Tour de France - ALPs & PYRENEES tour

I am heading of to France (from Sydney, Australia), to do the www.sportingtours.co.uk 14 day trip around the Alps and Pyrenees. This trip will be following the Tour de France. I will be taking my bike and expect to do a fair amount of cycling.

I am currently doing a serious amount of training and I plan to change to a 27 tooth cassette to assist in some of the climbs.

Has anyone been on a similar tour and have any experiences, tips to share?


Thanks
Shane

Hi,

I did the raid pyreneen last year as training for the national U23 RR. It was really good fun and enjoyable. I am meeting up with some of them this year in the south of france to give me a day off from training! We had people from all over the place do the raid.

I also used sporting tours.

I have a touring company that focus on Italy (www.cycledreams.net), and I've done a few of these tours in the past prior - in fact my first was with Graham Baxter.
The 27 is a good idea and make sure you bring a jacket for the desents - it will be significantly cooler at the tops of the mountains. Aside from the usual (sun screen, etc.), a few maps of the area are always a good thing, as you might not want to take the direct route always. Also no need to overpack on the cycling kit as you can always "speed" dry washed clothes by rolling them in a towel.
You'll have a blast.