Wild West road tour
Cycle Oregon From £541pp for a 7 day, fully supported and catered bike tour
Grade moderate to hard Average daily mileage 57 miles Cycleoregon.com
At 27 years old, this seven-day annual excursion with 2000-plus other like-minded cyclists through a different part of Oregon each year is practically an American institution in one of America’s remotest, and most authentic wild-west states, with a different route every year.
Your registration includes village-like campsites, plentiful food, hot showers, live entertainment and a fully supported route with gear vehicles and feed stops.
The 2014 route this September shows off the true beauty of the Columbia Gorge, and the majestic peaks surrounding it. Steep switchbacks, dense forest, panoramic views, winding rural routes, boulder strewn rivers, – Oregon has it all. With over 400 miles of riding and 10,600m of vertical gain, over seven days, this year’s ride will be one of the more scenic in memory, and one of the most challenging ever!
Central American volcano viewing
Nicaragua to the Panama Canal From £1579pp for 14 days guided and supported riding
Grade Easy Average daily mileage 25 miles explore.co.uk
THIS sight-seeing tour takes you from Nicaragua, through Costa Rica to the Panama canal through some of Central America’s most spectacular scenery. Riding about 25 miles a day, you’ll pedal past smoking volcanoes, through rainforests and to idyllic tropical islands.
Your first reward will be the volcanic island of Ometepe on Lake Nicaragua, where you’ll relax before riding around Maderas Volcano and over the border to Arenal Lake and its volcano. In Panama you’ll ride to the Caribbean islands of Bocas del Toro before heading over the continental divide and on to Santiago.
The two-week trip finishes with a spin along the Amador Causeway to the mouth of the famous Panama canal where you can see the ships queuing up to pass through from the Atlantic via the Caribbean Sea to the Pacific Ocean.
Corsican mountain roads
Tour of Corsica From £899pp. 5 days guided and supported riding
Grade Challenging – for regular riders Average daily mileage 50-80 miles Bikecation.co.uk
After the opening stages of the 2013 Tour de France came to Corsica, bringing stunning helicopter footage of its scenery to the world, it was safe to say a previously well-kept cycling secret was out.
With mountainous daily stages of between 55 and 80 miles, this guided road tour is one for regularly riding cyclists who love the challenging ups as well as downs.
From historic Bastia to Porto, and the Col de Scalella, this tour delivers culture as well as rugged Mediterranean scenery.
You’ll stay in locally run hotels, guest houses and auberges, enjoying the food and traditions of this French speaking island with Italian influences.
Six nights’ board, dinners, breakfasts, baggage and airport transfers are included.
Peruvian mountain biking
Peru Sacred Single-track From £1195pp for 13 days fully supported and guided riding
Grade Technical descending and tough climbing skedaddle.co.uk
Whether it’s an optional climb up a 4330m mountain or a single-track descent that drops 1000m over 26km, this 14-day mountain biking holiday based out of Cuzco in Peru claims to give ‘one of the ultimate mountain biking experiences in the world’.
You’ll ride the Inca Avalanche race course – a mass participation downhill mountain bike event that drops 5900m of vertical descent in 25 minutes (if you’re a pro!) – and the best switchbacks, rocky paths, descents and cross country tracks in the Inca Empire. These include the Inca staircases of Chinchero, the Salt-Pan Single-track, and llama-trails of Lares and Lamay.
Your guides, mechanics, drivers and support staff are experienced local Peruvian mountain biking experts and you’ll stay at a mix of hotels and lodges for several days at a time. There’s even an optional side trip to Machu Picchu at the end of the holiday.
UK End-to-End road tour
Deloitte Ride Across Britain From £1600pp for 9 days fully supported riding and camping. Grade tough Average daily mileage about 100 miles rideacrossbritain.com
The brainchild of Olympic rower, turned ultra-endurance athlete James Cracknell, the RAB delivers the iconic and popular End-to-End road cycling challenge from Lands End to John O’Groats as a tough nine-day ride for up to 800 riders.
The nightly accommodation is in tents but everything else – from the top-notch catering, to the luxury shower and toilet blocks, pre-event training plans, expert chaperone guides, en-route feed stops, tent-pitching and mattress inflating – is meticulously planned and delivered.
From Cornwall to Scotland – 969 miles in nine days – the start and end points are standard but this event differs from the norm by seeking out the best and quietest cycling roads day-in, day-out.
English-only, Scottish only, single-day stages and team relay rides also available.
Pyrenean coast-to-coast
Classic Coast-to-Coast From £899pp for 5 days self-guided riding
Grade Tough – you’ll be taking on the hardest climbs of the Tour de France Average daily mileage about 80 miles
pyractif.com
This is a more relaxed version of the famous coast-to-coast challenge of riding 17 mountain passes between the Atlantic and the Mediterranean coasts, with over 16,000m of climbing, in less than 100 hours.
This holiday delivers the same challenge but with an extra day and no need to get a pass book stamped on route to prove you did it. You’ll still climb some of the most iconic cols in France – nearly all of them Tour de France regulars and often the sites of great, race-deciding battles in years gone by. The Classic C2C route includes the Tourmalet, the Aubisque and the Aspin, along with several other great climbs near the top of the list for any ‘col bagger’.
Riding between the surfer’s paradise of the Atlantic coast and the sun-kissed beaches of the Mediterranean, you’ll enjoy some of Europe’s premier cycling roads, stay in charming hotels and guest houses carefully selected for their bike-friendliness and convenience to the best cycling routes.
You’ll also benefit from detailed mapping, plus baggage and equipment transfers on each leg of the ride. Pyractif also run self-guided tours with the same accommodation and baggage transfer services included for those brave or ambitious enough to take on the actual Raid Pyrenean challenge.
Mediterranean island cruising
Secrets of Sicily Cycling from £1098pp for 5 days self-guided riding
Grade Easy Average daily mileage 20-30 miles headwater.com
With a gloriously sunny and dry Mediterranean climate, a landscape of secluded coves and rocky mountains, as well as a rich archaeological history, Western Sicily is perfect for a week’s two-wheeled exploration.
This trip is self-guided – which means you’re given detailed route notes and maps, and the five days riding will take you from the tiny Moorish village of Scopello on the north coast, past vines, citrus groves and ancient Greek ruins of the island’s interior, to Marsala on the West coast.
This Italian island is rugged but you won’t have to rough it. Each night you’ll be staying in a different 4 or 5 star hotel – mostly traditional Sicilian farmhouse-style (baglio) with rooms built around a central courtyard, all with swimming pools for after a hot day’s riding. Suitable bikes are provided, as are all your breakfasts, dinners and bag transfers.
Historical Spanish spinning
Cycling the Land of Conquistadors, western Spain From £700pp for 5 days self-supported riding.
Grade Easy Average daily mileage 35 miles awayfromthecrowds.com
Linking up six nights’ accommodation in stunning Paradors – which are historic buildings such as palaces, monasteries and castles converted to luxury hotels – the route of this five-day tour meanders though the heart of historic Spain.
Starting in the old castle of Oropesa you’ll ride through the south side of the Gredos Mountains into the rich agricultural region of La Vera, to visit three beautiful old cities: Plasencia, Trujillo and Caceres.
From your saddle you’ll get the full benefit of the Monfrague National Park’s famous birdlife, and pedal through a beautiful landscape of cork and oak trees.
Extremadura is the land of the Spanish Conquistadors that grew in wealth from the conquest of South America and this tour highlights the contrast between this cultural wealth in such a sparsely populated area.
Well-specced hybrid bikes are available to rent if you want to fly into Madrid and take a train to the start point, and you can even rent an electric bike if you want.
Indian culture and colour
Cycle Kerala and Tropical India From £1349pp for 10 days cycling
Grade Gentle sight-seeing Average daily mileage 30 miles exodus.com
With vibrant culture, fascinating towns, stunning beaches and superb food, southern India is a hugely rewarding place to explore by bike.
From the cool heights of the Western Ghats, where the sanctuaries hide diverse wildlife, to the quiet backwaters of Kerala, where Hinduism has produced elaborately decorated temples, this 10-day trip will take you through colourful villages where rural life has hardly changed for centuries.
The accommodation is mostly in hotels, except for three nights in lodges, one in a houseboat and another at a safari lodge. You and your group of about 12 others will ride about 30 miles a day with full vehicle support and baggage transfer between each night’s accommodation.
Traffic-free family tour
Cycling the Danube, Passau to Vienna From £945pp for 7 days self-guided riding
Grade Easy and traffic-free skedaddle.co.uk
This self-guided family cycling holiday in the heart of Europe is designed for families, following one of the world’s greatest rivers, the Danube, via the Danube Bike Path.
With seven days riding broken up by boat and train rides, this is the ideal first family bike tour, with almost entirely traffic-free paved riding and virtually no climbing.
Starting in Germany, by the end of the first day you’ll have followed the mighty river into Austria and past the country’s only Trappist monastery before rounding the famous Schlögener loop where the Danube loops around a granite mountain with spectacular scenic results.
Without any motorised traffic to worry about, and family friendly hotels – many with pools – you’ll spin easily past castles, forests and abbeys on route to Vienna while your luggage is ferried between accommodation for you.
For an even softer entry to family touring, try the shorter Linz to Vienna tour.
