Every night you will return to Sanglier lodge, where you will be based for the week without having to pack and move on. Each room has its own en suite bathroom and outside you will find a swimming pool and plenty of room to recover.
If you enjoy wonderful food to follow up your ride then expect only the best as we use some of the best local restaurants in France and Spain or produce meals in the lodge which are guaranteed to keep you coming back for more.
The Languedoc Rousillon Trail - a 5 day Mountain, vineyard and seaside tour in the Languedoc Rousillon area of France.
Tour Itinerary:
Day 1 - Arrival, bike fitting, ride in the vallespir valley . Dine and spend the night at Sanglier lodge.
Day 2 - After breakfast, we ride from Sanglier lodge around the eastern face of Mount Canigou on a tiny, picturesque road with views of the sea and Mount Canigou, ending in the medieval town of Ille sur Tet, where we will stay at Espinyoldiva lodge in the capable hands of Anne Guthrie. [www.espinyolidiva.com] We may have time to explore the town a little, or visit some of the many attractions of the area.
Day 3 - Today’s ride meanders through the wine country of Caramany and takes us through the awe inspiring gorge of Calamus. We are in Cathar country now, home of an unusual religious sect who built spectacular castles on pinnacles of rock. We shall visit one of them if time permits. The ride takes us up the Aude river in the direction of the City of Carcassonne with it’s fairy tale walls and ramparts… We will stay in the domaine des Castelles, a 19th century ‘Gentleman farmer’s’ house, and explore the walled city the following morning.
Day 4 - After seeing the city of Carcassonne we ride east along the attractive canal du midi towards Narbonne a flat ride, hopefully with the wind behind us, with no traffic, unless the barges count as such! We spend the night in the Domaine d’Estarac: Built in the 19th century, it is a Catalan style, rambling old house, 8 km south of Narbonne, located in a protected nature resort surrounded by pinewoods, garrigues and vineyards, with a beautiful garden.
Day 5 - Today’s ride begins at the fine old cathedral in the centre of the old Roman City of Narbonne and takes us along an exclusive cycle route leading between two beautiful lagoons, where thousands of flamingos can often be seen picking their way through the shallows. We then skirt the coast, usually with the wind behind us if there is one, next to the beach as far as St Cyprien, from whence we will embark on the bus and return to Sanglier lodge for the evening meal and the night.
The Costa Brava Trail:
Day 1 - Bike fitting and ride in the Vallespir valley. The first night will be spent at Sanglier lodge
Day 2 - After breakfast we will ride over the mountain pass of the Col d’Ares, which was once used in a stage of the Tour de France, crossing the border into Spain at the col, with wonderful views over the Pyrenees, into the old Spanish city of Camprodon, where we will probably have a coffee and a much needed break! The second part of our ride takes us through the Serra de Malforat to the village of Sant Jaume, where we will spend the night in the Rectoria de la Miana, an old rectory which stands in the middle of a vast stand of beech and oak, at the end of three miles of rough, winding track. We won’t attempt to ride our road bikes up it! Our hosts, Frans Engelhard & Janine Westerlaken, will give us dinner and a hearty breakfast the following morning.
Day 3 - Our ride today takes us south along the famous cycling trail of El carrilet and towards Santa Suzanna on the coast. We end at Can Rosich, our home for the night, a masia more than two centuries old which has been virtually re built. It is close to the beach, but set in 20 hectares of bucolic loveliness.
Day 4 - This is a shorter ride, in which we follow the beach road south west to the city of Barcelona. We will leave our bikes in the bus, change and spend much of the day exploring this extraordinary and exciting city before driving back to Can Rosich for the night.
Day 5 - We ride the twisting coastal road from Santa suzanna to Sant Feliu with wonderful views of the sea. After lunching in one of the many restaurants in this pretty port we drive back to Sanglier lodge for our final night.
Giro d'Italia - May:
A 7 day tour which follows the Tour of Italy in it’s northern and alpine stages. usually including the team time trial and an individual time trial. Each day we ride part of the stage and then watch the peloton go by or witness the finish. There will be a live TV in the bus from which to watch the race when it is not in the immediate vicinity. We stay in carefully selected bed and breakfast establishments en route. [See under ‘accommodation’]
Tour de France - July:
A 7 day tour which follows the Tour de France over some of the Pyrenean and Alpine stages, usually including the team time trial and an individual time trial. Each day we ride part of the stage and then watch the peloton go by or witness the finish. There will be a live TV in the bus from which to watch the race when it is not in the immediate vicinity. We stay in carefully selected bed and breakfast establishments en route. [See under ‘accommodation’]
La Vuelta - September:
A 7 day tour which follows the Tour of Spain in it’s northern and Pyrenean stages. We follow a similar routine to that pursued in the Tour de France and Giro d’italia trip.
Notes:
Airfare is not included in the tour price.
Our price is 1100 Euros per person for a full week, and this includes all the lodge facilities, all activities, all transport, all breakfasts and lunches plus 3 dinners (For the other dinners we will stop at local restaurants; wine or beer with meals and plenty of drinks and snacks to keep you going during the day
Also see tour packages in:
Europe
France
Spain
Multi-activity
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