Enjoyable, but a work in progress

My wife and I enjoyed the Bordeaux Bike and Barge experience in late August, but felt that there was room for improvement. Our guide, Scott, and the the cycling routes were excellent. But the ride was made a little more challenging with the bikes seeming to be struggling to meet the demands of the riders with gears sometimes difficult to find or maintain. In addition the lack of water bottle cages on the frame made it difficult to access water bottles while riding. The MS Bordeaux was certainly a lovely boat to travel and stay on and generally the meals were excellent although the kitchen did struggle with providing meals to passengers such as myself with allergies or diet restrictions. Our biggest concern was that there is no differentiation between the tour riding manager and the tour guide, such that our guide, Scott, found himself not only guiding the group that had paid for a guide, but was also constantly being distracted by self guided riders seeking directions, or help with bike problems. We also started later than the self guided each morning due to waiting for all self guided riders to deal with their issues and depart. Notwithstanding this our guide Scott did a great job and looked after the guided superbly.