Hi Bokkie
Yeh, I'm thinking og getting one of those trailer things you tow behind a bike when he is a bit older. We have no hills over here, so the extra weight would be great for training.
The Alp questions: We drove all the way from Denmark to Alpe Du Huez in our car. It is not really that long a journey, about 1500km. We stopped over in Heidelberg Germany on the way there, so it took 2 days. I packed my bike in a bike bag, which stayed in the car for the duration of our travels. I did this for various reasons, but primarily because I did not want to risk it being stolen on the way there, or back. It rained a lot on route to France, so I was really glad I opted for the bike inside the car. (It also helps to have a decent sized car I must add)
We camped at a camping site at the base of Alpe Du Huez. It is actually the last camping site before the dreaded climb. We booked about 5 months in advance and got a reasonable rate, and camping spot. There is many options off course, but camping seems to be the favourite amongst cyclists I've met in the Alps. There was suprisingly many Brits at our site - all of them drove there themselves.
I will check again the details of our trip and reply more specifically regarding costs etc.