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Still high from the great time on Saturday's Giro, Sharon and I are pleased to announce:

Tour de France LTH-style
Saturday July 26, 2008 (to coincide with the last days of the Tour de France)
11:00 am - ?

This will be another bike and eat ride around Chicago (20-30 miles or so) with a French food theme. Nothing is definite yet, but here is a rough idea of what we might do:

Late breakfast/morning snack of croissants/pain au chocolat
Pick up pates, cheeses, baguettes, olives for a picnic lunch
Afternoon crepe snack
Ending with dinner at Cyrano's (we thought Cyrano's would be good as it is somewhat central and close to el stops so that people don't need to bike after drinking wine at dinner)

So at this time, we welcome your ideas. Where should be stop for the croissants, cheeses and pates, crepes? Other Friench foood ideas other than these obvious ones?

As with the giro, once we get suggestions, Sharon and I will make the final choices on the stops, map the route and post details as we approach the date.

If you'd like to join us, please post here. We'll be limiting it to 15 riders as that is what we thought we could manage best.

And if there are any motorcycle riders who would like to join us as safety patrol, that would be great. It was awesome to have Octarine play that role over the weekend.

Merci!

Damn. I'll be in Northern Wisconsin that weekend. Anyway, Laissez Les Bons Temps Rouler!

I'm in. And I won't lurk in the shadows as Sharon's +1 for once. I don't have a good suggestion other than to say I like the croissants at Fox and Obel--but that's not very French--and in Belguim half the people speak French so we should have a stop at Hop Leaf to get frites.

I'm in again! I'm gonna buy a safety vest this time just so I am a little more visible.


Now, how to get a beret to stay on top of a motorcycle helmet? Hmm....

Sounds like a question David "Hat" Hammond might be able to answer...

Glad you're on board for Le Tour!

I'm in +1 again. I bought a bike on Sunday, so this ride should go much smoother. Finally: a bike that fits, has air in the tires and shifts gears properly! Yes!

This is only slightly off topic. Do yourself a major favor and go buy this book- if you spent the money on a bike you can swing a few more bucks for this book: http://www.amazon.com/Bicycling-Complet ... 717&sr=8-1

Count me in too, but for another pathetic car or bus/EL ride. This sounds like great fun; I need to know more about French eatin'.

To get us started brainstorming possible stops, here are just a few ideas:

* I love the tarts at Vanille Patisserie--the atmosphere and immediate area are pretty forgettable (in terms of a destination; seating is also very limited), but the pastries are superb.
* Maybe a stop at Pastoral for cheese if we're going to picnic?
* Dimitra had mentioned offline possibly making a stop at Alliance Française, just to mix up the day some. I don't see anything special going on at AF on the day of the Tour, but if we happen to picnic by Millennium or Grant Park...I used to give a tour at the Art Institute on food in French art that I thought was a lot of fun. I know that kind of thing is not everyone's cup of tea, but if there is interest in looking at things related to food and French culture, with or without my guidance, I think I could make arrangements to get the group into the museum without having to wait in a line.

Other ideas? I know I've seen threads on croissants and other breads... Where could we get good pâté?

I'd be interested in joining. Note that it is happening the same day as the Festival of Cheese at the Hilton downtown... tough competition.

-Dan

Map & Participant List

Map
I'll maintain the Tour de France LTH-style map here. I'll map all suggestions until Dimitra and I make the final choices for stops, probably in late June/early July.

People who've expressed interest so far: (see final participant list in post below)
Hellodali (bike)
happy_stomach (bike)
CCCB (bike)
Octarine (motorbike)
JermAngela +1 (bike)
Pie Lady (car/el)
dansch (bike?)
Holly of Uptown (bike?)

Call me a definite maybe, on bike. I don't think I'll be able to get away for the whole day, but I'm shooting for the earlier stops.

Gotcha. It'll be great to have you for however long you can join us.

Well gosh, riding my motorcycle is tempting, but I think I'll stick to my bicycle. I've got a long-standing deal with myself that I can eat whatever I want as long as I ride my bicycle there...

-Dan

The real Tour de France is well under way, and Dimitra and I are pleased to announce the tentative schedule for the Tour LTH-style. Please post here if you plan to attend, indicating if you'll be participating on bicycle, motorbike, car, CTA or by some other means. We also welcome folks who can or would like to join us at select stops only. Please be sure to note if you will be joining us at Cyrano's, so that we can make a reservation for the right number of people. As Dimitra mentioned upthread, we're limiting the number of cyclists to 15 for safety reasons, but any number of people are welcome to join us by other transportation.

Dimitra and I will test ride the route and post the final directions here by Sunday, July 20th. We look forward to eating and riding with you!

Tentative Schedule for Saturday, July 26th
10:30-11:30 Meet & croissants @ Vanille Patisserie
11:30-12:30 Commute to Pastoral
12:30-2:00 Picnic lunch @ Pastoral/Millennium Park
2:00-3:00 Commute to Hot Doug's
3:00-4:00 Duck fat frites @ Hot Doug's
4:00-5:30 Commute to Cyrano's on the Riverwalk, brief stop @ Alliance Française
5:30-7:30 Dinner @ Cyrano's on the Riverwalk

TOTAL: <20 miles

Addresses & Phone #s
Vanille Patisserie
2229 N Clybourn
Chicago IL 60614
773-868-4574
http://www.vanillepatisserie.com/

Pastoral
53 E Lake St
Chicago IL 60601
312-658-1250
http://www.pastoralartisan.com/

Hot Doug's
3324 N California Ave
Chicago, IL 60618
773-279-9550
http://www.hotdougs.com/

Alliance Française
810 North Dearborn Street
Chicago IL 60610
312-337-1070
http://www.af-chicago.org/app/homepage.asp

Cyrano's Cafe & Wine Bar on the Riverwalk
5233 E Riverwalk S
Chicago, IL 60601
312-616-1400

Participant List
Hellodali (bike)
happy_stomach (bike)
Octarine (motorbike)
Pie Lady (car/el)
Holly of Uptown (bike, not dinner)
dansch (bike)*
Greenfish (bike)*
happy_stomach's guest (bike--only Hot Doug's & Cyrano's)*

*=tentative

How much will dinner be? I'm getting mixed information from various websites. Some say three-course prix fixe is $29, others say dinners are up to $48 a pop. Cyrano's website doesn't seem to offer information. Thanks!

Great question. Dimitra and I will post rough prices after we visit each location on the 19th, though from my past visits to Cyrano's, you can probably expect to spend $30-$45 for dinner, depending on how much family-style eating/sharing we do. Remember, we'll have made three food stops before Cyrano's, so there could be a lot of splitting of dishes at dinner. The stops for croissants, lunch and frites should cost $5-$8/person each. Again, we'll post an update on prices when we post the final directions. Hope this helps.

It does, thanks! I'm for sure going to Bittersweet, Pastoral, and Doug's, as long as somebody shares the fries with me. I'd love to go to Cyrano's, but it all depends on price, so I'll let you know after that is posted, if it's not too late to confirm.

PS To all - Since we're going to both a bakery and a cheese joint, I think I'll be doing some of the next week's shopping too. If I bring a cooler packed with ice, will my loot stay fresh from start to finish? I have a giant plastic cooler, one of those silver bags, and a styrofoam box that was used to ship chocolate.

This sounds like a fantastic idea, but I haven't done much bike riding. Will it be difficult to keep up with the crowd? I would probably just come alone. Also, I'm wondering where I'd park my car. Near the last stop? I'd probably need to get a helmet, too, wouldn't I. Hmmm... so many things to think about. The food sounds fantastic, through.

I think it'll be a very do-able ride. Our pace will only be about 10 miles an hour and the whole day will probably be less than 20 miles. Just make sure to get a few 10-15 mile rides in before then and you should be more than fine. It's definitely a leisure ride.

I don't mean to cause a fuss, so if it's too late to add to the list that's fine by me. But the Good Eating section of the Tribune today mentioned a few other nifty places for French goodness:

Cook au Vin: French catering, cafe, and food specialty store at 2256 N. Elston Ave. http://www.cook-au-vin.com
Genevieve Lethu: French kitchen and tabletop store at 900 N. Michigan Ave. http://www.genevievelethu.fr
Vanille Patisserie: 2229 N. Clybourne Ave. http://www.vanillepatisserie.com

Sorry to do this now, but before I had no ideas about where to go. Cook au Vin sounds like paradise, but as I'm not too far from that, I can go on my own time if need be.

I saw that article as well. We'll investigate and see if we can sneak some of those in.

I'm no expert, but I think it would be OK, especially if you were able to refresh your ice. We haven't had any extreme weather this summer, but it also depends on how hot of a day the 26th ends up being.



Nora, it'd be great if you joined us! As Dimitra said, I think so long as you ride a little before the 26th (mainly to get your butt used to sitting on a bike seat for a while, in my opinion), you should be fine. Also, as we did for the Giro del gelato, I'll lead the group and Dimitra will ride last to make sure no one gets left behind. I imagine it would be best to leave your car somewhere near the last stop. A helmet is very easy to get. I'm sure you could buy one at Target for about $20.

My bike and I are in through Millennium Park but must miss the rest. Looking forward to it!

I'm still on the fence about this event, but I did want to share some timely information I got on my run from office down to the lake today.

For some time now, I've been watching the construction of an outdoor European-style outdoor cafe on the river walk on the south side of the river between Michigan and Columbus, just down from the architectural boat rides and right past a big methane vent--which thankfully blows away from the cafe. They finished around the first of July. I noticed that the name of the place is Cafe/Wine-Bar Cyrano a Monet Garden Inspired Cafe. I stopped during my run today to ask if they are connected to Cyrano's Bistro. Chef Didier was there, and he said that, yes, they were. When I told him about the bike ride and it's French theme, he was excited, although confessing that the Tour de France did nothing for him. He said that he could prepare a buffet and have special pate etc. if we wanted. He gave me his cell phone and email. I told him someone would follow up.

I was going to suggest a stop here early, perhaps the event could end at the cafe. It's a beautiful location and open until 10. If it's a pleasant evening, it might be a great place to end. The prices also seem a lot cheaper than the amount mentioned earlier as a per person price for dinner at the Bistro. They have a decent menu and wine and beer.

That does sound beautiful, and not just the price. Perhaps there could be a split and a reconvening someplace to discuss our respective findings?

I am still tentatively in for part of this, but I am not sure at what point I'd have to take off -- I got an offer to volunteer at the Cheese Festival and that involves a free ticket. (Hard to pass that one up.) Once I have the details on times and what's involved, I will let you know if I can join you on this bike trip.

Hi all,

Please note two changes I've made to the itinerary above. We're going to have croissants (or a tart and a few macarons if you're me!) at Vanille Patisserie instead of Bittersweet, so please meet at Vanille at 10:30 on the 26th. Also, instead of Cyrano's permanent location, we're going to have dinner at the Riverwalk location that CCCB suggested. The rest of the itinerary is the same.

FYI: We considered changing lunch from Pastoral to Cook Au Vin. However, I called Cook Au Vin, and they said they have an event on the 26th. They couldn't confirm their hours for that day and said I should call that morning to confirm that someone will be in the shop. It all sounded too uncertain to plan for.

Sharon

Sounds great. I'm going to be in the area of Cook-au-Vin on Wednesday the 16th, so I'll stop in and report back to you guys (or the forum, with a link here). Thanks for considering my suggestions!

Sorry, I will not be able to make it. I was really looking forwards to this, and I may copy the itinerary and go sunday with a few friends! have a great time!