http://www.tdf-tours.com/New Tour de France Trip (Pyrenees, Bordeaux and Paris)
After selling out three previous tours in record time, yesterday we updated the website and started selling our most ambitious tour yet: a 9-day deluxe Tour de France trip. We also celebrated our 5th anniversary and my 7th anniversary as a bike guide/tour manager. Here are some highlights of the new trip:
- See the final 5 (of 6) Tour de France stages including transfer by helicopter to the Col du Tourmalet. You'll also see the decisive Bordeaux time trial.
- See three spectacular regions of France: the Pyrenees, Bordeaux and Paris.
- For the advanced rider, cycle up to 200 miles including climbs up the Cols d'Aspet (part of TDF 2010's stage 15).
- For non-riders or light riders, enjoy a host of activities (light rides, wine tastings, walking tours, and cooking classes to name a few) so do as little, or as much, as you like.
- Take a pre-finish morning ride up the Champs Elysees (closed to traffic on race day), around the Arc de Triomphe and down the Seine.
- Stay in Paris at the Hotel Crillon located on the Tour de France race course so watch the action streetside or join the excitement from a private grandstand seats.
- Send off dinner at the Eiffel Tower’s excellent restaurant, Altitude 95, a Spyns Tour de France tradition.
I spent a great deal of time working on this trip and can't wait for July. I've also read with keen interest a now fiesty Arstrong making loud noises about a win for Radio Shack this summer and perhaps a return in 2011 (at the tender age of 40). For more information about Lance, Radio Shack, or our tours, please visit http://www.tdf-tours.com/. 
I can't believe that Spyns is now 5 years old! Looking back, I remember the early days when I would sit for weeks on end waiting for the telephone to ring. It hit me how far Spyns and our Tour de France trips have come when I was pricing helicopters and booking out a large portion of Hotel Crillon in Paris (Lance's favorite incidentally). There have been bumps along the way for sure but I wouldn't have changed it for the world. On a Tuscany tour a few years ago, a former client said rather snottily, "So you went ot law school and now your a tour guide." I replied, "I'd prefer 'Happiness Engineer' thank you very much." Not a bad comeback and many of my lawyer friends are asking me for jobs. I lead out of bed every day because I love what I do.
New Manager
I'd also like to take this opportunity to welcome Vicky Johnstone to the Spyns family as our European manager. Vicky is from down under and will work out of our office in France coordinating both the 2010 Tour de France trips, our Pamplona Running of the Bulls tours, and private trips in Spain, France, and Italy. An experience guide, she will lead one of our Tour de France groups. She has extensive travel industry experience, most recently as a guide and manager for an adventure travel company based in Tasmania. So bienvenue Vicky!
If you would like additional information about Spyns 2010 Tour de France trips, please visit our website http://www.tdf-tours.com/ or email us directly at info@tdf-tours.com or info@spyns.com. Office hours are from 8:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. (Monday-Friday) so feel free to call us toll-free at 1.888.825.4720.
