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The details of the bicycle tour vacation at the
Chateau de Pitray are simple. The trip is
designed to maximize your biking experience here in
the Dordogne, the southwest of France, while at the
same time enjoying the experience of staying in a Chateau as though
you were visiting long time friends. The trip has also been
thought out from the perspective of a cyclist.
Therefore, if you are an avid cyclist like me, you will be
most concerned about these three components of your trip:
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How much riding
will we do and what is the riding like?
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Where will we
stay and what are the accommodations like?
-
What will we eat
and what is the food like?
In my opinion once these needs are met anything and everything else
is a bonus! And there will be a lot of bonuses.
The trip is designed for you to ride
everyday and for as many hours as you like, which means 20 to 40 to
70 or more miles a day. Why so many miles? Because you are a
cyclist and the trip is about cycling! I want you to ride and
see as much of the area as you can. The small country roads
are empty of traffic and beautifully paved, and the landscape is
magnificent, rolling hills dotted with small towns and beautiful
buildings - some dating back 500 years or more. Believe me it
is a fairytale environment for cyclists, you won't be disappointed. |
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The terrain is perfect for long distance
rides as there aren't any mountains, but challenging nonetheless
with short climbs up rolling hills. Of course the rides
are guided so all you have to do pretend like you are in the Tour de
France and enjoy the scenery while peddling away. Each day you
will bike a different "loop," and the route is preplanned obviously.
As for the accommodations you will be staying at the Chateau de Pitray,
a family Chateau.
The
Chateau is a private facility that is located slightly east of
Bordeaux, about 35 miles, and near the village of St. Emillion, in
the heart of the Bordeaux wine country. It is of course very
spacious both inside and outside the building, as the ceilings in
the living rooms, for example, are 20 feet high and the property is
100 acres. |
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Ah, the food! I
think it is safe to say that great food and France are synonymous. I believe that the only way you could
possibly be disillusioned is if you hope to be fed hot dogs, and in
that case you will be out of luck. We will be eating many of
our meals at the Chateau and they will be prepared by a private
chef, and no one will suffer for lack of food and wine. The
other meals will be in local restaurants.
The rest is bonus, right! How
about visits to local historical villages and other chateaux, visits
to wineries, wine tasting, relaxing by the pool. Believe me,
there is an enormous amount of history and culture throughout the
Dordogne and Gironde regions. We will exalt ourselves in
exploring the culture that the southwest of France has to offer,
that is after we take care of our riding addiction and
needs...bonus!
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