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Is joining a cycle tour simply a case of showing up and the people running the tour will organise everything or are there lots of things that you may need to do to ensure you have a good time? Is the tour your only activity during your travel or do you have to work out how to get to and from the tour? Will you be collected when you arrive or will you need to make your own travel arrangements? List goes on and this web page provides a check list of matters to consider. And When U Do - What Next? Food and Drink: Food and drink quality and choice varies across all tours. The price of the tour will provide some indication of quality and choice, but of course this can't be guaranteed. On cheaper bike and barge tours we have experienced alla carte service with great meals prepared by the crews' speciality cook, while on others the cooking was done by the captain and crew and was fairly ordinary buffet style meals. Land based tours provide a mixture of dinners prepared by the hotel you are staying in and/or being taken to restaurants to try local cuisine. With French Cycling Holidays, for example, dinners are usually a highlight of the day with the guides taking extra care to find great food and excellent wines. Breakfasts can also vary with some boats or hotels offering a wide range of choices while others serve up the same fare every morning. When we first started bike and barging we would join the other riders every morning after breakfast packing our lunch for the day - usually a bread roll with meat and/or cheese, a piece of fruit and a small box of juice. After a couple of tours we decided that this is a recipe for boring eating and we stopped preparing our lunches except on days when advised that we would not have a purchase option. Companies like French Cycling Holidays will at the start of the tour offer participants the chance to have picnic lunches on days when the local food choices will be poor or non-existent. Sometimes the cost is built into the tour and on other occasions you are given the choice of joining picnic(s) and contributing your share of the cost of the picnic at the end of the week. Otherwise, we check out the local options near where we stop for lunch and usually really enjoy trying local specialities that otherwise we might never try. All tours we have done have provided free water every day, sometimes the water is bottled and other times you fill your water bottle from water provided by the guides before and during each day's ride. Most, but not all, tours include a free water bottle in your welcome package. After experiencing a tour that didn't we now always bring our own reusable water bottles with us. In addition to possibly contributing to the cost of providing picnics, it fairly common on smaller barges and boats for a tab to be kept for drink purchases over the whole tour, with participants given their bill for their costs over the tour on the last night so that accounts are cleared before you leave the vessel. Coffee Coffee, the go to drink of many cyclists, whether it is drunk before, during or after a ride with friends, part of a meal or something to end the day. Riding locally the challenge is usually to find a coffee shop that is open and prepares a good coffee of the type that you like. As an Australian, I have become used to purchasing espresso coffees from a speciality coffee shop with trained baristas and as a cyclist I look for coffee shops with good coffee that welcome cyclists and that have somewhere suitable to stack or lock bikes within eyesight. Once I travel overseas, the 'coffee' challenge becomes harder. A tool that I use to help me locate suitable places is Google Maps which can help you find somewhere that is open and serves coffee, but reviews don't usually give you a sense of the coffee preparation or style. I haven't had to use Google in Italy as the coffee options there are prolific and usually you can tell how good the barista is by looking at the coffees they have already prepared. A tip for novices, though - a latte in Italy is a glass of milk and the standard coffee options are espresso and cappuccino. If you want a latte try asking for a cafe latte, but you may be delivered a black coffee with milk. If you drink piccolos in Australia try asking for a doppia (double) macchiato and see how you go. The other thing about espresso coffee is that the coffee names vary from country to country. One country's espresso is another's short black; a piccolo is called a cortado in several countries and a a cafe latte in Austria could result in a tall thin glass with milk coffee and a straw. I used to rely on an app called Beanhunter but it changed its focus and coffee reviews got older and irrelevant. If you have a coffee app that you swear by, please send me a review with the web address and I will add them to this page. Laundry Laundry is an important consideration when cycle touring. We now each pack three sets of riding clothes when packing for one or more tours. That is three jerseys, three knicks, three pairs of socks three base layers, three caps to keep the sun off our heads. By having three sets we are able to wash a set after a ride and provide two days for it to dry. If you are on a boat or staying at hotels for multiple nights you can leave your clothes to dry in your room while you are out riding, but if you are changing rooms on a daily basis, you have to wash straight after you return to the room from your ride so that the clothes can start drying overnight. Then they go into a plastic bag for the transfer to the next room (unless there is room in the van for clothes to be spread across the back seat to dry during the day) where they can spend another night trying to dry before being used again. A useful tip given to us was to wring out the clothing by putting items in a towel and then twisting the towel to remove as much water as possible. Then hang as much washing as possible on hangers in the wardrobe and close the wardrobe door so that the dry heat of the wardrobe helps to dry the clothes overnight. We have found it rare to have access to a laundry with dryer in our hotels, but we can advise that at the Lake Garda Bike Hotel in northern Italy all cycling guests are given a large mesh bag into which all of a day's dirty cycling gear can be placed and then deposited at reception before 7pm. The clothing is washed and dried overnight and returned before 7am the next day. An absolutely fabulous service which frees you up from the usual practice of washing clothing in the bathroom basin which is time consuming and messy! Joining a Tour For most tours, you are usually required to make your way to and from the vessel or starting point and depending on the departure and arrival locations you may find yourself having to arrange a series of transfers including finding the nearest cheap airline airport, working through train options (noting that in France and Italy for example you can only book three months in advance) and possibly having to get a taxi for the final leg of the connection. Many operators will include pick up and drop off at a range of relatively nearby sites and this can be very helpful. In addition, if you find an operator/guide that you love to ride with, you may find that they will go out of their way to help you get to the start of your tour or to your next point of departure such as a rail station or an airport. If you are looking at options for getting around Europe and the UK before or after a bike tour, I would suggest comparing trains with planes and then look at hiring a car just so that you can appreciate the pros and cons of each. Flying in Europe and the UK can be a cheap alternative with airlines like EasyJet and Ryanair (no connection) but be aware that they often fly out of regional airports and can present a challenge in getting to and from the airports. Try the website flylc.com to identify either airlines that fly out of airports near where you are coming from or going to, or change the enquiry to look at specific airlines and see whether they offer flights at prices that might suit you. For rail options I would highly recommend looking at the webpage called the Man in Seat 61 - the train travel site at seat61.com . It is a fabulous site and was the catalyst for this website. Train travel is a fundamental element of each trip we take to Europe and the UK and I always start by checking seat61.com to find out what train options are available for the places we are travelling to, which class to travel, when to book, where to book, etc. Train travel options are myriad overseas and it can be daunting trying to work out whether, for example, to catch a TGV, an intercontinental train or a regional train in France. Renting a car can also be tricky. Again there are lots of comparison websites, but even so it can be really difficult to compare 'apples with apples' due to the different terminology that rental car firms use for the same event. Also, be aware that the three French car manufacturers (Citroen, Peugeot and Renault) offer car leasing schemes based on a minimum of a 21 day lease. If you need a car for more than 20 days it can be a much cheaper option and has a number of benefits including a better insurance option. If you lease the car is registered in your name and you get normal insurance rather than the tricky insurance with excesses for standard rental cars. Make sure you are fully aware of the terms and conditions (e.g. non serious accidents must be reported to the the leasing company within a specified time for the repair to be covered, but providing you do so there should be no excess payable. We have collected a Peugeot at the airport in Milan (for an additional small fee) so there is no problems with taking a leased car outside France, but I believe they must be returned in France. Further, if your leased vehicle breaks down, it must be repaired rather than being replaced and you will be provided with a hire car till the leased car is repaired. This can create two difficulties, first you have to return to the city where the car is being repaired once the repair is complete which can stuff up your itinerary, and secondly if the repair takes several days and your itinerary had you driving into another country in the interim, you may not be able to as when this happened to us in Italy we were told by the rental car company that we could not take their car outside Italy. Luggage Many overseas operators assume that their riders will be coming from countries relatively nearby or only for the duration of the tour. In addition, many riders come from countries with less generous holiday arrangements than Australians and the combination of these two factors often means that the riders will fly in, join the tour and then fly home. As a result, they can often get away with a backpack or small suitcase and easily meet maximum luggage size of the operator. It may therefore pay to contact the operator before your tour departs to find out how much luggage they will be willing to transfer each day. As Australia is so far away from almost everywhere we tend to arrange 6-10 week holidays with two or three bike tours over the period. This can mean leaving home with a large and small suitcase each and not all operators will transfer this quantum of luggage, particularly if the tour is fully booked out and luggage space in a van or bus needs to be optimised . This is where the itinerary for the whole trip can be important. For example, we have on occasion been able to devise a tour whereby a suitcase with clothing not needed during a ride week is stored in a locker at a railway station or in luggage storage in a hotel where a tour started and finished. Should I take my bike with me? Locally - roof v tow bar? The location of the ride will of course have a major bearing on your decision if you own a bike you would prefer to be riding. If you can drive to the start of the tour, you could take your bike with you. There are lots of racks that can be attached to your vehicle and used to carry your bike. In choosing a rack you need to think about whether you will attach to a towbar or use one of the racks that attach directly to the roof or boot lid. The other thing to think about is the compatibility of your bike(s) to the the rack system you choose. For example, if you have an all steel or an ebike, it will probably be heavy and better attached to a towbar based rack for ease of lifting. A full carbon bike will be light and roof rack options come into play, but you need to check whether the method of locking into the rack might cause long term cracking problems for the carbon. For carbon bikes, many bike mechanics I have spoken to suggest that it would be better to get a rack that attaches to the wheels rather than clamping to the frame. However, this advice has started to change over the last few years. Tow bar racks tend to come with two standard designs - an upright bent bar on which to hang your bike(s) using the cross bar or a full blown rack on which the bike(s) can rest and be attached. The latter are a better option for bikes you want to protect and some, such as the Yakima Click series come with optional ramps that can allow users to roll a bike up the ramp and on to the rack allowing most users to be able to load and unload even very heavy bikes. We changed to a Yakima Click 2 towbar rack when we purchased our Creo e road bikes even though they each only weigh 12 kgs. We have now used the rack for several trips including a tour in Tasmania with AllTrails which included taking the car with rack and bikes by ferry from Melbourne to Devonport and back. It did a brilliant job. Electric Vehicles and Bikes The recent uptake of electric vehicles (EVs) has introduced a new challenge for bike carriage. The addition of a bikes on a roof rack or the addition of tow bars and bike racks at the rear of an EV can impact of EV range through providing greater wind resistance. Theoretically hanging bikes behind rather than above an EV offers the least resistance, but even so a rack carrying two bikes and all up adding 50kgs towing weight can be expected to reduce an EVs range by 15-25% depending on the terrain being traversed. Bigger, SUV style EVs that allow you to carry bikes inside the car offers better range but all EV manufacturers are looking to improve battery range to facilitate all types of towing activities including bike racks. Overseas In my experience, if you are joining an organised cycle tour overseas, the operator will offer to rent you a bike and, if needed, a helmet. Taking your bike overseas with you can be done, but you might want to consider the pros and cons first. I've thought about doing so on a few occasions, but the cons won the day. However, a number of acquaintances have taken their bikes and have benefitted from having a bike that perfectly suits them, rather than renting. So here are my pros and cons: Pros You will probably be most comfortable on your bike. Saves you the cost of renting a bike when you arrive. Your preferred type of bike might not be available on the tour you are joining. If you are flying in to immediately start riding and will be flying home as soon as the ride finishes, many of the cons may be worth putting up with. If and when your ebike batteries can be hired from bike shops or the like at your destination, it might be worth the hassle of transporting your bike so that you both can take advantage of your bike's e features and also avoid the much steeper cost of hiring ebikes as opposed to manual bikes, whether they be road or hybrid. For our 2024 tour in Italy we ended up hiring two Giant e Road Bikes from the tour operator for a week. This cost us just shy of $AUD 1500 and while we enjoyed the ride the price was epic. Cons You will need to purchase a bike box of some description (although if you have the cardboard box that your bike was sent to your bike shop in, you may be able to use that box for your trip). Of course depending on the quality of your bike you may need to buy a relatively expensive metal bike box so that your bike is not damaged in transit. You will need to dismantle and rebuild your bike or pay mechanics at either end of your trip to do so. Depending on the distance between your arrival airport and the start of your riding tour, you will have a bike bag to lug around in addition to your luggage. This can be an issue if you are catching public transport to get around. See Brakes below - if you will be riding on the opposite side of the road to home, you might want to swap your brake levers over so that your bike is consistent with the set up of local bikes. If you are not joining a supported tour, you will probably need to find somewhere to store the bike box while you doing your riding. If you are joining a supported tour, they may not have room to store and/or cart your bike box. If you have an e bike of any type you will need to think about how you will transport your battery(ies) as you will probably be unable to leave them in or on the bike frame in the aeroplane's hold. Apparently batteries need to be carried as hand luggage, but many batteries will exceed the hand luggage weight limit of 1kg. If you are mixing your activities while overseas and won't be located in one spot when not riding, it could be a major hassle to transfer your bike when you are not cycling. If you have any mechanical problems while touring you may have to arrange your own repairs and depending in where you are you may be without a bike for a lengthy period. What are the alternatives to taking your own bike when travelling overseas? The basic alternatives are to purchase or rent a bike when you arrive. Some riders choose to purchase as they will need the bike for extended periods, don't need to worry about transporting their bikes and luggage between different locations and they can purchase a bike that they know suits them. Others want to try bike models that they can't trial at home or they can get a superior purchase price and intend returning home with the bike. However, the bike you want may not be available, the cost of purchase can be very expensive and what do you do if you can't sell the bike before you depart for home. If you opt to buy a relatively cheap bike then resale is much more feasible, but in return you may be opting for an uncomfortable riding experience. Hire Bikes However, in our experience, most overseas riders joining tours in Europe or the USA will opt to hire a bike from the company that is operating the tour. The type of bikes they offer (and most now seem to offer a choice between a manual bike and an ebike with the latter often being twice as expensive to hire) will vary from hybrids to flat bar road bikes to drop bar road bikes with the hire rate climbing as the choice improves. If you are bike and barging, you will often have a choice of a 7 or 21 gear hybrid bike with a rear rack and a vinyl pannier for carrying things like lunch, a bottle of water (usually distributed free of charge at the start of each day's ride), snacks and a rain jacket. Our European tours in 2023 and 2024 had us riding with people who had arranged to hire e flat bar hybrid bikes and e mountain bikes. The hire costs for these bikes were around 200 to 300 euros a week. Panniers and Bags As you improve the quality of the bike, you may be offered a vinyl bag that clips on to the handlebars. Having a capacity less than half of a pannier, you might need to ride with a back pack to carry those items that don't fit in the bag. Both panniers and handlebar bags can be clipped off and used to carry your valuables while you are away from your bike (while visiting a church or a museum, form example) but we found that in the heat carrying heavily laden panniers or bags was an inconvenience and we worked on carrying valuables in a lightweight back pack so that the bag or pannier could be left on the bike with non-valuable items that if stolen could be easily replaced. Brakes In Australia the primary direction signal is the right arm off the handlebar so the primary braking hand is the left hand for the rear brake. If you have your brake levers changed in Europe to match your home set up you will find yourself signalling the primary direction on the left and if, in an emergency, you use your right hand to slam on the brakes you will be putting on the front brake and may summersault over the handlebars. So stay with the European setting and spend the short amount of time required to get used to pulling on the right lever to put on the rear brakes. Bike Computers Whether of not your hire bike comes with a bike computer and its quality, depends on the operator and the cost of the tour. Many low end operators have cheap bike computers such as Catseyes which are good for keeping track of the distance ridden. As the quality of the bikes being hired improved you may find that your tour operator provides a pre-programmed device such as a Garmin 500 so that your route each day is pre-loaded and you can easily follow the route which is by a bold blue line. Trek Travel provided these devices on the two tours we did with them. Many serious riders already have their own bike computers which they always bring with them and attach to their bikes using the temporary attachment fittings provided with the device. If the operator has already fitted a bike computer to the handlebars, there may not be room on the handlebars for your computer too, but not to worry, just start it up at the beginning of the day and slip it in your back pocket and it will still keep track of your essential data. Over the last few years as we have moved up to higher quality bikes the operators are usually quite happy to program your bike computer so that it is the only device you have to attach to the handlebars and you can ride just like you would at home with the advantage of having the route available on your screen if you get lost. If you live in a country that drives on the left hand side of the road, in right hand side roads you will probably be offered the choice of having your bike brake levers set up in the way you are used to them at home - that is your rear brake lever on the left and your front brake lever on the right. I would strongly recommend that you say no!

An AI search of e-road bikes available in Australia identified nine bike brands offering e-road bikes. This site endeavours to present readers with a page of data for each bike including price, weight and range. E-Bike Comparison Data

e-road bikes from major brands first start appearing in 2019 and over the last five years the amount of data in relation to these types of bikes has mushroomed. However, it is often very difficult to compare 'apples with apples' as the major brands determine what they think purchasers might be interested in. This website therefore set about to decide what data might be of interest to readers and created a series of tables summarising the features of known e-road bikes. Comparison of E Road Bikes plus other e bikes as they are added. Have you ever tried comparing road bikes from different manufacturers and found that they each provide different metrics to assess their bikes. You can spend hours trying to work out if brand x is better or worse than the opposition or meets your personal requirements. It seems to be even worse with e-road bikes. The manufacturers seem to have made an art form of presenting their bike metrics so that it can seem almost impossible to compare one brand with another. Some of the questions that potential owners will ask include how heavy is the bike in running form, how long will the battery last before needing to be recharged, how long does it take for a full recharge, where is the electric motor located, etc. I decided to put together a template covering the data that I think needs to be available so that potential purchasers or hirers of e-road bikes can compare 'apples with apples'. As I was getting close to publishing the latest available data in early 2025 I became aware of a significant e-touring bike from Germany and I am hoping that it will be the first of many impressive e-bikes to be added to this blog. With the assistance of my tech savvy grand daughter, Charlotte, we have developed a template I am using for each bike featured in this section of the blog. To update the data on each bike took a considerable amount of work and unfortunately even after checking manufacturers' web pages, bike shop sites and cycle review websites there are still blanks against various headings. I hope that you, the reader, will be able to help me fill in the blanks. There are many e- bikes out there and seemingly more are entering, and occasionally departing (e.g. the Focus Paralane2 e-road bike is no longer being produced), the market each week. If you see an e-road bike not covered by my comparison chart please send me the details and I will try to find the specifications and add them to the chart. Likewise, if you find that the data I have provided is incorrect, please send me the correct data and I will fix the chart. While the site has an Australian bias when it comes to specification and price I am more than happy to add pages for bikes only available in other markets. After riding the De Rosa E-DO last year inn Italy I have added as much information as I could find on the net including its price in euros. CAVEAT: The tables in the next tab has mostly been prepared using data provided for Australian e-bikes. It's my understanding that most of the specifications are consistent across Australasia, North America and Europe/the UK, with the exception of motor sizes and top speeds. The comparison data are metric rather than imperial, but this makes comparison easier and the reader can easily convert metrics to imperial if required. Likewise I have had regard to Australian Road Design Rules which limit electric bike motors to 250Kw and a top speed of 25 kph. The USA and NZ allow greater power and speeds but this is treated as a given rather than outlined in the chart.

Have you participated in a bike tour that you would like to review and make available for others interested in joining the tour? Here is your chance to let others know what you thought of the tour. READER'S REVIEWS Brendan and Veronica Sweeney's 2025 Self Guided Tour across Mallorca, Spain. In early 2025 we departed from our home in Donegal, Ireland, for our fourth self guided cycling trip to Mallorca, Spain to escape our winter and based ourselves in the Platja de Muro area (in the north of the island). The reason we keep coming back to this part of the island, is because of the numerous bike rental shops in the area, but also because it’s where, in my view, the best cycling roads are. We decided to go to the Cap de Formentor lighthouse, as the weather was so nice (this is a 70km spin with almost 1,000m of climbing). This is one of the most iconic routes on the island and must be one of the most scenic routes there is. The climbs are not too steep (6 or 7% on average) and the sea views are breathtaking. Unfortunately, we encountered two road accidents along the way, one involving a cyclist and a car and the other was a lorry that lost control on one of the many hairpin corners enroute and hit a wall. No serious injuries thankfully, but it made us more aware of the traffic around us for the rest of the trip. On our way back to the hotel, we stopped for a well-deserved gelato by the sea side in Port de Pollenca. It was just heaven. Our second day took us on quieter roads (locally called Cami’s) through Campanet, Inca, Sineu and Petra before returning back to Platja de Muro. As with the first day, the weather was just perfect. We had a nice lunch in Sineu and decided to go for a lap or two in the local outdoor velodrome, before getting back on our road home. The Cami’s are just a dream to cycle on as the roads are less busy and most are well paved. They can be a little hilly, but it just makes you go a little slower and enjoy the sounds of nature and the birds singing. This route was 90km long with 750m of climbing. Day three was a recovery cycle for us as we were saving ourselves for the last day. The weather took a bit of a turn for the worse and we got caught in a shower. It didn’t last long though and we dried out again quickly enough. As with our second day, we cycled as many Cami roads as we could doing a loop from Platja de Muro, Can Picafort, Santa Margalida, Sineu and back to Pollenca. It was just over 80km with 600m of climbing.  Our last day was the one we had been building up to. We did two amazing climbs (Coll de Sa Batalla – 7.88km and 400m of climbing and the famous Sa Calobra – Colls dels Reis – 9.41km and 660m of climbing). The first one took us up a beautiful winding road through a forest and the second one took us down the port at Sa Calobra and then climb back up it again. Once we got to the top, we stopped off for a bite to eat at the viaduct café which was just perfect. The descent back to Port de Pollenca was an amazing end to the day and our tip to Mallorca for this year. So, day four was 115km altogether with 2,000m of climbing. Mallorca lived up to our expectations once again and we are looking forward to going back there probably around the same time next year. We were very lucky with the weather as we hadn’t cycled so early in the year there before, normally we go during the month of May. At the end of April each year, a major cycle event is run called the 312. This attracts in the region of 10,000 cyclists each year and starts around 7am covering three distances over closed roads (167km, 225km and 312km). Something to take note of, if booking a trip to the island if you want to avoid it, as the roads can get pretty busy before and after the event. The summer gets really hot and isn’t really suitable for cycling unless you go first thing in the morning. The peak season for cycling is March / April / May and then September / October. As I mentioned at the beginning, the area around Platja de Muro / Alcudia / Port de Pollenca, have an abundance of bike rental shops to cater for everyone, normal road bikes, e-bikes etc… Most hotels in the area are well set up to cater for cyclists with locked up bike sheds so you don’t have to keep them in your room. Tour of Mallorca based between Platja de Muro and Alcudia, Mallorca,Balearic Islands, Spain submitted by: Brendan Sweeney from County Donegal, Ireland. May 2023 Brendan and Veronica Sweeney with Steve, Derry, Northern Ireland 2023 Tour Length: One week with 5 consecutive days cycling. Type of Event – This tour was self-guided and self-booked (flights, accommodation and bike hire) by individual members of our cycle club with routes decided beforehand for each of the five days of the trip. Because this was our club's third trip to Mallorca, we had a reasonably good knowledge of the routes we wanted to do. Our cycling club trip to Mallorca this year was very much looked forward to by the eight of us that took part. This was our third time to visit this cycling paradise in the Mediterranean and won't be our last. We booked our usual hotel (Gruphotel Maritimo in Alcudia) and we weren't disappointed. The hotel is four star and everything about is just right for us. The location is in the north east corner of the island close to many classic cycling routes such as the climbs of Sa Colobra and Cap Formentor, but also loads of flatter roads as well. We created routes on Strava and downloaded them before we arrived there. The best time of year to travel to Mallorca is probably from March to May and from September to October as the roads are less busy and the weather is not too hot. We dealt with a german company called Huerzeler that rents out bikes and does guided tours. Their company link is: https://www.huerzeler.com/en . They hire all kinds of bikes including e road bikes from one of their cycle stations on Mallorca and they are great to deal with. This would be perfect for anyone new to the island. Here is the first reader review that I received from Ray Cameron in 2021 , who wrote: "My wife and I were impressed with Steve's Canberra Pedal Power article in the Spring Edition 2021 magazine, #277. We are both now in our 70s and are fortunate to have stumbled on a cycling holiday system when we started in 2006 and it has worked really well for us, until COVID. We want to encourage your readers to consider trying some of our tours themselves. Our first adventure was in the Loire Valley in 2006, where we booked two bikes and panniers and planned our own tour. The panniers provided were very small "shopping panniers", yet we realised that we could each get by with less. We planned a circular tour over 10 nights, returning to the same hotel in Blois, and they were happy to store our bags until our return. Blois is the centre of one of the highest density of castles in Europe and the Tourist Information Centre had a very useful map of the local rides on specified routes to the castles. We subsequently have had 13 years of most satisfying and enjoyable self-guided 3-4 weeks cycling holidays. We packed very little, my travel bag fitted into my wife's bag for storage at our first b&b in the town where we hired the bikes, panniers and helmets. As a result we booked the first and last 2 night's b&b accommodation at the town with the bike shop for each subsequent tour. Our 14 self-guided trips were in France (3), Netherlands (2) and England (9), cycling a total of around 16,500 kms.

A page devoted to letting readers gain an appreciation of how the site authors got involved in cycle touring and the impact of aging on the process. Fleet About Us I am updating this web page as I have moved into my 70's. My partner Mary and I (Steve) have been cycling together since 2010. Mary had never cycled before then and while I had cycled through my teens and early twenties, I had done so on very ordinary recreational bikes. Just over 15 years ago we hired hybrid bikes and went for a ride. We rode about 20km and thoroughly enjoyed ourselves. The combination of riding on good bike paths and modern technology made the ride easy and the experience was one we wanted to repeat. We were so impressed that we subsequently visited a bike shop and purchased Avanti hybrid bikes. For the next year we improved our riding skills and our rides became longer and more enjoyable. However, we also noticed that our bikes were heavy and relatively slow compared to people that were passing us on the bike paths. We therefore sold the hybrids and purchased Merida flat bar road bikes. We both suffer from osteoarthritis affecting our fingers/hands, plus I have had carpel tunnel operations on both wrists. This makes our hands and thumbs particularly vulnerable when it comes to pushing and pulling gear levers. The advantage of moving to flat bar road bikes was that the componetry improved, the bikes were much lighter and the tyres reduced from 32mm to 28mm leading to less friction. These changes resulted in quicker rides and the riding experience improved dramatically, not withstanding that the gear levers were still hard to operate the longer the ride session lasted. The next major change occurred in 2015 when I took the plunge and moved to a Specialized Roubaix, a full carbon road bike with disc brakes and paddle gears. At the same time my partner upgraded her flat bar road bike to an even lighter Specialized flat bar model, with further improved componetry including disc brakes. Both changes saw us dramatically improve our riding distances and speeds and opened up the world of amateur cycle rides such as the Gran Fondo in Victoria and the BUPA Challenge in South Australia which was run in conjunction with the Tour Down Under (insurance issues saw the Challenge cancelled in 2024). The change from lever to paddle gear controls was another improvement, but long rides were still tricky as my hands would stiffen up after long periods on the bike. By this time we were not only riding with friends, cycle groups and in events through out south eastern Australia, but we were also joining guided riding tours in Europe, England and the USA. In 2016 we joined a Trek Travel week long riding tour in Puglia, Italy. We always rent bikes from the tour operators and on this occasion Trek Travel provided us with Domane road bikes with Di 2 . The bikes were similar in look and fit out to my Specialized Roubaix road bike at home except these bikes had calliper brakes and electronic gears. For Mary these bikes represented a major riding change, but after thirty seconds of riding she was sold. And the reason - Di 2 ! The bike had been set up to suit her geometry and the Di 2 gears took away the scary element of having to learn how to use paddle gears, plus they allowed the rider to change gears as needed without having to think about your riding situation. The road gets steep and you need to change down gears, no problems, just do so. You are riding downhill and need a harder gear, just change and find one that suit's with just the tap of a finger. By the time the week was over we decided to look into Di 2 and upon our return home we upgraded my Specialized Roubaix by replacing the paddle gears with Di 2 (not possible on all paddle gear bikes, but fortunately it was for my Roubaix) and to replace my partner's flat bar road bike with the newly released Specialized Ruby which was developed for women and came with disc brakes and Di 2 . By 2018 we were fully sold on the joy of riding lightweight bikes with disc brakes and electronic gears. We broadened our riding experiences as a result and we loved taking our bikes to events such as the Cadel Evans ride near Geelong and the peoples' rides in association with the Tour Down Under. However, when we rode overseas. we still rented our bikes. While it was possible to take bikes with you overseas, our experience and the experience of other riders that we know is that the effort to take your bike is massive and is something that most would only do if they were only going to be riding their bikes while overseas. Having to drag a bike bag around with you in addition to your luggage can be very difficult and in our case we have chosen not to as we always combine cycle tours with other activities when we travel overseas. In 2019 we joined a boat and cycle tour off the coast of Croatia in the Southern Dalmatia region. Due to recent illness, my partner had opted to rent a Cube E hybrid bike for her week on the boat, while I opted for the regular Cube road hybrid bike. Other than an afternoon experience on city E Bikes in and around Rome, Italy, this was our first time experiencing E Bikes. On a day with major climbs on the mainland of Croatia I was able to swap my regular hybrid bike for an E hybrid bike and the experience was phenomenal. Instead of struggling with the climbs I was able to keep up with everyone and also to look around as I rode. My partner experienced this all week with her e hybrid bike and we departed Croatia wanting to experience the recent addition to the market, the E Road Bike. We took part in a test ride of the Turbo Creo SL Expert in and around Adelaide as part of the Tour Down Under promotions by Specialized in January 2020. They were brilliant and we subsequently purchased one each and have been riding them ever since. We continue to be mightily impressed and find that we are essentially riding E Road Bikes 95% of the time with minimal (Eco) or no electrical assistance, but when we need assistance it's there (Sport or Turbo) at the press of a button. As someone in their late-60's who is fit, but a little overweight, I am finding that my E Road Bike still requires me to work as hard as ever, but if I do so I am able to keep up with fitter/thinner riders in a group and I am getting more bang for my buck, particularly when climbs or strong head winds are part of my ride. For example, on a steep, long mountain climb located near where I live, on my Roubaix I would have had to stop up to six times to get my heart rate back down to acceptable levels, whereas my first time on my Creo I climbed to the top without stopping, but once at the top I needed several minutes to regain my breath, get my heart rate down and to drink lots of water. 2020 was going to be the year that Mary and I toured various parts of Europe on e road Bikes. With the pandemic, it was not to be but by 2021 we starting to plan national and international cycle tours. Since then we have not stopped cycling doing one or two cycle tours each year as can be seen in my reviews. Over the last 10 years we have progressed from cycle tours on hybrid bikes to flat bar road bikes to drop bar road bikes and now E Bikes. With each improvement we have been able to participate in far more enjoyable rides involving harder and harder climbs. At the time of writing this advice I am averaging about 160-200 km a week and absolutely love it. I ride with a veterans group each Thursday and initially got a fair amount of ribbing about riding an e road Bike, mainly because many riders think that the bike is motorised like an E Scooter. However, gradually members of my veterans group are also switching to various types of e bike. I hope that this website has offered you the advice that you were seeking and that in the months and years ahead you too will get to enjoy riding or touring as much as Mary and I do. Don't forget, if there is some information that you were looking for and could not find, please email me at tourdemature@ gmail.com and I will do my best to provide the information. Steve Ryan Destinations

There are many quality bikes on the market and they each usually handle differently. You need to consider the type of riding you want to do - commenting, cycle paths, roads, gravel, mountain trails, ext and look for the bike that will best suit your needs. WHICH BIKE If you think that you would like to cycle but have not done so recently, I would strongly urge you to rent a quality bike and see if the actual experience matches the desire. There are many ways to do this with bike shops often renting out quality road, gravel and mountain bikes for one or more days, while cycle touring companies often have a good range of bikes to try as part of joining a tour. During our Chateaus of the Loire Valley Tour in 2019, we had six riders who had either not ridden before or who's experience was limited to getting familiar with hybrid bikes in a car park before leaving home. All six enjoyed their week of riding Trek hybrid bikes some 40-60 kms a day and were converts by the end of the week. However, over the years I have met a number of people who have purchased cheap bikes from department stores, variety stores or online. Often the result has been that the bikes were very heavy and slow and as a result the purchasers were turned off riding. Among family and friends who purchased cheap, heavy bikes, the almost universal result is that they rode their bikes once or twice, hated the experience and now have their bikes sitting in the back of the garage or shed gathering rust. The six 'rider experience' categories listed in 'Your Riding Experience' are based on my experience and therefore essentially, but not necessarily, cover riders in their 50's and above. The categories are not based on a preferred bike type, as experience shows that choice of bike is a very personal thing and often we will join tours where the majority are riding road bikes and yet some of the riders will be on hybrids or mountain bikes and yet we all enjoy the tour. Whilst there are many types of bicycles available on the market, there are four basic types currently being used by older riders or provided by cycle tour companies for use on roads and cycle paths. Across the following pages I have provided my thoughts on the four types - the hybrid, the flat bar road bike, the drop bar road or gravel bike and the electric road bike. I've also purchased a smart trainer and attached my old road bike to it. I'm really enjoying the trainer experience, so I also added my thoughts in a page called Trainer Bikes, plus provided my review of an app and some equipment that are working as part of my trainer set up.

E-Bikes is a generic term that drags all bikes with an electric motor into a single group. This page endeavours to provide explanations of the different types of e-bikes and how they compare to the many types of self propelled bikes on the market. Are All e-Bikes The Same Over recent weeks and months I have noticed that many authors writing about e-bikes have tended to lump all electric bikes under the banner of 'e-bikes'. However, doing so ignores that there are actually many different types of e-bikes and they each play a very different role for those that ride them. A few years ago, I first encountered an e-bike as part of an organised cycle tour in Italy with cyclists from the Netherlands leading the way with the introduction of their heavy hybrid style e-bikes. Merida eSpresso 300 SE EQ 504Wh Electric Hybrid Bike One of the riders dropped her bike while trying to put it on its stand and we jumped to help lift it and almost strained our backs the bike was so heavy - in excess of 30kgs. These bikes were predominantly made from steel and weighed a lot before the electric motor and the battery were added. The batteries were large, heavy rectangular boxes that sat on the rear rack and the idea seemed to be that the rider could utilise the motor from the start to the end of the day to help them keep up with the riders on ordinary hybrid bike. Pedalling was still required, but the effort generated great rewards including being able to join in tours that otherwise were out of the cyclists' reach.The next cab off the e-rank was the e-mountain bike which were lighter and offered access to steep terrain for those that had loved to mountain bike while they were younger/fitter/more agile. All of a sudden riders seemingly lost to mountain bike riding were returning with a vengeance. These bikes were still heavy compared to manual versions, but the weight was decreasing and riders were starting to see e-mountain bikes weighing in close to 20kgs and offering some fabulous riding. In 2021 my partner and I tried the e-mountain bikes at the Otway Caravan Park in Victoria and we really enjoyed the experience.Depending on the e-bikes in question, the control panel can have a number of settings ranging from minuscule assistance through to it almost becoming a motor bike. The bikes we rode in the Otway National Park had settings of 1-5 and our guide suggested leaving it on 5 so that climbs and switch back corners would be a doddle! And they were - we really loved the experience and as our ride was only for an hour there were no issues with the batteries lasting the journey. Riding e-bikes on the top setting is a sure recipe to running the battery flat really quick. Riding an e-Mtb in the Ottway Ranges Given the above, I wonder whether it's time to differentiate between e-bike models just as we do with manual bikes? If its good enough to talk and write about hybrid, mountain, gravel and road bikes and the myriad of other manual bike styles, why keep trying to encompass all electric bikes under the one banner of ebikes? As a Strava user, I certainly get frustrated that I can choose from a range of categories for manual bikes, whereas there is just the title e-bike for all electric bikes. I don't think it will be long before first the type of electric bike is properly named and, second, before the various bike computers like Garmin and exercise programs like Strava develop software that can keep track of usage over different modes allowing riders to compare like with like in much the same way as they already do by allowing a manual endurance road bike to be compared with another. Merida Smartmotion G3 ECity However, in Europe we have ridden hybrid e-bikes, like the Merida eSpresso above, that are better suited to long, comfortable rides. These bikes look like flat bar road bikes, but the overall weight has come back under 28kgs so that the battery life will sustain a 70-90 km ride predominantly riding in the economical mode with sports and/or turbo used to counter strong head winds and steep climbs.And then in 2019 came the e-road bike and a year or two later, its cousin the e-gravel bike. As riders get older, fatter, injured, etc. the love of riding road and/or gravel bikes needs to be tempered with the ability to do so and keep up with other riders around you. The bike manufacturers saw an opportunity and they started releasing e-road bike models in earnest from late 2019. These bikes look like regular road bikes but with big rear wheel or pedal motors and batteries trimmed down and inserted into the diagonal post from the pedals to the handle bar. The results have been great for those of us that want to be able to ride on roads, trails and paths with those that are younger, trimmer or fitter, or just enjoy going for a ride and not being hampered by the conditions. These bikes are constantly being improved, with manufacturers playing a balancing role between weight and performance. The latest Trek e-road bike, for example weighs in at around 11.25 kgs, but the light weight battery has a reduced range under a 100kms, whereas the Specialized Creo range includes bikes around 12-13kgs and a range of 120kms plus and an opportunity to add a range extender weighing 1kg and adding 50% to the range. As road bikes are often ridden at speeds above the 25kph maximum for electric assistance, the batteries can well and truely exceed their promised ranges. On a relatively flat ride, for example, my Creo can achieve close to 200 kms on the main battery just by riding only in economical and spending a lot of time riding at an average speed in excess of 25kph. Given the above, I wonder whether it's time to differentiate between e-bike models just as we do with manual bikes? If its good enough to talk and write about hybrid, mountain, gravel and road bikes and the myriad of other manual bike styles, why keep trying to encompass all electric bikes under the one banner of ebikes? As a Strava user, I certainly get frustrated that I can choose from a range of categories for manual bikes, whereas there is just the title e-bike for all electric bikes. I don't think it will be long before first the type of electric bike is properly named and, second, before the various bike computers like Garmin and exercise programs like Strava develop software that can keep track of usage over different modes allowing riders to compare like with like in much the same way as they already do by allowing a manual endurance road bike to be compared with another.

Do you wonder whether you have appropriate experience to join a bike riding tour you have discovered? This web page aims to provide readers with a simple formula to decide. A casual riding starting in Bright, Victoria, Australia Your Riding Experience On this page are references to the six riding experiences that I believe cover most riders. If, as you read the following pages, you need a reminder of what each reference number signifies, just click on the reference and you will return to this page. Please note that all distances and speeds are metric. If you prefer imperial, the conversion rates are 1m = 1.01yds and 1kph = 0.62mph 1. I have never cycled but want to start. 2. I used to cycle, but it has been several years since my last ride. 3. I ride casually, usually covering 5 to 10 km at a time. 4. I am an enthusiastic casual rider, cycling about 30 to 50 km once a week. 5. I ride 2 to 3 times a week, averaging 30 to 60 km each ride. 6. I am a dedicated rider who not only follows the previous pattern but also participates in a casual cycling group that meets weekly and occasionally takes part in multi-day organised rides. While these categories cover a variety of riding experiences, I welcome any suggestions for additional categories. What type of cyclist are you?

Have you ever wondered what is involved in joining a road based cycle tour with a duration of several days? Tips 4 Touring endeavours to provide handy tips. Tips 4 Touring Getting There in the submenu provides some guidance on narrowing down the type of bike touring you would like to do. Which ever company you end up using, a few tips to help you are: Determine where their home base is. Make sure you know the currency the tour price is offered in. This can help to avoid price shock later on. e.g the $ symbol may be referring to US$, AUD or $CAN. If you want a guided tour, make sure that guided is offered for the tour(s) you are interested in, as well as the additional cost. Also make sure that you find out the additional costs of extras such as hiring regular or ebikes bikes, helmets and accommodation choice. And When You Do, What Next? i n the submenu covers a range of topics associated with preparing for your cycle tour, though to the mundane day to day activities of getting you lunch or buying a coffee. Cycle Tour Facilitators and/or Operators : The following logos belong to companies (facilitators) that we have enjoyed travelling with over the last 14 years (the addition of company logos is a work in progress). You can click on the logos and you will be taken to the Company's web page. Their sites are easy to navigate and you will probably find that you need to check multiple sites to get a real feel for the options available. Sometimes you will find that multiple sites will offer the same tour from a third party provider, albeit some of the sites may sometimes have their own particular name for the tour, albeit dates and locations match other offerings. In addition, some facilitators may have pre-booked a number of places on a tour with a third party provider leaving only a small number of unbooked places, so even if one facilitator says its booked out you may find places with another facilitator. Trek Travel Companies like Road Bike Tour Italy, French Cycling Holidays, Girolibero and Trek Travel are only, in my experience, operators, but some of them do allow other companies like Rad + Reisen to book places on their tours. It will give you a clue as to the make up of the group you might join. For example you should check on the languages that the tour guides will be using and the likely language make up of the tour group. If, say, you don't speak German and you will be the only English speaker you need to think about what this might mean for day to day communications, noting that many Europeans register with their native language and speak multiple languages including English.

What's the difference between a hybrid, a flat bar and a drop bar bike and which one would best suit you? Drop Bar Road Bike A drop bar road bike can vary in weight from around 7 kg to 13 kg depending on the material used to make the bike and its components. Cycling News compared flat bar and drop bar bikes and suggested that 'the best road bikes are designed for fast riding and quick handling on all sorts of tarmac. For roads and cycle paths, criterium circuits and Pyrenean climbs, road bikes are a good fit'. Road bikes range from lightweight climbing bikes to aerodynamic race machines and endurance-focused frames. There are a wide range of on-road capabilities for road bikes, but they are also limited to the tarmac. A carbon road bike typically will weigh in at around 7 kg. Road bikes can fall into several categories, including touring, racing and endurance. They have drop-down handlebars and more recent models have disc brakes. Road bikes typically don't have mudguards, racks, panniers or mountain bike type suspension. Endurance bikes are designed for riders travelling long distances or riding on very bumpy surfaces such as paving. These bikes may have some form of shock absorber within the frame and or the seat pillar, but they are usually fixed devices and cannot be adjusted, but again this seems to be changing with the most recent models from some manufacturers. Unlike hybrid bikes that have three chain rings up front and up to ten gear wheels at the rear providing up to 30 gear settings, a road bike will normally have two chain rings at the front and 11 gear wheels at the rear, providing 22 gear settings. Rather than using handlebar based levers, road bikes use dual control levers more commonly known as paddles. Each paddle provides a combination of braking and gear changing functions. To apply the brakes you pull the main lever towards you, where as to change rear gears you move the right hand paddle (in Australia and other countries that ride on the left side of the road) sideways to change gears up or down, and on the left side to change between the little and big cogs. Road bikes are also the beneficiary of technological upgrades, often starting with the models ridden by pro's and ultimately available to all riders with a premium. When I purchased my Specialized Rubaix in 2015 it came with disc brakes at time when dedicated riders were saying that they would never replace the old style wheel clamp brakes. Today just about all quality bikes come with disc brakes. Other technological improvements have included electronic gear shifting (known as Di2 if from Shimano), the transfer of single chain rings from mountain bikes to road and gravel bikes and drop seats on road bikes. 2023 Pinnerello X3 105 Di2 Carbon Road Bike

Not all cycle tours require you to spend a week or more cycling from place to place. Many local companies offer 1, 2 and 3 day tours, usually over a weekend and usually accommodated in a single location from which you would ride each day. STEVE'S REVIEW OF SHORT RIDES/TOURS Fat Tire Tours Paris Day Bike – Limited Olympic Edition **** July 2024 Mary and I have joined a number of Fat Tire Tours over the last 12 years in cities as diverse as Berlin, Paris and London. Some years earlier our first Fat Tire Tour was a tour of central Paris focusing on the Louvre and the city gardens.n. nFor the Paris Olympics then organisation put together a limited Olympic Edition ride through central Paris and we joined a tour on the Sunday during then first week of the Olympics. Doing the ride on a Sunday meant that we had the benefit of some roads closed for the Olympics, but we did have to duck and weave around the huge weekend crowds. We collected our bikes and met our guide at the company's storage offices about a km from the Eifel Tower and once we had met all the others in tour group we were riding with we headed off for our four hour tour. The bikes that were provided are the old dragster style bikes with three gears and a long , padded seat which is very comfortable to sit on for long periods of time. Our tour took us to many of the Parisian monuments and buildings including the Eifel Tower, the Hotel des Invalides, the Champs Élysées, the Grand Plain and the Petit Palais. With the temperature in the low 30's it was a challenging ride, but one we thoroughly enjoyed. For our son, grand daughter and grandson it was superb way for them to be introduced to then highlights of Paris. Our San Mineato Meander, Tuscany, Italy **** June 2024 After the fiasco with hiring our Specialized Creos from the Taddei Bike Shop in San Miniato for our tour from Sienna to Elba, we decided in mid June to at least try the bikes. After talking to Renato at the Taddei Bike Shop we decided to rent a pair of Creos for one day of riding San Mineato to and from San Gimignano. We arrived at San Mineato and parked below the town and caught the special lift up to the town before walking to the bike shop. Only the smaller current model of the Creo was available as the large model for me had been hired ion a multi day hire. All the shop's models were steel framed and had manual gears, so we departed the shop, me on the older 1.0 model of the Creo, and Mary on the new 2.0 model. We covered just one 64kms with the outward journey involving about 800m of climbing and an easier 400m on the way back. The 1.0 was the same configuration as the model I had rented in the Alsace the year before and was very pleasant to ride notwithstanding it being heavier and manual compared to my bike at home. Mary was not impressed with the 2.0 which had her special stem attached by Renato. Notwithstanding is was quieter than the 1.o, its was a clunky ride and the battery was significantly run down by the time we reached half way. Fortunately the ride back involved less climbing and overall the battery completed the journey with 20% power left compared to my bike with over 40%. It seems that the new model comes with positives and negatives but it may just have been the bike being ridden. Putting the battery issue aside, the ride was completed on slow country roads, had some lovely views to look at and was very enjoyable. We had thought about renting road bikes for a day around Lucca, but the traffic was manic and we constantly were amazed to watch bikes interacting with cars, even on the outskirts of Lucca where we were residing. So, yes it was worth the one hour drive each way to rent the bike from Taddei and we certainly we very impressed with the service provided by Renato. Amy's Gran Fondo, Lorne, Victoria, September 2023 *** Mary and I had registered to do the 130km Gran Fondo in Lorne in 2020 but COVID and its after effects meant that it was initially cancelled and when it returned in 2022 we were unable to participate. We were therefore delighted when my enquiry to the organisers about this years event was positively received and we advised that our registrations had carried over. So in early September we headed to Lorne south of Geelong in Victoria on a Friday expecting to have to attend a sit down briefing on the Saturday before riding on the Sunday morning. We had done the Mini Fondo (40 kms) several years ago and with 6,000 participants for all the rides they did briefings across the Saturday. Turned out this time the numbers of riders was less than a 1000 and the registration/briefing took about 5 minutes on the Saturday morning. We could have come a day later and registered before the ride started on the Sunday. Anyway, we enjoyed Lorne plus catching up with our Geelong based cycling friends from our Croatian tour of a few years back. Sunday morning we joined the 18-22 kph non-competitive riding group for an 8am start. We were joined at the back of the bunch by a guy on a penny farthing and the start was the last time we saw him till much later - he was phenomenal. So the hooter went, we rode through the blow up archway and proceeded north out of Lorne. After about a km we started the first big climb of the day and at about the five km mark we crossed the electronic starting line. The electronic finishing line was also located several kms before the actual finish which helped explain how a 130-km ride became a 122 km ride. The first climb was 10 km in length and with our e road bikes we kept a steady pace to the top before commencing a series of delightful descents till we arrived at the first drinks station. A quick pitstop and we were back on the road following instructions about arriving at various points before the roads reopened to vehicles. About 9km from the second drinks station in Forest, an event organiser on the side of the road advised us that we had 20 minutes to be at the aid station or we would not be able to continue (30 minutes ahead of the advertised time). So we upped the pace and arrived at the 1km to go sign as the 20 minutes ticked over. We were given two choices - catch the provided bus to the third drinks station 22 kms away at the top of the second climb or be taken by the other bus back to Lorne. We opted for the former and once about 20 of us had our bikes on the trailer we were bused to the station, missing a very steep and long climb plus about a km of road work that had turned the road to wet, mud. As we neared the station we passed the penny farthing which was motoring along. He passed us again as were unloaded at the station and we never saw him again notwithstanding that we had over 20kms of descending at 56kmh till we reached the Great Ocean Road (GOR). It was a brilliant experience! The last 43 kms were along the GOR and back into Lorne. We had traversed the same section as part of our Great Ocean Road Tour with AllTrails in 2021 and it was so much more fun doing it with closed roads. Notwithstanding we were on closed roads, the event organisers were allowing support vehicles to travel the roads without giving us warning they were coming up behind us. In addition when we got to the GOR the event organisers had allowed a convoy of four wheel drives to ride towards us and had apparently given permission for cyclists to also ride back towards us after they had completed their Gran Fondo - possibly to return home to resorts where they were staying. With several road closures and lots of blind corners, it was very lucky that the vehicles and bikes coming the other way didn't have accidents with riders or support vehicles who were utilising the whole of the road to travel to Lorne! Still, Mary and I completed 104km of the 122km course and thoroughly enjoyed the day. Would we do it again? Possibly if we lived closer and if we knew that advertised times for road openings wouldn't be changed during the ride to make it harder. Adelaide Coast to Vines Trail Ride - March 2021 **** We drove to Willunga with friends for breakfast and then unhitched our bikes and rode to join the Coast to Vines rail trail. We started from the old Willunga rail station and 48kms later we had ridden through McLarenvale, Reynella, Hallets Cove and the start of the trail at Marino before arriving at Glenelg for lunch. Another 15 kms later we were back at our friends place in Hallets Cove. It was a lovely ride with the Trail section being almost 100% off road, while the section from Marino to Glenelg is a mix of coastal shared paths and adjacent relatively quiet roads for those like us that get frustrated by how crowded and slow the coastal paths are. The signage is excellent and riders have no problems finding their way. We rode on a Sunday and while the Trail was popular, it was not crowded, but this might be different on a warm summer day. Cowra HOBOS Ride November 2020. *** My veterans riding group, the HOBOS, spent four days in Cowra, NSW, in November. Cowra is about three hours drive from Canberra and one of our group had arranged accommodation, rides, social activities and meals. The threat of heavy rain shortened our riding to three days during which took part in group rides to destinations around Cowra including an 80km return journey to the historical town of Canowindra. The weather was warm to hot on each our riding days and the rides were enjoyable. Cowra is a town of about 9,000 inhabitants and it tends to close early of an evening and as a result our dining options were limited, but we did enjoy our meals at the Imperial Hotel and the Services Club. A highlight of the trip was a private visit to the Japanese Gardens which is an amazing place to walk around. A view of the Japanese Gardens, Cowra Tumbarumba Rail Trail, NSW, Australia, September 2020 **** 2020 was a bad year for riding due to COVID-19. In the early days of COVID the NSW town of Tumbarumba completed the transformation of the old and disused Tumbarumba to Rosewood railway line into a sealed bike path just over 20kms each way. It was opened virtually on line given the State had closed all travel, but come September travel across NSW was once again allowed. I therefore organised a day trip to Tumbarumba from canberra with my HOBOS riding group and including non-riding partners we had about 17 make the trip. An early start for the 3 hour drive saw us drinking coffee in town before heading to the start of the trail for an 11am departure. The trail is superb. albeit with lots of loose road gravel laid on top that need time to sink in. There were metal humps to slow riders down as they approached and left roads and driveway, beautifully, smooth, timber bridges over creeks and major gullies and a wonderful view. We had lunch in the Garden Centre at Rosewood before returning to Tumbarumba. All agreed it was a delightful ride and well worth the trip. Kyoto Cycling Tour Project, Japan, September 2019 **** We arrived in Kyoto on a bus tour and had a day to to ourselves. We had used Beanhunter to track down an espresso coffee shop near the main railway station the evening before and had spotted Kyoto Cycling near the coffee shop. So, on our day to ourselves we checked out the cycle ride options and decided to sign up for an afternoon guided tour of the back streets of Kyoto. We duly arrived after lunch and were introduced to our guide who spoke excellent english. He got us set up on our bikes and while most riders don't worry about them, we were provided with helmets and told that most Australians ask for them. He proceeded over the next few hours to take us to the Geisha residential district, to examples of various building forms, to the old Kyoto palace, past some interesting examples of infrastructure and and then back along the river path and on to our starting point. A very interesting and enjoyable way to see Kyoto off the beaten path. Paris Bike Tour: the Secrets by Blue Fox Travel, France, June 2019 * Having previously joined a number of half day cycle tours of major European cities we joined this tour with much anticipation. Just a few hours later we departed feeling that we had joined the wrong tour. We had received the tickets from our tour provider when we booked our Loire tour. After the highs of that tour and the quality of the bikes we had ridden for the week prior to joining this tour we were disappointed with the quality of the bikes and the unprofessional nature of the guide. The former were very uncomfortable and we were glad to get off them on our return to the staring point. Mary and I were the only non- Americans on the tour, including the guide, and as a result we soon found ourselves marginalised and effectively pushed to the read of the riding group. As a result it was lucky that we have been to Paris before as otherwise often we would not have known what we were looking at. Our tip for others would be to really test ride the bike before committing to the tour and once you have make sure you position yourself near the guide so that you know what is going on and what you are looking at. Berlin Highlights Bike Tour by Fat Tire Tours, Germany, May 2019 **** With friends from Italy who had joined us in Berlin for several days before we headed off for our Croatian bike tour, we decided to try out a Fat Tires Tour of Berlin. Over the last 10 years Mary and I have joined Fat Tires Tours in Berlin, Paris and London and we have loved them all. We selected a tour we had not ridden before and the four of us were delighted with the proximity of the company's starting point to the rail station for ease of access. We were quickly fitted to our bikes and as usual found the dragster design very comfortable and we had not changed our minds when we returned three hours later. The majority of riders spoke english, but not one of our Italian friends and she commented afterwards that not understanding the guide when he was talking to the group did not hamper her feeling of safety or getting an understanding of what she was looking at - the guide spoke Italian and briefed her after the rest of us. It was a leisurely and interesting ride and certainly a great way to see central Berlin. Ancient Appian Way eBike tour, Rome, Italy Oct 2018*** This was our Italian friends first ride with us and we opted to all experience eBikes for the first time. After a fairly wet morning the sky cleared and the sun shone, so we decided to proceed with what had been looking like a doubtful ride. The starting point is near the Colosseum and they have a large collection of bike sizes to try. We were quickly fitted out, placed our travel gear in the handlebar basket and joined the small group to be shown how to ride an eBike. It didn't take long and soon we were heading down the Appian Way towards the Catacombs. It took us about 40 minutes to arrive and we were soon parked and heading to join a language tour of the catacombs. An hour later we emerged to discover that we had missed a major rain storm and the Appian Way was no longer navigable. So the tour was shortened and we headed back to the start by a different route and got to try out just how handy an eBike can be. All up a memorable experience and certainly a challenging, but rewarding, introduction to eBiking. The Peoples Ride @ the Cadel Evans Great Ocean Road Race, Geelong, Victoria, Australia Jan 2018 In 2018 we decided against rising in the Tour Down Under Challenge and doing the Cadel Evans Peoples Ride instead. A fortuitous decision as the former was cancelled due to extreme hot weather and the latter, while threatening to also be cancelled due to heat actually turned out to be a lovely day for riding. We opted for the 65 kms course, and it along with the longer and shorter rides all started from Geelong with different routes. We headed for Torquay in the fog which got worse the closer we got to Torquay, but the second half of the ride was in bright sunshine and in the mid celsius 20's. By avoiding the 100 plus ride we also avoided the nasty climb back into Geelong and overall we had a lovely ride and glad we tried it. The jerseys provided looked good and we found the entertainment arrangements in central Geelong were first class, as was the Japanese restaurant we tried after the ride.

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