Tour de France 101: Q&A part 2

September 4, 7:07 AMFamilies Living Abroad ExaminerLucy Culpepper

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A kilometer too far!

Continuing on with a new question about visiting the Tour de France with children...

Q: I am trying to plan to watch some/bike some during the last week of le tour de France in 2010.  We have 2 children, ages 9 and 11.  I read a past article of yours describing your experience.  Do you have any resources/ tour companies that could accomodate us?  I am having a very hard time trying to plan this trip.  Thank you so much. NQ.

A: Hello NQ,
 
Thank you for your email. Yes it is very hard to plan for the Tour especially if youhave children and want to watch and ride. But before I go any further, I must say that the ages of your children are perfect for watching/interacting with the Tour; they are still young enough to want to do what Mom and Dad are into and old enough to not get too tired with all the moving about and yet be enthralled by the energy of the Tour and it's 'Caravan'. So keep trying, keep planning!
 
The schedule for the Tour will be released 14 October 2009 so at that point you
will know which areas the Tour will pass through. The start is Rotterdam
and the finish as always is Paris.
 
As I don't have your, let's call it' 'Wish List' for the Tour, it's difficult to make
recommendations. Here are some questions you might want to discuss with your family to help you figure out what your priorities are:

• Do you want to watch mountain stages?
• Would you like to see the individual or team time trials?
• Do you want to experience the buzz at a Start or a momentous Finish?

There’s no question that mountain stages need the most planning. We have been turned away with our campervan at the base of La Mongie even though we arrived a day before...the mountain was full and the only way up was walking/riding. We had a 2 and 5 year old at the time so walking up to the really good parts was not possible.
 
I am not going to say it's impossible to find a tour company that caters for families wanting to see/ride the Tour de France but like you I have not found one who specifically does this. The reason being that it is just too complicated for an operator to cater to every need, particularly when the interesting riding is so demanding.

So my advice would be to do it yourself. Start with some pre-planning (see questions above) then on October 14 (11.30am Paris time) jump online and look for accommodation in the areas (perhaps limiting it to one or two) that interest you, and book a car so that you can travel from one area to the other with your bike/s on top.
 
I think with children the key is not to expect to see too many stages otherwise you will spend more time traveling than seeing and riding. I would focus on a either a stage in the Pyrenees or Alps, a time trial not too far from either one (if possible) and then a finish in an historically/scenically interesting city or town.
 
Lucy

To read more about visiting hte Tour with children please visit these links:

Tour de France 101 - can I watch it live with kids?

Tour de France 101: Q & A part 1 about the 2010 Tour

For more information about Families Living Abroad, Living in France, Living in Spain, Living in Costa Rica, Living in Panama and Living in the UK please email lucy@culpepperink.com or visit www.culpepperink.com