station on the excellent tram service. This was free after 6pm when we were there. I booked a city centre hotel which had garage parking (Hotel Gallia) which was fine in one aspect, as it was only a short distance (2 stops on the tram) from the city centre. On the other hand, Grenoble traffic is horrible and it took a long time to get out of the hotel in the morning and back in during the afternoon. No wonder they are in the Crit'Air scheme so get yourself a sticker.

Also, you may find many hotels will show as unavailable until the ski season has ended and they have had their post-season break. I have sometimes booked somewhere before Xmas and then changed my mind as a much better option becomes available. I only book places with free cancellation for this reason and also, when up to 12 people are travelling, there will inevitably be a life disturbing event that mean changes to the booking.

Are you still on the powder blue RT? My group will be in France a little after you. Not sure of our route yet but our most southern point will be Nantua on the edge of the Jura. Might go down via Vosges or Black Forest. Undecided. Home via Morvan or Burgundy so might wave if I see you :)

Thanks very much for all your advice Wessie . I have only really looked at the routes this week and will get on to hotels in the future. However that is the beauty of the various online booking schemes that you can book and cancel with no expense generally .
My blue RT went in 2013 and a wc RT is now sold and I am on the lookout for a GS adventure in the low format or perhaps a triumph explorer .
 
Hi Byron, you still not found a new bike yet?
This is an area I would be interested in spending a bit more time in, a lot on here seem to head this way year after year and love it
Am definitely interested
 
Hi Byron, you still not found a new bike yet?
This is an area I would be interested in spending a bit more time in, a lot on here seem to head this way year after year and love it
Am definitely interested

You have a pm
 
Travel Update

Here are a few more details of the trip with the approximate mileages involved. One thing I forgot to mention in the introduction is that I like to be on the road relatively early , say 8.30 – 9 am so as to try and finish the day with time .

DAY ONE: Calais to Vouziers (190 miles

DAY TWO: Vouziers to Luzy (250 miles)

DAY THREE: Luzy to Mende (250 miles)

DAY FOUR: Mende to Bollène (210 miles

DAY FIVE: Bollène to Valberg (210 miles)

DAY SIX: Valberg to Grenoble (225 miles)

DAYS SEVEN – DAY NINE Tours in the region (125 -200 miles )

DAY TEN: Grenoble to St-Hippolyte (225 miles)

DAY ELEVEN: St-Hippolyte to Châlons-en-Champagne (280 miles)

DAY TWELVE: Châlons-en-Champagne to Calais (210 miles)

Bearing in mind Wessie's comments about Grenoble then I am looking for a location near by for the touring
 
On a couple of your days round Grenoble head south to the Col de Rousset toward Die and Les Grands Prés et l'Alé in the Parc Naturel Régional du Vercors. North a loop including Col des Ayes would be lovely :)
 
Hi , did you manage to fill the trip with riders ? If not I may be interested , pls pm with a Tel number and we can have a chat , regards Richard
 
It looks like the trip is full now - so I had better do a bit of planning now
 
thats a great trip, respect to the OP for sorting
 
Can you forward me your email address so we can discuss some of the trip together please
 


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