A Guide to Selecting a Bike Touring Company

Enjoyment of an inn-to-inn bicycling tour comes from the “total experience.” And since the quality of this experience depends on a number of essential factors, we suggest that you consider the following when selecting a bike touring company.

You want to ride the most scenic, pleasurable, and least traveled biking routes available — you don’t want to just get from one inn to the next. Finding these routes (and constantly improving them) requires a total commitment from the touring company to expend all necessary time and resources to this deceptively difficult task. Be sure that the tour company does not subcontract out his job to another company, and ask them whether the tour follows major roads and tourist routes, or is mostly on the lesser traveled country roads. You can confirm this by talking with someone who has taken the tour you are interested in, and you can get a good idea of the tour company’s commitment to this goal by asking them specific questions about the route.

The enjoyment of your trip will also depend on the quality of the inns, their food, and the innkeepers themselves. You should decide if you prefer small country inns, or more elaborate large inns and hotels. Different touring companies emphasize different types of experiences. Decide if you are looking to experience smaller inns and hotels with a more personal informal touch; larger facilities (often located within larger towns); or 5 star hotels with their more formal approach to dining and lodging. The internet now allows you full access to information about each place on the tour and by doing a bit of research you should be able to get a good feel for the goals and standards of the tour company as well as their commitment to finding you ideal properties that fit those goals.

The skill, maturity, interests, and friendliness of your tour guides will play a big role in the overall experience of your trip. How do you figure this out in advance? Tough question. Look at their pictures in the catalog (or on the web site) for a start. Do they look like people you would like to have lead your tour; that you would enjoy talking with in the evenings; that you would trust working on your bicycle? Other than this rather subjective approach, your best bet is to follow the suggestion under the heading “What else can I do?” …and talk with past riders.

Some touring companies emphasize challenging tours for experienced riders. Others emphasize biking “at your own pace” — a relaxed vacation on a bicycle — with a variety of daily routes offered in the way of optional mileage. The catalogs — look at the pictures as well as the text — will tell you a great deal about the philosophy and approach of the company. Read them carefully. In this way you can begin to get an idea as to whether the company’s “bicycling vacation” philosophy suits you.

There are an endless number of large and small details that must be handled with care and expertise — every day. Only a company with experience over a number of years can adequately know what these details are and how they should be dealt with. When you call the home office you will likely have a number of questions, and the ability of the staff to answer these questions quickly and accurately will give you some idea as to how well the company is run (as well as give you a general idea as to the “personality” of the company as a whole).

After you have considered all the above factors, you need to decide if the price of the tour is fair and reasonable, and how it compares to others. The price should include tour leaders, comprehensive maps and directions, full daily van support, most dinners and all breakfasts, all lodging, free use of high quality helmets, and all taxes and gratuities at the inns, and all ferries, entry fees and excursions that are an inherent part of the fabric of the tour. Anything “extra” should be clearly stated. You will be asked to put down a deposit, so look carefully at the cancellation policy so as to be sure it is clear and fair.

Among the better quality touring companies the main variable that drives price is the cost of the hotels and inns. If an important component of the touring experience for you is to stay at a Five Star property, then expect to pay top dollar. Also, write down the names of the hotels and inns that the better companies use (they are often the same ones) and from that you can tell if the price of the tour is a good deal or is overstated.

Your best sources of information are (a) the bike touring company’s current catalog and web site, (b) your actual contact with the company when you call to ask questions, and (c) people who have been on tours before. Talking with someone who has ridden with a tour company is a great way to get an overall feel for the quality of the experience, as well as get some of your specific questions answered. Referrals should be readily available from any tour company.