I know of a few of your have watched the Tour in-person and ridden over there some. Sounds like Napoleon is there now. Has anyone ever done one of the TDF group tours? Combination of riding and spectating? I'm looking at doing this next summer with my 18 year old son.
I've been to France quite a few times and driven there a few times. I'm comfortable navigating around over there, but I've never ridden a bike over there. I know you can accomplish the same type of trip on your own but I'm at the age where paying for the convenience of someone else doing all the planning and taking care of all the logistics is appealing to me. I could do without all the finish-line VIP area stuff and would be just as happy watching the peloton roll through from the side of a country road. But on the riding days, being dropped off at the bottom of Ventoux with a bike and picked up at the top and shuttled to a hotel sounds way better than he and I winging it on our own.
I used to hate the idea of guided trips but my son and I did a mountain bike across Scotland trip with a guided group a couple years ago and it was amazing. The group was small and I enjoyed everyone in it and we definitely went to some spots, riding, exploring, eating, etc.., that we would not have known about on our own.
Anyway, pros and cons of any live Tour experiences you've had?
I've looked into Thomson Bike Tours and Custom Getaways.
I'd be interested to read about your experiences watching the Tour live and riding over there whether on your own or with a group.