Bike Touring companies ? experiances and suggestions

[Smiley]

We have just complated a Bike Vermont 6 day 5 night tour, can't say enough good stuff about these cats. They know Vermont as well as the Colonel knows chicken. We also have done as tandemists 4 tours with Santana and they know how to put on a great vacation for tandems. Curious to know what other cycling tour companies you all have had sucess with.
BTW if Serotta gets into the Tour business I'll be there next time cause I heard from Russ Howe how good of a time those guys and gals had in Ottrott France. Russ get going and publish the photo's and story :)

[Bruce K]

POMG in Vermont put on a nice weekend tour that I did about 2 years ago.

I have heard very good things about Ciclissimo Classico as well. They do tours in New England and Italy.

BK

[dbrk]

For the US and Europe, especially, Italy:

http://www.cinghiale.com/

and http://www.sportstoursinternational.co.uk/
these being the folks who took me with Rapha Performance Sportswear to Le Tour...

out my front door works for me too,

dbrk

[Bradford]

If Italy interests you, call my friend Lauren at Ciclismo Classico and tell her Stephen Smith sent you. Lauren's tours aren’t the cheapest, but they are top-shelf. And by the way, did I say it is Italy. :banana:

If you are thinking about the Western Canada, you can try Rocky Mountain Cycling Tours. We did our honeymoon (on the tandem) with Peter (Jasper to Banff) and thought he did a great job. Less money than a top shelf tour but still plenty nice. And you can't beat the Canadian Rockies for a tour. He is a great guy and that is a great route. :banana:

If you want bargain basement prices but the best ride on the planet, try Atlantic Canada Cycling. Heather and I did Cape Breton Island on the tandem with them. It is a camping tour, but they make all the reservations and give you the route maps. They will take your stuff from place to place and pick up your groceries at the designated store. I come from a self-sustained touring background, so I thought it was luxurious. It was Heather’s first tour and she thought it was a little too much work to do all our own cooking. When we did this ride he thought we were a bit daffy to do it on a tandem, but we did just fine. I would suggest that you be in good shape though, there were some serious climbs on that ride. And doing it without a drum brake is insane, and we found out the hard way. Ask around about Cape Breton, it is nothing short of spectacular. Peter Mooney first told me about this place 15 years ago and said it was the best place to ride in the world, and he was probably right. :banana:

If you like the bare bones tours, you should also check out the Adventure cycling tours. They do a bunch that look great to me, including Utah parks and Montana. :banana:

Hope that helps. :banana:

[Ray]

I've also done a Bike Vermont tour - I second the recommendation. Really good folks. The inns and food are almost too nice. Feels sort of decadent. Reasonably priced for what you get.

Did a tour of the Cabot Trail in Nova Scotia with Freewheeling Adventures. Also very well done with a real Canadian feel. Don't know exactly what I mean by that, but the culture is just different enough and they're all Canadian. Some of the spots are a bit more rustic than Bike Vt, but some are also a bit more luxurious.

The most fun I ever had on a tour was in Wales with an outfit called Bicycle Beano. Just a couple of old British hippies who started a very small touring company and have kept it that way. You usually stay in one place and explore the hell out of the area. Great rides, lots of stops for tea, beer, beaches, cakes, etc. Short mileage (35-40 miles, but it can take all day with all of the good times and stops) but some very challenging climbs in that area. Incredible group dynamics (they really work at this, although they'd never admit it). Low budget but an incredible amount of fun.

Pedal-PA was reasonably well run when I did their cross state tour a few years back, but that's a whole different scale, as was the Bon Ton Roulet, a camping tour of the Finger Lakes.

-Ray

[landshark_98]

The Hampstens at Cinghiale are great for Italy. You can even try and beat Andy up a hill. Great roads, food and guides.

For France, I don't think you can beat Erickson out of Seattle. 15 days of great riding for the same or less than everyone elses 7-8 day rides. Some of his trips are known to be frequented by NW hammerheads, so if you want to go fast and hard look into the maritime Alps, the Dolomites and his long Tour de France trips. Also does tandem centered rides in Dordogne, Swiss valleys etc.

Greg

[Ti-Boy]

I second the rec. on POMG for touring Vermont. We did the 7 day tour which was excellent.

For mountain biking, Western Spirit it fantastic. Did two tours with them on either side of the country: both great.

Next year it's Italy. I wish Cingale was doing the Wine Tasting Tour again in 07.

[Ray]

Oh yeah, forgot to mention mountain biking. I second the recommendation for Western Spirit and will also add Rim Tours. Both outfits are in Moab and they recommend clients back and forth when trips are full or schedules don't work out. Both do an excellent job and routes they've put together are great.

-Ray