Hear about our Road Cycling Holiday The Grand Tour from Regular Skedaddler Dean Deltrame. You might notice that our pint-sized pocket rocket & Skedaddle resident road cycling guru, David “l’il Dave” Hall, bangs on about the Grand Tour of the Med holiday at every given possibility. What is about that tour that always gets him going? Why is it that he’s always so keen to get out there? Skedaddle addict Dean Beltrame was asking the same questions and signed up to see what all the fuss was about…………………………

After my previous Skedaddle road cycling holidays in Morocco, the French Alps and Pyrenees and Corsica, I couldn’t pass up the opportunity to do Skedaddle’s Grand Tour.  The Grand Tour Itinerary takes you through 3 different regions in Italy, Corsica and the mountains behind Nice in France. It was a slightly longer tour than previous ones I had done but you needed everyday of it to take it all in.Arriving in Nice on the Thursday I met up with the group of 7 other riders and our 2 guides for the week, David and Anthony. David had explained to us prior to departure that tour was going to be taken in reverse on this occasion. It seems that some minor events, namely the Cannes Film Festival, the Monaco Grand Prix and the Giro D’Italia, were also scheduled during the same 2 weeks and logistically it would have been almost impossible to take the tour in the usual direction. It had meant that some minor adjustments to the route had been necesary and it was obvious that the Skedaddle team were as excited as we were to be trying something a little different.

We transferred to Gavi in Italy in the 2 support vehicles and arrived after compulsory authentic Italian pizza along the way. With David and Anthony’s help bikes were assembled Friday morning before we set out on a hand chosen route through the Italian countryside. With an impressive picnic lunch supplied on route we finished off the afternoon by transferring out to the infamous Cinque Terre on the Italian coastline.

We stayed in the Eastern most of the 5 fishing villages, Riomaggiore which was buzzing with tourists. Easy to see why when you see the villages timeless architecture and the location at the base of the coastal cliff.  As it turned out the Giro d’Italia had just finished a Time Trial stage the day before we arrived so we were reminded with all the signage on the roads that this really was a special place and where the pro’s race.

Our Saturday was given to us as optional to ride each of the remaining 4 villages or simply ride 1 or 2 and transfer back by train to Riomaggiore. Optional because cycling out of these villages was no small feat, with gradients reaching up to 22%!  But there is never any better way to motivate a group though than by telling them “…no other group has ever managed to do all 5 villages…” and the rest of the day was history with all 8 of us seeing each of those villages by bike.

The return cycling journey along the coast brought us along the exact same route that the Giro D’Italia had taken a couple of days before and it was a real thrill to be cycling on roads bearing the freshly painted names of some of cyclings biggest heros. Some sore legs ensued on Sunday from a little too much enthusuiasm and err……. testosterone the day before but with another ride taking in the mountainous ridge behind the Cinque Terre everyone was keen and made short work of the ride. Sunday afternoon and we transferred out to Vinci in Tuscany dining in an Italian (of course!) Restaurant getting our carbs for the next days ride.

Ahh the rolling hills of Tuscany!  Staying in Vinci, à la Leonardi da Vinci, we rolled out on Monday morning to find ourselves in 40 degree temperatures. It was going to be a hot one alright but with plenty of fluids we set off keen to see the sights of Tuscany. This is a region where the pro cyclists live and we saw a few out doing loops with their team cars in pursuit. Even had the chance to catch up with a local Italian cyclist (walking with bike on shoulder) who was very grateful when we stopped to give him a tube and a pump, apparently other Italians wouldn’t stop, just us foreigners!  We covered a couple of loops in the area allowing us some elevation to see the expanse of vineyards and agriculture that makes this region so special. With some time to spare some of the group ventured off take in the Leonardi museum while the rest of us took in some cold beers before going out for a great dinner to local cuisine. 

Tuesday and the temperatures remained high but the spirits of the group were equally high and we set out again to get another look at the area this time taking in a different circuit and being spoilt with a hot lunch along the way.  But all good things had to come to an end and we transferred out to Casciana Terme at the end of the day. I have no idea how our guides found this little town close to Livorno (where our transfer to Corsica would depart from) but between the hotel, pool and the restaurant with wine cellar to die for this was a dream for anyone looking for a treat!  After much wine and more food than you can imagine, (they just get bringing it out to us!), we rolled out of the restaurant and had ourselves some great genuine gelati’s. 

After the Wednesday morning ferry transfer we arrived in Bastia, Corsica and were soon out on the road and heading up over the top of the mountain ridge that separates Bastia to St Florent where we would stay for the night. Corsica is an extension of the Alps, where the Alps finish at Nice they start again on Corsica but with water surrounding Corsica you get the best of both worlds, mountains with ocean views, breathtaking. Thursday took us from St Florent inland through a dessert landscape before winding our way back to the coastal town of Calvi and straight to the restaurant strip on the local marina for a well deserved drink.  Pietra (chestnut) beer is the local drink and well appreciated after a good days ride!  Friday morning we rode out from Calvi in a loop along the coastal ridge via an inland climb.  

After a great picnic lunch overlooking the ocean (and some jumping in for quick swim) we set off again and headed back to Calvi via different route.  David did his best to catch up with a couple of us who made a break for it after lunch  (to be fair we broke away before the picnic kit had been loaded back into the support vehicle!)  but he had to settle for the cold beer we had waiting for him at Calvi, much to our amusement.  We had our last night at Calvi at a great beach restaurant on the other side of the bay, overlooking the port, marina and citadelle.  The wine and food flowed well and we toasted goodbye to Corsica as we were to transfer out by ferry to Nice.

Saturday morning and we were up, packed and ready to go across to Nice.  We arrived fairly late in the afternoon and rode our bikes back to our hotel at Beaulieu sur Mer. We headed out for dinner as we needed our energy because Sundays ride was going to be 130km of mountains behind Nice. David explained that he doesn’t usually take Grand Tour riders around this entire route but because of our previous impressive performance he thought we could take it! Just as it had been in the Cinque Terre, the thought that this party would be the first to complete the route was like dangling a carrot in front of a donkey and before long everyone was puffing themselves up and ready to go.

This final ride was the longest cycling day of our trip  but certainly one to remember as we climbed out of Nice  via  the Grand Corniche and up to La Turbie over the Col D’Eze. Later we took in further cols including some typical French switchbacks making an idyllic back drop to our picnic lunch high on the mountain.  From lunch we climbed a little higher and then dropped down through to the coast and traversed Monaco taking in the sights of the beaches this expensive strip of French Riviera.  It was the right way to finish of the day and we celebrated well that night by heading out on the town.  Certainly was a Grand Tour!

Congratulations to all the hardy mountain bikers who completed or attempted the initial 2010 Kielder Marathon of 2010.

A well wrapped up bunch braved the elements and enjoy the odd ray of sunshine along the way, with the winners coming away with Saddle Skedaddle Holiday vouchers, which can be used on any of our cycling holidays, road cycling holiday or mountain biking holidays or UK mountain bike or road weekends.

The next Kielder event is the classic Border Raid (yep heads from England to Scotland) over some of the country’s most dramatic scenery and is scheduled in for 08 May 2010

For more information about the event contact the guys at Kielder Trail Reavers - click here or email Skedaddle’s own Reaver Andy Scott at the office on andy@skedaddle.co.uk and don’t forget that if you don’t want to ride the event, but just fancy coming along for a chat with Skedaddle or to help out at the Border Raid, then an extra pair of hands goes are always appreciated.

For the full race Kielder Marathon race / event report click here

Rule number one of camping in the wild: don’t presume the wild animal attacking your toes is the hyena that wandered through the camp earlier in the evening. In all likelihood it is the poor sucker who drew the 01h00-01h45 shift, waking you for your 45 minutes sitting as close as you can to the fire, listening to lion telling their mates about the latest hunt. Damn, they sound close…
This cycling holiday in Botswana / South Africa is possibly the best biking experience I have had in nearly 30 years of riding bikes. Mashatu is a 75 000-acre reserve in the Tuli Block, the pointy bit on the eastern side of Botswana, where that country meets Zimbabwe and South Africa. Getting there is simple - drive north from Joburg, turn left at Polokwane - make sure you don’t miss the right turn onto the Alldays road, the sign is removed by errant taxis fairly regularly
- and keep going until you hit the border.

The first clue that this is no ordinary ride is the massive rifles the guides ride with, strapped to their backs. Bullets as thick as your thumb, just in case. not exactly the most comforting of sights. But the guides’
knowledge and experience shows from the first pedal stroke, and the best news of all is that they love riding bikes as much as we do, but are allergic to anything that looks like a road, so for four days you ride a mixture of open grassland and fine singletrack crafted by generations of animals making their way to water.

The beauty of this trip is that, with a maximum group size of eight, the route can be tailored for any and all abilities. There is plenty of technical, loose trail here, but there is as much smooth, level riding. You won’t find 60kph downhills or hour-long climbs, but there is plenty to keep the heart rate up, without blurring your vision as you search for large beasties. We chose a particularly hot week - and operations cease for the really hot summer months - where temperatures in the 40s meant we rose early, rode through to lunch and then collapsed for the rest of the day, but the winter months are more suitable for a visit.

The accommodation completes the African experience - sleeping under the stars, everybody taking turns in keeping the fire burning (flashbacks to army guard duty guaranteed!), and eating hearty, wholesome food prepared on site by the talented chef. You certainly won’t go hungry, and will more than likely end up having dinner with some locals - our first night was enriched by the presence of the local hyena - was he laughing at my cycling tan, maybe? - and day three’s lunch was spent alternating between checking on the boomslang in the tree next to the lunch table, and the breeding herd of elephants browsing, snorting and rumbling less than 50m away. But it is not just about interacting with these animals. We were exceptionally lucky on our trip - lion at 100m, a croc rushing into the water so close we could swear we got splashed, last-second route changes to avoid large, grumpy elephants and following the trail of where a hyena had dragged last night’s dinner - his, not ours - away from our camping area were some of the highlights.

This place offers so much more: peace, relaxation and regeneration. Magical sunsets, no cellphone reception, and silence so complete that we could hear the wind in the feathers of the eagles playing hundreds of metres above us when we stopped for a puncture, make this trip the complete break we all need, and deserve. And it is on bikes. What could be better?

Check out the Skedaddle South Africa and Botswana trip!