We are planning a family bike trip for next August in the Loire Valley. We would like to save money by doing a self-guided tour, but would like the "security" of having sag wagon service available in case someone gets tired or injured. Are there places you can call on short notice to "rescue" you and provide sag wagon service?
Posted by
Long Beach, Ca, usa
1394 posts
bobbuccini,
Just curious, what is "sag" wagon service?
Posted by
Bellingham, WA
463 posts
Is there someone in your family who isn't up for the bike riding but who wants to go on the trip who could serve in this capacity? I don't know you, but I'm available.
Posted by
Chicago
664 posts
I can think of two options:
1) Find a bike shop in the vicinity of where you want to bike and see if they have
any local recommendations. I think in this situation, you may be looking more
at staying in a single location and doing loop rides each day.
2) Are you thinking of riding with all your gear in panniers or having a company
move your luggage from place to place?
If panniers, you may end up needing to rely on taxis, police, and the like if you
need help. You might also need to research options for medical attention
should that be required. I don't see much profit opportunity for a company
in this setup. I'd have very good trip and medical insurance since there is
no one else to fall back on.
In the second case, there are companies that provide a self-guided itinerary
and then you piecemeal equipment rental and services together. I think those
companies will have researched sag types services and have that info for you.
Iron Donkey, while not offering trips in France, is a company that offers something
like this.
Are you thinking of bringing bikes over, or renting them in-country?
Posted by
OP
3 posts
Shoeflyer, I like your suggestion of checking in with a local bike shop for their recommendations. (We are planning to rent bikes there anyway, so the bike rental shop would be a logical choice.) I have not yet found a tour/guide service that offers sag service unless you are on one of their guided tours, but I plan to keep checking.
Posted by
Chicago
664 posts
OP, just a thought, but if you want to contact local bike shops, I'd do it
now. Summer is pretty much over, and once the shops convert from
biking to skiing, you may not be able to get much of a straight answer
until next spring.
Posted by
OP
3 posts
Judy,
A sag wagon is a support vehicle for cyclists to assist them in the event they need help or a ride--eg, repairs, injury, too tired to keep riding, etc.
Posted by
Citizen of the World
2090 posts
I don’t know of any bike shops or bike touring companies here in the states that will offer sag wagon service independent of booking a tour with them. It doesn’t make much business sense. I think it’s likely the same in France.
Posted by
Long Beach, Ca, usa
1394 posts
Thanks for the info. Learn something new every day!
Posted by
Central Indiana
272 posts
Have you ruled out self guided tours? With these, the tour company provides routes and maps, arranges accommodations, baggage transfers, often some meals, can arrange for bike rentals and offers emergency services. But you ride on your own and not in a tour group. There are plenty of companies that offer such tours and to me, this would take out a lot of the stress in planning a tour.
Posted by
Citizen of the World
2090 posts
@Indyhiker, Do you have a link to a bike touring company in the Loire the OP could refer to?
Posted by
Central Indiana
272 posts
A few examples are Mac Adventures, Discover France, Trek Travel, and Cycle Europe. But there’s plenty more.
Posted by
Seattle, WA
410 posts
All we have done is guided (Croatia 2018) and self-guided (France 2023 and Italy 2024). Self guided has had phone support so perhaps they might deploy assistance if truly needed - at a price of course. To have a sag wagon is really asking for some of what you get with a guided tour - at twice the price of self guided.
But ASK the operators rather than the forum to see what you might learn from them.
For France, there is a marvellous web-site: https://www.freewheelingfrance.com/ that lists many operators. Lyn (It’s her site) also lists bike hire resources in the Loire. https://www.freewheelingfrance.com/bike-hire-in-france/bike-hire-in-centre.html
For our self-guided tours in France last year, we used https://www.levelovoyageur.com/fr/ which contracts with cycle providers in all regions in France and arranged hotels and transfers all rather seamlessly. They also revised their tours slightly to meet our specific desires, but that just meant adding an extra night in the middle of one one week trip, or allowing us to designate an 8 day portion from a 15 days of another tour.
For our 2023 France Trip Report, with two one week rides (in the Loire and Dordogne), see https://community.ricksteves.com/travel-forum/trip-reports/fabulous-tour-de-france-2-weeks-on-foot-and-by-train-2-weeks-by-e-bike