Looking To 2024
About 2024. This year, 2023, was the first time since Brexit, and since the Covid-19 pandemic, that The Chain Gang ran a full season of tours. And even that isn’t really true – we still need to wake-up our Italian…
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Category Cycling
Sabering In The Dordogne
Fun and Games in the Dordogne Back in 2019, I was introduced to the wonderful ‘sport’ (sic) of sabering by the Mercer Island chapter of The Chain Gang, particularly Bruce and Kim York, and their daughter Casey, my sabering gurus.…
A Bit Of Serendipity In Champagne.
I explained in a previous blog that we were forced to change our Champagne tour – and change it a lot – when France allowed a clown to buy a hotel North of Reims, and pretend to run it. In…
One Of My Favourite Hotels. The Certosa di Pontignano in Tuscany
One reason I’m looking forward to cycling in Tuscany again is the opportunity to return to a most extraordinary hotel. On our 3rd night in Tuscany, Monday night, we stay at the Certosa di Pontignano, a 14th Century monastry which…
The Chain Gang Needs You!
This is a plea for help. So, unless you’re literally in the process of booking a holiday, everybody else, could you take 2 minutes, and see if you could help me? I’m after your photos – your Chain Gang photos.…
Our New Normandy Tour
Last month I explained why we’ve made changes to our Normandy tour. This month is my chance to tell you all about it. First off, I’m delighted. When I first researched around Normandy, back in 2011, it was a real…
A New Photo Collection From Alsace.
This month, I’m lucky to be able to share with you a new album of photos from our Alsace tour, courtesy of Friend Of The Chain Gang, Roberto Peixoto. If you visit the album on Flickr, you’ll find a selection…
We’re Running A Normandy Tour Again!
In 2019, we received some bad news about one of the hotels on our Normandy Tour – they’d closed, permanently. As I mentioned in a blog post about Champagne, sometimes this doesn’t matter. Sometimes it matters a lot. In this…
Exploring Reims
On Thursday, we spend the day exploring Reims. Why – is it worth it? Yes it is! Firstly, we’ll make our way to the magnificent Villa Demoiselle, the blend of Art Nouveau and Art Deco that houses the Champagne maker,…
Changes To Our Champagne Tour
When I’m on our bike tours, you can imagine I get asked a lot of questions about how we design our tours – why we stay here, why we don’t visit there, etc. Occasionally, in my own mind, I’m reminded…
