| In mid-July, three of my friends from the ride across America last summer - Jo Anne, Christine and John - and another cycling buddy of mine - Eli - flew to Paris to do a "self-guided" driving and cycling tour with the Tour de France. Our itinerary and accommodations for the ten-day tour were arranged by a tour operator based in Southern California. On the first day, we picked up our rental van and checked into our hotel near Charles de Gaulle airport where we assembled our bikes, had a brief orientation meeting and a dinner to introduce ourselves to others in the group doing the same self-guided tour. |
