May Newsletter

 

Discover France Adventures

May 2011 Newsletter

IN THIS ISSUE:

This Month’s Tour

Burgundy Vineyards Escape

 

 

Cycle through the charming vineyards of Burgundy! Visit chateaux and museums while enjoying fabulous wine and gastronomy.

This Month’s Phrase

Pour ressentir l’ivresse de la victoire, il faut relever des defis.

 

Meaning: Accept challenges, so that you may feel the exhilaration of victory.

- George S. Patton

KEEP IN TOUCH:

Phone: (800) 960-2221

 

Bonjour!

Our Guides Have it All

In addition to our self-guided tours offered, we operate a significant number of custom guided trips for groups of all sizes and abilities. Our guides are the most qualified and certified professionals available, and for us that makes them the best in the business. All of our guides go through intense training to attain their Brevet d’Etat license including a two part course with 300 hours of class work in various subjects, 380 hours dedicated to learning about the sport of cycling, and 100 hours of hands-on training. All of this plus first aid training, knowledge of French history, and a great attitude eager to help is why our guides stand apart from the rest. Read more in depth about their training and qualifications.

5 Reasons to Cycle Burgundy

With its charming countryside, peaceful atmosphere and pure country air, the French region of Burgundy is the ideal destination for those seeking to enjoy life’s simple pleasures.  Particularly known for the plentiful wine and culinary delights, tourists come to Burgundy when they want to get away from it all.  The friendly people and laid back atmosphere make for the perfect relaxation getaway, and the beautiful natural landscape is the perfect backdrop for leisurely bicycle rides.  Here are five reasons why Burgundy is the place to cycle.

 

Bike Rentals – Sure to Please

Not many tour operators can say they have their own bike shop, but we can! We own a full service retail bike shop in Lunel carrying well known brands like Scott, Look, Orbea, Focus, and others, as well as our rental bikes. We employ professional mechanics to look after all rental bikes, which are replaced every two years to guarantee excellent quality. We have an in depth review of each bike before they are sent to clients for use; watch our bike rental preparation video. Below is a picture of our mechanic conducting a standard post-tour bike cleaning. It may be nice to have your own bike on tour with you, but the cost is more than most are willing to pay so rest assured you will get a pristine bike when renting with Discover France.

 

 

Discover France and Cyrpeo Awards

And the Winner is…

Discover France has been fortunate to be recognized many times this year for all their hard work. The past 3 months have been especially exciting with awards:

At the annual ATOUT FRANCE French Affairs convention held in San Francisco, CA in October 2011, DF happily accepted the “Most Creative Tour Operator on Social Media” award. Wondering what the ATOUT FRANCE is? ATOUT FRANCE is France’s national tourism board. For seven years now this 2 day event has provided tour operators and suppliers in France a unique chance to connect face to face and also includes presentations, panels, lectures, activities, and trade shows. As you can see, this event is very well attended and this is a prestigious award. Discover France was also nominated for the “Most Extensive Offer,” but unfortunately did not take home the trophy for that award. The whole team was very excited. Below is a picture of the Scottsdale office with the award:

DF Scottsdale office - Wendy, Ramona, Kristin, Ryan, Maggie and Loren

A few days later, but thousands of miles away, the France office and Cyrpeo, Discover France bike shop and bike school in southern France, was accepting another award: the “Lead” category award at the 8th edition of the Tres Petite Enterprise / Small Company. This rewards good company management, organization of the company leader amongst other requirements. However, this was only the preliminary award; fear not, a month later Cyrpeo locked in the overall award.

Cyrpeo was awarded Small Business of the Year in the Herault Department for 2010 (TPE 2010).  Thomas Boutin, the France General Manager, and Loren Siekman, the USA General Manager, were present in Montpellier on Wednesday night for the presentation.  Thomas accepted the award on behalf of the French staff and business generated for the department by the operations of Cyrpeo.  This is a very important award, and great recognition for the efforts to develop cycling and cycling travel in the south of France.   The local offices of tourism are very proud and numerous business people came to offer their congratulations. Below are pictures of the award ceremony:

TPE 2010 Award Ceremony in France

Thomas accepting "Small Business of the Year" award

As you can see this has been a very exciting time for Discover France. None of these awards could have been won without the continued support from their clients. Thanks to all the fans that follow and interact with the company on Facebook, twitter, the blog, and other social media sites because you make it easy to be creative and have fun with the postings.