Spyns 2010 Tour de France Trips: Cheap Paris Hotels

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Former Spyns clients have often asked me where they should stay in Paris - both before and after their Tour de France trips. Paris hotels have always been expensive and the current euro/dollar exchange rate has only compounded the problem. What passes for a bargain in Paris these days often starts at $150-$200/night. Paris hotel rooms also tend to be very small by North American standards. Although in my experience Parisian service has improved incredibly since I first started doing tours in 2003.

Here are two cheap Paris hotels that I often recommend:

1. Hotel Argenson (http://www.hotel-argenson.com/) 15 Rue Argenson 75008 Paris, France+33 1 42 65 16 87. I've sent a lot of former Spyns clients to the Argenson for three reasons: location; price; and service. The hotel is located about 4 blocks north of the Champs Elysees in a chic Paris neighborhood. For cyclists, it's just a block away from a "Velib" station where you can pick up a bike and drop it anywhere in the city. Price: Rooms run about $150-$175/night - very reasonable for pricey Paris. Caveat: the rooms don't have air conditioning so for those of you who like your summer room temperature in the "meat locker" zone, you should probably stay at a larger chain hotel. The owner is a very charming Parisienne whom I've always found to be friendly and helpful.

2. Hotel Londres Tour Eiffel (http://www.hotel-paris-londres-eiffel.com/) 1 rue Augereau 75007 Paris. Again another hit with former Spyns clients. Located just 2 blocks from the Eiffel Tower, it's ideal for couples looking for a romantic getaway. The owner/manager speaks excellent English which always helps in Paris. Rooms on the upper floors are a bit more expensive because they have views of the (upper) Eiffel Tower. The rooms are clean but small and cost between $150-$200/night.

These are just two suggestions for reasonable Paris hotels that aren't hostels. If you have any questions about this post or about Spyns 2010 Tour de France tours, please visit our website: http://www.tdf-tours.com/, call us toll-free 1.888.825.4720, or email info@tdf-tours.com.

Spyns 2010 Tour de France Trips: Helicopters?

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We're now in the final stages of putting together a deluxe Tour de France trip...with helicopters!!! Last year we did "one-size-fits-all" tours with similar pricing, itinerary, and service with mixed results. No matter how well prepared the tour, some rooms will be better than others and restaurants always have better tables, menus etc. so I found that by promising everyone the same thing, I ended up disappointing people rather than exceeding their expectations. Lesson learned.

For the first time we introduced separate tours with different pricing for our 2010 Tour de France trips. In speaking with a number of Spyns former clients, they unanimously wanted more options and this led to our offering the "Classic" and "Luxury" tours. The main difference between tours was that Luxury clients have larger rooms and guaranteed views of the Paris finish course. Both trips sold remarkably well although I wasn't sure what level of interest we'd have this year. Rumours abound that this is Lance's last tour so demand has been overwhelming. We'll likely sell out our latest trip (currently on http://www.tdf-tours.com/) in the next few weeks and that will lead to our newest deluxe tour. Tah-dah!

I've taken a number of calls from potential clients requesting all-out decadence, "Price is no option," is an oft-mentioned phrase. I've always been reluctant to venture into deluxe territory largely because it attracts impossible to please clients. Never one to back away from things that scare the bejesus out of me, I've decided to offer the mac-daddy of Tour de France trips. The deluxe tour will stay in 3 incredible hotels, with helicopter transfers to see the finish on the Col du Tourmalet, and VIP grandstand seating to watch the Paris finish. We haven't yet set the price for this trip but it should be about US$8000/person. Without giving everything away, the group will end their trip at Hotel Crillon (Lance's favorite hotel in Paris) with dinner at the Eiffel Tower's "Restaurant Jules Verne." Swank, oh yes.

I'll post again once the deluxe trip is online but please feel free to call or email with your questions: http://www.tdf-tours.com/ 1.888.825.4270 or info@tdf-tours.com.

To Bring or Not to Bring (Bike): Spyns Tour de France Trip 2010

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Client Question: "Should I bring my bike?"

I hear this question almost every day. Now that we've opened up another 2010 Tour de France trip for sale, and particularly a trip with a great deal of riding, many clients are debating whether they should bring their own bikes.

After contacting several former Spyns clients who opted to bring their own bikes, this post is an objective analsys of the "pros" and "cons", including a cost analysis based on information provided by our former Tour de France clients.

Pros
Comfort is by far the biggest benefit to bringing your own bike. I remember a former Spyns client on our 2009 Tour de France trip with an obsession for handlebars. He swore that by riding one of our rental bikes (a Scott Carbon) that his neck muscles were seizing up. "Do you ride a custom bike?", I eventually asked. The answer was yes. Not surprising. If you ride over 100 miles a week and own a bike worth as much as a used car, bring it (but read the "cons" section).

Cons
Unfortunately the list of negatives is rather long. For starters, you will have to get your bike to our Tour de France starting point in Pau. This will mean lugging a bike box to the Paris airport, claiming it there from "Special Baggage", cramming it into a taxi, paying extra to the cab driver for oversized luggage (not a racket but actually a legal requirement under French transport regulations), and storing it in your tiny Paris hotel room. You'll likely repeat the process back to the train station or airport for the trip down to Pau. I should also add that French transportation personnel will take every opportunity to apply a surcharge or simply yell at you for being complicated. Once on tour, it's never smooth sailing because you'll constantly worry about your bike. Our guides will eventually have to move the bike so there is a risk of scratches or light damage. I remember a former Spyns client (TDF 2009) tearfully cradling his beloved Trek because of a light scratch to the underbelly.

Shipping: the solution?
If you do plan to bring your bike, ship it. It will cost you between $200-$300 one-way. Return shipping from France is normally too expensive as you pay in Euros so I'd recommend bringing your bike back post-tour to save some money. By shipping, you avoid the many hassles discussed above but there are some risks as we learned last year. Four former Spyns clients had their bikes held by French Customs. Apparently their paperwork gave the impression the bikes were going to be sold in France. Their bikes were eventually sent home but not after a few sleepless nights. There were also a few bikes that arrived late. In both cases we scrambled to find bikes while desperately trying to locate the lost or delayed velos. For clients planning to ship their bikes this year, we have a "pre-shipping checklist" explaining the above.

In closing, you'll enjoy your Spyns Tour de France trip with our without your own bike. Using one of our rental bikes is a stress-free way to enjoy our 2010 tours. Although the fit may not be custom-perfect, you won't lose sleep over the inevitable wear & tear that comes from moving bikes to 3 different regions.

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For additional information about Spyns 2010 Tour de France trips, please call 1.888.825.4720, email info@tdf-tours.com, or visit http://www.tdf-tours.com/.

New Tour Dates: Spyns Tour de France 2010!

We just updated http://www.tdf-tours.com/ to include a brand new Tour de France 2010 tour. I hinted that we'd be adding some new dates during my pre-trip in France last week, but I didn't want to announce anything official until we'd received final confirmation from our partner hotels. Mission accomplished.

I hope that my previous blogs have given readers an insight into how we plan our Tour de France tours. Before working in travel/tourism, I thought that trip planning was easy. Family travel is usually handled by mom, and all mothers know that choosing hotels, restaurants, and daily activities for a family is very difficult. Men don't normally take on such responsibilities and what we don't know, we wrongly assume is easy. It's a bit like a barbecue. Usually Mrs. X invites everyone over, shops, sets the table, marinates the meat, and makes everything from the salad to dessert. Mr. X barbecues a few slabs of meat for 20-30 minutes and yet he receives a standing ovation upon presenting the charred flesh. My mom always planned our trips so I had no idea how much work it took.

Tour de France cycling trips are particularly complex because you have to balance riders, non-riders, road closures, transfers, luggage, bikes, and often trains. Normally it takes me between 7-10 days to initially pre-trip a tour and another 2-3 months finalize everything before sale. With that in mind, I am thrilled to present our latest addition to the Spyns Tour de France roster: trip #3. The tour is similar to our sold out luxury and classic trips. It will include the final four stages (16; 17; 19; and 20). The trip will start in the Pyrenees, swing through Bordeaux and finish in Paris. The start/finish are the similar to our previous tours but I decided to shake things up a bit for the Bordeaux portion of our trip.

In the past, I've assiduously avoided staying in large cities before heading to Paris for the finish. But Bordeaux beckoned simply because it will host both a finish (July 23) and time trial (July 24). I've run a number of trips through Bordeaux but always outside of the city. I started hunting around for a nice hotel and found the Hotel Regent Grand. I wasn't that excited about staying there until I saw it. The hotel is truly spectacular. In fact, its rooms, decor, and even the flowers resemble the Four Seasons George V in Paris - probably the best (and most expensive) hotel on the planet. I visit on average 50 to 60 hotels a year and the Regent was my best recent find for several reasons. First the staff were young, fun, and accommodating. French service can be a little, ahem, cold, so it was nice touring a hotel where everyone seemed to enjoy working there. Second, the rooms were spectacular. And third, the group reservations staff were beyond accommodating. When I asked whether they had an English satellite TV station (I suggested Eurosport), they immediately checked, confirmed they didn't and called their company right in front of me to ensure we'd have it. That's service. I immediately booked our rooms.

I've also added a little more adventure to the non-riding activities. For example, when in the Pyrenees, the non-riders will go canyoning. For those unfamiliar with the sport, it includes wearing a weatsuit, rappelling down (like a SWAT team scaling a building from top-down) a valley into a river, and slip sliding through rocks, waterfalls etc. This adventurous yet safe activity will hopefully keep our non-riders both happy and wet.

In closing, I love trying new things so hopefully this new trip will prove popular. For more information about our company or tours, please call 1.888.825.4720 visit http://www.tdf-tours.com/ or email info@tdf-tours.com.

Bye Bye Bordeaux: Tour de France Trip 2010

It was with a very heavy heart that I departed Bordeaux wine country yesterday. Although I've been running trips in France since 2003, I never cease to be awed by the jaw-dropping beauty, delectable food, and fine wines of my second home. I obtained my French passport in 2001, now speak the language fluently (and even without an accent someone told me yesterday!), but I still feel like the same 18-year-old kid from Canada the first time I came to France way back in 1989. This is why I love running tours both in France and throughout Europe. The reason is simple: I absolutely love what I do.

Before breaking into song, I first wanted to re-cap my busy schedule yesterday. I started the day in Saint Emilion re-working the rides there. I had originally planned some ambitious swings looping east with a wine tasting lunch at a friend's winery but that was too complicated. Taking advice from Spyns former clients, they have often told me that I overplan and overcomplicate their daily rides so my motto this year will be "simple simple simple". Moderate riders will likely want to do some riding so I re-jigged the ride to include a number of trips radiating out from the chateau similar to a clover pattern with the hotel at its centre. This will give clients the opportunity to do as little or as much riding as possible while remaining a maximum 10 km (6 miles) from their hotels. I finally had a chance to pop in for lunch to see my friend Pascal's wine bar in Saint Emilion (see photo). For about $25, I enjoyed homemade soup, broiled quail, and chocolate mousse washed down with an excellent red that Pascal recommended. We'll probably bring one of our Spyns groups to Pascale's restaurant for lunch and dinner because the food, service and price are all excellent.

After lunch, I mapped out the rides for the Bordeaux time trial. On day 5 of the trip, clients will bike from their chateaux along a beautiful greenway right into the heart of Bordeaux. We'll watch the time trial from our top-secret viewing area (details on that to follow next year). Bordeaux is truly a spectacular city. Parts of it are as beautiful as Paris but with fewer than 1 million "Bordelais" the city is friendlier than larger cities like Lyon, Marseille or Paris. The people also have a singsong southern French accent which is a mixture of the Spanish and Italian intonations. The place is truly intoxicating.

After Bordeaux, I mapped out the time trial route northwest through the Medoc wine country. If you've never been to the region, the Medoc is home to the grandest Chateaux (Rothschild, Palmer, Margaux to name a few). I did the entire route from Bordeaux northwest to Pauillac and the chateaux were spectacular (see photo).

It was difficult leaving the region but there is still much to do in preparation for Spyns Tour de France 2010. More posts and photos to follow.

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For more information about our company or tours, please visit http://www.tdf-tours.com/ or call us toll-free at 1.888.825.4720.

TDF Tours: Saint Emilion is Spyns Spectacular!

I spent the day working on our 2010 Spyns Tour de France trips and the weather could not have been better. After a steady stream of pouring rain in Pyrenees, I'd almost forgotten how nice the sun was. I spent the night at Chateau Camiac - my good friend Jean Marc's castle hotel near Saint Emilion. I was feeling decidedly grizzled after the previous night's 2 bottles of red wine complete with 4-hour bacchanalia of red meat, cheese, and chocolate. Oy vey.

After saying goodbye to Jean Marc at his stunning Château (see photo), I headed northeast to Saint Emilion. The village is a UNESCO world heritage site and I always enjoy driving there although the roads are ridiculously narrow as my battle-scarred van can confirm. On the roster was a day of ride planning and some other mundane details such as paying deposits for our guides' hotels, and confirming some final non-riding activities such as the cooking class and a walking tour. Most tourists are so interested in shopping above ground in Saint Emilion that they completely miss the endless underground caverns carved by generations of monks. Former Spyns clients gaped at the underground cathedral and I can only imagine how long it took the poor, half-starved, medieval monks to create it. Spyns Tour de France clients will discover the secrets next July. The sun peeked out so I couldn't help but take a few snaps of things Spyns clients will see while exploring this great little town.

After that, I was off to Bordeaux (about 13 miles due west of Saint Emilion) to prepare a little surprise for our clients when they see the Stage 19 time trial. I also met with our bike mechanics, almost tore the roof of the van because of a botched underground parking attempt, and drank a freshly-squeezed orange juice while wolfing down homemade cookies at the Hotel Regent tearoom across from Bordeaux's Opera House. All in all an excellent day.

I'll be sad to leave this beautiful region, especially with the vines all turning golden yellow. But it will be nice to see my wife and kids again - especially little baby Spencer who just celebrated 10 months. Before heading home though, there is more work to be done and I have a busy day planned tomorrow including wine tasting confirmations, some riding if the weather is good, and interviewing a potential guide who lives in the area.

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For more information about our Tour de France trips, please visit our website http://www.tdf-tours.com/, email us at info@tdf-tours.com, or call us toll-free at 1.888.825.4720.

Tour de France 2010: Bonjour From Bordeaux

It's late but I just wanted to leave a brief post for all of our 2010 Tour de France clients. I was poking around Basque Country today in the southwest corner of France. The Basques are a distinct ethnic group with communities straddling the border regions between France and Spain. Although I love a good GPS, today things went horribly wrong and my "fastest" route between our hotels near Pau and a new hotel I wanted to inspect took me through some terrifying terrain (see photo). As a Canadian, I'm used to driving on slick roads but snowy conditions combined with a 1000 ft drop were a bit much. There was a treat however because I saw a rare Pyreneen Vulture. These majestic birds were almost extinct in the 1970s but through conservation now number in the 100s. I tried to take a snap but the vulture flew away. Its wingspan had to be at least 6ft across and I hadn't seen such a large bird since the bald eagles in northern British Columbia.

After the hotel inspection, I headed north to Bordeaux wine country. I'm here to do final chateaux inspections and also to test our rides for Spyns 2010 Tour de France trips. While driving I had a call from Jean Marc (owner/manager) at Chateau Camiac where our classic tour clients will be spending a few days before the Bordeaux time trial (see photo). He graciously offered to put me up for the night and on top of that cooked me an incredible dinner. We drank too much wine and traded stories about working in the service industry. Jean Marc has owned the Chateau Camiac since 1989 and has had a very interesting life working in high-tech, the medical services industry, and lately tourism. I was planning to do some work but we ended up talking for 3 hours while enjoying some excellent red wine from the local vineyards (even a 2003 Figeac which was excellent). He's a great guy and I can't wait for Spyns clients to meet him.

Tomorrow I'll be in the village of Saint Emilion (a UNESCO world heritage site) to confirm our walking tours there. The town has incredible underground caverns, including an underground cathedral if you can believe it. I'll also be stopping by a friend's wine bar for a chat over lunch. More updates to follow over the next few days.

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For more information about our Tour de France trips, please visit http://www.tdf-tours.com/ or call us toll-free at 1.888.825.4720.

Tour de France Prep - Bonjour from the Pyrenees!

Just off to bed but wanted to leave a message for all the Spyns clients following the blog. It was raining hard today in the Pyrenees so I didn't make it to the top of Tourmalet. Guess I'll have to wait until my next swing through the region next April. I was caught in not one but two herd-jams, a common occurence here, and decided to finally snap a picture. The farmer was driving the steer...on a bike! I guess the region is really TDF crazy.

Here is a brief synopsis of my day:

- Administrative work on the computer from about 7:30 to 9:00
- Excellent breakfast expertly prepared by Corinne, the hotel's charming owner, complete with warm croissants, roaring fire, and their Jack Russel terrier Purdy
- Trip up to see the village of Artouste near the Spanish border as our 2010 Tour de France clients will be taking the high-altitude train to hike around beautiful Lac Artouste
- Reviewed the rides again from Escot to Col d'Aubisque to get the exact altitude gain and distance over the Col de Marie Blanque (a beautiful ride by the way and parts of the terrain look like the Scottish highlands)
- Bought more postcards to send to Spyns former clients (everyone knows my addiction to postcard sending)
- More admin work from about 8 to 11

I may spend another night at the Chateau d'Escot depending on how much I get done tomorrow otherwise I'll be blogging from Bordeaux wine country. Until then, keep training for Spyns 2010 Tour de France trips.

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For more information about our company or tours, please visit http://www.tdf-tours.com/, email info@spyns.com or call us toll-free at 1.888.825.4720.

Spyns 2010 Tour de France Trips: An Update from the Pyrenees

Incredible day today and I can't wait to blog about it. I started the day in Pau (the regional capital), then mapped out a morning ride for stage 17 (more on that later), and then found an incredible day 1 ride for the Spyns Classic Tour clients. But first, some thoughts...

I just knew the day would be perfect because there were eggs at breakfast. If you've never traveled to France, there are two commodities as precious here as gold and diamonds. They are respectively eggs and ice. One of my former co-guides named Doug (or "Doooooog" as he pronounced it so that the French could say it) was nicknamed "the iceman" because of his ability to procure ice in France. While most North Americans demand an ice/drink ratio of 5:1, the French are content to sip room-temperature Coke sans ice. When former Spyns clients ask for a Diet Coke with ice in France it's always the same result: the nattily-dressed server sets down your glass, expertly opens the soda, pours, pauses and (get ready) serves one anemic ice cube from a ceramic bowl. Maddeningly the bowl has other ice cubes but before you can count them it's quickly returned to the restaurant's "ice vault." Eggs at breakfast are also a rarity, but good eggs at breakfast like the serving I had this morning are unheard of. The French prefer a lighter breakfast but often eat omlettes at lunch or dinner. Today's eggs were fresh and served with perfectly-cooked bacon - two miracles on one plate. Nothing could go wrong.

I first explored Pau's chateau royal (see picture) and arranged for Spyns 2010 Tour de France clients to have guided private tours either before the stage 16 finish or later depending on their specific itinerary. This gothic masterpiece dominates the small city of Pau and I can't wait for Spyns clients to see it next July. I was then off to meet with some city officials at the Tourist Office to confirm the finish line's exact location for stage 16. I read and write French fluently so there isn't a language barrier but there can be a cultural barrier when asking for information. In Canada and perhaps in the US, we usually just walk up to someone and ask a question as I very gauchely did today. As former Spyns clients know, the French find this a bit insulting because you always have to politely say "bonjour" and then patiently wait to be acknowledged before saying, "I'm terribly sorry to bother you but I wanted to ask X." Anyhow, after the hard stare for breaking with etiquette, the woman was kind enough to let me know where exactly the Tour de France will finish this year so that we could plan our viewing spot.

After that I was back in my Spyns van to map out the spectacular ride for stage 17. The final Pyreneen ride will cover the first third of that day's stage with a viewing area on the Col de Marie Blanque. While the stage finishes on the Col du Tourmalet, having viewed previous stages there I'd prefer to actually see the riders on the first peak rather than waiting 10-deep on Aubisque or Tourmalet and then looking forward to six hours of gridlock as half of Belgium tries to navigate their RVs down the one mountain road and back to Pau for the trip north to Bordeaux. I had a hellish experience of watching the stage on Aubisque in 2007 only to be jammed in traffic for 3.5 hours before the four-hour drive to Saint Emilion (near Bordeaux) to collapse in bed at the ungodly hour of 4 a.m. Not this year! We'll watch the riders go by, have a BBQ lunch, and then take comfortable motor coaches north to Bordeaux wine country.

I then moved on to magical Chateau d'Escot near Sarrance about 45 minutes from Pau. I was really lucky this year to book a hotel less than a mile from the stage 17 route. I was impressed with the hotel when I first visited it but seeing it bathed in fall colours, spectacular sunshine, and surrounded by endless green fields was truly a wonderful way to end the day. There were so many herds of animals that I finally got out of the car to snap a picture. Hopefully there will be fewer animals for Spyns 2010 Tour de France trip. As day faded to night, I quickly mapped out the Classic Tour's day 1 ride and both new and former Spyns clients won't be disappointed!

After the day's work, I had a wonderful dinner with Corinne and Roberto, the hotel owners. Now I'm off to bed but will have trouble sleeping because I'm too excited to share all of this with Spyns clients next July.

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For more information about our company or tours, please visit www.tdf-tours.com or call us toll-free at 1.888.825.4720.

Spyns Tour de France: Greetings from the Pyrenees!

I'm currently in France putting the final touches on Spyns 2010 Tour de France trips. Yesterday I had dinner with my good friends Alan and Celia at their beautiful estate near Auch. Alan is the former director of the a British cycling association (called the CTC) and I wanted to review in detail our planned rides for 2010 because he knows the region like the back of his hand. They were kind enough to put me up for the night and Celia had made an incredible dinner topped off with an excellent red wine from a vineyard not too far from their house. There is nothing better than dinner with friends.

Both retired, they are part of an association called the Affordable Travel Club. I had never heard of the Association but it promotes exchanges between families around the world whereby they host a family or families for a minimal fee of $10/night. Anyhow, through this association Alan has become quite an expert at driving people around the challenging roads of the Pyrenees and he pointed out some things about our planned rides that I didn't know. I've taken his advice very seriously and re-organized the rides accordingly.

In fact, I decided to test our Day 2 rides for Spyns 2010 Tour de France trips by tackling 3 famous peaks today : the Col Aubisque; Soulor; and finally the Col du Tourmalet. I couldn't get to the top of Tourmalet because there was just too much snow but I'm planning to head back tomorrow as the weather is supposed to clear and get a bit warmer. If clients decide to do the complete ride, they'll cover a whopping 120 km and complete the 2nd half of 2010's stage 17 from Pau to the Col du Tourmalet.

Tomorrow morning, I have a meeting with 2 of our guides to review the non-riding activities for our clients in Pau. I also wanted to take the guided tour of Pau's Château. I've taken clients there too many many times but strangely I've never had the time to see it myself. Tomorrow afternoon I'll be back on the road retesting the rides. I was so busy for Spyns 2009 Tour de France trip that I never once touched my bike and it felt great to be back in the saddle in the Pyrenees. The last time I brought a group here was in 2007 and I'd forgotten how beautiful (and wild) the terrain is. I can't wait for everyone to see it.

What a tough life I have! More photos to follow. My best to everyone in cyberland and I look forward to seeing both former Spyns clients and a lot of new faces next July.

Ryan

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For more information about our company and Spyns Tour de France tours, please visit our website: http://www.tdf-tours.com/ or call us toll-free at 1.888.825.4720.