Some recent comments from Chain Gang Cycle Tour Customers. Please contact us with your comments so we can add them to this page.
| Dear Bernard,
I've just got back to Australia and this is the first chance I've really had to let you know that the wonderful Bordeaux Tour exceeded my expectations by a million miles!!! Why, oh why didn't I discover Chaingang a decade ago??? (Possibly because I only started riding a couple of years ago).
Bernard, it was a magic week. I now know that it reflected your passion for the wines, the food, the country and all that research into small back roads and lovely family-run accommodation. The food and wine were excellent, and the delightful vignerons you've chosen to educate we lumpen colonials on those finer points of the wines and winemaking were genuinely enthusiastic in sharing their knowledge.
But in no small part was the success of our fantastic group due to your inspired choice of Guide. Toby was an absolute delight, masterful in his organisation of our eclectic group and sensitive to the requirements and especially biking abilities of each of us. I am now confident of tackling hills and wouldn't dare to dismount. Toby was also able to add so much to the experience of the food and wine, and particularly the cheese - and his enthusiasm was contagious. On Bastille night we had a wonderful tasting of two St.Puy Severins - with foie gras! Magnificent noble rot wines - which only now do I know are NOT designed for desert. The fireworks later just finished off the evening perfectly. But the wine and food combinations were matched to perfection throughout the entire week, whether it was picknicking or at dinner.
I can't thank you enough Bernard. It was a great week and I'll make sure that the experience will be shared vicariously with everyone I encounter on two wheels in the near future.
Thanks again to you and to Clare. Would love to do another trip next year?
Stephanie Hoban, Australia - The Bordeaux Winetrail |
| This is to pass on my thanks for a superb trip to the Dordogne, due in no small part to your careful planning.All the hotels were excellent. We ate well and were made very welcome, although Madame Tough-Cookie at Meyronne tried not to let it show! John Warren, UK - The Dordogne |
| The food was fantastic throughout - I've had a brilliant holiday. Jim Henderson, UK - Burgundy |
| Yes, guides knew bikes inside out and backwards and were competent guides of the area (I had no thoughts that we were going to get lost!). Pick ups and drop offs were smooth etc. Very organized. Nathalie Zacher, Canada - The Loire Valley |
| Hotel standards were excellent with good breakfasts and obliging staff. We even did a bit of shopping for leather goods, cycling gear and food. The hotel in Rome was fantastic and so quiet. All in all we will never forget this trip. The surroundings were so beautiful and Italians in general much more welcoming than the French. Olive Kryvi, Norway - Umbria |
| Thanks for a great holiday. Everything far exceeded my expectations and I enjoyed every moment of each day. Scott Davies, UK - The Loire Valley |
| My wife and I have just returned from your cycling tour in Provence with Pete as our guide. I just wanted to thank you for such a great week. We were away for 5 weeks and the week cycling with The Chain Gang was the highlight. Pete was great, looked after everyones needs, and never seemed to mind. Tony Peterson, USA - Provence |
| Just a quick note to say how much we enjoyed the Provence tour that ended a week ago. David and Catherine Marsden, UK - Provence |
| Just returned from the Bordeaux trip ...We had a brilliant time and Toby was an excellent guide. The group was a real mixture of nations (and characters!) and even the weather was reasonably favourable until the last day. Excellent wine and food means we did not lose much weight from all the exercise! Our third tour with you lived up to all expectations - roll on next year!
Andy and Angela Philpott, UK - The Bordeaux Winetrail |
| It was excellent, combining superb food, great sites and good accommodation. The chateaux on this tour are quite spectacular. Danny Daly, UK - The Loire Valley |
| Thank you again for a super tour. Each year is better than the last. John Dutson, UK - Provence |
| Thanks for yet another great trip Aiden Allen, UK - Burgundy |
| I wanted to thank you for the fabulous week of cycling in Tuscany. It was truly exceptional in so many ways - the scenery, food, wine and of course, the awesome cycle mates. What a great group - we were so fortunate. Carla Yuill, Canada - Tuscany |
| I am sending this quick email to let you know that I really enjoyed my holiday in the Dordogne last week. It was the first time I have done any kind of cycling tour and I must admit I am totally hooked, I have even checked your website upon my return to see if there is any availability and dates which would suit me before I return to University in October.
The Dordogne area was both beautiful and interesting with the most scrumptiously fattening food. Our group was pretty small and we were all at different fitness levels but I think the cycling was pitched at the right level to suit us all.
Mike was the perfect guide and host on our trip, nothing was too much trouble, he even oiled the wheels on my squeaky bag which was driving everybody bananas! And not to forget Gilles who organised a trip to the cave at Les Eyzies with those magical 14,000 year old drawings, the perfect ending to a perfect trip with lots of memories which will keep me warm all Winter!
I will definitely be a repeat customer
Many thanks
Niamh
Niamh Hay, Ireland - The Dordogne |
| I just wanted to drop you a quick line to really thank you for a wonderful holiday. It far exceeded my expectations, which were high because of France. The places you have found ? from towns, wine tours, cappuccino stops, and amazing food ? made it so nice; I really mean that because when Carla and I were on our own, we felt a bit lost. You took care of us very well and I only wish we had a few more minutes to lay chatting by the side of the road and soak up that sunshine after working up a sweat biking! Helen Anderson, Canada - Tuscany |
| My colleague (Mick Giddings) and I had a great time on the Dordogne bike tour. It totally exceeded our expectations. The riding and the food were spectacular . . . The meals were fantastic. Without exception we enjoyed the food and the service was always beyond reproach Alberto Colla, Italy - The Dordogne |
| Food : superb food! Fantastic! Best eating week of my entire life! Couldnt be better
Guy Oxnard, Switzerland - Burgundy |
| Value : Fabulous!!! This tour was a steal for what it provided for the money. Food was fabulous!!! I just got home from Paris after the Loire Valley tour, and I just wanted to let you know how much I enjoyed it. Both my father and I had a wonderful time! Pete was an excellent guide and did a wonderful job. Thanks a lot!
Andrea Skorenki, USA - The Loire Valley |
| Have been back home to reality for 4 weeks now after a great trip in France and England. When people ask me what the highlight was I say definitely the week spent cycling in Provence. It was wonderful for me to get away and meet some new people and do something different. The trip was such fun- good company (the group seemed to get on really well), great food and wine, fabulous scenery, and some great cycling experiences.
Margaret Lawn, Australia - Provence |
| The hotels we stayed in were all excellent. Gillian Tucker, UK - The Loire Valley |
| This is our third tour with Chain Gang. We have done the ones in Provence and the Loire. The Wine Trail was our second choice as we originally applied for the Dordogne, We have enjoyed each one of our tours immensely. Ian Benton, UK - The Bordeaux Winetrail |
| I wanted to let you know how much Allan and I enjoyed the Umbria trip and to thank you for pulling it off so smoothly for us at the 11th hour. We are Chain Gang fans from now on!! It was a fantastic trip. Now that we have completed ?the hardest Chain Gang tour?, we are contemplating the next one. Kai Spratt, USA - Umbria |
| I will be writing to you properly this week and sending some pictures of our week on the Bordeaux Wine Trail but just to say that this was a brilliant trip - my best Chain Gang tour ever and best HOLIDAY ever. Wonderful, wonderful, wonderful. Simon Hedger, UK - The Bordeaux Winetrail |
| Hi Bernard - a big thank you to the Chain Gang for a brilliant holiday - hope to join another group next year. Sue Smith, UK - Provence |
| I just had to write and thank you for such an amazing holiday. Hilary Shedel, France - Tuscany |
| Thanks for a fantastic holiday cycling through the vineyards of Burgundy. The food, wine & scenery were 1st class - as was our tour guide TJ. He was professional, courteous and entertaining. Please pass on our thanks to TJ and keep us informed of future tours - we would love to repeat the experience. Marie & Dave Hutchinson, UK - Burgundy |
| A fantastic holiday which we haven't stopped talking about. Guides : Guido was great. He was quiet and mysterious at times but excellent company. He looked after us and our bikes really well and coped brilliantly with the challenges of a missing person and her long lost suitcase! Culture : Guido was very knowledgeable about the area, especially the paintings in the Abbey, and the wine. Others in the group found the brochure and itinerary helpful too. I must get one next time.
Caitlyn Dowson, UK - Tuscany |
| Hi Bernard - My trip has been everything and more than I could have expected. Your guide Peter McGee was just brillant!!!!!!! Please pass this on to him and inform himthat I plan to come back and do another bike tour.
Adrienne Vermeulen, New Zealand - Provence |
| It is 2 months since our terrific bike tour in Dordogne. I enjoyed so much and want to express my appreciation. I was scared stiff at first seeing the Americans with their professional gear, and wondered how I would cope. But with you all taking such good care of everyone it worked out. Thanks again. Per Enger, Norway - The Dordogne |
| Our week in Bordeaux was nothing short of marvellous. The bicycles were good quality and in good condition. The meals were great - maybe even "over-the-top" - good quality, and a nice mix of regional cuisine. We enjoyed absolutely everything about our Chain Gang experience. That was our first cycling holiday, but it won't be our last. Rae Simpson, Canada - The Bordeaux Winetrail |
| I wanted to tell you how much I enjoyed my tour with you. It was such a well planned holiday with so many places of interest to see. Marion Jones, UK - The Bordeaux Winetrail |
| Just to say what a fantastic trip it was - we both had a great time. The Dordogne - so far - is the best for me - scenery was beautiful (including the hills!), and what a lovely group of people ? we shall miss them. Glenys and Tim Ockwell, UK - The Dordogne |
| Food : All the meals we had were absolutely delicious. Donna Cameron, Scotland - The Bordeaux Winetrail |
| I wanted to write to thank you for such a well organised, hassle free holiday. Joanne Cooper, UK - Umbria |
| Your brochure is absolutely correct - I will never forget the Dordogne, mainly thanks to The Chain Gang. Robert King, UK - The Dordogne |