Planning for 2013 Tour
de Conquer
Sixteen days from
Monday, 2 Sept
'13 to Wed 18
Sept '13 which will be -
* two Climb Days longer than
2012 TdeC, with only two Base Camps in
the Rhone Alps, and
* cheaper (<$5,000 'in toto') provided you book
your flight by end Jan '13
By end Dec 2012,
Muggaccinos.com
will display -
* a 16 day Climbs Programme, and 2 transit days on TVG
trains;
* Early Bird plane flights available from China
Southern, Malaysian, Singapore and Emirates to/from Geneva and/or to/from
Lyon;
* train fares to/from Geneva Int'l Airport and
Lyon Saint Exupéry
Airport;
* shared car rental contribution and bicycle rack;
* bike rental at Bourg d'Oisan probably 30 Euro per
day from one of below 4 bicyclette shops; and
* chateau (cabin) accommodation
costs at the two Base Camps (St Jean de Maurienne [8 nights] and Bourg
d'Oisan [8 days]),
(forecast to agg less than $4,200) for the 2013 Tour de Conquer.
At our
2012 TdeC, we 'eat out' at restaurants
each of 16 night and paid up to 5 times the cost for wine and beer. By
eating in most nights and buying our 'brews' at Carrefour,
Casino and/or Hypermart, cost of meals/booze would more
than half. Hence, the
proposed 18 days in France with meals and alcohol included which incl's two days train travel to/from, -
* Geneva Int'l Airport
(160km from
Saint-Jean-de-Maurienne and 192 km from Bourg
d’Oisans), or
*
Lyon Saint Exupéry
Airport (158km from Saint-Jean-de-Maurienne and 139 km from Bourg d’Oisans),
would
cost less than $5,000 per
Committed Climb Participant,
provided booked their flight by end Jan '13 when the cheap Early Bird booking deals
normally expire. Most 'economy' flight tickets for Qantas, Lufthansa etc
offer a 'one check-in' baggage restriction up to 23kgs and charge
between $100 and $150 per flight leg to carry a bicycle.
As the camp site accommodation is approx. $20 per day
per person, extending the programme from 16 days cycling plus 2 days
transit to airports, by say 2 cycling days to 18 days cycling (plus 2 days
transit days from/to airports), would increase the forecast total cost of <$5,000
by about $140 'in toto' which is chicken-shit.
So, if time is not 'of the essence', there is
no cap on the proposed 16 days cycling which could be extended.
Presently
Emirates and a few other Middle East and Asian airlines provide a 30kg
cap which includes taking a bicycle at no excess baggage penalty, but this might be
scrapped by
next August as competition increases and Emirates joins Star Alliance in
April '13.
Hence, renting at one of the below three bicycle
rental shops in Bourg d'Oisan a -
* carbon
fibre/Ultegra bike at 30Euro (AUD$39) per day
(for at least a 5 day booking); or
* aluminium
frame/Shimano 105 bike at 25 Euro per day,
seems preferable to paying hefty excess luggage fees
and the hassle of bringing a bicycle. Surprisingly, the
rental bikes are either Scott, Trek, Specialised or Giant, with not
local French brands.
Cycles Et Sports
Place du Docteur FAURE