Loire Life Cycling is the combination of a dream to live in France and the desire to create a business that fitted with that dream.
We moved permanently to France in 2007, drawn to the Loire Valley by the promise of space, warmth, countryside and rich history. It was a chance to spend time enjoying the journey rather than racing to an unknown destination.
This is our ongoing story.
How did you end up here?
Quite by chance! We’ve spent time in France since our university days and often passed through the Loire heading to other places. Subsequently we’d spend time holidaying in the Loire and rent a small cottage or gite.
Happening more frequently this lead to the purchase of our own little french dream – a cottage in Breil, only 5kms from where Loire Life Cycling is based today.
It was possible for us to finish work in the UK on a Friday, catch the overnight boat to Caen in France and be in the cottage by lunchtime Saturday morning. We could then catch the Sunday night boat back and be in work Monday morning.
The pull of the Loire
Weekend getaways became two or three week holidays and then a period of unpaid leave. It was clear that the promise of a life in the Loire Valley was exerting more of a pull than the life we were leading in the UK.
Our time in France wasn’t spent just visiting Chateaux and enjoying wine and cheese. We were renovating our cottage, so spending plenty of time in the builder’s merchants and up a ladder with a paintbrush. We were enjoying it all. The experiences were creating memories that we cherish today.
Saving, Planning & Skiing
By 2006 we were ready to make our move to France permanent. We’d left our permanent jobs in 2001 and had been working as independant consultants in Finance, Telecoms and IT, paying down the mortgage and saving hard.
In 2004 we spent a winter season working as chalet hosts in Morzine, improving our skiing but also asking ourselves a question. Did we want to move into the hospitality business and would we be any good at it?
We had a fantastic time, enjoyed the hosting, the cooking and the skiing. We pondered the idea of moving to a mountain area – we even explored the Jura near Geneva to check out suitable properties.
The pull of the Loire was just too strong, so we started searching for property in the vicinity of our existing holiday cottage.
We were looking to run self-catered holiday accommodation, but knew we’d need something more. At the time, a base for golf holidays was one idea.
Two bikes and a barn with possibilities
We looked at small chateaux (you need money to burn), manor houses, quirky houses with accommodation in caves and frankly some absolute rubbish! We were close to giving up when our agent took us to a small fermette (farm) with a barn and 1 acre of grounds. She thought it too small and with the overgrown pine trees it needed some imagination to picture what it could become.
But we had found Le Gué de Ray.
Around the same time we made another important purchase – a couple of €100 bikes to bumble around on – the first time we’d ridden since university. Cycling holidays weren’t even an idea in our heads, but things were beginning to take shape.
Grand Designs
It wasn’t all plain sailing, but within a year Le Gué de Ray had taken shape – using a local project manager who had access to all the tradespeople and who moved our planning application through the various stages.
The farmhouse was reconfigured first with more bathrooms and less bedrooms and we were able to move in. The barn followed and it made a huge difference with us being on site, making decision making quick and easy.
While the barn was taking shape we were also busy putting a swimming pool in. We’d opted for a fibre-glass shell so we dug a great big hole, lowered the pool into the hole and connected up all the plumbing. It sounds easy when I say it like that!
2009 – First cycling guests
By now we’d become keen cyclists with a growing knowledge of the area. We felt we could apply the ski chalet experience in a cycling context and so we created our first Loire Vally Cycling Tour – The Discovery Tour. With five cycle routes, two hire bikes, our renovated property and a delicious menu to see our guests through the week we created a website and began advertising.
To our amazement, our first booking came from Australia, and John and Lou from Brisbane arrived as our unwitting guinea pigs!
2011 – A full house & new arrival
In September 2011 we were sold out, running back to back Discovery Tours throughout the month. Guests were finding us through word of mouth, or returning and bringing friends with them.
Our fleet of bikes had grown and we were transporting guests in a people carrier adorned with bike racks.
The routes had developed too – with a number of special events tied into the day’s cycling.
The food and drink on our cycle tours was becoming as important as the cycling. Ali has always been keen to showcase the fresh produce available in abundance in the Loire and it was proving to be a hit.
But the biggest event of 2011 was the arrival of our daughter, Ruby in December.
2012 – 2019 Keeping it personal
With the cycling holidays proving a hit there has always been a temptation to expand. Maybe move to a bigger location, add a second base or franchise the idea in other parts of France.
It is a temptation we have always resisited! We came to France to balance work and lifestyle and not to return to the corporate life we left behind.
We want to remain niche and provide a personal service that is impossible for competitors to copy no matter how hard they try.
Through this period we continued to invest in our facilities and always looked at ways our cycle routes could be even better.
A purpose built bike barn, a bespoke bike carrier, bigger people carrier, offering electric and road bikes and moving to voice navigated cycle routes have all helped us stay at up at the front when it comes to cycling holidays in France.
2020 – 2021 – The Pandemic
As with any activity involved in international tourism in 2020 we saw our revenues fall by 90%. With most of our clients coming from USA, Canada, Australia and New Zealand we knew we would be in for a hard ride.
Having developed the business organically without loans (how unusual!) we were confident that through managing our cash flow carefully we could get through. The French government stepped in to help the tourism sector and for that we will be forever grateful.
We thought we were insured for an exceptional loss of business. However, our insurance company failed to honour the spirit of their contract – something we will also never forget or forgive (along with thousands of other businesses in the hospitality industry).
Our guests who had booked for the 2021 season were fantastic as the situation became uncreasingly complicated. Beyond a three week period in 2020 when we were fully locked down, we were actually open for business, but clients were unable to travel to us. There were either inbound restrictions to France or outbound restrictions from their home country.
By 2021 we had pivoted to bring in business from the French domestic market and by September 2021 we were able to host two cycling holidays with clients from the USA. These clients had postponed from 2020. The gap between cycling guests had been almost two years to the day!
2022-2023 – Travel is back!
The 2022 saw a return to normality and people with an appetite to enjoy their travels once again. Our cycling holidays were full and ran from early April right through to the end of September. While we were exhausted at the end of the season, we had repaired the company’s balance sheet. We were also once again in a position to continue investing in both bikes and Gué de Ray.
2023 finally saw our guests from Australia and New Zealand return to European travel and COVID fade into the background. It was a fantastic season!
We also launched a new venture – Chic à Vélo.
Chic à Vélo is a brand for cycling apparel for women – but with a very specific target market. The idea was developed during the pandemic, and you can find out more here.
The aim is that Chic à Vélo and Loire Life Cycling holidays will complement each other and protect us from any future problems that affects worldwide tourism!
2024 – An expanding team
With two growing businesses we needed to get our work life balance back, so in 2024 we welcomed Holly to the team as our first full time employee. Holly brought youth(!), enthusiasm and new ideas to the business and we had a brilliant season. She’s increasingly taking over from Alison in the kitchen and is always on hand to help our guests. Ali & I are able to spend more time on our bikes so join up with the rides from time to time, which is fantastic. Together with other’s who provide laundry, cleaning and gardening services we’ve quite the team these days!
The food and wine is becoming as important as the cycling and we’re often told that the meals with us are amongst the best people have had while visiting France. We’re sourcing ingredients more locally than ever and working with the seasons – it makes for fantastic flavours!
2026 – A second property – La Touche
With Le Gué de Ray running at full capacity we have added a second cycling base to our portfolio, which will allow us to host larger groups of up to 12. La Touche is a beautiful walled farmstead with five characterful cottages nestled around a courtyard. With a heated pool, a barn converted into a bar and dining room it is perfect. We’re so excited to be welcoming guests here. Only ten minutes from Le Gué de Ray the routes on our Discovery Tour remain the same.
As I update this, we are about to start our 2026 season, which was mostly sold out by September 2025. There is already a waiting list for 2027!
See you soon – Jon & Alison !
