Tours Du Tarn Cycling

I recently spent a week with a group of friends at this wonderful place; a week that I will always look back upon with very fond memories.The experience is completely unique and bespoke in its offering. As a group of long established friends in their 50’s we have a few quirky ways but were fully embraced in a way that was non invasive but pitched perfectly, so we had time and space for ourselves but also benefitted closely from the company, hospitality and knowledge of our wonderful hostsThe cycle routes were gauged perfectly to our collective ability. These encompassed incredible views and various lunch stops in authentic French restaurants with a real local charm.The breakfast and evening meals provided were healthy, home cooked and delicious. We were catered for superbly in this regard and spend many evenings chatting and laughing late into the night.The accommodation itself was very well appointed, comfortable and clean. The location is stunning, set in beautiful French countryside.In conclusion, I and my friends were blown away. When we departed we were not only sad that such an amazing experience had come to an end, but to be saying goodbye to newfound friends. 5 stars

A little paradise on earth, had the best summer holiday and the cycling was fabulous. Can't recommend enough.

We've been on many cycling holidays over the years and our week with Tours du Tarn was up there with the best of them. The barn at As Plos is a fabulous base for a holiday; a beautifully converted barn, very comfortable and with everything we needed. Our hosts Charlotte, Marcus, Jim and Mel have created a real home from home atmosphere and there are many quirky pictures, fittings and objects in the space to delight the cyclist!We went catered for the week and our vegetarian and garlic-free needs were met with a delicious array of home-cooked meals, complete with a selection of wines of the region.We came for the cycling and we weren't disappointed. It was perfect! Carefully worked out routes along very quiet roads winding through stunning scenery. Our route-planners Marcus and Jim know the area extremely well and their written directions are easy to follow and come complete with notes on things to look out for and the interesting history of the villages we would pass through en route.We used the Giant hybrid bikes provided and they proved excellent. I'm quite a stickler for a well setup bike and Marcus had done us proud. The brakes and gears in particular were very well chosen for the terrain - and with the option of a huge sprocket on the rear cassette, we never wanted for a lower gear! Good quality helmets, locks, bike tools, water bottles and panniers were all provided.The highlight of the week for us was the fourth day's route through the Gorges d'Averyon. The weather was perfect and the route sublime. In my head, I'm still there now.Thank you Charlotte, Marcus, Jim and Mel. We'll be back!

Absolutely amazing/comfortable place top service and great food. The planned cycling routes are adapted to all kind of cyclists, if you are training for a competition (my case) or just wants to be explorer the real French countryside (my wife’s case), I definitely recommend this trip! Worth it every penny definitely come back!

Just returned from the most amazing holiday in south west France with Tour de Tarn.We booked a cycle tour which included pick up and drop off from Toulouse airport. It included dinner, bed and breakfast with soft drinks and lots of wine.We choose the touring leisure option which was a bit easier than we expected, probably because we have been on leisure cycle holidays before and our level of fitness was good. The team were great and created some leisure plus routes for us. We still saw all the lovely sites but we were given the option of cycling a bit further with a few more difficult climbs to challenge us and increase our fitness.The other guests staying that week went on the road bike option for the more serious bikers. It was great meeting up with them in the evening and discussing our adventures over our evening meal.The three course meal every evening was delicious, we had some of the recipies listed on the website. Healthy, nutritious, tasty food at its best, made mostly from local produce and served with local wines.The accommodation was amazing with lovely on-suite rooms, a communal area with a fully equipped kitchen which catered well for guests should they stay self catering. There was a range of English TV channels to keep up to date with the news at home.The outside area was gorgeous with a decking area to eat outside if we wished, beautiful gardens and l areas to sunbathe os swim in the pool.I highly recommend this place for holiday makers and cyclists off all levels. This has to be the best holidays I have been on so far. You can go self catering, however I would go back just for the food and wine, cycling on top is a bonus.Thank you to Marcus, Jim, Charlotte and Mel. You have been amazing hosts, you all made our week very special. It was a pleasure meeting you all and it was lovely spending time at As Plos a cyclists and foodie haven.

As a keen road cyclist who usually organises our annual summer self-catering cycling holidays myself, either to the Alps or the Pyrenees, this year my wife and I were looking to go somewhere different and also let someone else do everything for us … this is where Tours du Tarn Cycling came in. They are based just outside the village of Espinas which is ‘perched’ (more on that later!) on a hill top in the stunningly beautiful region of Tarn et Garonne. From collecting you and your bike from, and delivering you back at the end of your holiday to Toulouse Airport which is about one hour’s drive away, everything is done for you. The accommodation, four ensuite double rooms in a newly restored ‘barn’ is of a very high standard, breakfasts are served on the terrace overlooking the pool as are pre-dinner drinks followed by a fabulous three course dinner with beer and/or wine. You can see all the details on the Tours du Tarn Cycling website but what that doesn’t convey, in my opinion, is just how good the quality of the meals are. The food is fresh, locally sourced (after all we are in France) and beautifully prepared and cooked by Charlotte and Mel. If, like me, the quality of the cycling and the quality of the food are equally important to you in making the perfect holiday, this is the place for you. The routes, which vary in length and the amount of climb involved, are all planned by Marcus who is the keen road cyclist in the team. He is happy to guide you if you so wish or is equally happy for you to ‘go solo’; you can borrow a Garmin GPS pre-loaded with your route so you don’t get lost.Obviously the area cannot boast having the iconic climbs of either the Alps or the Pyrenees but what it has got is brilliant, quiet roads, some great climbs of three to four miles in length (the large ‘plateau’ that makes up the region is dissected by the river valleys of the Lot, Tarn and Aveyron) and wonderful views. Depending on the route chosen you could be riding gently through acres of vineyards or typical rural French scenery (fields of sunflowers or maize or grazing cows etc.), struggling up valley sides (the climb out of the lovely town of Saint Antonin Noble Val on the D958 is a must – Adam Yates went up there in an amazing 07:10 closely followed by Thibaut Pinot in 07:14 during the 2016 Tour compared to my more pedestrian 13 minutes plus!), powering along undulating smooth tarmac roads on the scrub and wooded plateau uplands, stopping for that ‘must have’ holiday photo memory (the castle at Najac is a given) or careering down valley sides to the next flat river valley section. One thing is for sure, no matter what route you choose, as Espinas is situated on a hill top you’ll be guaranteed a nice climb at the end of the day so keep a little in reserve; the ‘Mur Espinas’ segment on Strava is very aptly named; thankfully there are several alternative 'gentler' return routes to Espinas if you don’t want to tackle ‘the wall’!I can’t finish this review without a special mention for Jim, the fourth and final member of the Tours du Tarn Cycling team, who apart from picking us up and taking us back to the airport, waiting on us hand and foot and ‘entertaining us’ with his hat collection (how many hats do you own Jim?!) saved the day when my seat clamp broke while out riding. A phone call back to base by Marcus was all that was needed as Jim drove out to meet us (we were in the middle of nowhere!) with a new seat clamp, fitted it and within an hour we were on our way.The FIVE stars say it all.Ian HusbandSeptember, 2018.