a leisurely , typical French breakfast of croissants and pastries before catching the two-hour train to Tours .
ACCOMMODATION We like to include a self-guided tour where Kel and I lead for either the first or last week of the tour . In this case , we decided that we would guide for the first part of the month-long trip ; which requires a fair bit of planning well before leaving NZ , where Kel plans the places and routes and I source the accommodation . On the first leg of this tour we had two couples and four solo riders , so that meant I was looking for accommodation with six bedrooms ( because at our age , most people like their own space ). We had a set budget of $ 150 per night per person or couple - which we managed to achieve except for the exorbitant cost of the hotel in Paris , which was expected with the upcoming Olympics . Most places have a twonight minimum stay which suited us , as the second day Kel had planned a loop ride . We also had the opportunity to do laundry ; important when travelling light on bikes .
In my accommodation search I always look for places that are interesting . Whilst everything seems old in Europe , I wanted us and our fellow travellers to experience the real France ; so our first accommodation consisted of a six bedroom apartment in a 16th century building in the heart of the Old Tour city . Cafes and restaurants were right on the doorstep and we could pop down to the corner Pâtisserie for our breakfast croissants and other pastries . We collected our bikes , left our suitcases behind and headed south towards our final destination of Biarritz which , if we had gone directly via the motorways , would have taken five hours , but our route was planned to take us eight days , meandering through the middle and south of France . Having ‘ Mangu ’ ( the black bear who electronically recites the haka ) and ‘ Kiwi ’ on the back of the Stelvio throughout the trip attracted much attention , especially when we were able to establish that we were not English , but Kiwi ’ s from Nouvelle-Zélande from whence the popular All Blacks and Jonah Lomu hail .
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