Our customers’ extraordinary bike trips

Our travelers are inspiring! Their adventures, ambitions and imagination seem infinite. They continually inspire us to push back the boundaries, to consider new itineraries, to explore uncharted paths. Building with them their daring projects for extraordinary bike trips over several consecutive weeks is one of our great excitements every season. Through these adventures, we forge deep, authentic bonds and friendships, reinforcing our commitment to creating unique, memorable experiences for our travelers.

We’d like to thank them for sharing their extraordinary bicycle journeys and their personal favorites with us.

Meet Philippe and Thérèse

“Over the past few years, my wife and I have completed several itineraries with Abicyclette Voyages. Our longest cycling trip lasted a month, with one day off per week, and we cycled from our home in Belgium to the Lubéron. Last year, we cycled around Burgundy (the Auxerre – Nevers – Dijon – Auxerre triangle) along the 3 major canals (Canal du Nivernais – Canal du Centre and the Canal de Bourgogne). We’ve also cycled the Vélomaritime: from Granville to Belgium (Ostend), following the entire coastline via Le Havre and Étretat. We don’t go camping, preferring to stay in B&Bs or hotels and carry our own luggage. Concerned about the environment, we avoid car journeys whenever possible. That’s why we often travel by train with our bikes. During our stays, we always take our personal bikes: I have a mountain bike with gears, and my wife has an electric-assist bike. We usually cover between 50 and 60 km a day. On past vacations, in the Meuse department, I’ve sometimes done 70-75 km a day. “

Cycling, a passion since 2004/2005

“Our passion for bicycle travel began in 2004/2005. One of our sons was doing a university extension in the Netherlands, in Groningen, and we told him we’d go and say “Hello” to him, by bike. He said “I dare you” and off we went. After that, we continued to travel by bike! “

The pleasure of traveling by bike, in the heart of nature

“We like to travel slowly, take in the fresh air, look at the scenery, be a little off the usual motorized routes and possibly meet other travelers by bike. Sometimes, depending on the itinerary, we don’t see anyone. Essentially, we like to travel at our leisure; taking time out in nature is a great way to recharge our batteries. We have many fond memories of our vacations. I’m thinking of the Canal des Vosges, which is quite winding. It’s not a straight canal with long, endless straights. Numerous boats and locks can be seen along this route. The scenery is varied and magnificent, making it a truly wonderful souvenir! I also really enjoyed the route from Granville to Ostend, because we were along the sea. The only drawback for us was the terrain; it’s a route with some nice ups and downs. We’ve made the best of it, but over the years we’ve come to look for flatter routes. We also did a very nice three-week cycling trip, which we organized ourselves from the Dutch border to Berlin, crossing the whole of Germany. That’s another great memory! “

Abicyclette Voyages’ tailor-made travel service

“I inform Abicyclette Voyages of the destination we wish to discover, the approximate itinerary, the number of km per day and the type of accommodation. David, travel designer and travel consultant, then gives us a quote. We choose a region where the terrain will be acceptable to us, and then David organizes our tailor-made trip.”

Ideas for future destinations

“We’ll probably do a cycling trip this summer, but we think this time we’ll land somewhere, do loops for a week and then change places. It’s a bit tiring to put away all the panniers in the morning. We’re getting on in years. We’ve got to make some changes, cut back a bit! “

Meet Paulette and Jean

“My partner and I have taken seven trips with Abicyclette Voyages. We were among the agency’s very first customers. Our first itinerary was along the Loire Valley. After that, we discovered the West Coast, starting in Rochefort and heading down to St Jean-de-Luz. On a previous trip, we followed the wine route, passing through Bordeaux and St-Émilion. We usually spend a whole month on the road, covering 1,000 km during our stay. The number of km per day varies, but we average 50 km/day. We always rent our hybrid bikes, without electric assistance, from Abicyclette Voyages. It’s our way of getting some exercise. My partner and I also discovered Alsace, Champagne and Brittany, which we really fell in love with! We set off from St Malo to go to Finistère. Last year, we discovered the south with the Canal du Midi and then did part of the ViaRhôna. It was our longest trip ever! This year, we discovered the Dordogne and Périgord. It’s so beautiful! That was my second favorite. We also went to Slovenia with Abicyclette Voyages. That was great fun! For each trip, we always leave together with my partner, and then we have a couple of friends who join us, who live in the Czech Republic, in Prague. Since the beginning, they’ve come to join us and spend 7 to 10 days with us. It’s really fun, we always do it that way! “

Travelling by bike, a source of pleasure and well-being

“I love traveling by bike because we can take our time, feel nature and observe things more easily, and contemplate beautiful views. We travel less distance than by car, but it’s so well organized with Abicyclette Voyages that I don’t feel I’m missing anything to see or visit. If we only went for a week, we wouldn’t see much, but with 4 weeks, it’s possible – we see a lot of the country! By bike, there are places you can discover that aren’t accessible by car.

One of my favorite trips was to Brittany. I love Brittany, it’s a bit like Gaspésie, a peninsula in Quebec. We saw various lighthouses along the coast, as well as several ports. I just loved it! I really liked Périgord too. The landscapes are magnificent, but so is the history and culture. It’s green, it’s really beautiful! A bit hard on the bike, because I’m not an athlete, but the km per day are well respected in our itinerary. That’s what’s fun about it, you go with your abilities and it’s very respected. It’s always very pleasant. They always recommend good places to eat and things to see. When we’re interested in visiting a museum, or doing a wine tasting, Abicyclette Voyages recommends and organizes it for us. I have many fond memories of our trip. In particular, when we visited the castles of the Loire Valley, I thought it was great! I also loved Mont-St-Michel. We took a walking tour at low tide with a guide who knew all about the history of the tides and Mont-St-Michel. It was splendid, and I loved it! But my favorite part was when you set off on your bike in the morning and the weather’s fine. It gives you a real sense of freedom, and I love that! I also like it when there’s flexibility: we can leave whenever we like in the morning and arrive whenever we like in the evening. One day I didn’t ride my bike because it was too wet, so we took a cab and went. That’s freedom! “

Abicyclette Voyages’ tailor-made tours

“We always start with the destination we want to discover, and David then makes a suggestion. We give him our dates, the places we want to see and visit. He then suggests an itinerary and validates it with us. He knows what we like. It’s really tailor-made, personalized and David listens to what we tell him. There’s a lot of flexibility, and I like that freedom. Fabien has created a bond with us, and we feel appreciated like a good customer. They take good care of us. When our suitcases don’t arrive on time, they let us know and give us an update. It’s good service and if there’s a problem, they want to help us. We’re very well looked after; they call us: “Are you all right? Is it beautiful? I really appreciate it. “

Upcoming cycling trips

“My partner and I are planning to cycle around Lake Geneva and then down the part of the Viarhôna that we didn’t do. We’d like to discover Lake Geneva because, apparently, it’s very pretty. Then our friends, who are coming to join us, have friends in Besançon. This time, we’d like to be closer, so we can go and meet them. I’d also like to discover Normandy and do another itinerary in Brittany and Périgord. I’d also like to do the Loire Valley next time. I think that as long as you’re healthy and able to move, you should do it. “

Meet Jean-Michel and Dominique

“My partner and I have gone on several trips with Abicyclette Voyages. We usually leave for two weeks, with our personal bikes (electric hybrids). Our very first itinerary was from the Loire to Grenoble. A friend was traveling with us, to join his daughter who lives in Grenoble.

Then we did the route from Nancy to Nice, to join my daughter who lives there. In particular, we travelled from Nancy to Brittany, to join my sister. And in recent years, we’ve also done the Nantes-Biarritz route and Damgan (southern Brittany) to Biarritz, along the coast. The two itineraries that really stood out for us were the last one in the Pyrenees (Biarritz to Nice) and the Compostelle route.

We wanted to do the Tour de France from start to finish, via the coast. As for the Camino de Compostela, it was for religious reasons and also to see what it would be like to follow the walkers. We cover about a hundred km a day. Sometimes a little less, sometimes a little more; it depends on the stage.”

Travelling by bike, discovering new landscapes

“We like to travel by bike, because we’re sporty, but it’s also a way of traveling, of seeing things you can’t see in a car. I have a bit of trouble walking, because it takes longer. If you take a wrong turn when you’re walking, you’re doing extra kilometers, and it’s more challenging. But on a bike, even if you go off the beaten track, it’s not a problem. On our trips, we aim to reach the end of the itinerary and visit historic sites. We also like to meet new people, contemplate new landscapes and discover an unfamiliar France, by the back roads and byways. We have many fond memories of our travels. There are lots of little things that marked us, especially the arrival at Santiago de Compostela, which was quite moving. We really enjoyed climbing the Col du Tourmalet in the Pyrenees. It was pretty tough, considering we’re not so young. We also found the Etang de Thau in Sètes very beautiful. At the end of our trips, we create a booklet with the photos we took during our stay.”

Organizing a trip with Abicyclette Voyages

“We had a first try and then a second and it always goes very well! We’re very satisfied. If we have a small problem, the team is always available on the phone. On a previous trip, on a Sunday, we were a bit lost and had a problem with the GPS. There’s always someone on the end of the phone, which is very pleasant. Another time, we’d lost our vouchers, but that was solved. It makes for a safe trip! They book the gites and hotels for us, which is really nice! “

Future cycling trips

“We haven’t organized our next trip yet, but I think we’ll be heading up north this time, towards Dunkirk from Brittany. Then we’ll have done the whole of France. And maybe we’ll also go off with some friends to visit the Loire castles, around June. “

We thank our travelers for sharing their experiences and their favorites.

Would you like to share your cycling adventure with Abicyclette Voyages? Please write to us at bonjour@abicyclette-voyages.com. We’ll interview you and write up your story, which can also be published on our website.