Biking through Cote-de-Beaune

I speak a little French but my husband and I are going to do the Bourgogne Evasion as it has great reviews and though a bit pricey, we have found that these tours are always worth it as they usually take you to places you wouldn't find on your own!

Many years ago we toured the Champagne area by bike, using a hired organizing company, but the biking and winery visits were pretty much on our own. Even back then, people seemed to speak more English than we did French, and I'd guess that for many places now, that could be even more the case. Does your basic French vocabulary include rouge (red), blanc (white), rosé (rose), boutelle (bottle), verre (glass), dégustation (tasting), sec (dry), and santé (cheers/to your health)?

If you don't hire a guide company (or maybe even if you do) are you providing your own bikes? You should have a pannier, saddle bag, handlebar bag, or at least a backpack or sturdy sling bag if you might be picking up a bottle or two during your explorations, or carrying picnic supplies. One thing that our guide made clear to us from the outset: when you gotta go, you gotta go, and public WC's aren't exactly abundant along the vineyards, so step respectfully between the rows of vines if you need to pee and can't make it to the nearest tasting room.

In September, at harvest time, there was sometimes a lot of mud on the roads, left from harvesting tractors and trailers, which sometimes made the cycling a bit more challenging. However you do your trip, santé!

In Burgundy, as opposed to Paris, you are more likely to encounter someone who does not speak any English, though you also may find that the winery owner was born in the British isles. But I would not go on a tour you do not want to avoid that situation.

Tours can add value, but your self-guided plan sounds splendid. I did a similar thing ten years ago. Most of the people you meet will have some English born of their contact with American and British tourists.

As for routes, there are many fine loops out of Beaune through wine country. If you are renting machines in Beaune, the shop owners can advise you. Two of their routes made it into Rick Steves's chapter on Beaune.

One experience I should like to particularly recommend. There is a tasting lunch offered in Aloxe-Corton, just a few miles north of Beaune. The lunch is solid traditional food, but depending on how much you pay it is accompanied by a flight of four or six wines of escalating (with the price) quality. I experienced this on a very pleasant, though short, 16-mile loop; you could plan a longer trip.

There are several books out about bicycling in France, with a few routes in that part of Burgundy.

Get a good map.

I don't think English will be a problem at Aloxe-Corton.

Thank you all for the responses. I think we may go with doing it ourselves seeing as you only stop along 2 vineyards on the route.