Wednesday, December 31, 2008

What is a Self-Guided Bicycle Tour? (And is it for you?)

Self-guided bicycle touring means somebody else handles all your logistics including:

route planning, lodging, breakfast normally, a bicycle rental (OR bring your own),
luggage shuttles from hotel to hotel (usually), a "road book" and/or map of your route, emergency service (sometimes; sometimes you have to handle your own repairs).

On a self-guided tour you may be on your own or you may find yourself cycling from place to place with others on the same tour. That means you'll ride with them if you want or you'll be alone if you prefer. Europeans tend to prefer self-guided tours so you may find you are sharing the road and lodging with Germans, Brits, Irish folks, or who knows?

The advantages of a self-guided tour


- someone handles most of the logistics;
- you get to travel at your own pace;
- you often get to choose your dates;
- it is a lot cheaper than a guided tour.

The Disadvantages of a Self-guided Tour over a Guided or Escorted Tour


- you may be alone so there is no group to join;
- if it rains you go to plan B (usually, put on your rain gear and follow plan A; i.e., there is no shuttle van to pick you up);
- you have no guide to help in an emergency or to help you understand the culture, the language, to negotiate with hotel-keepers or restaurants.

For more information about self-guided tours click here.

Sunday, December 28, 2008

What Kind of Bicycle? Road/Racing Bike, Hybrid Bike or Mountain Bike?



You are headed overseas for a bike tour or a villa rental and two-week stay and you're wondering. What kind of bike should I request, rent, look for - a road bike? Hybrid or city bike? Or mountain bike?


The answer is: what do you usually ride? What kind of rider are you? And what bikes are available?

Start with the first two: Do you love road bikes? Do you really enjoy the sports-car feel of a racing bike? Will you be carrying "stuff" on your bike - gear for camping? Or just items for the day (if that) - camera, lunch, water, phrase book? Then plan on a road bike. But ask questions about the gearing! Do you refuse to use a granny gear? Or do you insist on having one? Make sure you ask BEFORE you go.

Bike Rentals Plus addressed this issue years ago and uses a Cannondale factory modified "sports road bike" with a triple crank for touring but a racing geometry for fun. There's a photo in this post.

If you aren't used to racing bikes, by all means request a hybrid or city bike, shown in the upper right corner here. In Austria and Germany, this is almost the only kind of bike that you'll find available (usually with fenders, chain guards, lights, and kick stands!)

What about mountain bikes? In places like Costa Rica, southern Tuscany or Umbria - for the serious off-road rider, a mountain bike is likely your best choice.

So start your planning by thinking about the kind of rider you are - racer, casual tourist, off-road - then find out what's available.

Take a look at Bike Rentals Plus for even more details on bicycles.

Saturday, December 27, 2008

Hotels that Include Bicycles - What Bicycle Would you Like with that Room?


Here's an update from the NY Times on hotels in Europe that offer bikes. The article, by Jane Margolies was published May 3, 2009 in the electronic edition.

Remember that innovative hotel that offered you a non-smoking room years ago? Well, now you can ask for a bicycle with your room!

Hilary Howard reported in the NY Times Dec. 21, 2008 that some hotels and hotel chains now offer the option of a bicycle along with the room.

Here are just a few (please let us know if you find others!)

The Bowery in NY City
The Gansevoort South in Miami
The James in Chicago
The Element in Lexington, MA
And according to Howard, all future Element Hotels will include free bikes!

Of course, this is nothing new for us here in Fort Collins, Colorado as the Armstrong Hotel has been offering crusier bikes to its guests for several years now.

The Broadmoor, in Colorado Springs doesn't provide free bikes but you can rent them.

In Portland, OR: Hotel Jupiter will rent you a bike for a nominal $10 for 4 hours and $20 for 12 hours. Just give them a call: 503-230-9200 or drop in to their web site at www.jupiterhotel.com.

Near Atlanta, GA: Callaway Gardens offers bicycles for rent on their grounds.

In Europe:

Germany: Berlin - Hotel Gates
Belgium: Brugges - several hotels offer bicycles

We're working on building this list so please post a comment if you find hotels that provide free bikes or rental bikes at a nominal cost.

Bicycle Rentals in the USA

Take a half-day bike ride while touring or visiting these US cities! Some of these rental operators offer half-day or full-day tours. Most rent bikes by the week as well.

Call before you go to make sure they have just the type of bike you need and want.

If you have rented from any of these companies please tell us about your experience and your favorite ride. Or, if you know of a place not listed here please tell us about it in a comment.

Chicago: McDonald's Cycle Center at the Chicago Bike Station

Miami, FL: See Washington DC

Portland, OR: Waterfront Bicycles in one of America's most bicycle friendly cities!

San Francisco, CA: See Washington DC

Seattle, WA: The Cascade Bicycle Club, one of the nation's largest, lists bicycle rental outfits in Seattle

Washington, DC: Bike & Roll
(Bike and Roll also operates in Chicago, NY City, San Francisco, and Miami)

Many bike shops rent bikes as well. Just Google the town you are headed to and the type of bike you are looking for. Then drop us a note to let us know how it went!

Hub and Spoke Tours


Who said a bicycle vacation has to involve packing and moving every day? Try a hub and spoke tour in a villa or hotel base with loop rides every day. We work with many small groups of families or friends who prefer this way of bicycling. They find (or we find for them) a villa or hotel in Provence or Tuscany (or lots of other places), settle in for a week, and take rides out from their base. Those who wish, ride hard and long while those who prefer to take it easy take shorter rides to nearby villages, enjoy time by the pool, and take more leisurely rides from the hotel shown here in Central Tuscany, Italy.

If you are serious cyclists or just want to cover more territory you can rent a car or a van. If someone in your group doesn't ride but will agree to drive make them the designated driver. So maybe on some days you'll leave early and do a long ride to a town that everyone wants to see, then the designated driver comes and picks the cyclists up.

Bike Rentals Plus can help set you up with roof or car racks to make this easier.

Click here for details on villa and hotel hub and spoke bicycle vacations in France and Italy.

Friday, December 26, 2008

Loaded or Self-Supported Bicycle Tour


Among the tours you can take, a self-supported or loaded tour is certainly the most traditional. Among the decisions you'll have to make is how to carry your gear. That, of course, is impacted also by whether you camp and cook for yourself or if you sleep in local accommodations and eat in restaurants. This couple is cycling the panhandle in northern Corsica, France. They are camping most nights but are traveling very lightly with small, low-rider front panniers, one handlebar bag, rear panniers, and a BOB trailer pulled by their tandem.

Getting your tandem and your BOB and panniers to Corsica from outside of Europe is not an easy task. At Bike Rentals Plus we rent tandems, panniers and BOBs to make the logistics easier.

Thursday, December 25, 2008

How to Choose a Tour Company

Ten Questions to Ask Any Bicycle Tour Operator

How do you know which one is the best bicycle touring company for you?
Here’s a list of questions that will help guide you to the right choice.

1. How long has your company been in business?
New companies are okay, but be aware that the Internet has enabled small and inexperienced companies to look very impressive. This question will help you determine just how much and what kind of experience a company really has.

2. How is your company structured? Do you have staff in the home office AND overseas?
Some companies have a skeleton staff in the home office, and these same people run their tours overseas! That may be okay, but make sure that the BEST people are both answering questions in the home office AND running tours abroad.

3. Describe your tours for me. Who takes them? Is there a good match between your needs and the tour company? What is the "culture" of the company? Who will you be traveling with, veteran cyclists? Experienced travelers?

4. What distinguishes your adventure travel company from others?
Do they provide luxury travel?

The packing list you’ll receive for most tours includes a section about “what not to bring” including your gold jewels, your evening gown, or your business suit. Our tours are casual and our philosophy is to enjoy the best of the local culture, including authentic cuisine and centrally-located, locally-owned comfortable hotels.

Do they cater to extreme sports or just the adventure portion of your trip?
We love to ride our bikes and believe that there is no better way to explore the world. We have itineraries for all levels of experience and ability, and we find nothing more satisfying that converting “non-cyclists” to cycle touring. By getting out of the car or bus, your senses are open to the sights, sounds, smells around you…AND you become accessible to chance encounters with local people. When’s the last time you had an old Italian woman cheer for you on the uphill as she beats a rug on her balcony?

Are they an educational travel company? Do they provide guided tours, or self-guided tours? If you are looking for something specific, such as a wine tour, culinary tour, or cooking classes, can they provide this?

5. How long have you been running the specific tour I am interested in? Whether it's a bike tour through Italy, France or Turkey, every adventure tour has a "life" of its own. If the company has been offering a tour for a long time, they can tell you all about it. If it's a new tour, there are probably some bugs that need working out. That may be okay if they're a reputable travel company. But you should at least ask.

6. What is your most popular active vacation, and why? This lets you know where and in what they specialize. They should be able to tell you a lot about this particular tour.

7. How have past customers described the degree of difficulty on this tour? Many travel companies rate the difficulty of their active vacations. This allows you to choose a vacation package that suits your fitness level. Our tour rating system clearly ranks the physical challenge of each tour we offer.

8. May I speak with someone who has been on this tour? You should be able to speak with a staff member who has been on the tour that interests you. When you pick up the phone to ask if you’ll survive the climb over the Andes, you’ll talk to someone who has actually done it. Alternatively, ask for names of customers who have done the trip.

If you are a single woman in your 50’s interested in touring Europe, for example, ask to speak to someone like you who has been there before. If you travel as a couple, ask for the email addresses or phone numbers of at least two couples.

9. Tell me about the composition of the group on the vacation I've selected. You probably don't want to be the only single 30-year-old in a group of older couples on a cycling tour through France. So, ask about group composition. But remember, you'll probably have more fun with a mixed group rather than a homogeneous group anyway.


10. What is the history of this particular tour? Does this tour usually fill up? How often have you cancelled it?
You want to ask these questions for two reasons: First, if it is a popular tour that fills fast, you don't want to be left out! Second, if the tour cancels often (which is sometimes the case during low or “shoulder” season), you don't want to get stuck with an airplane ticket and no tour!

Wednesday, December 24, 2008

Our Single Most Important Piece of Advice: Begin Planning NOW!

If you are experienced at bicycle touring you know that planning ahead, especially for an overseas trip, is critical.

I'll never forget in 2001 when we were in Italy for the summer and were headed to Ireland to develop a new escorted bike tour. We flew into Shannon Airport and had been in touch with a bike shop in Ennis to rent bikes. I had been talking with this fellow for two weeks and was satisfied that he could provide good quality bikes for our ride.

We arrived in Ennis with panniers, as usual, and a duffel bag with shoes, helmets, locks, tools, and so on. When we got on our bikes the duffel would be strapped astride the panniers to collect the daily flotsam and jetsam you tend to collect: jackets, lunch, maps, and on.

We shuttled to our hotel, spent the night and headed off to the bike shop. "Oh that's right," says he. "You were coming today, now weren't you?" The bikes weren't ready. "Come back after lunch," says he. After lunch, the bikes weren't ready. We finally got them about 5 p.m. and lost an entire day of riding.

The moral, of course, is: make sure you can depend on your rental suppplier OR make sure to bring your own bikes. But if you bring your own bikes you need to:

1) Know where you are arriving and how you'll get to your inbound base (by train? by car? van? or will you pedal?)
2) If you pedal, where will you leave your cases or bike boxes?
3) And if you are pedaling, how's the route from the airport? Is it doable?

In short, think ALL of this through before you get on the airplane.

One last story: We had an acquaintance here in Colorado who had found three weeks to fly to Rome and do some cycling in October one year. We talked at length about his plans. He would: fly to Rome with his own bike, begin pedaling right at Leonardo da Vinci Airport, head north, and then maybe take the train back to fly home.

His bike didn't arrive on his flight. And it didn't arrive the next day. He waited four days for his bike to arrive and he was so paranoid that it might come in and he wouldn't connect with it that he spent a bundle of money staying in a hotel near the airport shuttling back and forth twice a day to see if it arrived.

He was so demoralized with having spent so much money in the hotel and for having missed out on four days of cycling that he changed his ticket and came home on day 5!

Tuesday, December 23, 2008

Why this blog


We know you. You would like to take a European bicycle tour without the huge cost of an escorted tour. You'd like to:
- design your own route;
- find your own lodging;
- use your own bike.

Problem is:
- you're not familiar with the territory;
- you'd like suggestions on lodging;
- taking your bike can be a real pain.

So you've found us and we can help.
We can:
- help you plan your route because we know the territory (or can find someone who does);
- we know the hotels, B&Bs, and agritourist lodgings;
- tell you where to find rental bikes (all types of bikes from the lightest and fastest to the most sophisticated mountain bikes to simple, quality touring bikes to take you down the road.)

For most of the above services you should visit www.BikeRentalsPlus.com.

But check with us regularly or sign up for our e-mail newsletter to get all the latest hints and comments on bicycle touring.

On this blog you'll find:
1) Comments and thoughts from people who've already done it themselves.
2) Ideas on where to rent a bike for a quick and easy day tour or half day tour on your own.
3) Suggestions for tour operators who offer escorted day or half-day tours in wonderful places like Paris, Amsterdam, Barcelona, Rome, Florence and the Chianti Hills.

And a lot more! So let's get mowing, moving, pedaling. . . . whatever!