Tour de France for wimps

MOUNT PLEASANT, S.C. -- For everyone who fantasized about competing in the Tour de France, but recognized that their muscles could never make it, Breakaway Adventures is offering a "Tour de France for Wimps" through Sept. 23.

The South Carolina-based company's tour allows you to pedal some of the same streets and countryside of France as the race participants -- but at a more relaxed pace. Instead of 115 miles a day, you'll cover 86 miles over the course of a nine-day trip.

The route runs through forests, farmland, vineyards and villages, with stays in several hotels whose restaurants have won stars from the Michelin guide. The trip begins in Strasbourg, the capital of the Alsace region of northeastern France, and winds across the German border and back again to France.

Riders get a detailed itinerary with maps and travel at their own pace without a guide, but a local staff member is on call to help with bike problems, move luggage and deliver wine.

The tour costs $1,759-$1,855 per person.

The real Tour de France started July 1 in Strasbourg, in the Alsace region of eastern France, then passed through Luxembourg, Germany and the Netherlands before winding through the Pyrenees and then the Alps and ending on Paris' Champs-Elysees on July 23 -- a distance of 2,256 miles.