In 2012, I posted “Why Do a Cycling Tour: A Review of Various Tour Companies and General Tips” in the Travel Tips forum. As I entered my very last post there in December of 2017, I stated that I need other people to be the main spokespersons now. To make that happen, I am going to restart the thread in the European forum, since we did most of these trips in Europes, so that all of YOU can become the reliable informants.

Why can't I continue? One hip replacement past and one replacement in the offing have limited all active travel vacations for me, plus companies with whom we had traveled have undergone many changes. One company went bankrupt; one company changed its name. Many of the trips we took have changed their routing and their hotels. For example, a company that only used to provide one support van per trip has gone on to two or more support vans per trip. And for another example, a trip which once had fabulous routing but really bad lodging now has switched up the trip to “just OK” routing and great hotels.

This initial "report" will be made over several posts. It contain some of OUR history and observations in this order:

HOW DID WE START USING GUIDED TRIPS?
WHY DID WE NOT DO IT OURSELVES?
CYCLING TOUR GENERALITIES
WHERE DID WE TAKE OUR GUIDED CYCLING TRIPS AND WHICH COMPANIES DID YOU USE?
MISC ADVICE

I am more than willing to answer questions about things like gear and training and so on which are still much the same. But in general, I pass the torch. I thank all of you for your kind comments and great questions over the years.
AZ

My husband and I had two previous experiences with a now extinct hiking company that showed us that “guided” did not mean “forced march”.

We are independent travelers by nature, and when we were not in “museum mode” and/or “fine dining travel mode”, we took hiking vacations. I did all the planning for all the trips; my husband was usually an excellent companion on every type of outing except for the hiking. He needed to hike fast, and he could not quite understand that just because I did not hike fast at the crack of dawn, that did not mean I was some sort of athletic dunce.

When I hit 40, I booked my very own birthday present, a guided hiking trip, so that my lifelong athlete husband could enjoy wearing out the guides--actual mountain climbers biding their time between guide jobs on Everest and Kilimanjaro--instead of wearing me out, a pretty fit person enjoyed starting slow but could move fast as the day wore on.

We had a great time.

Note here: these same mountain climbers came to me to complain about him and his relentless pace. I suggested cutting his hamstrings, but they did not go for it.

Life goes on. We had children. As soon as our two kids could hit the trail, all of us were hiking national parks all over the US—even in Hawaii—without guide or travel agent. The kids were troopers, bless them, even though were severely tested by my need for them to be learning something 24/7 and their father’s need to hike at breakneck pace 24/7. Once we established making one person, even one of the kids, in charge of “Are We Having Fun Yet?” each day, we became better at all of this.

We started cycling as a family in the US later, around 1998. The kids, more than 4 years apart, were still in elementary school. We’d rack the bikes, find a great parking space alongside our many rivers and/or rails, and we all became good urban and bike path cyclists.

Our vacations quickly started with putting the four-bike rack on the car. We zoomed around Niagara Falls on both sides of the Canadian/US border and cycled Washington DC from Old Town Alexandria to Mount Vernon to the Smithsonian. And we still mixed in hiking activities, often even doing “staircase trails” popular in our hillside home town. We needed no one’s help. Have bike rack and hiking shoes, will travel.

Our very first guided family trip, therefore, came about totally accidentally in 1999.

I was trying to plan trip logistics around open hiking trails in Switzerland with limited success. In the days of dial-up internet, it would take hours to find that the one route I had planned had “died” because of a recent winter avalanche. Then I would belatedly find that another closed trail had just reopened. Frustrated, I stopped my planning one day, and on a whim, looked up “guided hiking” in Switzerland. Almost immediately (well, within two minutes in S-L-O-W internet) a PERFECT complete Bernese Oberland trip for families. The trip cost less than what I was planning—and I am darn frugal. Plus someone was going to do all the work for us! I did not even have to buy our Family Swiss Pass.

Remembering our two adult guided hiking trips where I did not have to keep pace with my husband, I was in.

We had a great time. Our guide, the company owner, knew every inch of the Bernese Oberland. The slow hikers had someone with them; fast hikers could zoom ahead with the trip leader; the kids were offered playground breaks and a pool daily (something my dear husband, Mr. Relentless, did not quite value before the trip); and the food was great.

Of even more importance, I did not have to plan ONE THING for seven days.

What does this hiking trip have to do with cycling? Well, we took one more trip with this specific company before it went bankrupt. This trip was a “choose your own” mixed hiking and cycling trip in the Dordogne. We were able to let our 14-yr-old enjoy hiking and talking and hiking and talking with other kids while we cyclists could flank our little one as we encouraged her up hills. Unbeknownst to us parents, the kids, ranging from 8.5 to 18, formed a sort of scary posse, running late night card games in remote lounges in hotels.

For all of us, it was GREAT.

Our takeaway from the mixed hiking and cycling? We liked cycling better than hiking on these guided trips. We could easily escape the too-close company of others when we needed some solitude or some family time (or to tell the kids that they had crossed a line and were in BIG trouble), we could stop at cafes at will, and we could feel the downhill exhilaration that hiking never provided. We would in the future engage in multi-sport (hiking, cycling) but we would never do another guided hiking trip again.

Let’s preface this section with a clear disclaimer:

Our idea of hell is either
a) a guided bus tour of Europe or
b) a cruise.

While we are far from anti-social, we HATE “herding” and we hate not having immediate social escape routes. So there must have been some very compelling reasons for us to have chosen to spend 6-12 days in the close company of others on at least 24 cycling trips.

There certainly are.

The Top Reasons for Our Going “Guided”:

1) Bike Quality over Local Rental Options—Plus NO LUGGAGE PROBLEMS!!!!
2) Safety Net
3) Options for All
4) The Family Trip Planner Gets a Vacation—and Does Not Have to Be the Mediator or “Decider”

Need I say more? Well, let me expand on those reasons.

Reason 1) Bike Quality and Luggage Problems Solved:
If we could easily drive to a vacation site with our bikes, we did not rent—nor did we need a guided tour. If we were flying over an ocean or a continent, then one option was to rent bikes. And we did so in the US, Canada, Ireland and France.

It was not pretty. Many of the rental companies had no helmets to rent, so we’d have to pack helmets in our carry-on luggage since we avoid checking luggage as much as possible. Our other bike rental difficulty was that there was always something wrong with at least one family member’s bike, and some disaster would strike when we were miles from our base. Pre-smartphone and pre-UBER, our safe return from any outing was far from guaranteed.

Luggage hauling was the other outside problem. We had to plan our own transfer days.

Let’s contrast. On guided trips, if the bikes are bad, the trip guide is expected to service the darn things on the spot or find another bike—it is NOT the guest’s problem. Most of the time, the guided trip bikes were far better than those offered by local rentals, and 75% of the time, those bikes were far better than our bikes at home.

Luggage? Heck, on most of the guided trips, we never had to do more than have our luggage outside the door by a certain time.

Reason 2) Safety Net:
There are “self-guided” trips out there. We have not taken them, but I sure researched them endlessly. These type of companies and trips could take care of getting us decent bikes, routing us, and carting the luggage off to the next hotel.

So why did we never book? It was a matter of “belt and suspenders” thinking. The fact is that I am the only mechanic in the family. Not good. Plus, our language abilities in Europe alone meant we could be in trouble as soon as we were outside cities. My husband can somehow order coffee and beer plus figure out how much he owes in ANY language, but that’s his linguistic limit. Well, maybe he also can locate a restroom. The kids and I speak almost coherent French, but our Italian and Spanish are horrendous. At best, we would have to bike side-by-side. In a catastrophe, we would be stuck dealing with broken cycles or a terrible fall or a car collision in the middle of nowhere in rural Italy. You get the picture.

With guided tours, even if you are cycling by yourself miles away from anyone else, some guide’s job is to know where you are. And should an accident happen or should illness strike, the guides have the language ability and the resources to get you help. Over time on these trips, our family members and other guests have had quite a few accidents and illnesses, one guest had a concussion, another had a broken ankle, another drank way too much bubbly and had to be hospitalized. Things happen, and it’s great to have an expert whose job is to assist and to get help fast.

Knowing where you are is also of great value. Sometimes, one attempts to cycle a bit too far or has cycled way too far in the wrong direction. On a guided tour, one always has UPDATED directions (printed or GPS), and a phone number for your hotel and your guides on hand. Should you run out of energy, pick-up is hand signal or phone call away. With my husband, Mr. Fast but also Mr. Wrong-Way--even with Google Maps—having back-up is such a blessing.

Knowing ahead of time that a road as washed out or gravel has just been applied to a road is such a help. Each morning on a guided trip involves a “route rap”, where guides go over directions, route options*, meal options** and all the potential pitfalls of the day. The great thing was that if the guides said, “Easy turn to miss”, the kids and I learned to ask, “Where will my husband end up when he takes this wrong turn?”


Reason 3) Options for All:

The safety net allowed us independence and lots of trip options in terms of routing* and socialization and more. The result was that each member of the family could have his/her own vacation that was with each other and yet very independent.

To explain, I must first emphasize that my husband and I are family-centric, mixing a wish for our kids to fly the nest with a HUGE degree of parental caution. We were not the type of people who needed a “break” from the kids—they were just too much fun!--but we also felt kids should enjoy testing their own social and physical skills away from our eyes.

With guided cycling, we felt we could meet our parental needs and their growth needs. We eventually could allow our oldest to take risks we otherwise would never have allowed away from us and every other guest on the trip; guided cycling allowed me to bike in bliss by myself; guided cycling allowed our youngest and her father to do their “zoom up the hill, stop for coffee, zoom up the hill, stop for roadside berries, zoom up the hill, stop for ice cream, zoom up the hill, stop for Daddy’s beer” thing.

When the kids graduated from college and my husband and I went back to twosome trips, it still was great that I could choose to ride my bike or ride contentedly dry as could be in the van while he did some unappealing long option* in the pouring rain. I still could meet him for lunch or, more likely, join him at his chosen bar.
__________________________________________________ ___________

*Most companies/trips provide at least two options or even more per day of cycling to accommodate the different athletic abilities and vacation interests of the group. More will be explained in the Cycling Tour Generalities.
**Meals are usually another “opt-out” and “opt-in” thing in terms of socialization. All companies include breakfast, but usually provide a 1.5 to 2 hr window for it. Lunches may or may not be included, and usually are pretty flex. Most companies provide dinner every night with night on the trip on one’s own. More will be explained in the Cycling Tour Generalities.


Reason 4) The Trip Planner Gets a Vacation

“Happiness Quotients” can be hard on vacation, because routine has gone out the window. Yes, I feel lucky that our family interests coincide—the husband and kids like art and history and museums almost as much as I do; all enjoy trying new food; all like outdoor activity—but the timing and choices of all of those on a trip can be overwhelming when tossed into the middle of a room. On a guided trip, the week’s itinerary has already been determined, the restaurants are already scheduled, and the special tours are already booked.

I loved it that all I had to do besides making the master packing list was to get the family to the trip start site. And once the trip started, it was up to each family member to take care of the happiness quotient for oneself. We could take the "Are We Having Fun Yet?" responsibility off the table for the entire family for the duration.

Sure, I still had to take the lead pre- and post-trip, but for 5 or 6 days or so—and twice for 12 days!—the only plan I had to make was what to put in my daypack on the bike and what I wanted to wear to dinner.

Cycling days usually work this way: After the guests leave in the morning, one guide cycles up and down the route (s), checking in on almost every guest on the way. One or two other guides drive one or more support vans that can tote extra personal equipment, plus provide snacks, water, and first aid essentials.

Let's get to specifics.

Equipment:
Bikes usually have a bike rack/bag, although some people prefer to have a “stripped” down cycle. Locks are usually provided, and some people opt to take tire kits when they head out for the day.

Bikes themselves usually include these options:

--Upright hybrid
--Dropped handle road bike
--Relatively New: E-bikes

The companies don’t provide clips. If the guest wants them, they are to bring them. I never brought clips, but you better believe I brought my own saddle and my special gel cover. Helmets are usually provided, especially now that the “one-size-fits-all” back adjuster works so well. Caution, though. If you have an abnormally large head (two guests over 10 years had the largest craniums I’ve ever seen), be prepared to bring your own or warn the company ahead of time.

Daily Routines
The first day of cycling with every company we cycled with was the same:

1. Introduction to guides
2. Perhaps a shuttle/lunch etc. to the starting point for the first ride.
3. Bike and helmet fitting and attachment of clips, etc
4. Safety talk (although one company NEVER gave one over two trips with them
5. Short initial ride
6. Cocktail hour and guest introduction
7. Dinner

The next day, the “real” stuff starts. With that in mind, most company days evolve this way:

1. Breakfast, usually offered over a 1.5 to 2-hour period.
2. Route rap either in a hotel meeting space OR by the bikes
3. Bike packing—snack table, water, daypack loading, etc
4. Suggested coffee stop/ van stop in the morning
5. Lunch—Depends on the company and the day if this is on your own, a picnic, etc.
6. Long options or free time
7. Dinner, which may be at one long table or several smaller tables. There has never been assigned seating on any of our trips. And on every trip, there has been one night “on one’s own”, but often the guides would book a restaurant for the entire group, thus not making it "on one's own".

Day Route Options
Guides tend to present at least two route options per day, and on some trips on some days, there are even more. If one decides only on the shortest option, most of the time, one can change one’s mind simply by letting the guides know. If you choose the longest option, you usually can opt out somewhere along the route.

How Many Guides Are There?
When we first started out, there used to be only two guides on cycling trips, one of whom might be out of commission on luggage transfer days. A few years later, more companies started enlisting an extra person just for luggage transfer, and on our last few trips, there were two primary guides and two or more assistants who not only did the luggage transfer but also drove support vans up and down the route. When we did the Canary Islands trip, the support logistics were quite extensive because certain routes were washed out each night, and the company brought in guide reinforcements.

The quality of the hotels varies per company, per location (e.g., national park options are limited, so even “high end” trip lodging is contradicted by options of the locality) and per type of trip selected (e.g., some companies have “Premiere” and “Casual” trips). All the companies send out their hotel list to clients so that one can get the gist of what’s offered.

Food and Alcohol
We always found the food to be good, no matter what the company. Many guests with whom we traveled with food allergies were accommodated to the best of the locale’s abilities.

As far as alcohol, some companies and trips provide NONE. Some provide the first and the last cocktail party and that’s it. Some say those two opportunities is all they’ll provide and somehow, they find ways to have beer in the cooler at lunch and wine tastings galore, etc. Some guides suggest starting a “wine kitty” (an idea we ended up hating because too often, persons sitting next to the wine tended to gulp most of the wine from the kitty. Often that person was ME). On other trips, guests took the responsibility on of providing alcohol for the entire group.

Some higher end companies MAJOR in providing alcohol. If you are really into wine, you might want to factor that into the value of a higher end company that provides the alcohol.

Gratuities
Hotel services for company-arranged meal, stays and luggage are covered by the companies. Wine service is NOT, so do tip your server for your alcohol bill.

Guides expect tips at the end of the trip. They usually pool them, and the primary guides then tip any assistants out of their own earnings. For most of our years on these trips, no suggestions were given for the tip. Then one of the companies suggested 4% of the trip cost for each person. And then that same company, finding out that no one could do percentages anymore, started giving a $ guideline in pre-trip publications.

What did we do? We started meeting as a family to talk about our experiences the past week, and then we would write thank you notes to each guide with our tip, which was generally either north or south of 5% per person on the trip according to our “grade”. That way, even if they pooled the tips, the guides got a “value” assessment. And we often slipped an extra tip to one of the assistant guides if they had saved our lives or something.

On Family Trips, What Do the Guides Do for Kids?
This is a great question to ask the company before you leave. There can be wide variations.

On the first two “Family” guided trips we took, one the Swiss hiking and one the hiking/cycling in the Dordogne, we think the company hit the perfect happy medium. The guides actually took NO more responsibility for the kids than they would do for the adults. Instead, the philosophy seemed to be: “We designed this trip and the days FOR kids, but you still have to be the parent.” The kids may have chosen to eat together by the end of the trip, but they ate adult food at adult hours.

In the Bernese Oberland, the kids got hiking poles to which to attach village medallions—and parents did the attaching. While we hiked, our rest stops were at playgrounds—the parents had to be the supervisors. We finished our hike at village pools, and we parents started switching off responsibility for pool supervision time.

On the Dordogne trip, the kids, 8.5-18 years old, started ganging together and looking out for each other; parents started switching out for each other, too. My husband sort of ended up in charge of little cyclists in the morning; the hiking kids self-sorted according to age; another guy and I ended up taking the teens out for long extensions in the afternoon. It was like renting a neighborhood for a week.

Unfortunately, that company went into bankruptcy. Sigh.

On our next “Family” designated trip with a different company, the kids were still eating adult food at adult hours, but one of the guides in the afternoon would offer to take the kids so that the adults could continue hiking or cycling. On some days, our kids opted in on the kid activity; on other days our kids opted out.

On the next two “Family” designated trips, the kids were expected to eat at another table and were offered “kid” food. This food offering and the fact that the guides had to play to the lowest common denominator kid (the whiney one) resulted in our oldest child passing a “Proclamation of Independence” to us across the plane aisle that read: “We hereby refuse to go on another ‘Family’ trip.” From there on in, if I was able to convince* a company the kids could handle adult routes and eat “real” food and even handle dinner conversations, we only did regular trips with the exception where a “Family” trip’s dates worked the best for us.

Still, I have to say this: on all our family trips, most of the parents were very aware of their own responsibilities for their children, most did not want to “escape” them, and I’m not sure that this “dumbing” down was the desire of the client. With at least one other biking company, one with whom we did not travel, there WAS a different client expectation**. Again, ask the company.
_________________________________________________

*Yep, it then fell on me to convince various biking companies that my youngest could go on adult trips with ease and with respect for the adults. One company rep would not listen at all—and I certainly understand that—but usually, most allowed me to explain that both kids were used to two-hour or longer dinners, were used to cycling over four or more hours a day, etc (which is far more than most of their client base) and usually we got a “thumbs up”. Some of the guides and guests would be initially leery—heck, who wants to be with a 10 yr old?--but when it turned out that our kids reflexively passed all the wine from cocktail hour or wine tastings onto their favorite adults, they became quite popular cycling and dinner companions.
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** We did not find out until much later that clients on a competitor's “Family” trips viewed the guides as trip nannies. The girls and I ran into a biking guide for a competing company at a café in Ireland. He told us that the parents had been SO negligent on his last trip that mid-trip, the guides had to hold a meeting to tell the parents that a) the parents MUST pick the kids up BEFORE dinner to take them to their rooms, b) MUST bathe them, c) MUST put them to bed and d) MUST bring them to breakfast. His question (and mine) was: “Why do a ‘Family’ trip if you have no intention of seeing your kid for seven days?”

I might have left one or two out, but here are the guided cycling trips I remember. Please note: I do have favorite trips, but since trip routes, trip lodging, and trip guests are not constants, I want to avoid endorsements of any specific trip. I am willing to answer questions about them to my ability once I check their current routing.

That said, we’d return to Ireland in a heartbeat, we’d move to New Zealand, and yes, we bought a Catalonia flag to hang outside our house. So here goes….

Year, Company, Trip

2000 Bankrupt Company: The Perigord And The Dordogne Multisport (Family)
2000 Backroads: Loire Valley Multisport (Family)
2001 Backroads: San Juan Islands Multisport, Puget Sound, Washington, USA (Family)
2001 Backroads: Glacier National Park Multisport, Montana, USA (Family)
2002 Backroads: Brittany/Normandy Cycling
2003 Discovery Tours (Used to be Bike Vermont/Bike Ireland) West Coast Ireland Cycling
2003 Backroads: Southwest Coast Ireland Cycling
2004 Discovery Tours (Used to be Bike Vermont/Bike Scotland): Scotland Highlands Cycling
2005 Backroads: West Coast of Ireland Cycling
2006 VBT: Tuscany by the Sea Cycling (Maremma Region)
2006 DuVine: Burgundy Cycling
2007 Backroads: Czech Republic Austria Cycling (Family/Casual)
2010 VBT: Andalucia, Spain Cycling
2010 Backroads: Provence (Casual)
2011 Backroads: New Zealand Cycling (although hiking and kayaking were included)
2012 Backroads: Turkey Cycling
2012 Backroads: Puglia Cycling (Casual)
2013 Duvine: Slovenia Cycling
2013 Backroads: Pyrenees And The Costa Brava (Premiere)
2013 Backroads: Canary Islands Cycling
2014 Backroads: Friuli Italy/ Slovenia Cycling
2014 Backroads: Costa Rica Cycling
2015 Backroads: Mallorca Spain Cycling
2015 Backroads: Piedmont Italy Cycling

Thank you so much for writing all of this. I read your original post many years ago and it has stuck with me since them. Partly based on that post, we are scheduled to take a family (teen) bike trip to Italy this summer. I am really looking forward to it and all this information is incredibly helpful.

Yeh great info - in a past lifetime I led guided bike tours and there are many advantages - especially carrying baggage (though there are many services that only port your bags from hotel to hotel. Also guidance to good bike routes and for a solo traveler especially socialization of having others to ride with. I've done tons of solo biking and personally like it but many do not.

Wow, great thread so far.

Years ago I used to use guided tours and gave up when Mrs Bilbo disliked paying so much for so little. We now just stick our bikes in an aircraft and head off. Bikes are ancient and rebuilt so many times that it gets easier to not to worry about them each time. Helmets, never seen the need for them, too much literature that suggests they are more likely to break your neck than save your head. so I avoid. Luggage, well we pack light. Where to go, along rivers with accompanying railway systems normally gives us enough back up.

Difficulties, well quality of info is dire, especially the eurovelo system which really does show how bad the EU can be when they try to organise the countries together at a local level. However, when they have actually built a cycle lane, the things are very good and well fed with info etc. The other issue is aircraft companies have cottoned on and are raising cycle transport costs and making it harder to take bikes. Renting locally is a possibility but again you pay a lot for what you get.

We set up mybikeguide.co.uk just to list the easy places to visit and to keep records.

Problems, legs are getting older

I was so happy to read this, taitai. I hope this trip works well for you and your family. Egads, those trips meant so much to me and my husband, so I sort of teared up at your post. Can you tell that I'd love to relive this?

Oh, the legs, the legs, the legs. I'm wearing Achilles tendinitis compression sleeves as I write.

I don't agree with your helmet decision, although I do understand how some pundits view the helmet as giving one a false "impervious to danger" point of view. American football would be safer without that "impervious to danger" feeling.

But our experience is telling. Our youngest daughter's helmet was split in two on two separate occasions; she is the EVER-cautious one, and she would have died or been brain damaged in either incident. And one road bounce against a small rock in a quiet neighborhood killed a quite cautious adult life-long friend of ours. He was just slowly riding around the cul-de-sac waiting for his wife to get finish her make-up. He expected no danger because there was no traffic; he probably braked for a squirrel, tipped, and his brains leaked out onto the sidewalk.

So Europeans still eschew bike helmets? And they are de rigeuer in U.S.?

A look at efficacy of helmets thru studies probably supports each view.

I wanted to circle back to say that we just got back from our trip. We did a Backroads Family trip in Italy and WOW, it was amazing. We have been everywhere and this was one of the best trips we have ever taken. Best of all, my kids LOVED it. It was hands down the best trip for teens we have ever done. They loved being active, being independent, having kids other than their siblings to hang with, the food, the sites and scenery, the guides, the activities! On day two, at dinner, our sons asked us which bike trip we are going to do next summer. They are hooked. We never would have thought about the as a trip option had I not read your report and now it seems like it is going to be a family tradition. Thank you again for taking the time to share your experience. Our family absolutely benefited from it.

This year I cycled in Spain where helmets are mandatory and I noticed my own behaviour changed, I was more agressive on the bike, more thrill seeking, so no thanks. ;-)

What a great overview of guided biking/hiking trips! We have done two Backroads biking trips, one in the Dordogne in 2000 and one in Provence in 2006. We even placed second in a photo contest with them for a photo from that last trip and won a $2000 trip credit. Sadly, we have yet to use it and take another trip. Kids growing up and my son not too keen on bike riding. We really enjoyed biking because you moved fast enough that the scenery changed at a nice clip, but you weren't locked in a vehicle with what is essentially a shield between you and the environment. You could really take it all in on a bike, enjoy all the senses. For instance, in Provence, it was grape harvest time and the smells were heavenly. I would have missed that in a car with the windows up. Now you have me excited to start looking to take another one.

Here is our "winning" photo. We were cycling down a quiet country lane and heard something behind us. We looked back and saw a sheepherder headed our way. We pulled over to the side of the road so he could pass and my husband snapped this photo. They still use it on their website. My favorite part is the dog taking a leak off to the side. They photoshop him out on their website.

I am so happy, lofn and taitai, what you experienced the joy of these types of trips. I loved your photo, lofn. You understand how trips like this gives the kids independence and at the same time gives you the literal ability to inhale the terrain of your trip. I don't think I've ever felt so "present" as I've done on hiking and cycling trips.

For the purpose of using this thread as a guide for those considering taking a guided cycling trip, I am going to post the old link for my first guided cycling post, but I urge new posters to reply to this newer thread:

Why Do A Cycling Tour?

Again, I would suggest that you not respond to that old thread because I would like to help others find updated rather than outdated information.. Readers will need to know what company you used, what area of the world in which you took the trip and what type of trip you took (Family, Solo, Premiere, etc). Please do include things that you loved and hated about all, too.

AZ

As a personal aside, I'd say that my husband and I tell each other at least one a month, "Thank God we took those cycling trips." Do we miss the trips? Ironically, only a little. I will be 65 within a month; my husband is 73. We aren't in bad shape; we just are not in the shape that had allowed us to "zig and zag" so easily on past trips.

We just spent over two weeks without a car in Cornwall, using rail, bus, taxi and feet to get where we wanted. We found ourselves looking at every terrain as though we had been on a bike, yet we only really wanted to BE on a bike two days in that time.

We look at all the cyclists in our city now and smile, though. Fifteen to twenty years ago, we as a couple or as a family of four would be the only people using city streets to get from Point A to Point B. There were no bike lanes then; now there are entire recommended bike routes with bike lanes. We are NOT tempted to get on a bike; instead, we are tempted to get out of the car and adjust the height of every darn seat plus tweak the helmet adjustment.

Happy Cycling
AZ

Another shout out to AZ for all of the helpful information on guided cycling trips that you have provided over the years. I read every entry in the post you started in 2012 and was sad to see it end. Thanks for starting this "new" one in attempt to get others to share their experiences and keep the flow of current information flowing.
I have only done one guided cycling trip, back around 1990 (Provence and Camargue), but it has always remained one of the best trips of my life. Hoping that my future may have more guided cycling trips in store for me. Will continue to come back to this post in hopes that there are new entries.

Marguerite--How sweet of you to say so! I wish you another great cycling adventure.

I'm thinking I should of kept the old thread going since this one has not gotten as many responses. But when such a thread starts with outdated info, it became a disservice.

The topic came up at my book group (originally my "play group" decades ago) a month ago about "moving on." Most of my friends ski (not me!), and they are keeping their equipment, knowing they probably won't do it again. I laughed and said, "I bundled up all the old cycling stuff early last summer and felt joyful it was gone." They were in shock.

But the emotion I felt then was one of release. I am so very happy that my husband and I did all those trips, especially the ones with our girls, but I am also happy that I never have to rub "my parts" on another saddle as long as I lived, a problem that increased every darn year. Donating all my various packed " bike butter" packets to all the females on my last trip was the warning that agony was certainly outweighing the ecstasy.

One chapter closes; another opens. We're living in the city, the one we used to cycle for our Saturday night dates. We've downsized to a rental apartment, we're down to one car. We walk to restaurants, movies, groceries and bars. Life is good out of the saddle.

Again, thank you for the kind remarks.
AZ