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Your Cycling Trip

A custom mountain bike and/or road bike trip for you and your guests is an adventure with great lodging, outstanding food, support crew, a masseuse, and bonding camaraderie. The trip can include Olympic and/or World Champion Hosts. A custom route is planned to your liking and will have a great combination of terrain and sights. A support vehicle with equipment trailer will transport bikes and guests.

 

Following is a suggested itinerary for a custom designed Tour de Franz:

Arrival Day: We will meet in the early evening at the historic Mendocino Hotel where dinner reservations have been made. Walk to the beach and enjoy a Pacific sunset celebrating the beginning of your Tour de Franz with a glass of champagne. We will have a brief orientation of the upcoming five days of riding during dinner. A county of rugged natural beauty and the charming town, Mendocino, CA is where the wine country meets the coast. It is a two-hour plus drive north of San Francisco and has its own private airport 10 minutes away (Little River).

Day 1: A warm-up ride with easy, 10 moderate rolling miles along the Pacific to route 128. There we turn inland along the Navarro River through the Red Woods on an almost flat, newly paved road. Following a few stops, we will have lunch at the courtyard of a boutique family winery. Total mileage: 28 ½.

Following lunch you can opt to travel with the support vehicle to the Hotel Healdsburg or ride a bicycle over a few small passes for another 30 miles via Cloverdale. Located 67 miles north of San Francisco in the northern Sonoma Wine Country, Hotel Healdsburg epitomizes the wine country's simplicity and charm. The Hotel is set on Healdsburg's historic town plaza, and guests can enjoy some of the world's finest vineyards, restaurants and shops within minutes of the front steps. A full-service luxury hotel, Hotel Healdsburg offers a romantic getaway and will be our base for the next two nights. The beautiful guest rooms, country gardens, pool and luxurious spa provide a tranquil setting for guests to relax within the hotel grounds.

A special dinner will be arranged in a private room for us in the hotel. Charly Palmer may be our chef for that dinner.

 

 

Day 2: Following breakfast we will ride the back roads through beautiful vineyards on East Dry Creek Road to visit Ferrari-Carano Winery for a light lunch and if desired a small tour of the winery. Two of the Carano sons, Gary and Glenn Carano, may join us on the ride for that day and host us for a private tour. Glenn Carano is a former quarterback for the Dallas Cowboys. The afternoon will be spent with massages, shopping or simply relaxing at the pool at the Hotel Healdsburg. At 6:30 PM we depart from lobby for an exceptional dinner at the estate of Michel-Schlumberger.

 

 

Day 3: Fairly flat terrain following breakfast will lead us to Cloverdale where we will have a well deserved break at the Silver Oak winery. To eliminate a steep mountain pass, we will take the support vehicle to the Mountain House winery. From there we will continue to pedal on a secluded back road over rolling hills to Hopland where a nice luncheon will welcome us in the heart of the vineyards. This morning’s ride covers approximately 30 miles. Again we will provide an option to ride more mileage following lunch.

After another beautiful day riding through vineyards, orchards, and over quiet country roads, we will arrive at Vichy Springs Resort much as guests did in 1860. Vichy Springs is a California State Landmark that will pamper you with the only naturally warm and carbonated “Vichy” baths in North America. An Olympic size pool awaits and for those who want a private walk there are 700 private acres with miles of trails to explore.

Swedish massage, facials and hot stone massages can be pre-arranged and waiting for you that evening or the next morning.

A special catered dinner will be prepared for you and served in the gardens of Vichy Springs Resort, weather permitting.

 

 

Day 4: Following breakfast at Vichy Springs Resort, we ride for a few miles to the Ten Thousand Buddha's Center for Enlightenment. From there we continue for 20 flat miles on relatively flat terrain through vineyards along Far East Road.

We’ll make a short transfer into Lake County and Jim Fetzer’s Ceago del Lago which is located between the villages of Nice and Lucerne.

We are planning to do a rustic traditional Chilean style lunch on the beach. In the afternoon, you have the option for either an adventure trip with ATV’s in the most amazing back country or spend time on the lake kayaking or boating. We hired a company that has the expertise, equipment and proven track record to accommodate seasoned off-road riders as well as first-time novices on enjoyable, safe and memorable trips.

Dinner will be following sunset in the courtyard in a barbecue style.

Ceago del Lago has about 270 acres of lake front property with about one mile of shoreline of incredible beauty. Construction began in the Spring of 2001 to create a new food and wine center that is almost completed. Guesthouses will be added at a later date. Due to popular demand, our sleeping accommodations for the night will be again by the campfire in a tepee or a tent. Showers and bathrooms are available. If anyone prefers a “less adventurous night”, arrangements can be made at the http://www.featherbedrailroad.com/ in Nice a few minutes away. Please advise us when you make your reservations so we can make arrangements for you at the hotel.

 

Day 5: Departure Day:

Following a breakfast on the lake, enjoy an ATV adventure excursion or take time for any lake activities. We will all meet up for a wilderness luncheon prepared by our hosts.

Congratulations, you finished! You are now part of an elite group to complete the Tour de Franz.

Gift bags can be created to include various memorabilia as well as jerseys, shorts, and hats personalized with your company logo. All of the above can be tailored to meet your specific needs and requirements and includes Olympic and/or World Champion Hosts. We estimate this trip to cost approximately $3,700.00 per person with a minimum of ten people. For custom trips, allow six months for planning and development.