Thinking about seeing the '09 TdF?

With our without Lance, the '09 TdF appears to be shaping up as a pretty
wild spectacle. Ventoux the day before the finale in Paris... who would
have thought? We're looking at, what, 3 significant mountain-top
finishes? Verbiers (Switzerland), Les Arcs (above Boug St. Maurice) and
Ventoux. Looks like no Alpe d'Huez this year, nor even a mention yet of
the Galibier. Time trial in Annecy.

I'm going. Already called and made reservations for 6 nights at the
Chambery Etap (figure it's within driving and train distance of all of
the Alps stages except Verbiers). Rent a car, drive down to Avignon for
the Ventoux stage, take the train back up to Paris the next morning and
see the finish. Probably have to book an "expensive" hotel in Paris
(likely the Mercure Gare Lyon, because it's right at the station we'd be
coming into, and it's not much fun hauling bikes & gear).

For those thinking about doing a trip like this, it can be done pretty
inexpensively. If you stay at Etaps, you're looking at around $50/night
for a "functional" hotel room. Very similar to a college dorm room, but
you do have a bathroom/shower in your room. If you want to save another
$8/night you can go for the Formulae1 where the bathrooms are down the
hall, but that's not very friendly for 50-year-old guys. Car rental
figure about $70/day for a small station wagon like a Peugeot 307; as
low as $45/day for a subcompact.

Oh, I should add that Etap, and some other hotel chains, won't allow
internet reservations more than 250 days out. That works in your favor,
since all you have to do is call on the phone to reserve the room... a
room which probably wouldn't be available otherwise (since rooms book up
far in advance of the 'Tour).

Food isn't all that expensive as long as you stay out of tourist places.
You'll generally find reasonable fare in areas around supermarkets. And
never, ever, pay the ridiculous prices for breakfast at the hotels!!!

Getting there is the expensive part. July is peak-season for travel, so
expect to pay about $1500-$1800 from the west coast, a bit less from the
east coast. Look for short-term sales and jump on them when you see
them. It's not unusual for an airline to try and generate some cash in
the winter by selling discounted seats for the summer. Realistically,
$800 would be absolute rock-bottom for that.

Not speaking French isn't a significant issue. Get a phrase book and use
it. Most hotels have no problem with English, and food is pretty easy to
figure out. But if you go into a supermarket to buy fruit, make sure you
weigh it before bringing it to the counter!!! I had a very interesting
learning experience on that a few years ago. Best to go with a friend,
for a couple reasons. First, it's less expensive because you're
splitting the cost of the room & car. Second, when you're with someone
else, and you get lost or whatever, it's more likely to create an
interesting & fun experience instead of getting you down. Um... this
assumes that other person isn't your wife. Then you're a lot worse off.

--Mike-- Chain Reaction Bicycles
www.ChainReactionBicycles.com

On Oct 13, 1:20 am, "Mike Jacoubowsky" wrote:
With our without Lance, the '09 TdF appears to be shaping up as a pretty
wild spectacle. Ventoux the day before the finale in Paris... who would
have thought? We're looking at, what, 3 significant mountain-top
finishes? Verbiers (Switzerland), Les Arcs (above Boug St. Maurice) and
Ventoux. Looks like no Alpe d'Huez this year, nor even a mention yet of
the Galibier. Time trial in Annecy.

I'm going. Already called and made reservations for 6 nights at the
Chambery Etap (figure it's within driving and train distance of all of
the Alps stages except Verbiers). Rent a car, drive down to Avignon for
the Ventoux stage, take the train back up to Paris the next morning and
see the finish. Probably have to book an "expensive" hotel in Paris
(likely the Mercure Gare Lyon, because it's right at the station we'd be
coming into, and it's not much fun hauling bikes & gear).

For those thinking about doing a trip like this, it can be done pretty
inexpensively. If you stay at Etaps, you're looking at around $50/night
for a "functional" hotel room. Very similar to a college dorm room, but
you do have a bathroom/shower in your room. If you want to save another
$8/night you can go for the Formulae1 where the bathrooms are down the
hall, but that's not very friendly for 50-year-old guys. Car rental
figure about $70/day for a small station wagon like a Peugeot 307; as
low as $45/day for a subcompact.

Oh, I should add that Etap, and some other hotel chains, won't allow
internet reservations more than 250 days out. That works in your favor,
since all you have to do is call on the phone to reserve the room... a
room which probably wouldn't be available otherwise (since rooms book up
far in advance of the 'Tour).

Food isn't all that expensive as long as you stay out of tourist places.
You'll generally find reasonable fare in areas around supermarkets. And
never, ever, pay the ridiculous prices for breakfast at the hotels!!!

Getting there is the expensive part. July is peak-season for travel, so
expect to pay about $1500-$1800 from the west coast, a bit less from the
east coast. Look for short-term sales and jump on them when you see
them. It's not unusual for an airline to try and generate some cash in
the winter by selling discounted seats for the summer. Realistically,
$800 would be absolute rock-bottom for that.

Not speaking French isn't a significant issue. Get a phrase book and use
it. Most hotels have no problem with English, and food is pretty easy to
figure out. But if you go into a supermarket to buy fruit, make sure you
weigh it before bringing it to the counter!!! I had a very interesting
learning experience on that a few years ago. Best to go with a friend,
for a couple reasons. First, it's less expensive because you're
splitting the cost of the room & car. Second, when you're with someone
else, and you get lost or whatever, it's more likely to create an
interesting & fun experience instead of getting you down. Um... this
assumes that other person isn't your wife. Then you're a lot worse off.

How realistic is it to turn viewing of those alpine stages into a bike
tour?

Not speaking French isn't a significant issue. Get a phrase book and
use
it. Most hotels have no problem with English, and food is pretty easy
to
figure out. But if you go into a supermarket to buy fruit, make sure
you
weigh it before bringing it to the counter!!! I had a very
interesting
learning experience on that a few years ago. Best to go with a
friend,
for a couple reasons. First, it's less expensive because you're
splitting the cost of the room & car. Second, when you're with
someone
else, and you get lost or whatever, it's more likely to create an
interesting & fun experience instead of getting you down. Um... this
assumes that other person isn't your wife. Then you're a lot worse
off.

How realistic is it to turn viewing of those alpine stages into a bike
tour?

Very. What do you have in mind? Credit-card touring or actually camping?
Or just having a base camp from which you ride out of? Give me an idea
and I'll try to help.

--Mike Jacoubowsky
Chain Reaction Bicycles
www.ChainReaction.com
Redwood City & Los Altos, CA USA


wrote in message
...
On Oct 13, 1:20 am, "Mike Jacoubowsky" wrote:
With our without Lance, the '09 TdF appears to be shaping up as a
pretty
wild spectacle. Ventoux the day before the finale in Paris... who
would
have thought? We're looking at, what, 3 significant mountain-top
finishes? Verbiers (Switzerland), Les Arcs (above Boug St. Maurice)
and
Ventoux. Looks like no Alpe d'Huez this year, nor even a mention yet
of
the Galibier. Time trial in Annecy.

I'm going. Already called and made reservations for 6 nights at the
Chambery Etap (figure it's within driving and train distance of all
of
the Alps stages except Verbiers). Rent a car, drive down to Avignon
for
the Ventoux stage, take the train back up to Paris the next morning
and
see the finish. Probably have to book an "expensive" hotel in Paris
(likely the Mercure Gare Lyon, because it's right at the station we'd
be
coming into, and it's not much fun hauling bikes & gear).

For those thinking about doing a trip like this, it can be done
pretty
inexpensively. If you stay at Etaps, you're looking at around
$50/night
for a "functional" hotel room. Very similar to a college dorm room,
but
you do have a bathroom/shower in your room. If you want to save
another
$8/night you can go for the Formulae1 where the bathrooms are down
the
hall, but that's not very friendly for 50-year-old guys. Car rental
figure about $70/day for a small station wagon like a Peugeot 307; as
low as $45/day for a subcompact.

Oh, I should add that Etap, and some other hotel chains, won't allow
internet reservations more than 250 days out. That works in your
favor,
since all you have to do is call on the phone to reserve the room...
a
room which probably wouldn't be available otherwise (since rooms book
up
far in advance of the 'Tour).

Food isn't all that expensive as long as you stay out of tourist
places.
You'll generally find reasonable fare in areas around supermarkets.
And
never, ever, pay the ridiculous prices for breakfast at the hotels!!!

Getting there is the expensive part. July is peak-season for travel,
so
expect to pay about $1500-$1800 from the west coast, a bit less from
the
east coast. Look for short-term sales and jump on them when you see
them. It's not unusual for an airline to try and generate some cash
in
the winter by selling discounted seats for the summer. Realistically,
$800 would be absolute rock-bottom for that.

Not speaking French isn't a significant issue. Get a phrase book and
use
it. Most hotels have no problem with English, and food is pretty easy
to
figure out. But if you go into a supermarket to buy fruit, make sure
you
weigh it before bringing it to the counter!!! I had a very
interesting
learning experience on that a few years ago. Best to go with a
friend,
for a couple reasons. First, it's less expensive because you're
splitting the cost of the room & car. Second, when you're with
someone
else, and you get lost or whatever, it's more likely to create an
interesting & fun experience instead of getting you down. Um... this
assumes that other person isn't your wife. Then you're a lot worse
off.

How realistic is it to turn viewing of those alpine stages into a bike
tour?

On Oct 13, 9:20*am, "Mike Jacoubowsky" wrote:
With our without Lance, the '09 TdF appears to be shaping up as a pretty
wild spectacle. Ventoux the day before the finale in Paris... who would
have thought? We're looking at, what, 3 significant mountain-top
finishes? Verbiers (Switzerland), Les Arcs (above Boug St. Maurice) and
Ventoux. Looks like no Alpe d'Huez this year, nor even a mention yet of
the Galibier. Time trial in Annecy.

I'm going. Already called and made reservations for 6 nights at the
Chambery Etap (figure it's within driving and train distance of all of
the Alps stages except Verbiers). Rent a car, drive down to Avignon for
the Ventoux stage, take the train back up to Paris the next morning and
see the finish. Probably have to book an "expensive" hotel in Paris
(likely the Mercure Gare Lyon, because it's right at the station we'd be
coming into, and it's not much fun hauling bikes & gear).

For those thinking about doing a trip like this, it can be done pretty
inexpensively. If you stay at Etaps, you're looking at around $50/night
for a "functional" hotel room. Very similar to a college dorm room, but
you do have a bathroom/shower in your room. If you want to save another
$8/night you can go for the Formulae1 where the bathrooms are down the
hall, but that's not very friendly for 50-year-old guys. Car rental
figure about $70/day for a small station wagon like a Peugeot 307; as
low as $45/day for a subcompact.

Oh, I should add that Etap, and some other hotel chains, won't allow
internet reservations more than 250 days out. That works in your favor,
since all you have to do is call on the phone to reserve the room... a
room which probably wouldn't be available otherwise (since rooms book up
far in advance of the 'Tour).

Food isn't all that expensive as long as you stay out of tourist places.
You'll generally find reasonable fare in areas around supermarkets. And
never, ever, pay the ridiculous prices for breakfast at the hotels!!!

Getting there is the expensive part. July is peak-season for travel, so
expect to pay about $1500-$1800 from the west coast, a bit less from the
east coast. Look for short-term sales and jump on them when you see
them. It's not unusual for an airline to try and generate some cash in
the winter by selling discounted seats for the summer. Realistically,
$800 would be absolute rock-bottom for that.

Not speaking French isn't a significant issue. Get a phrase book and use
it. Most hotels have no problem with English, and food is pretty easy to
figure out. But if you go into a supermarket to buy fruit, make sure you
weigh it before bringing it to the counter!!! I had a very interesting
learning experience on that a few years ago. Best to go with a friend,
for a couple reasons. First, it's less expensive because you're
splitting the cost of the room & car. Second, when you're with someone
else, and you get lost or whatever, it's more likely to create an
interesting & fun experience instead of getting you down. Um... this
assumes that other person isn't your wife. Then you're a lot worse off.

--Mike-- * * Chain Reaction Bicycleswww.ChainReactionBicycles.com

I'm definitely going to see the '09 TdF from the best seat in the
house, that is my couch in front of my television set (I might even
get a widescreen HD by then). Every single encounter I've had with the
live Tour has been depressing and annoying. As for doing nice bike
rides in France, it seems simpler to do it at a time when the Tour de
France is not in the area. This year I spent a total of 3 weeks in Aix-
les-Bains which has some of the best riding I've ever experienced, I
also managed to find a very nice hotel with a pool, large room, and
free Wi-Fi (rare for France, even the Mercure hotels charged 20 Euros/
day for it) for less than 80 Euros a night. In general, apart from the
Alps and the Pyrenees, riding in Northern California is superior than
anything in France.

-ilan

On Oct 13, 1:03 pm, "Mike Jacoubowsky"
wrote:
Not speaking French isn't a significant issue. Get a phrase book and
use
it. Most hotels have no problem with English, and food is pretty easy
to
figure out. But if you go into a supermarket to buy fruit, make sure
you
weigh it before bringing it to the counter!!! I had a very
interesting
learning experience on that a few years ago. Best to go with a
friend,
for a couple reasons. First, it's less expensive because you're
splitting the cost of the room & car. Second, when you're with
someone
else, and you get lost or whatever, it's more likely to create an
interesting & fun experience instead of getting you down. Um... this
assumes that other person isn't your wife. Then you're a lot worse
off.

How realistic is it to turn viewing of those alpine stages into a bike
tour?

Very. What do you have in mind? Credit-card touring or actually camping?
Or just having a base camp from which you ride out of? Give me an idea
and I'll try to help.

--Mike Jacoubowsky
Chain Reaction Bicycleswww.ChainReaction.com
Redwood City & Los Altos, CA USA

wrote in message

...

On Oct 13, 1:20 am, "Mike Jacoubowsky" wrote:
With our without Lance, the '09 TdF appears to be shaping up as a
pretty
wild spectacle. Ventoux the day before the finale in Paris... who
would
have thought? We're looking at, what, 3 significant mountain-top
finishes? Verbiers (Switzerland), Les Arcs (above Boug St. Maurice)
and
Ventoux. Looks like no Alpe d'Huez this year, nor even a mention yet
of
the Galibier. Time trial in Annecy.

I'm going. Already called and made reservations for 6 nights at the
Chambery Etap (figure it's within driving and train distance of all
of
the Alps stages except Verbiers). Rent a car, drive down to Avignon
for
the Ventoux stage, take the train back up to Paris the next morning
and
see the finish. Probably have to book an "expensive" hotel in Paris
(likely the Mercure Gare Lyon, because it's right at the station we'd
be
coming into, and it's not much fun hauling bikes & gear).

For those thinking about doing a trip like this, it can be done
pretty
inexpensively. If you stay at Etaps, you're looking at around
$50/night
for a "functional" hotel room. Very similar to a college dorm room,
but
you do have a bathroom/shower in your room. If you want to save
another
$8/night you can go for the Formulae1 where the bathrooms are down
the
hall, but that's not very friendly for 50-year-old guys. Car rental
figure about $70/day for a small station wagon like a Peugeot 307; as
low as $45/day for a subcompact.

Oh, I should add that Etap, and some other hotel chains, won't allow
internet reservations more than 250 days out. That works in your
favor,
since all you have to do is call on the phone to reserve the room...
a
room which probably wouldn't be available otherwise (since rooms book
up
far in advance of the 'Tour).

Food isn't all that expensive as long as you stay out of tourist
places.
You'll generally find reasonable fare in areas around supermarkets.
And
never, ever, pay the ridiculous prices for breakfast at the hotels!!!

Getting there is the expensive part. July is peak-season for travel,
so
expect to pay about $1500-$1800 from the west coast, a bit less from
the
east coast. Look for short-term sales and jump on them when you see
them. It's not unusual for an airline to try and generate some cash
in
the winter by selling discounted seats for the summer. Realistically,
$800 would be absolute rock-bottom for that.

Not speaking French isn't a significant issue. Get a phrase book and
use
it. Most hotels have no problem with English, and food is pretty easy
to
figure out. But if you go into a supermarket to buy fruit, make sure
you
weigh it before bringing it to the counter!!! I had a very
interesting
learning experience on that a few years ago. Best to go with a
friend,
for a couple reasons. First, it's less expensive because you're
splitting the cost of the room & car. Second, when you're with
someone
else, and you get lost or whatever, it's more likely to create an
interesting & fun experience instead of getting you down. Um... this
assumes that other person isn't your wife. Then you're a lot worse
off.

How realistic is it to turn viewing of those alpine stages into a bike
tour?


Thanks for the insight. I don't know if we'll get to do this or not
but it's something I've wanted to do very badly for many years. The
Etaps sound about right. I was thinking ride from one to another, and
spend a week riding a lot of classic climbs and spectating the tour.
I know Ventoux is a bit out of the way for that. I should mention this
will be with my wife if it happens.

=============================
I'm definitely going to see the '09 TdF from the best seat in the
house, that is my couch in front of my television set (I might even
get a widescreen HD by then). Every single encounter I've had with the
live Tour has been depressing and annoying. As for doing nice bike
rides in France, it seems simpler to do it at a time when the Tour de
France is not in the area. This year I spent a total of 3 weeks in Aix-
les-Bains which has some of the best riding I've ever experienced, I
also managed to find a very nice hotel with a pool, large room, and
free Wi-Fi (rare for France, even the Mercure hotels charged 20 Euros/
day for it) for less than 80 Euros a night. In general, apart from the
Alps and the Pyrenees, riding in Northern California is superior than
anything in France.

-ilan
===========================

ilan-

This is why you see the Tour de France in person-
http://www.chainreactionbicycles.com/tdfwatching.htm

And not covered in that article is the fact that, during the 'Tour,
bikes rule the world. That's an experience in itself that has to be
lived to be believed.

I agree that Aix is a great base; lots of good riding from there. I
chose Chambery because it's got direct rail access to the Bourg St
Maurice stage (Les Arcs) and is within easy driving distance of Alpe
d'Huez and many other great climbs not incuded in this year's 'Tour.

For wireless, Boingo offers a much better rate that has worked just
about everywhere I've been (in France). What's going to kill me is
wanting to use my iPhone over there. It will probably run about $50 to
get a useful data plan to cover the 9 days I'll be there. But that's
really not all that bad, as long as I don't screw up and go slighlty
over. The per-kb pricing is deadly.

As for riding in Northern California, you're absolutely right, this is
cycling heaven. And most haven't even begun to explore the
possibilities. Amazing how few ever ride the Sierra Nevada range.
They're missing out on some incredible stuff. Having said that, the
roads are entirely different in France than here (Northern California).
In France, many of the climbs are essentially "terraced" in that you
gain great amounts of vertical with very little horizontal. That's not
the way we build roads here. You can't get to the top of a climb and
look pretty much straight down into a valley below. Also, we don't have
the little cafes placed strategically on the climbs!

--Mike Jacoubowsky
Chain Reaction Bicycles
www.ChainReaction.com
Redwood City & Los Altos, CA USA



wrote in message
...
On Oct 13, 9:20 am, "Mike Jacoubowsky" wrote:
With our without Lance, the '09 TdF appears to be shaping up as a
pretty
wild spectacle. Ventoux the day before the finale in Paris... who
would
have thought? We're looking at, what, 3 significant mountain-top
finishes? Verbiers (Switzerland), Les Arcs (above Boug St. Maurice)
and
Ventoux. Looks like no Alpe d'Huez this year, nor even a mention yet
of
the Galibier. Time trial in Annecy.

I'm going. Already called and made reservations for 6 nights at the
Chambery Etap (figure it's within driving and train distance of all of
the Alps stages except Verbiers). Rent a car, drive down to Avignon
for
the Ventoux stage, take the train back up to Paris the next morning
and
see the finish. Probably have to book an "expensive" hotel in Paris
(likely the Mercure Gare Lyon, because it's right at the station we'd
be
coming into, and it's not much fun hauling bikes & gear).

For those thinking about doing a trip like this, it can be done pretty
inexpensively. If you stay at Etaps, you're looking at around
$50/night
for a "functional" hotel room. Very similar to a college dorm room,
but
you do have a bathroom/shower in your room. If you want to save
another
$8/night you can go for the Formulae1 where the bathrooms are down the
hall, but that's not very friendly for 50-year-old guys. Car rental
figure about $70/day for a small station wagon like a Peugeot 307; as
low as $45/day for a subcompact.

Oh, I should add that Etap, and some other hotel chains, won't allow
internet reservations more than 250 days out. That works in your
favor,
since all you have to do is call on the phone to reserve the room... a
room which probably wouldn't be available otherwise (since rooms book
up
far in advance of the 'Tour).

Food isn't all that expensive as long as you stay out of tourist
places.
You'll generally find reasonable fare in areas around supermarkets.
And
never, ever, pay the ridiculous prices for breakfast at the hotels!!!

Getting there is the expensive part. July is peak-season for travel,
so
expect to pay about $1500-$1800 from the west coast, a bit less from
the
east coast. Look for short-term sales and jump on them when you see
them. It's not unusual for an airline to try and generate some cash in
the winter by selling discounted seats for the summer. Realistically,
$800 would be absolute rock-bottom for that.

Not speaking French isn't a significant issue. Get a phrase book and
use
it. Most hotels have no problem with English, and food is pretty easy
to
figure out. But if you go into a supermarket to buy fruit, make sure
you
weigh it before bringing it to the counter!!! I had a very interesting
learning experience on that a few years ago. Best to go with a friend,
for a couple reasons. First, it's less expensive because you're
splitting the cost of the room & car. Second, when you're with someone
else, and you get lost or whatever, it's more likely to create an
interesting & fun experience instead of getting you down. Um... this
assumes that other person isn't your wife. Then you're a lot worse
off.

--Mike-- Chain Reaction Bicycleswww.ChainReactionBicycles.com

I'm definitely going to see the '09 TdF from the best seat in the
house, that is my couch in front of my television set (I might even
get a widescreen HD by then). Every single encounter I've had with the
live Tour has been depressing and annoying. As for doing nice bike
rides in France, it seems simpler to do it at a time when the Tour de
France is not in the area. This year I spent a total of 3 weeks in Aix-
les-Bains which has some of the best riding I've ever experienced, I
also managed to find a very nice hotel with a pool, large room, and
free Wi-Fi (rare for France, even the Mercure hotels charged 20 Euros/
day for it) for less than 80 Euros a night. In general, apart from the
Alps and the Pyrenees, riding in Northern California is superior than
anything in France.

-ilan

wrote in message
...

I'm definitely going to see the '09 TdF from the best seat in the
house, that is my couch in front of my television set (I might even
get a widescreen HD by then).

That's my position as well.

Every single encounter I've had with the
live Tour has been depressing and annoying.

Yet a couple of people here who went there seemed to love hanging out in the
crowds where you see nothing and hear nothing but are part of the
"happening".

As for doing nice bike
rides in France, it seems simpler to do it at a time when the Tour de
France is not in the area.

It also seems to reduce the cars racing around on the Dxxx roads.

In general, apart from the Alps and the Pyrenees, riding in Northern
California is superior than anything in France.

Yeah, but why would you ride anywhere in France except the Alps and/or
Pyrenees?

"Tom Kunich" cyclintom@yahoo. com wrote in message
m...
wrote in message
...

I'm definitely going to see the '09 TdF from the best seat in the
house, that is my couch in front of my television set (I might even
get a widescreen HD by then).

That's my position as well.

Every single encounter I've had with the
live Tour has been depressing and annoying.

Yet a couple of people here who went there seemed to love hanging out
in the crowds where you see nothing and hear nothing but are part of
the "happening".

You've got to be kidding. That's their problem if the best they can do
is hang around with 500,000 other folk 5-deep on the Champ Elysees. The
'Tour is so much more than that. Whether you're talking a road stage or
time trial, if you've got your bike with you, it takes no time at all to
find a spot a few miles away from the start or finish area that you can
call your own. A spot that might have some dramatic potential (part of a
climb, or a signifcant corner).

Besides, you can also ride out from your hotel room, catch the race as
it heads past nearby, and then see the finish on TV. Two years ago I was
even able to post photos of a race in-progress that way. It doesn't take
that much planning to figure out how to do that.

As for doing nice bike
rides in France, it seems simpler to do it at a time when the Tour de
France is not in the area.

It also seems to reduce the cars racing around on the Dxxx roads.

When the cars are stopped bumper-to-bumper for mile upon mile, it's
pretty darned easy to get through on a bike.

In general, apart from the Alps and the Pyrenees, riding in Northern
California is superior than anything in France.

Yeah, but why would you ride anywhere in France except the Alps and/or
Pyrenees?

I prefer the Pyrenees for what it's worth, but did enjoy the time I
spent in the Beuajolais (did I spell that right?) wine region a few
years ago. Not my normal style of riding (rolling countryside) but
spectacularly beautiful. And met a whole lot of very nice people.

--Mike Jacoubowsky
Chain Reaction Bicycles
www.ChainReaction.com
Redwood City & Los Altos, CA USA

On Oct 13, 10:14*pm, "Tom Kunich" cyclintom@yahoo. com wrote:
wrote in message

Yeah, but why would you ride anywhere in France except the Alps and/or
Pyrenees?


Good point, it's because I had the good fortune of marrying a person
who had to work in Paris and whose mother lived in Chalons-en-
Champagne (why couldn't she have picked le Bourg d'Oisan?). However,
it turns out that living in the Alps is not ideal either. My wife and
I were thinking about buying a place in Aix-les-Bains, but our last
trip pretty much convinced us to just go there for short vacations.
Basically, I finally encountered life in provincial France and in
particular the infamous "regard des autres", that is, how you are
treated if you're different, that is people look at you and the
expected response is for you to feel bad (I had people with various
disabilities talking about this on TV shows). My response was more
"right back at you!" which led to some confrontations. Basically, we
would go out to dinner and my yellow cycling rain and Winter headband
were viewed as unacceptable for casual wear. Strange because of the
proximity to ski resorts but shows how ignorant a lot of Aix residents
are. From what my wife was saying, such behavior is typical of French
provincial towns, especially if you live there long enough.

-ilan

On Oct 13, 9:24*pm, "Mike Jacoubowsky"
wrote:
=============================
I'm definitely going to see the '09 TdF from the best seat in the
house, that is my couch in front of my television set (I might even
get a widescreen HD by then). Every single encounter I've had with the
live Tour has been depressing and annoying. As for doing nice bike
rides in France, it seems simpler to do it at a time when the Tour de
France is not in the area. This year I spent a total of 3 weeks in Aix-
les-Bains which has some of the best riding I've ever experienced, I
also managed to find a very nice hotel with a pool, large room, and
free Wi-Fi (rare for France, even the Mercure hotels charged 20 Euros/
day for it) for less than 80 Euros a night. In general, apart from the
Alps and the Pyrenees, riding in Northern California is superior than
anything in France.

-ilan
===========================

ilan-

This is why you see the Tour de France in person-http://www.chainreactionbicycles.com/tdfwatching.htm

And not covered in that article is the fact that, during the 'Tour,
bikes rule the world. That's an experience in itself that has to be
lived to be believed.

I agree that Aix is a great base; lots of good riding from there. I
chose Chambery because it's got direct rail access to the Bourg St
Maurice stage (Les Arcs) and is within easy driving distance of Alpe
d'Huez and many other great climbs not incuded in this year's 'Tour.

For wireless, Boingo offers a much better rate that has worked just
about everywhere I've been (in France). What's going to kill me is
wanting to use my iPhone over there. It will probably run about $50 to
get a useful data plan to cover the 9 days I'll be there. But that's
really not all that bad, as long as I don't screw up and go slighlty
over. The per-kb pricing is deadly.

As for riding in Northern California, you're absolutely right, this is
cycling heaven. And most haven't even begun to explore the
possibilities. Amazing how few ever ride the Sierra Nevada range.
They're missing out on some incredible stuff. Having said that, the
roads are entirely different in France than here (Northern California).
In France, many of the climbs are essentially "terraced" in that you
gain great amounts of vertical with very little horizontal. That's not
the way we build roads here. You can't get to the top of a climb and
look pretty much straight down into a valley below. Also, we don't have
the little cafes placed strategically on the climbs!

--Mike Jacoubowsky
Chain Reaction Bicycleswww.ChainReaction.com
Redwood City & Los Altos, CA USA

wrote in message

...
On Oct 13, 9:20 am, "Mike Jacoubowsky" wrote:



With our without Lance, the '09 TdF appears to be shaping up as a
pretty
wild spectacle. Ventoux the day before the finale in Paris... who
would
have thought? We're looking at, what, 3 significant mountain-top
finishes? Verbiers (Switzerland), Les Arcs (above Boug St. Maurice)
and
Ventoux. Looks like no Alpe d'Huez this year, nor even a mention yet
of
the Galibier. Time trial in Annecy.

I'm going. Already called and made reservations for 6 nights at the
Chambery Etap (figure it's within driving and train distance of all of
the Alps stages except Verbiers). Rent a car, drive down to Avignon
for
the Ventoux stage, take the train back up to Paris the next morning
and
see the finish. Probably have to book an "expensive" hotel in Paris
(likely the Mercure Gare Lyon, because it's right at the station we'd
be
coming into, and it's not much fun hauling bikes & gear).

For those thinking about doing a trip like this, it can be done pretty
inexpensively. If you stay at Etaps, you're looking at around
$50/night
for a "functional" hotel room. Very similar to a college dorm room,
but
you do have a bathroom/shower in your room. If you want to save
another
$8/night you can go for the Formulae1 where the bathrooms are down the
hall, but that's not very friendly for 50-year-old guys. Car rental
figure about $70/day for a small station wagon like a Peugeot 307; as
low as $45/day for a subcompact.

Oh, I should add that Etap, and some other hotel chains, won't allow
internet reservations more than 250 days out. That works in your
favor,
since all you have to do is call on the phone to reserve the room... a
room which probably wouldn't be available otherwise (since rooms book
up
far in advance of the 'Tour).

Food isn't all that expensive as long as you stay out of tourist
places.
You'll generally find reasonable fare in areas around supermarkets.
And
never, ever, pay the ridiculous prices for breakfast at the hotels!!!

Getting there is the expensive part. July is peak-season for travel,
so
expect to pay about $1500-$1800 from the west coast, a bit less from
the
east coast. Look for short-term sales and jump on them when you see
them. It's not unusual for an airline to try and generate some cash in
the winter by selling discounted seats for the summer. Realistically,
$800 would be absolute rock-bottom for that.

Not speaking French isn't a significant issue. Get a phrase book and
use
it. Most hotels have no problem with English, and food is pretty easy
to
figure out. But if you go into a supermarket to buy fruit, make sure
you
weigh it before bringing it to the counter!!! I had a very interesting
learning experience on that a few years ago. Best to go with a friend,
for a couple reasons. First, it's less expensive because you're
splitting the cost of the room & car. Second, when you're with someone
else, and you get lost or whatever, it's more likely to create an
interesting & fun experience instead of getting you down. Um... this
assumes that other person isn't your wife. Then you're a lot worse
off.

--Mike-- Chain Reaction Bicycleswww.ChainReactionBicycles.com

I'm definitely going to see the '09 TdF from the best seat in the
house, that is my couch in front of my television set (I might even
get a widescreen HD by then). Every single encounter I've had with the
live Tour has been depressing and annoying. As for doing nice bike
rides in France, it seems simpler to do it at a time when the Tour de
France is not in the area. This year I spent a total of 3 weeks in Aix-
les-Bains which has some of the best riding I've ever experienced, I
also managed to find a very nice hotel with a pool, large room, and
free Wi-Fi (rare for France, even the Mercure hotels charged 20 Euros/
day for it) for less than 80 Euros a night. In general, apart from the
Alps and the Pyrenees, riding in Northern California is superior than
anything in France.

-ilan

I'm pretty sure that the "someone" you quoted in your web page was me!
My own experience of watching the Tour live was that everyone involved
in the race apart from the racers smokes and that you know you are
getting close to the race when you start seeing incredibly fat people
with VIP passes around their neck. As for watching the race, it was
usually behind three rows of smoking adults trying to get their kids
to scam another free water bottle or food sample from the caravan.
Most depressing was that it was during the Virenque comeback years and
there was universal support for him.

While you're in Chambery, I suggest you go up he
http://www.climbbybike.com/climb.asp...ountainID=6925
which starts about 12km from Chambery (there is even a direct bike
path). I only managed half due to my chronically aching back, but it
is probably the nicest climb in France never used in the Tour de
France AFAIK.

It was pretty funny because when I left Berkeley for France last month
I was checking in to my flight at SFO and there was some former pro
racer who was taking his girlfriend for riding in France and Italy,
and I had taken my bike to California for the superior riding there.
I'm sort of color blind, so I can't actually tell where the grass is
greener.

-ilan