Mary and I did our first bike tour with Breaking Away in the Alps in July 2009. Mary heard from a colleague that it was possible to bike along with the Tour de France, so she persuaded me and Greg Antal (another colleague) to join her on this Alps/Tour de France bike tour. Greg told us that we needed to train, so we did several rides together up Mount Laguna and Palomar Mountain in San Diego County and were ready when we got to France 🙂 We biked 61 miles during our two warmup days, and Mary and I biked 340 miles during the seven-day tour. This was a large tour with 31 guests (!) and four guides: Greg Hogan (the owner), Mitch Clinton, Guillaume Dassonville, and Giorgio Bausman.
Here is the itinerary for the tour.
Days -1 & 0 (Wednesday & Thursday, July 15 & 16): We arrive in Geneva on Wednesday afternoon and shuttle to Divonne-les-Bains in France, where we spend two nights. We do warmup rides of 18 miles on Wednesday and 43 miles on Thursday by Lake Geneva back and forth across the border between France and Switzerland.
Day 1 (Friday, July 17): Shuttle to Valleiry, a short distance from Geneva in France, and then bike 51 miles to Aix-les-Bains.
Day 2 (Saturday, July 18): Bike 50 miles from Aix-les-Bains to Albertville over Mont Revard (1,537 m) and Col du Frene (950 m).
Day 3 (Sunday, July 19): Bike from Albertville to the base of the Col du Glandon, shuttle to the top, and then bike down the other side and up Alpe d’Huez (1,780 m). We bike 60 miles. Greg A finishes but gets sick and shuttles the rest of the tour 😦
Day 4 (Monday, July 20): Shuttle to the top of the Col du Lautaret. Then bike over the Col du Galibier (2,642 m), down to St Michel, and up the valley until we reach newly tarred road. Finally shuttle over the Col de l’Iseran to Val d’Isère. We bike 40 mi.
Day 5 (Tuesday, July 21): Bike from Val d’Isère to Bourg-St-Maurice where we check out the finish line for today’s stage of the Tour de France. Continue biking over the Cormet de Roselend (1,968 m) and then up the Col des Saisies (1,650 m) to Les Saisies where we spend two nights. We bike 56 miles.
Day 6 (Wednesday, July 22): Before the racers arrive at Les Saisies for today’s stage of the Tour, we bike a 37-mile loop through Flumet and Villard that goes over the Col de la Forclaz (1,527 m) and then up the Col des Saisies again. We finish just before the racers go over the col!
Day 7 (Thursday, July 23): Bike 46 miles from Les Saisies over the Col des Aravis (1,487 m) and Col de Croix Fry (1.477 m) to Annecy, where the biking for our tour ends. Watch the time trial for the Tour with a capital “T”, and then shuttle back to Divonne-les-Bains to end our special tour!
Photos and commentary follow.
Day 1: Friday, July 17. After our short shuttle to Valleiry, we get on our bikes and go past a field with cattle and sunflowers 
We are all smiles as we are finally on our bikes for this much-anticipated tour (photo by Mitch Clinton). 
Soon after we cross the mighty Rhone the weather deteriorates. We bike in pouring rain for much of the rest of the ride to Aix-les-Bains, where we spend the night.
Day 2: Saturday, July 18. We start the climb to Mont Revard in drizzle (photo by Mitch Clinton). 
Mary is happy to be on her bike despite the weather (photo by Mitch Clinton). 
Before long we are biking in a cloud. We have lunch at the cafe on top of Mont Revard but miss the promised “panoramic” view (photo by Mitch Clinton). 
Most of the guests shuttle to Albertville, but Mary and I keep biking and are treated to broken clouds and a dry road as the weather improves (photo by Mitch Clinton).
Day 3: Sunday, July 19. We bike to the base of the Col du Glandon and then shuttle to the top where we have lunch. Afterward, we get on our bikes again. 
We enjoy the long descent down the other side in beautiful weather. 
We follow a flat valley road for several miles until we reach this turn to the climb up Alpe d’Huez. 
Mary goes around a switchback with me right behind her (photo by Mitch Clinton). 
These are some of the 21 switchbacks on this famous climb (photo by Mitch Clinton). 
We arrive at the official finish of the climb after 60 miles of biking!
Day 4. Monday, July 20. We shuttle to the top of the Col du Lautaret and pose for a group photo taken by Mitch. 
We get on our bikes to do the 8-km climb to the top of the Col du Galibier. 
Mary is halfway up the climb. This is my favorite picture of her biking 🙂 
The grade hits 12% near the top (photo by Mitch Clinton). 
We are on the top of the Col du Galibier, proudly wearing our Alpe d’Huez jerseys that we earned the day before! (photo by Mitch Clinton). 
Halfway down the other side we pass this house with beautiful flowers on its balconies. 
Even this bridge across the river in the bottom of the valley has flowers! 
We head up the valley toward the Col de l’Iseran but only get partway before we encounter new tar on the road. We shuttle the rest of the way to Val d’Isère, where we spend the night. 
Many buildings in Val d’Isère have slate roofs.
Day 5. Tuesday, July 21. We encounter this tunnel on our long descent from Val d’Isère to Bourg-St-Maurice. There are some anxious moments sharing the road inside with cars. 
We are 3 km from the finish line of today’s stage of the Tour de France, which is in Bourg-St-Maurice. 
Mary and I check out the finish line. We decide not to wait a few hours for the racers to show up and then do a shuttle. Instead we bike up the remaining two climbs to Les Saisies, where we spend the night. 
Mary is halfway up the first climb, the Cormet de Roselend, where the grade is steepest at 9%. 
We are on top of the Cormet de Roselend. 
Just over the top we stop for an outdoor lunch at this uncrowded cafe. Most potential customers are probably back in Bourg-St-Maurice watching the Tour. 
We still have a long way to go to the valley below before we do the second climb of the day. 
After biking 23 km from the top of the Cormet de Roselend, we turn at this junction to start the 15-km climb to Les Saisies. 
Halfway up we pass the town of Hauteluce below the cloud-topped Mont Blanc. 
Mary nears the top of the climb to Les Saisies. 
This is the view from our hotel across the main road through the ski resort town of Les Saisies.
Day 6: Wednesday, July 22. Before the racers get to Les Saisies, we bike a loop that goes over the Col de la Forclaz. 
The road ahead is closed to cars from 10 am until the last racer goes by. 
This junction that was uncrowded when we biked by the day before is abuzz with activity. We join many other cyclists and bike up to Les Saisies again. This time spectators cheer us on! 
Mary nears Les Saisies with crowds lining the side of the road. Just before we reach the top of the climb a gendarme asks us to get off the road, so we walk our bikes the rest of the way. 
Soon the parade that leads the racers arrives. 
Driving this lion float is not a job for someone who is prone to claustrophobia. 
Thor Hushovd of Norway is the first racer over the col. He is wearing the green jersey for the best sprinter. He has already been over the Cormet de Roselend and has two more cols to climb today!
Day 7: Thursday, July 27. Today we bike over two cols that the Tour racers did the day before. The first is the Col des Aravis. 
The second is the Col de la Croix Fry. 
We then have a downhill and flat ride to Annecy where we end the biking for our tour! Chocolate is popular in Annecy 🙂 
Canals connect the town to the lake. 
A racer leaves the start of today’s time trial for the Tour. 
Spectators can watch this big screen to see the racers out on the course. 
Sylvain Calzati of France approaches the finish line. His team car follows to help him in case he has a mechanical problem. After all the racers finish we shuttle back to Divonne-les-Bains to end our special tour!
Wayne Pfeiffer 