2015 adventure planned

[khg]

I'll second NY Biker that if you're interested/can make time, Versailles is definitely worth going to. The gardens are free during the week, but on summer weekends they charge admission for the "Musical Gardens". The last time I was there, I didn't know this and went on the weekend, and was grumpy about having to pay, but it was more than worth it. They have speakers hidden in the bushes/plantings around each fountain, playing 17th century chamber music, and the fountains are coordinated with the music. I though it would be really hokey, but it created this magical atmosphere that transported you back in time to when they really would have had musicians roaming the grounds to entertain the nobility. And the combination of music, water, and beautiful growing things was so restorative. It was a wonderful day, and that's how I'd re-experience the gardens if I had the chance.

I'll also put a plug in for Cinghiale Cycling Tours cinghiale.com They have a variety of tours in Italy, from super-relaxed to super-difficult. The people who run it are absolutely wonderful, and they seem to do well at keeping the azzhole quotient down I did one of their tours this summer, and have all of my fingers and toes crossed that my schedule will work to do it again (and if I could, I'd do each of their tours--they're all different, and all sound amazing).

[emily_in_nc]

That sounds fabulous, Crankin!

[AppleTree]

Cycling. Provence. Two of my favorite words. What a fun adventure to look forward to!

[Crankin]

We finally got our plane reservations set and we will be doing the Paris thing before the cycling tour. We will be arriving during the week, so Versailles can be on our agenda. We will be spending a night at the airport hotel on the way home, and we may be able to get back into the city, as we arrive there from Avignon by early afternoon. By doing this, we get back into Boston at a very reasonable time Saturday and have almost the whole weekend to recuperate. Of course, just as we finished this, Delta called us and told us the first leg of our ski trip to Washington next month was changed, causing us to miss the connection. At 9 PM DH was on hold for 30 minutes, so he gave up. At 4:30 AM, DH got up and was able to change that, as well as getting the Delta agent to log in to the Air France site and get our seats set. I guess this good service is payback for the 15 years DH flew on Delta every week and was essentially gone Monday-Thursday. Since we had no money to travel then, it's kind of nice he gets to maintain his status with the airline at a time we can actually go somewhere.

[Penny4]

Hi Crankin, how was your trip? I would love to hear your thoughts on it. (Apologies if you already summarized on another thread.)
I did the TT Napa trip earlier this year and loved it. I am ready to book another one!

How tough were the hills/mtns in Provence?

[Crankin]

There is a thread on my trip in the Adventure thread.
The riding was hard, but what I expected. There were 19 people on the trip. Twelve did the climb up Mt. Ventoux, DH and I did not. Despite not doing Ventoux, and only riding 175 miles in 5 days, we had 14,000 feet of climbing. I did the "avid" ride on day 2, and the basic or regular rides the other days. I did not do the short routes or get in the van at all. What I noticed is that almost all of the riders (all of the women) who did Ventoux were exhausted after that day, and skipped out on some of the other riding. The heat was a major factor, too, as well as the large amount of wine I drank... the food was awesome and so was the scenery. There was a range of rider ability, too.
The key to doing a hilly trip like this, for me, at least, is to remember this is a tour. I don't ride as fast as I do at home, even hilly rides at home. I saw more stuff and paid attention to the scenery more on this trip than on any of the other ones I've been on.

[Penny4]

Thanks! I just read the other thread, and looked at the TT itinerary again. I think I would struggle with the Regular options, and would end up spending a lot of time in the shuttle and on short options....which is fine. But i'd rather be riding I'm not thinking of doing this until 2017, so i have time to think about it.