Professional Cyclists Cycling Teams ProTour Races Vacations/Tours
Cycling the French countryside can be a wonderful way to spend a vacation and in particular the beautiful sites, cuisine and history of the loire vally in western France can offer cyclists of all levels a wonderful experience.
The Loire Valley is known as the Garden of France and the Cradle of the French Language. It is also noteworthy for the quality of its architectural heritage, in its historic towns such as Amboise, Angers, Blois, Chinon, Orléans, Saumur, and Tours, but in particular for its world-famous castles, such as the Châteaux d'Amboise, Château de Villandry and Chenonceau.
The landscape of the Loire Valley, and more particularly its many cultural monuments, illustrate to an exceptional degree the ideals of the Renaissance and the Age of the Enlightenment on western European thought and design. The Loire Valley is an outstanding cultural landscape of great beauty, containing historic towns and villages, great architectural monuments, its many châteaux, and fine wines.
Cycling Tours
Many bicycle tour companies offer expeditions into the Loire Valley including French Cycling Holidays, DuVine Adventures and Breakaway Adventures among many others.
Typical Loire Valley cycling itineraries are roughly 5-7 day adventures and include the cost of lodging meals and supported cycling but no airfare. You will most likely need to plan to get yourself and your bike to a convenient airport such as Tours.
Pricing on a cycling tour vacation will range from $1500 to $3000 or more, depending on the length of your stay, the level of accomodation you choose and if you select a self-guided vs. a guided tour. A self guided tour allows you more flexibility in your daily activities while guided options give you a more communial experience with an expert on hand to point out the landmarks and of course the support van if you need a break from two wheels.
Often tour operators will have difficulty options that will allow you to choose the level of ride from flat meanderings through market towns and short distances, to Alpine mountain climbs often included in the Tour de France. With a wide variety of options available the hard core cyclist or the weekend wheeler can both find great routes throughout the beautiful Loire Valley.
