A summer vacation with the bike, the Tour De France and the Canal Du Midi
by: bobaloula
Posted on: Friday, January 27th, 2012 at 8:46 am by: bobaloula
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Last year I asked the good fellows on cycling forums for suggestions for a family cycling holiday in 2012. I’ve been a runner and rugby player mainly but have last year rediscovered cycling and got addicted.
I got given some fantastic ideas from the forum folk but I had to work my itinerary out to fit in with my wife, 2 little girls and the grandparents – yes grandparents!
So how did I fit everyone in – simple..? (I say ‘did’ – the proof will be in the pudding) The grandparents have a holiday home near a very rural and beautiful part of Samatan so we have a great base and local connections and local insight. It also happens to be near the start of the Samatan Tour De France stage – perfect!
We are going for two weeks, so the first week is with the grandparents, I get some quiet time with the bike, they get some play time with the kids – lots of markets and town fetes which are great but once you’ve done them twice…
The real adventure will be cycling from Samatan to Peyragudes over 6 days, it’s not quite Tour De France pace but at least I’ll get there! The Pyrenees are fairly special to me just like the French Alps so I’m looking forward to going to Luchon and other places again, this time cycling!
Second part of the holiday is a canal cruise through the Canal Du Midi, this is something the kids found, but we’ve gone with it. We are still staying on the cycling theme so we can all enjoy the French countryside together and I get to loosen off my very stiff legs.
We are suckers for fine dining and fine wines which is why we chose European Waterways, the service, cabins and itinerary look first class and the kids will get lots of lovely fresh air and cycling goodness.
We are all happy!
