Does anyone have any suggestions of how to rent a bike and make an itinerary for a bike tour of the chateaux for 1-2 days in Loire Valley. Is there any bike tour travel specialists who facilitate these tours, or is it better to go on a self-guided tour.<BR>Thanks for your help

Check out the Rick Steves or Lonely Planet books. They both have suggestions as does Lonely Planet's Cycling in France. Anjou Bike Center will also arrange things for you. However, if you are going in the next month or so, they might be too busy. i have been communicating with them about a longer trip which we finally gave up on because we were uncertain that they could actually pull it off in the time frame we were looking at.

I took a bike tour of the Loire Valley (from Blois to Chinon) in June. I would recommend finding a tour outfit, especially if you are not familiar with the area. It makes it a lot easier with less to worry about (like getting your gear from place to place). <BR><BR>Honestly, just 1 or 2 days will not cover more than 3 chateaux, and there are quite a few worth seeing. And simply pedaling through this beautiful part of the country is a treat in itself. Conceivably, you could base yourself in Tours, which is fairly central and bike each day to the nearest chateaux, if you wanted to do it on your own.<BR><BR>On the plus side, the region is relatively level so if you're not a expert biker, the ride won't kill you.<BR><BR>This outfit: <BR><BR>http://www.adventurecenter.com/ <BR><BR>seems to have good prices for the Loire tour.

I second looking at Lonely Planet's "Cycling in France." <BR><BR><BR>While we have independently rented bikes in some areas of France, for extended periods we've done tours. In fact, our family has done around five bike tour trips in the past three years, most of them in France. One happened to be in the Loire Valley. These are full-package tours--route maps, accomodations, bikes, meals, and guides included.<BR><BR>However, I did some reseach this spring and found some companies who give you the opportunity to be somewhat independent. You can get the bike from them, they will give your biking routes (which are invaluable!) and they will schlepp your luggage to your next hotel (another big, big plus).<BR><BR>Here's what I found:<BR><BR>www.randonneetours.com<BR>This is a company that provides lodging, an itinerary, your bikes and luggage help. They just don’t go with you. I was tempted to use them for our spring 2002 trip.<BR><BR>www.bikingfrance.com<BR>They offer self-guided tours similar to above.<BR><BR>www.diversedirections.net<BR>Cheap versions of some decent trips.<BR><BR>And just in case you want to have the full-service treatment:<BR><BR>www.backroads.com<BR>Again, we’ve taken three trips with them and will take our fourth this summer. Well run, good reputation, pricey. Has special Family trips.<BR><BR>www.vbt.com<BR>Friends of mine who do Backroads also like this company. They consider Backroads to be a bit more upscale.<BR><BR>(And if you want really upscale, look up B&R tours).<BR><BR>www.vangoghtours.com<BR>Don’t know this company<BR><BR>www.duvine.com<BR>Don’t know this company, but one of the posters on this site had used them and liked them.<BR><BR>www.andiamoadventours.com<BR>I was interested in some of their trips.<BR><BR>Now as to whether you want to be independent, semi-independent, or on a totally guided...<BR><BR>No matter what, there is a degree of independence on a good guided bike tour. How far you go and the speed at which you go are two decisions you can make almost every day of the trip. Whenever you feel trapped by the itinerary, just think of all the luggage you aren't responsible for carrying/transporting, all the routing you don't have to plan, and all the broken bikes you don't have to fix.<BR><BR>However, with a self-guided tour, you get to choose your mealtime companions. You don't have to wait for the last member of the tour group to show up in the morning (and that person will be last every morning), you don't have to suffer the guy who thinks he's Lance Armstrong (and who spends a lot of time telling you his daily mileage), and you don't have any pressure to be pleasant 24/7 (there's nothing like your own family who will allow at least an hour of being in a miserable, horrendous mood). <BR><BR>Happy trails!<BR><BR><BR>

There is a Dutch tour agency that specializes in bike tours. I believe they now also offer one in the Loire Valley. We cycled with them in Holland -great value for the money.<BR>www.hat-tours.com