September along the Brittany and Normandy Beaches

† Explanation of BAC Ride Fee – This fee is not included in the Estimated Cost and is non-refundable once submitted. The Ride Fee for US and Canada is $85 and $100 for all other countries, both are per participant.

Ride Description

We meet in St. Malo on Friday, September 1, 2017, last overnight in Honfleur Wednesday, September 13, 2017.  The trip finishes after breakfast on Thursday, September 14, with bus transport to Charles de Gaulle airport. Jane Holahan, BAC member, will coordinate.  Pure Adventures, a commercial tour operator, will make land arrangements, hire the van and driver to transport luggage and provide basic support, cue sheets and maps. Many of our hotels keep us close to the sea, and range from old coaching inns in ports and small towns to historic hotels perched on the beach.  Brittany's coastal weather can be breezy and damp, but the temperatures should be in the 60-70 degree range in early September. Rain is always possible.  We will be there after French schoolchildren are back in their classroom, so there will be smaller crowds in the museums and along the beaches.

The first few days we explore coastal Brittany, leaving St. Malo for Cancale, the oyster capital of France.  We visit small ports and fishermen's villages, dine on Breton specialties from the sea, and witness the pounding surf from the coastal paths.  Our third night is spent across the bay of Mont St. Michel, with time to visit the spectacular Abbey Mont St. Michel, dating from the 8th century, and called the "Wonder of the Western World."  We continue into Normandy for the 4th and 5th nights to Avranches, spending time along the beaches of the Cotentin peninsula. Our 6th night is in the seaside town of Granville, then we continue north and inland to Carentan. From there we can visit St. Mere Eglise to begin our discovery of sites of the 1944 Normandy Landings: Pointe du Hoc, Utah & Omaha Beaches, the American Cemetery, and Arromanches with its Landing Museum. We spend two nights in Bayeux with time to see the famous Bayeux Tapestry depicting William of Normandy's 1066 conquest of England. Leaving Bayeux we ride to Caen, stopping at Pegasus Bridge and the Peace Memorial Museum at Caen. We rejoin the sea with a leisurely ride along the Cote Fleurie to Cabourg, and into Calvados (famous for apple brandy) with its half-timbered houses, fruit orchards and green pastures, past the elegant seaside resort of Deauville, and on to Honfleur for two nights. Artists came here from Paris to celebrate and paint the amazing light and landscape. Two nights in Honfleur assure enough time to explore this interesting town and a multitude of seafood restaurants along the port. There is ample time to pack bikes before the group transfers by bus, with luggage and bike boxes, to Charles De Gaulle Airport.  Highlight of our last day together is a stop for lunch and a visit to Claude Monet’s Garden at Giverny, before arriving at the airport about 6pm.  Drop off will be at a designated hotel at the airport, near or accessible to the RER train to Paris.  The cost of a hotel for this night is not included.   This is a variation of a Brittany-Normandy trip which I led twice, in 2004 and 2005.  This version will be scouted again, and GPS tracks will be provided by Pure Adventures.  Rental bikes will be available through Pure Adventures.  Details and prices to follow

RIDE RATING: 2B Ride covers 13 nights with ­­10 biking days, average day about 55-60km, longest day 70km, with up to 3 rest days (or loops) as desired, as we stay 2 nights in three different towns: Avranches, Bayeux, and Honfleur.  Expect short climbs along the coast in Brittany and rolling hills in Normandy.

NOTES: The van is for luggage and emergency help only; riders are expected to do the distances!  If you need "concierge" service, this trip may not be for you!  BAC tours depend on participants providing much of their own support. Participants are expected to come to the ride well trained, in good health and ready to accomplish the required daily riding using well-maintained bicycles. All participants should accept responsibility for a safe and enjoyable ride, for carrying their own luggage at hotels and for helping load and unload the van as necessary.

ADMINISTRATION:  Cost will be $3240 (subject to currency fluctuations and hotel pricing for 2017) with 13 nights in mainly 3-4 star hotels; all breakfasts, 8 dinners, van support for luggage, bike box transport from first hotel to last day at CDG, English speaking French driver, gratuity for driver, transport by bus to CDG airport with bikes on June 8th with a stop at Monet's Garden at Giverny (admission included for house and gardens). Price does not include other admissions to sites or museums, lunches, or beverages with dinner. Except for the welcome aperitif at our first hotel, all happy hour map meetings will be cash bar because of French hotel restrictions on bringing in wine or beer.  Our 8 group dinners will be 3-course gourmet events.  Singles are most welcome and I will try to help find roommates. A solo room may be available at extra cost (estimated at $660).

CANCELLATION POLICY: The $100 BAC ride registration fee is not refundable unless the entire tour is cancelled.  Refunds will depend upon whether a replacement rider signs up, and on costs that can be recouped. The amount refunded will be based on the principle that the tour's remaining participants will not incur any additional cost as a result of cancellations. If the canceling participant is replaced, a refund will be made at that time. If the canceling participant can't be replaced, any refund will be determined after the ride and final expense report is completed. If a single participant cancels and another roommate cannot be found, in addition to other costs that cannot be recouped, the canceling roommate may be liable for the single supplement fee of the roommate remaining on the tour. BAC encourages members to purchase personal trip cancellation insurance.

SIGN-UP: To submit a request to join this ride use the links displayed above this ride description. When you are accepted, the ride leader will move your name from the Waitlist to the Pending List, and you will receive an email notification to login to the BAC website to sign the release of liability and pay the BAC ride registration fee online. Then you will send your deposit check of $1000 per rider, made out and sent to Jane Holahan (not BAC), at 5716 Gaston Avenue, Dallas, TX 75214. When your deposit check has cleared the bank, the ride leader will move you to the Participants list. Future payments will be scheduled later in 2016 and in 2017.