|
Champagne Bike Trips
If you would like to see a map of our different French routes, it is here. |
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
 |
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
More than a drink, it’s a place! Just an hour from Paris, pop the corks amongst the beautiful vineyards. Gawk at the splendor of Reims’ cathedral, where French kings were long crowned. Explore the battle sites of the Marne. Peek into Picardy’s Romanesque churches. Visit the cellars of Moët and Cliquot. Marvel at country lanes where not a car passes, at farming villages of 100 souls, at the peaceful fields and vineyards and forests... all in commuting distance from the City of Lights! One of our most surprising rides actually cycles out of Paris, and by the end of the first day you are riding through the pasture land that produces the famous brie cheese (the real one, not that plastic immitation you get at your local grocery). A fascinating window on the “real” France, touching on topics from land use, to urban development and racial intergration, to the preservation of agrarian traditions, to her ever-present gastronomy. The following trips visit Champagne: Northern Transcon (3 or 4 weeks) Visits France (Champagne), Belgium, Luxemburg, Germany (Northern Europe), Denmark, and Norway Tour de France (3 weeks) Visits Champagne and two other French routes Two Week France Trips (2 weeks) Visits Champagne and one other French route Mousse Head (2 weeks) Visits Champagne followed by Northern Europe (Belgium, Luxemburg, Germany) Champagne Pedal follows this itinerary exclusively. Departure dates and prices are in the table, below. |
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Day of the Week
|
Description
|
Typical distances, in km
|
|
Sunday
|
PARIS The trip will assemble tomorrow morning, but unless you are coming in by overnight train, you will generally need to reach Paris on Sunday at the latest. If you wish, we can book a nearby hotel for you: see the trip’s Access Package for details. The day is yours for discovering the secrets of the city. Those not too jet-lagged can get together for dinner this evening, and size each other up. One of us (probably your trip coordinator) will advise your possible dinner plans. If you have landed in Europe today, start your battle with jet lag. Don't sleep until tonight! |
|
|
Monday
|
BIKE to BREE Our trip assembles at Blue Marble’s office in central Paris, Monday at 9a. The only one of our trips to cycle out of Paris, this one exits the city following a bike path along the Canal de l’Ourcq, a once-industrial canal that exits the city to the northeast. Past the Cité de la Musique and the Museum of Science at La Villette, and through the suburbs on a poplar-lined tow-path. By afternoon you are passing through provincial towns and farm fields, which is something of a surprise, especially if you are from Los Angeles. Meaux, our first goal, is home to giant wheels of Brie cheese, and to a imposing cathedral. Finish the day with a ride along the Marne to a rural village, our home for two nights. |
45 - 65 k
|
|
Tuesday
|
BREE and the OURCQ VALLEY The day is yours to explore town and countryside. An ambitious triangular loop ride is on offer, across a plateau to the Ourcq valley, then downstream along the Ourcq, and home along the Marne. But it can be shortened by cutting off triangle points, or by judicious use of local trains. Stop in at the Romanesque churches that are centerpieces for every village and admire the flowerboxes which decorate the canal locks. World War I memorials are everywhere: life in this part of France is still marked by the “Great War” and its demographic aftermath. |
40 - 85 k
|
|
Wednesday
|
The MARNE VALLEY Today we reach the vineyards in earnest, and the part of Champagne that everyone associates with the name. Our route along the Marne carries us through Château-Thierry and to Epernay, one of the viticultural region’s twin capitals. The ride is full of the sights and smells of the vineyards, cellar tastings are on offer at every farm, and a coupe can be had for the cost of a beer in any local bar. Half Baggage |
60 k
|
|
Thursday
|
The MONTAGNE de REIMS Use the morning to recover from yesterday’s exertions, and to explore Epernay. Visit the Moët cellars and walk down “Champagne Avenue,” admiring the wine makers’ mansions. From Epernay, a beautiful cycle carries us through champagne’s most prestigious vineyards, across the Montagne de Reims, and to the city of the same name, Champagne’s other capital. A ride that touches Champagne’s greatest vineyards, as well as an enchanted forest and a lumberjack house. Half Baggage |
45 k
|
|
Friday
|
EXPLORING THE VINEYARDS, the ROUTE de CHAMPAGNE The stunning Reims cathedral, champagne cellars (and their associated tastings), the vineyards and other curiosities of the Montagne de Reims, and the Holy Roman Empire’s roots compete for your attention today, all accompanied by the omnipresent bubbles. Joan of Arc (was she Noah’s wife?) began a long tradition of crowning French Royalty here. Ride a little, a lot, or just wander around one of France’s most historically important cities. Half Baggage The trip disbands at the end of the afternoon in Reims. |
40,
55 or 90 k |
|
Saturday
|
TRAVEL DAY Our "Access Package" includes the train back to Paris, whenever you want to make the trip. If you are continuing along one of our other itineraries (Northern Europe is the most common), you should now crumple this one up then get the new one out of your sock bag. |
|
departure dates