France - the Dordogne Valley

[Karen in NY]

Don't let the name fool you - it's a valley but you climb the sides to reach the little villages.

My boyfriend did a tour here last year through the European choices offered by Irish Cycling Safaris ( www.cyclingsafaris.com )

So this is all hearsay - but he said the route was interesting. Nice castles and old villages to ride to, charming little inns and hotels, great food and wine also. This tour included dinners (the Irish ones don't but they cost less so it works out.)

I would love to go to France, all of a sudden I am really wishing I planned a trip to France this year.

[kathy]

Hi Karen, I have read with great interest your comments about your trip to Ireland and your boyfriends trip to France. Sounds so tempting! I am getting up the nerve to make a reservation for an Ireland Safari trip and will be going solo(Just ended my relationship with boy friend and the one who got me into cycling!)I gather from your comments that the trip, service and people were great. Did you cover much ground each day or was it a very leisurely trip? I will ride to the ocean and back for a 8 mile ride in about an hour for a brief bit of exercise. What can I expect for a day's trip, further I would hope! Looking forward to hearing your comments. Thanks, Kathy Keller

[Karen in NY]

You will have a great time whether you go solo or with a friend. They have discussion boards too by the way, you can see my posts there also! (And tell them Karen in NY recommended you - I don't get anything from it but I like the owners a lot!)

OK. you cover about 40 or so miles a day, with longer options available. It is do-able. You have the entire day after all. You will do between 15 - 19 before lunch. There are often shops and castles and beaches to see along the way. I like to stop and take photos a lot myself.

There are 9 routes in Ireland to pick from, the hardest part is deciding which tour to pick. Deciding factors could be seeing where your ancestors came from, or whether you like Irish music, whether you want to tackle some hills, etc. Remember the hillier or mountain areas have the most dramatic scenery. Personally I liked the Kerry - Dingle tour the best but friends tell me West Cork & Kerry is great. Also I do like Irish music so Kerry was good for music also.

The tour price includes the use of their 21 speed Trek hybrid. I think the price is 500 Euros this year which means its less than 500 bucks for us Americans. You need money for lunch and dinner. Lunches are sandwiches or soup, etc in pubs. Dinners are in nicer restaurants. Think - gosh I used to tell people 25 Irish punts per dinner and 5 or 6 for lunch per day but - now with the Euros, again we benefit with the exchange rates. The tour price does not include the plane fare or once you land, the bus or train fare to the starting point.