More Than 21 Bends Blog

We have now started writing all our blogs on the More Than 21 Bends site.

When we started our little company we intended just to provide cycling holidays in the Oisans region. Over the last 5 years we have expanded to include tours into Italy , across the Alpes and other places such as Paris Roubaix. For more information on everything we do please visit More Than 21 Bends

More exciting changes are being planned from 2014 so please check out our More Than 21 Bends blog or join our mailing list on our website.

Helen and Phil – More Than 21 Bends

 

 

START PLANNING YOUR 2014 CYCLING HOLIDAY

NEW FOR 2014 – We know that being delegated group leader can be a bit of a headache, but at More Than 21 Bends not only do we make the job easier by being on hand to help with your queries and tailor the trip to your needs, but we are now also offering an incentive too.

If you recruit some friends or motivate your club or a group to join you on our cycling tour, not only could you be with a great group of mates on the trip of a lifetime, but now you can save on the cost of the Tour as well.

• If you bring 6 or 7 people on tour, as group leader you get a 50 % discount

• If you bring 8 or 9 people on tour, as group leader you get a 75 % discount

• If you bring 10 or more people on tour, as group leader you go free.

What are you waiting for? 

Alec from Scotland recently bought a group of 17 friends with him for our Alpe d’Huez Tour of the Oisans – this is what he said….

“Best cycling holiday I’ve ever had. Helen & Phil promised us a great trip and they delivered on everything – the routes were fantastic, accommodation was spot on, the food was magnificent and plentiful and to top it all the weather was hot. What more can you ask for! I would recommend MT21B to anyone looking for a cycling holiday in the Alps. As a famous actor once said “I’ll be back”. Cheers”

[discounts do not apply for La Marmotte or Tour de France week and are only available on our support tours]

Last Minute Accommodation for Tour de France Alpe d’Huez based in Bourg d’Oisans

New property released for Tour de France 2013 1500GBP on a self catered
basis sleeps up to 8 people for 1 week stay

Click here for availability and to make an enquiry

From steps at the front of the house you are welcomed into a large light
hallway, to the right is a light and sunny reading room with desk and comfy
chairs, and to the left a large and open living dining room. The dining area has
dining table and chairs for 12 guests and the living area comfy sofas and
television.

At the end of the hallway is a fully fitted kitchen with breakfast bar and a
door to a quiet balcony at the rear of the house. The kitchen is equipped with
everything you require on a holiday stay including oven and hob, fridge freezer,
microwave and kettle.

The first floor has a large queen bedroom with additional trundle bed, a nice
sized twin room, and a small double bedroom. Also on this floor is a large
bathroom with shower and sinks and a separate wc.

The second floor has one bedroom ready for guests, a twin room and this floor
also has a shower room and wc.

For 2014 further improvements will be made to the house, such that there will be
two further twin rooms on the second floor and an additional shower room. This
will bring the maximum number of guests to 12 for 2014 reservations.

The house has private gated parking for several vehicles, and has a secure and
equipped bike garage with stands for 12 bikes, track pumps, basic tool kit and
work stand.

The house has a large garden with table and chairs so you can enjoy the evening
sunshine after your ride. This outside space also provides a lovely area for
non-riding guests to enjoy the mountain views of the valley.

The house is in the centre of the town and minutes from the shops, bars and
restaurants. There is also a park near by and the outdoor swimming pool is about
a 5 minute walk away.

TOUR DE FRANCE 2014

Be the first to hear about our exciting 2014 Tour de France
packages when they are released in October.

Email:   

click here to add me to the More Than 21 Bends mailing list as well

Tour of the Oisans

We have had some old friends from England last week – Bigfoot Mountain Bike club who have turned to the dark side and taken up a bit of road riding. Although none of them are yet shaving their legs there were still some fast times up the many famous cols in the area, including the Col de la Croix de Fer and Alpe d’Huez.  The week also included a new climb up the Col du Luitel – an average gradient of 10% over 10KM and onto the ski ressort of Chamrouse.

We still have a few spaces left on our Tour of the Oisans. If you can not make it this year then there is always next year. Tour of the Oisans holidays have now been released for May and June 2014

Photos from the BigfootMBC week can be found on FLICKR.

A break in the clouds….

A break in the clouds today brought some welcome sunshine to Bourg d’Oisans, and although it is still cold, it has made us all feel a bit brighter. 

Our guests on the Tour of the Oisans this week are our old friends from Bigfoot back in the UK http://www.bigfootmbc.co.uk/ who are making the most of the sunshine and heading off to tackle a new route over the Chamrousse with Phil.

 

58th Consecutive month up Alpe d’Huez

After my 2 week cycle ride to Bristol from Bourg d’Oisans via Paris Roubaix I have been feeling a little tired so have taken a few days off the bike. Today the sun was shining (tomorrow its gonna be raining) so I decided to tackle Alpe d’Huez for the 58th Consecutive month. For the record

• It was a beautiful afternoon and the fist time I have ridden in shorts this year.
• I managed my first ever puncture on the climb of Alpe d’Huez on bend 14
• Bend 21 is pretty smashed up at the moment after the coach crash on Tuesday. Unfortunately the driver died and there are a few other passengers badly hurt. Some flowers have been left at the bend.
• The descent was fresh – glad I carried my windproof coat up.

Bikesure Cycling Kit for the Tour de France

We have a group from our Australian Partners BikeSure staying with us for the Tour de France 2013. They have just sent us a their 2013 cycling kit. Our logo is also included on the jersey on the top left of the jersey

Quick blast up Oulles today

With bad weather due to set in again later this week I rode up to Oulles posting my third fastest time ever on strava (??!). I am currently training hard for my ride back to England and the Paris Roubaix Challenge on the 6th April.

LAST AVAILABILTY FOR LA MARMOTTE 2013

We have just a few places left for the Marmotte this summer, join our week long tour as our guides show you the route over 3 days at the beginning of the week and cheer you along in the event.  We have two places remaining on a B&B basis and two places on a self catered basis next door to the B&B all with entry to the event.

 

For a shorter or flexible stay join our Mosquito bikes guests in Alpe d’Huez, two places with entry remaining, or our Bourg d’Oisans chalet B&B.

 

For a self catered option we have one property re-available for the event, a two bedroom house at the start of the Alpe d’Huez climb you couldn’t get a better location for your support crew – contact us for details.

MORE DETAILS HERE >> 

Alpe d’Huez Tour of the Oisans and more

So January is over and the days are getting longer, time to get out there on the bike and think of the sunny weather to come… can we tempt you with the remaining places for our More Than 21 Bends Bourg d Oisans based holidays?

We have places available for the w/c 8th June, 27th July, 10th Aug and if you have been before or like to ride without a group try our self supported B&B w/c 22nd June or one of our self catered apartments available throughout the summer.

If further afield takes your fancy why not join the Alpe d Huez to Italy Tour, our favourite fully supported point to point tour 17th   24th August, or the Amazing Route des Grande Alpes 5th   15th August.

 

Go on, your bike wants you to!

55th Consecutive Month of riding Alpe d’Huez January 2013

Well its done I have completed my 55th Consecutive month of riding up Alpe d’Huez. January is always one of the toughest months to find a great day to ride it. With the weather looking fairly warm (zero degrees !) I took my chance on Sunday before the scheduled cold weather hit us. It was a good move as we hit a very warm -5 degrees today in Bourg d’Oisans.

Strava Upload

Make it easy to transport your bike to More Than 21 Bends with Mosquito Bikes

As you may have read previously we have teamed up with Mosquito Bikes to offer a series of More Than 21 Bends Tours.  As part of these Tours Mosquito Bikes are offering to transport your bikes from their London base to the Tour accommodation.

The Mosquito team are now also able to offer a special rate for a pre-tour bike service – tune up and safety check for just £40, this can be taken on its own, or as part of the bike transport service.

If you are bringing your bike yourself, the  Mosquito team can offer the same pre-tour bike service with package into a cardboard bike box for you to transport at £60 (this also includes a re-build if returned to Mosquito Bikes).

The bike pack option is also available on its own at £20 into a cardboard bike box or into a hired hard box.  Hire rates for the hard box are £25 for a weekend (friday – monday) and £45 for a week or £7 per day.

To book in for any one of these services contact Mosquito Bikes direct at mail@mosquito-bikes.co.uk

Join us for the 1st Bank Holiday May weekend and test ride some Lightweight wheels

We are pleased to announce that Lightweight wheels will be joining us as part of our Mosquito Bikes / More Than 21 Bends demo weekend at the beginning of May 2013.

They will be bringing 6 sets of test wheels which you can either demo on your own bike or free of charge on one of own PROMPT D211 frames here in Bourg d’Oisans.

More info to follow later in the year…

Col du Galibier, Croix de Fer and Glandon closed for the winter

The Col du Galibier, Col d la Croix de Fer and the Col du Glandon are now snowbound. Expect them to open up again mid May 2013 and definitely the 19th May for the Col du Galibier as the Giro d’Italia finishes on the summit for the first time.

La Marmotte Sportive (Gran Fondo) Dates 2013

The La Marmotte 2013 Gran Fondo Sportive will take place on the 6th July 2013. For the 5th year running our accommodation and entry only packages has grown to include the following.

• Long stay supported tour week with guaranteed entries
• Short stay bed and breakfast accommodation in Bourg d’Oisans with guaranteed entries.
• Guaranteed entries as part of our Andalucia Cycling Holiday in March 2013
• Self catered accommodation (you are responsible for getting your own entries)
• Hotel Accommodation in Alpe d’Huez through our partners Polkadotstop.com
• We will also be adding a further package over the next few weeks to include bike transport / entries and accommodation with Mosquito Bikes of London. Please contact us for more information
• La Marmotte Cycle Hire through our partners PROMPT.CC

Tour de France Alpe d’Huez 2013 twice and stage start from Bourg d’Oisans

The Tour de France will be climbing up Alpe d’Huez twice on the 18th July 2013 and then starting from our base in Bourg d’Oisans on the 19th July 2013. We have a few spaces left on our cycling tour week and have also just released 40 spaces at our hotel in Alpe d’Huez.

Alpe d’Huez Triathlon 2013

The 2013 Alpe d’Huez Triathlon dates have now been announced for the 21st – 25th July 2013. As per other years the Duathlon is the first to kick off

• 21st July Duathlon
• 24th July Long Distance ( Cycle leg over the Col de la Morte, Col d’Ornon and Alpe d’Huez)
• 25th July Short Distance (Cycle leg up Alpe d’Huez)

As with previous years we will be offering our supported week in Bourg d’Oisans as well as self supported self catered accommodation.

View all our photos from the 2012 Alpe d’Huez Triathlon

FREE BIKE HIRE FOR OUR LA MARMOTTE BIG COL TOUR SEPT 2012

We have 3 spaces left on our La Marmotte Big Col Tour starting on the 8th September 2012. We are offering free carbon road bike hire for the trip through PROMPT.CC
Details
The Marmotte Big Col Tour

Saturday – Arrive at our house in Bourg d’Oisans from 4PM
Sunday – St Christophe en Oisans and La Berarde – 70KM
Monday – Col du Glandon and the Col du Telegraphe- 100KM – Stay in Valloire. Dinner is provided in Valloire
Tuesday – Col du Galibier and Alpe d’Huez 90KM. Return to Bourg d’Oisans
Wednesday – Depart.
Guaranteed 2013 La Marmotte Entry available for an additional 50GBP please contact us

Dates Arrival Date 08/09/2012 – Departure Date 12/09/2012
Price: £250.00 including free bike hire *
BOOK YOUR HOLIDAY DIRECTLY ONLINE HERE
* Bike hire is subject to availabilty – please refer to the PROMPT.CC website to confirm availability and correct size of bike. Once you have made your holiday booking please contact us and we will arrange for the bike to be reserved for you. Free hire only applies to new bookings

Alpe d’Huez Tour of the Oisans September Special

Due to a large weekend group booking we have decided to release a shorter Alpe d’Huez cycling holiday for a cheaper price of just 149GBP from the 17th –  22nd September 2012. Details are as follows

Details	Tour of the Oisans September Short Week Monday – Arrive at the House after 4PM Tuesday – Alpe d’Huez and the Col de Sarenne Wednesday – Col de la Croix de Fer and the Col du Glandon 80KM Thursday – Col du Télégraphe and the Col du Galibier 100KM Friday – Traverse d’Oisans – 80 KM Saturday – Depart Bourg d’Oisans by 10AM
Dates	Arrival Date 17/09/2012 – Departure Date 22/09/2012
Price: £149.00

 

You can book directly online by clicking here

Tour de France Alpe d’Huez 2013

Well it looks like the big news here is that the 2013 Tour de France will be in Bourg d’Oisans and Alpe d’Huez for a couple of days with a rest day sat in the middle. This will be happening between the 13th and 20th July 2012. Its not confirmed officially yet that happens in October but you heard it here first.

We will be running 2 Tour de France weeks in 2013 one hopefully in Mont Ventoux and the other at our base in Bourg d’Oisans for Alpe d’Huez.

Our Tour de France 2013 packages can be found here. (More info to be released once we have it)