Cycling & Exploring Weekend
Come and ride the roads of Provence/Gard and explore the local vineyards, fromageries and markets. A unique experience for the seasoned cyclist and a sensory treat for the culture vulture
OVERVIEW
This weekend mixes elements from the Taste of Provence experience to complement some amazing cycling routes that this area of Provence/Gard has to offer. We visit the towns of Uzès and Chateauneuf du Pape and ride past the famous Pont du Gard.
Providing something for both cyclists and non-cyclists. We explore the local culture with markets, vineyard visits and places of local interest .This breathtaking part of France has so much to offer and this is a great introduction to Provence/Gard, its culture, food and landscapes.
DAY 1
A welcome tour of the Chateau.
A short t-shirt ride to stretch your legs or a walk to the top of the hill to see the castle ruins or relax and settle in.
In the evening we have social drinks and meet and greet everyone on the north terrace. A run through of the weekend and a time for some Q&A’s.
THE CHATEAU AND SAINT VICTOR LA COSTE CASTLE RUINS
DAY 2
Ride option - The morning ride will be out to the historical town of Uzès, past the cathedral and then heading down to the Pont du Gard in a loop that incorporates some stunning scenery and little villages.
Approx 4hr / 46 miles / 14mph with some coffee/croissant breaks.
Explore option - In the morning we will head off to discover a beautiful local food market to taste some culinary delights!
Both groups will meet back at the chateau for lunch before heading off to a special vineyard for some wine tasting together.
DAY 3
Ride option - Today cyclist’s will be driven over to Mont Ventoux for a morning of climbing on this iconic mountain or you can join the others at the antique market. We will ride the famous route from Bédoin to the summit.
Ascent approx 3hrs / 13 miles / 8.7mph. We will stop half way up at Chalet Reynard for refreshments.
After lunch we head over to the famous town of Chateauneuf du Pape. We will be in the shadow of Mont ventoux as we loop around passing the old Castle ruins. The ride is a fairly flat and an easy end to the day.
Approx 3hr / 30 miles / 12mph with some stop offs.
Explore option - Head over into town and rummage through an old antique market and find a real treasure to take home. Head back to the Chateau for a loverly lunch with the cyclist’s. We will then head over to a wonderful olive oil plantation to meet the owners and discover their production process. You will have the opportunity to buy some olive oil direct form the source!
DAY 4
Any early starters can join for a short ride, walk up to the castle ruins or relax by the pool.
A beautiful breakfast on the north terrace.
Time to pack the bikes up, collect your antique goodies you bought at the market and au revoir!
There will be one transfer to marseilles airport.
DATES
27th - 30th May 2021
22nd - 25th July 2021
Sept 2021 TBC
7th - 10th October
Travel
The Chateau is situated just outside of Avignon.
30 min drive Avignon TGV Train Station
50 min drive from Nimes Airport
70 min drive Montpellier Airport.
90 min drive from Marseilles Airport
We can offer to transfer you and your luggage to and from the Chateau via Marseilles airport. There will be one transfer on the Thursday and one on the Sunday. This is included in the cost. We will do our best to be flexible so please contact us with your travel arrangements to finalise.
You must also let us know if you will be bringing your bike, shipping your bike ahead or hiring a bike. If you are shipping I can build the bike up for you on its arrival.
Insurance
Safety is priority at all times on this weekend. This is not a race but a challenge to yourself to be shared with others. Be respectful to us and to your fellow team mates. If you want to stomp ahead on the climbs no problem but we will always regroup at the top but why not come back down and give the others some encouragement!!
Please make sure you have adequate bike and personal liability insurance. You will need to provide us with documents to show you are covered for the whole trip. We are not liable if you decide to fall off the mountain or someone decides to push you off!
FAQ
What happens if the weather is bad?
Will we do our best to make alternative arrangements either on or off the bike.
Will I get to see the Sunflower and Lavender fields?
Lavender will be around in the July weekend and Sunflowers can be around until October!
Sometimes they close Mont Ventoux because of high wind.
If the weather is good but too windy to climb to the top we can go as far as possible or use one of the many other amazing routes this area has to offer.
My flight is delayed!
We will do our best to collect you on time
HotChillee Cape Rouleur
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HotChillee event format
HotChillee is a cycling club that has specialised in organising endurance cycling holidays since 2004. These are professional events for amateurs. It is based in west London and regularly meets for rides hosted totally free and is a great introduction to the HotChillee experience. Find them here.
The Cape Rouleur, South Africa, here, is a multi stage endurance road cycling event consisting of flagged race sections with tempo riding in between. Riders are seeded based on their times for the prologue, so that you end up riding in seeded groups of commensurate ability. The format allows for ample racing in the race groups, social tempo riding and interaction between the flagged sections with the “Ride” level groups more focused on completing the endurance nature of the event. The flagged race sections cover sprinting, climbing and over all time (general classification).
Cape Town Cycle Tour
The Cape Town Cycle Tour is an annual cycle race hosted in Cape Town, usually 109 km (68 mi) long. It is the first event outside Europe to be included in the Union Cycliste Internationale's Golden Bike Series. This Race is the end highlight to the Hotchillee event and is part of Lifecycle Week, an eight-day celebration of all things cycling. There is also an expo held at the Cape Town Stadium to look at all the latest bikes and gadgets.
Cycling for charity is the cornerstone of the Cape Town Cycle Tour, with the bulk of your entry fee heading straight into Rotary and PPA coffers. You can choose to do even more with your miles, though, by joining a charity group, or kickstarting your own charity drive. You can find more information here.
overview
This was a great experience that I would recommend for everyone to try. You will need to have some good fitness and get some training in before the event but it is open to all different abilities. The team are super friendly and helpful and the rides are highly organised. Everyone pushed hard in the prologue to get their spaces on the fast group and a lot, including me, found this super hard and dropped down the following day.
Franschhoek is our base and we have 3 big cycle days here and then the festival ride to Cape Town. I stayed at the Protea Hotel which was where the main HQ was. A really nice Hotel with good restaurants and clean big rooms. There are a few choices of hotels that they offer and are all in close vicinity to each other and the main town of Franschhoek.
Franschhoek is a town in South Africa’s Western Cape with centuries-old vineyards and Cape Dutch architecture. Trails wind through flowers and wildlife at Mont Rochelle Nature Reserve to views over Franschhoek Valley. The Huguenot Memorial Museum and neighbouring monument honour the area’s French settlers, who arrived in the 17th and 18th centuries.
Franschhoek Pass, looking down to Franschhoek
The rides from Franschhoek take in some amazing climbs and views. We visit Stellenbosch, Theewaterskloof Dam and the Nelson Mandella statue at the Groot Drakenstein Prison. The days range between 100 – 150km per day and you’ll be done by mid-afternoon leaving plenty of time for recovery by the pool and fine dining in the evening. We then transfer to Cape Town on the Festival ride stopping off at Velokhaya Life Cycling Academy to see some of the charity work the HotChillee do. This is the largest townships in South Africa. Our luggage and bike boxes and moved for us. This ride takes in the stunning views on the
Stellenbosch, Western Cape
Hout Bay, Western Cape,
The outstanding part of the event for me was the feeling of being part of a pro race. We had rolling road closures, motorbike outriders, traffic police, lead cars, mechanical support and medical vehicles. This means no changing your own punchers and no stopping at red lights! The HotChillee Ride Captains are in radio contact with the support vehicles to help ensure the safety of each group at all times.
On the last day we have seeded entry in to the famous Argos ride, now called the Cape Town Cycle Tour. This is the best cycle sportive I have ever done and the views as we ride up the west coast towards Cape Town are stunning inc the famous Chapmans Peak underpass.
Once you have signed up and chosen your hotel Hotchillee give you a very detailed event pack that covers all you need to know and more about how to ride in groups what to bring and the best bit is that they will look after you from start to finish. If you do stay for the sportive you will need to find a place to stay in Cape Town. They recommend the Southern Sun Cullinan hotel but this is expensive. I stayed in an AirBnB.
This is some of the best cycling I have done with a highly organised rides the feeling of cycling like a pro amazing scenery food and a real camaraderie with the other cyclists. Make sure this event is on your bucket list.
Francis Cade was on this ride with us and you can have a look here. Also Magnus Bäckstedt is part of the HotChillee Development Rider Programme and he also rode with us.
As you are in South Africa you should try and find time to see some of the amazing animals that live there. I went to the Aquila Private Game reserve here. Make sure you choose your booking partner wisely as I ended up waiting nearly 2 hours to be collected from my airbnb to get to the park which wasn’t great. But seeing the animals in the wild was a unique experience.
Get out and Ride!
Table Mountain National park looking into Cape Town
Itinerary
I flew with British Airways as BA offer to take your bike box on as your hold luggage as well as a carry on case and laptop bag. The bike box must be max 190cm and 23 kg (51lbs) Find more info here. They ask not to pack extra items in the box but I always add my helmet, shoes and tools with no problems yet. They ask on the info page to call ahead but I have never done this and I just add the bike whilst booking online.
Always shop around for taxi prices and make sure you tell them you have a bike box. You will be taken care of the other end.
Hotchillee will send you a selection of hotels to stay in the rider pack. I stayed at the Protea Hotel here. It was were the HQ was and a lot of the riders stay so is a good atmosphere and chance to relax and talk with others about the ride.
You must sign up for there Cape Town Cycle tour if you want to attend and make sure you have accommodation in Cape Town. I just used Airbnb.
Regarded as South Africa's culinary capital, visitors to the Franschhoek Wine Valley are spoilt for choice here.
The best part of this event is that they will look after you and you gear from start to finish so you can focus on the cycling and relaxing by the pool with a cool beer or cocktail!