Relax and Enjoy Your Trip!
Tour Level Ratings
We want you to feel thoroughly satisfied at the end of each day – without feeling too tired from the mileage, the climbing, or the weather. On the other hand, a lot of the pleasure of a bicycle tour comes from a sense of personal physical accomplishment that not many people get to experience.
How to reconcile these seemingly contradictory results? Our rating system helps you choose a cycle adventure well suited to your abilities. And it does the same for your riding companions too. What’s more, we post our day by day itineraries that include mileage amounts online.
It adds up to a nicely matched group of individuals with common interests and skill levels. It’s a proven recipe for a great bicycle tour!
Our bicycle trip ratings range from 101 to 501. They are based on a combination of mileage, terrain, and elevation gain (a scientific phrase meaning "hills") that you will encounter on each bike tour.
Bike Tours 101
These bike tours are great for beginners, but also good for intermediate or advanced bicyclists traveling with friends who are beginners. Extra mileage is available daily.
-
Average riding days: 6
-
Average daily mileage: 30-35 miles
-
Cumulative daily climbing: 1,000-2,000 feet and often much less
Browse 101-Level Trips
Bike Tours 201
Great for all levels of cyclists, although beginners may choose to shuttle over portions of the route on one or two days on some 201 tours.
-
Average riding days: 6-9
-
Average daily mileage: 30-35 miles
-
Cumulative daily climbs: 1,000-2,000 feet, but half the days may include cumulative climbs over 2,000 feet
Browse 201-Level Trips
Bike Tours 301
A little more challenging. Most beginning and intermediate cyclists will do fine on these bicycle tours, but some may wish to shuttle on days with steeper climbs.
-
Average riding days: 6-9
-
Average daily mileage: 30-35 miles
-
Cumulative daily climbs: over 1,500-2,000 feet on most days and at least three days with cumulative climbs over 3,000 feet
Browse 301-Level Trips
Bike Tours 401
For intermediate and advanced cycle adventurers seeking a challenge. Less experienced cyclists may enjoy these trips, but they are likely to shuttle frequently (and make their friends pay for a meal or two!)!
-
Average riding days: 10-12 (with the exception of Costa Rica)
-
Average daily mileage: 40 miles
-
Cumulative daily climbs: over 3,000 feet on at least one third of riding days
-
Most of these bike tours don't have long climbs every day
Browse 401-Level Trips
Bike Tours 501 - ExpeditionPlus!
Our ExpeditionPlus! Tours are designed for strong cyclists who want a challenge and a chance to explore the frontier of cycling. Long daily mileage on mountainous routes prevents the van from taking the same route as the cyclists, which means less van support. We don’t recommend these tours for casual cyclists.
Read more about ExpeditionPlus!
|
 |
