Hill climbing holiday in France

topcattim

I'm thinking about joining one of these organised col-bagging holidays next summer. You know the type of thing: a week or so of climbing the hills by day, with the tour organiser having sorted out accommodation and transport to and from the various rides. I'm an average-ish sort of rider, coming in the middle of the pack in most of the sportives I've done. I know there are a lot of possibilities, and that prices seem to vary.

So my questions are to wonder whether people have any recommendations or experiences with different tour operators, with regard to cost, accommodation, typical range of other riders' ability etc.

Thanks!

(I wasn't sure where to post this query. I guess its not really a beginner question perhaps, but it didn't fit in any of the other forums, and I can try to claim that I'm a beginner to hill climbing holidays in France!")

topcattim

I'd still be interested in any views and advice about this - even if its only advice about which of the forums would be the best place for this type of post!

Leedsblue

I quite fancy a holiday like that myself. Maybe even rent a bike to save the hassle and cost of taking my own

jason74

Its not exactly as you requested but just a few weeks ago I sayed at King of the Mountains, they are based near Bourd d'Oisans near to some big climbs used in the tour, Alpe D Huez, Col do Galibier etc.
It was a week based in just one place but while there the hosts, Guy and Helyn, were very helpful in that they took other guests to different start points in the area to tackle other climbs a little further out. They were very friendly & helpful, made you feel very welcome and cooked fabulous food for evening meals.
I would suggest looking at their website, www.kingofthemountains.co.uk, to see if it could be what you are looking for.
I was also looking at the same idea as you but many people recommended KOM and I must say I was not dissapointed, there was moor than enough mountains to tackle for the week, in fact I would say i haveonly just scratched the surface in the area during that week.
Hope it may be of use.

APIII

If the Pyrenees grabs you, I would recommend Chez Passet (http://www.chez-passet.com). I've been there twice this year, once on a long weekend in May, and then again with my wife a couple of weeks ago. They are based near Lourdes and Andrew is a keen cyclist who will join you on a ride, time permitting. It's not an organised thing, just an excellent place to stay, but they have all the info on the climbs in the area. The major climbs in the area are all within riding distance i.e. Col D'Aspin, Tourmalet, Hautacam, Soulor, Aubisque, Luz-Ardiden. If you don't want to take your bike, you can rent one from the local bike shop. Vicky is an excellent cook too.
I think organised tours are all good and well, but if you like doing your own thing at your own pace, you can base yourself in a good location and save a lot of money.

term1te

I saw an advert for an escorted trip from Genève to Nice, taking in the cols on the way. Of course I can’t find that magazine again now, but it can’t be too hard to find it on the net?

SCR Pedro

Hey there,

It might be worth considering the Ballon d'Alsace. Last month I did the D27 road out of Munster and up to the top of the Schnepfenried before going along to the summit of the Hohneck and back down via the Col de la Schlutt. It was a very tough climb, and I ran out of gears pretty early.

I passed and was then taken back by a group of Dutch riders who were using the climb as preperation for the Alpes, so you might want to consider something like that?

Cheers
Pedro

bahzob

Another vote in favour of Kings of the Mountains if the Alps is what you are after.

For the Pyrenees I would recommend http://www.cyclepyrenees.com/lodge.html

They run a fully supported Raid Pyreneen which is IMO a great way to bag cols and go on a bit of an epic journey as well. (Cycle from Atlantic to Med in 4 1/2 days with plenty of climbing especially middle 2 days which include Tourmalet, Aubisque and a lot of the other TDF favourites).

topcattim

Thanks for all those recommendations, really got me looking forward to the possibilities. The Raid Pyreneen looks great, but I'm not sure I can take that much time away from family or work. Anyone know of anything of similar style but slightly shorter, say 6 or 7 days?
Like the idea of the King of the Mountains - how does that one work? Do they transport you to the general area of the cols, or are they literally within cycling distance? And when you (jason74 and bahzob) did it, were you the only one from the chalet doing the rides, or were there others tagging along?

term1te

I’m in the very fortunate position of being able to see Le Ballon d’Alsace from my house, on a clear day. Topcattim and I did L’étape de légende last year, which finished at the top of the Ballon. I still have the poster on the wall behind my office computer.

Great area to cycle, if you are in the area the Jura Mountains to the south also have some excellent rides. I’ve often thought of taking a couple days to cycle from Basel to Genève along the top of the Jura.


PS the Avatar to the left is me somewhere near Le Ballon D'Alsace.

SCR Pedro wrote:

Hey there,

It might be worth considering the Ballon d'Alsace. Last month I did the D27 road out of Munster and up to the top of the Schnepfenried before going along to the summit of the Hohneck and back down via the Col de la Schlutt. It was a very tough climb, and I ran out of gears pretty early.

I passed and was then taken back by a group of Dutch riders who were using the climb as preperation for the Alpes, so you might want to consider something like that?

Cheers
Pedro

bahzob

Raid Pyreneen itself only takes 4 1/2 days (in fact challenge is to cycle from Atlantic to Med over a standard route in under 100 elapsed hours). Austin and Sal at Roquefort offer an option that just takes 5 days if you are short of time If that doesnt work there are enough cols in cycling distance from their base to fill a week without climbing the same one twice.

KOM: Its situated just before the Col D'Ornon which itself is just above Bourg D'Oisans of Alpe D'Huez fame. There are loads of climbs nearby, more than you could climb in a week (this site has some useful maps/guides of the climbs):
http://www.cycling-challenge.com/
Guy and Helyn who run KOM are very friendly and helpful. They will come out with you for rides and offer support if you want to do something like try riding a full on etape stage.

In both cases I would suggest emailing and describing what you are after

jason74

KOM is situated very close to the major climbs, some easily accessible from the chalet, others a little further out, but as stated in my earlier thread Guy & Helyn would drive guests out to the base of climbs a little further out. Alpe d Huez is only about 10km from the chalet, all downhill to start the day as well.

While out there, I stayed for week, and went on my own, I went out with Guy & Helyn to do a ride first day, then Helyn went up the ADH with me towards the end of the week.

At the evening meal they would give suggestion to me and the other guests of where to go next day, so if you all wanted to do the same thing then you could all go together.

During the week I cycled about 350kms and when I go back next year I know there will be loads of other mountains and quiet roads to explore. Also I drove down on the impression I could drive a little further to different areas but the car was not used all week.

bahzob

jason74 wrote:

... Also I drove down on the impression I could drive a little further to different areas but the car was not used all week.

Ditto. Did use my car on a recovery day post sportive to go west and drive through Vercors area. Stunningly beautiful, loads of climbs and little traffic. Easily another week's + cycling there.