# Saint Tropez - Glam biking and etc...



## philippec (Jun 16, 2002)

I've been hard at work over the past summer doing my part to ensure that Europe retains its reputation as the world's vacation-taking leader! ... Tough job but someone has to do it! 

I'll be posting reports from the various rides I did over 4 weeks of holidays in the weeks to come (Marmotte and Etape du Tour cyclosportives, riding in the Oisans and the Vercors in the Alpes and around the Mont Ventoux and the Cote D'Azur in Provence) but for right now I'll start with the most recent stint last -- a week at some friends' house near St. Tropez where I managed to stick to a taxing regimen of early am ride, followed by a gruelling bout of beach tanning and general sun-drenched slothfulness and capped off by an unreasonable amount of food and drink-partaking. 

My goals for the week - spend quality time with the family, ride without purpose and get rid of my embarrassing cyclist's tanlines. I'm glad to say that I accomplished two out of three and was well on my way to a full body tan at the week's end!

First, I'll start with the riding.

<a href="http://www.grimaud-provence.com/">Port Grimaud</a> is located at the end of the bay of St. Tropez and was modelled after the fishing village of Burano near Venice. The village is criss-crossed by canals and everyone gets around by boat rather than by car/foot. Because of the berthing space that comes with the small houses, it is a prize destination for yacht and sailboat owners seeking to house their vessels. From here, the only reasonable biking is straight north and inland in the St. Tropez backcountry. I assembled the S&S Concorde and every morning went off I exploring the small well-paved roads of the region between St. Tropez, Port Grimaud, La Garde Freinet, Le Plan de la Tour and Grimaud. Very quickly I left behind the opulence of the coastline and head up through vineyards, olive groves before summiting in cork-oak and chestnut forests. This is the way to start the day!


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## philippec (Jun 16, 2002)

*St. Trop #2*

Oh, and the villages aren't too shabby either...

I'll close with some self portrait shots. I include these so that you can see that I'm smiling. The riding is good and I have a day at the beach to look forward too!


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## philippec (Jun 16, 2002)

*St. Trop #3*

And if I'm smiling, it's because the beach is nice, the sun is hot, the food is yummy and life is good!

I'll include some shots from a non-bike excursion I did on our friends' neighbor's yacht over to *the* beaches (Tahiti and Pampelonne) of Saint Tropez. Veeerrrryy nice boats to be seen in Pampelonne bay -- the "must-have" accessory is your own personal helicopter! I'm in the second-to-last shot w/ the youngest and my wife is loving life in the last shot as we pass St. Tropez in the background!

I'll post more on the other trips later.

A+

Philippec


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## MarkS (Feb 3, 2004)

Welcome back.

Teo and I were defaming you the other day in the Lounge. http://forums.roadbikereview.com/showthread.php?t=70493 I hate to talk about someone when he is not around to defend himself. But, when he is on his ninth or tenth week of vacation . . .

The pics from the South of France are very nice. It looks like the traffic on the roads was much more manageable than where I rode near Cannes and Nice in July. I assume that the road in your pics was a two-way road -- it always is interesting to be driving a car on those road when another car is coming the other way at high speed. BTW: How are the driving lessons coming along?


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## MWT (Nov 12, 2002)

France is the most beautiful country I've ever visited. These pictures are just a taste of it. It's magnificient.


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## MTT (Oct 14, 2005)

Thanks for posting- those shots are amazing. I don't think you have to sell France to cyclists......................... 

MTT


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## teoteoteo (Sep 8, 2002)

I spy the photo of a man that has been to the coiffure or that boat was moving at mach speed! Glad the vacation went well.


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## merckxman (Jan 23, 2002)

*Paris Hotel Recommendation?*

Nice photos, thanks! My wife and I are headed to Paris for a few days in Sept or early October. Looking for a nice, "charming", hotel. Any recommendations? 

Unfortunately my S&S coupled bike isn't ready to come along but as this is our first trip to Paris it is just as well.

Merckxman from Verona, IT


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## AidanM (Aug 11, 2006)

**** those boats are soo nice


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## philippec (Jun 16, 2002)

Bedhead+fast boat+Mistral headwind = my stylin doo!

Hope all is well with you and yours. I'm sorry about the Rosé addiction... but as far as addictions go, it's not a bad one to have!


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## philippec (Jun 16, 2002)

My 40th year technically runs until next July so, by my sophisticated calculations, that gives me a whole heaping pile of time to procrastinate about the driving lessons before actually having to start contemplating doing something about them!

Glad you made it back OK!


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## philippec (Jun 16, 2002)

Paris hotel rec's are notoriously hard as they depend on a. budget, b. preferred neighbourhood (arrondissement), c. price range and d. personal preferences. That, compounded by the fact that I don't use hotels in Paris and that the hotels I book for work tend to be near our offices in one of the duller parts of Paris (16th) means that I won't be giving you any recommendations here -- however, I use Venere.com to find hotels when travelling and I find the feedback page for each establishment to be quite useful in winnowing the wheat from the chaff.

That said, if your schedule permits, let's plan on having a coffee together when you are here. PM me if interested.

A+

Philippe


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## MarkS (Feb 3, 2004)

philippec said:


> My 40th year technically runs until next July so, by my sophisticated calculations, that gives a whole heaping pile of time to procrastinate about the driving lessons before actually having to start contemplating doing something about them!
> 
> Glad you made it back OK!


How about some driving lessons in the Spring? You really need your license before July. Northern France? Belgium? You also need to know how to drive over the cobblestones. If you couldn't find anyone to give you those lessons, I might just have to make another springtime trip across the Atlantic. If only I could have another business meeting "nearby."


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## bigrider (Jun 27, 2002)

Once again a great post. Just another reminder of why I want to get across the pond in the near future.


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## merckxman (Jan 23, 2002)

*Thank you!*

Thanks for the link; will check it out. Maybe we will be able to hook up.
Ciao,
merckxman


philippec said:


> Paris hotel rec's are notoriously hard as they depend on a. budget, b. preferred neighbourhood (arrondissement), c. price range and d. personal preferences. That, compounded by the fact that I don't use hotels in Paris and that the hotels I book for work tend to be near our offices in one of the duller parts of Paris (16th) means that I won't be giving you any recommendations here -- however, I use Venere.com to find hotels when travelling and I find the feedback page for each establishment to be quite useful in winnowing the wheat from the chaff.
> 
> That said, if your schedule permits, let's plan on having a coffee together when you are here. PM me if interested.
> 
> ...


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