Possible trip to the Alps, Spring/Summer 2017

[Dr Dave]

A few members have been informally discussing the possibility of a Clifton CC trip to the Alps next year. Nothing really specific but possibly renting an apartment sleeping 10-12 for a week. Morzine or Bourg d'Oisans have been mooted so as to enable some of the famous TdF cols to be ridden. Late May would see most cols open and a reasonable likelihood of decent weather.......

Could fly (Geneva, Chambery, Lyon, Grenoble?) or drive (approx 8 hours drive from Calais). Possibly hire a mini-bus and/or use a mini-van for bikes? Alternatively book accommodation for the group and let folk make their own travel arrangements?

Clearly ideas at a very preliminary stage. I'm just posting to see what demand there might be for such a trip - once I get a better idea I can start to get into more detail - eg where, when, how to travel, how much.

Haven't ruled out using a travel firm but thinking we would be self-organised at this point.

I'm hoping to gauge interest at this point so if you think you might be interested please post below. If anyone has any useful information or contacts that might be useful - even if you aren't interested in travelling - please post too. If anyone has plenty of time and organisational ability and would like to organise/coordinate such a trip please feel free to post.

[dave c]

I may be interested subject to the timing, never ridden in the alps!

[Dr Dave]

Cheers Dave. Am thinking late May/early June so as to ensure snow melted and sun shining. If it does come off I will need to arrange time off work so I can travel myself - and I'm sure most others will be in a similar position. Hoping to get a firmer idea of date over next few weeks once I have an idea of how many we are taking. Maybe 13th to 21st or 20th to 28th May?

Alpe d'Huzes is June 1st so if we go to Bourg d'Oisans (Alpe d'Huez, Galibier, Glandon, Croix de Fer etc) then best avoid that week.

[Tony]

Definitely interested. Last week of May should increase the probability of better/warmer weather

[IanH]

I'm interested David.

Ian H

[RichC]

I'm also interested
Rich

[craigdabrown]

Hi Dave,

I'd definitely be interested in this.

Craig

[ChrisR]

I am interested

[bgibs]

I am definitely interested assuming my exams have finished

[James Milner]

Very interested, Dave, as you know. I would suggest that early June might be the better option, not just from a weather point of view, but also the fact that the last week in May is half term/bank holiday and flights/ferries will be dearer that week.

[Dr Dave]

Great initial response. Looks as if enough people interested to make the idea worth pursuing......
I don't claim ownership of this - so if someone feels they have the expertise to bring it to fruition then don't be shy - however I feel that a defined leader is better than organisation by committee.
I'll let the thread run for a while then perhaps it would be sensible to narrow down on specifics of dates, transport and location.

[Jon G]

I'm interested also Dave . I would also second going early to mid June as James says not only because it's outside school holiday time but also to guarantee the higher passes are definitely open. I was once cycling around there in may and there was still snow at the top of some of the higher road passes and they were stiil closed. . Anyone who watches the giro which is back end of may the weather can be very changeable in th mountains.

Jon

[JohnS]

I'm interested as well.

John

[Dr Joe]

This is something that has been informally discussed for some time now, I'd absolutely be game. just looking at the flights and transfer options for the last week of may, and collectively this has shown that James is right regarding price.

Having travelled together as a group to ride the FW was so much fun and added on to the whole experience to be honest. Through both the pre-ride 'chit chat & psych up' to the post ride 'war story' exchange the whole experience was amplified. I can only imagine driving through France as a group (Or even renting a company to drive us all ) would be magical and would find its way to the Clifton Cycling Club Hall of Fame

In case it isn't eluded above, I was rather excited to see this 'Club Trip' idea move from a café table discussion to a discussion on the Forum. Thank you Dave and I'd be happy facilitate and help in anyway I can.

P.S Next year, will give me plenty of time to get in shape too !!!

[Dr Dave]

OK, so it looks like there is enough interest to make this a viable happening. My thinking is that we need to fix a week and get suitable accommodation booked. Once we've done this we can look at travel options.

Flying is quicker but does raise the cost a bit - especially once bike carriage surcharge is added to seat prices. There is also the matter of transfers - at both ends - with bikes for 8-10 people. The advantage of road is that bikes could all be loaded into a van ; a van and a minibus could take 12+ and with fuel/tolls split between everyone would be pretty cheap - I'm conscious that people's finances do vary and keeping costs down might make the trip more inclusive. Perhaps some could travel down in a van with all the bikes whilst the rest fly out?

Does anyone know if we could hire a van from an airport - say Lyon - and use this for the transfers (and local use at the resort)? I know Graham has a van - anyone know if he is interested in the trip? Anyone else have access to a van??

I'm assuming we will go Saturday to Sunday with a day's travel each way giving 6/7 days riding. I'm also assuming we take our own bikes but hiring bikes there is an option too I guess?

Also I'm thinking we will have to have some sort of deposit scheme as I'm guessing that we will need to pay for things in advance and this would be a considerable outlay for one person to bear.

What do people think about the idea of having a meeting to discuss all this? We could task people with jobs - one person to sort the chalet/hotel, one could research van/minibus hire, one person could research flights etc?