Reader Q&A: Advice for two 16-year-olds cycling in France

Published by Lyn on 1 July 2014

In April, I received an email from Eileen, whose 16-year-old son and his mate were planning a cycling trip to France. Here's our correspondence below. One of the boys, Max, got in touch later. You can read more about how the planning has evolved here.

Planning a cycling trip

Where in France will the road take the boys? Photo: Ian

Hi,

My 16-year-old son and his friend are trying to plan a bike trip through France (possibly including Switzerland/Germany). This would take place in August for 2-3 weeks. Initially, they thought they would try to plan something independently, but it is proving to be more time-consuming and challenging than they had thought.

Can you recommend either a self-guided trip or a group/guided trip which might be good for them? They are mature and responsible young men. If there are any trips for 16-20-year-olds, that might work as well.

Thanks so much!
Eilleen.

I wrote back:

Hi Eileen

Thanks for the email - I'd love to try and help if I can.

Do you have any idea the kind of route they are hoping for? Do they want to tackle mountains, stick to canals, follow rivers? etc etc. Are they experienced riders at home, or would this be their first cycle tour? What level of accommodation would they prefer? Camping? B&Bs? Hotels etc?

Where in France would they prefer to ride? Do they want to take in France as well as Germany/Switzerland in the 2-3 weeks? I'd probably advise sticking to just one country (or maybe France with a sojourn into Switzerland to take in Lake Geneva or similar). Three countries in 3 weeks would be a big ask and they'd probably miss a lot in their haste to pack the kilometres in.

Maybe drop me a line back with a few more details – there are a few great companies I'd be eager to recommend but knowing their preferences for where in France they wanted to cycle (and the types of terrain they wanted to cover) would help narrow it down.

I'll wait to hear from you.

Cheers,
Lyn.

Eileen wrote back:

Hi Lyn,

Thanks for getting back to me so quickly! The boys already have their plane tickets (which was probably the wrong way to plan this!) They land in Frankfurt on August 6 and fly home from Paris on August 25. I think their loose plan is to take a train to Colmar and begin the tour around there, head south, maybe go into Basel, Bern and or Geneva, then head toward the Pyrenees and take a train back to Paris.  

Though my son enjoys biking, he has never done more than a day trip. His friend did an organised bike tour last summer down the west coast of California but felt the group did not travel as quickly as he would have liked. Both boys are in good physical shape, but I think their anticipated daily travel is overly optimistic (i.e., 60 miles/day - 96 km?).

As for lodging, they don't need anything fancy. They are thinking of a combination of hostels and camping, but it seems that most hostels will not allow travellers under age 18, and they are 16. It is not clear to me how easy it is to find places to camp.

Finally, the actual bike tour would not need to last 3 weeks.  

I hope this helps you understand their needs. Please let me know if you need any additional info.

Best,
Eileen.

I wrote back:

Hi Eileen

Wow - what a great adventure for them.

There are a number of great companies that offer self-guided trips in the eastern part of France and the Swiss/German border area. 

These self-guided tours are great because they help riders maintain some sense of independence – ie you can cycle at your own pace in your own group/with your own cycling partner without having to plan absolutely everything yourself. Self-guided trips usually come with full route maps (and sometimes GPS hire), plus pre-booked accommodation and on-the-road support if you get stuck. It may be a good way for the boys to go if it's their first long trip.

Checkout some of the links below. While these are links to set itineraries, most of these companies will also be able to tailor routes or offer diversions if the boys prefer a do-it-yourself adventure.

These are well-respected companies that know France very well.

I've picked a few ideas here based on the assumption that while the boys are physically fit, they probably won't want to spend the whole time climbing mountains (though there are a good selection of these options on the following links too).

Their final decision may depend on their dates/tour availability:

Alps

The 3 Lakes rides by both Zenith and Cyclomundo.

Geneva to Lyon by Cyclomundo.

Note the company Cyclomundo in particular specialises in the France/Switzerland border area. They are actually based in Geneva and can offer set routes or tailored rides.

Alsace/German border area

See options here from
Inntravel and Belle France.

Their other option would be to pick a super bike-friendly accommodation option and use that as a base to go out each day and explore the region. This can be a wonderful way of discovering France and some super local routes that you just wouldn't get to ride on a mainstream tour or self-organised route.

In Lorraine I can highly recommend the Bellevue B&B in the Vosges national park. It's run by a wonderful lady called Ina and the Vosges offers a wide range of different routes for all abilities. Ina would be able to look after the boys and help with route planning and other local advice. She speaks more languages than I can recall and would be able to help them explore the Lorraine/Alsace/Vosges area on extended (and often challenging) day rides. She'd also be able to advise re trains to/from the area.

See the first listing here.

I hope that all helps. If you need more help, please do  not hesitate to drop me a line. It would be great to hear back about what the boys decide.


Cheers,
Lyn.

Eileen wrote back:

Hi Lyn,

This info is tremendously helpful! I have passed it on to the boys and they may integrate some of this into their planning. I will keep you posted.

Their biggest hurdle now is that August is a busy travel month, so they need to have their route firmly set, along with lodging reservations. As they are 16, it's important for them to have reservations at hostels and/or hotels which will accept guests under 18 travelling alone. 
 

Thank you again, and I will be in touch. You are amazing!!

I wrote:

Yes, please make sure you booked well ahead. August can be a nightmare here as the French all go on holidays too. The Lorraine/Alsace area won't be as busy as the south of France, the Alps or the Loire but it WILL be very busy. If they need maps, I recommend the IGN series. 
 

Max, one of the boys, then got in touch. You can read more about how their planning progressed here.

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