Testimonial

"As you know I had to be dragged (almost) kicking and screaming along by my friends to do this tour. With my long history of health issues,
(including, but not exclusively - low back problems, osteoporosis, history of spinal fractures, osteoarthritis, heart arrhythmia, being too close to 60 years old and not to forget a really healthy fear of crashing and dying on a steep alpine descent!) I didn't believe that I should or could ride or do justice to the tour program.
I needn't have worried. From the start of the tour to the very end, I could not fault (with perhaps the exception of Peter's unshaven legs - seriously, how can someone be such a strong cyclist and have hairy legs!) either the organization or the enactment of the tour program.

We were made to feel welcome and included and no matter how many times we individually or collectively asked the same question over and over again, ("so Pete, what are we doing tomorrow?") they never once rolled their eyes or looked to the heavens for divine intervention (although I'm fairly sure I saw a lightning bolt strike not far from Karen at one point!). I don't know what mystical eastern religious training they did to prepare themselves with the necessary patience and tolerance to cope with a group of excited yet mildly terrified bunch of big kids (youngest 38 and oldest 62), but it certainly worked!

From the group meeting in the Dandenongs on a cold, wet and slippery Melbourne day to the heat, dryness and beauty of the final days in the Pyrenees, everyone was treated by the PDT guys with the warmth and respect that you would receive from close friends, which they would become as the tour rolled on.

The support given by Warren and Peter cannot be understated. They taught us how to descend steep, winding and slippery roads safely; they looked after and cleaned our bikes along the way (even though they - the bikes - were covered in some fairly horrible stuff): they lugged our baggage in and out of the van and hotel and sometimes to our rooms: they kept us on schedule despite individual best efforts from the group (and I was a big culprit here) to derail these
well organized timetables of departure and evening meals (no one gets to eat until everybody is sitting down at the dinner table!); they kept us well and reliably informed of the potential problems, risks and dangers of the rides each day and despite being one tour leader short, worked hard each ride to make sure everybody stayed on course.
The riders having a bad day were well encouraged and psycho-emotionally supported through the tougher times. This however, was rare. This list of support is not exhaustive.
There were many other ways in which we benefited from their expertise.

As far as the accommodation and food went, the quality and style of those two components alone justified the cost of the tour.
The cycling, was simply 'the icing on the cake'.

The accommodation was highly rated and whether it was an alpine chalet or a hotel straight out of an Agatha Christie novel (St Didier, St Girone and Pierriefitte - Nestalas) it was all thoroughly enjoyable. Eating one's delicious evening meal outside in a gravel courtyard on a warm (and mosquitoless!) Pyreneean evening has to be lived to be believed!
However, two of the (not so sober) tour members did report ghosts in the chalet at La Mongie!

The food was fantastic and every morning and night (especially) was a different gastronomic experience.

The boys went out of their way to show us some of the amazing aspects of French culture and history - the walled medieval city of Carcasonne, the citadel - castle city of Foix as well as the magnificent small French villages along the way.

I'm sure this reads like a paid advertisement for the PDT group and in one way it is. I paid approximately $4000.00 for a ten day cycling holiday and that I got in spades.
What I didn't expect but well and truly received was a French cultural, gastronomic and tourism experience that I will - and I do mean this - never, ever forget.
Because of my medical situation I was definitely the 'weak link in the tour chain' but I was never made to feel anything less than a fully fledged member of the group.

It is a fact that no Australian winter training fully prepares you for this type of tour but we all found that after we got past the Day 3 or 4 'leg complaining', the challenges were just that, not obstacles.
I'm sure that I can speak for everyone on our tour in saying that you will look at and live your life differently after this experience.

Yours Sincerely,

Rod Friend B.App.Sc<http://B.App.Sc>(Physio) Grad Dip(Man.Ther.)"