World Riders

By Francine Russo

Here is a tale of two cyclists. One is me, on Day 2 of a bicycle tour of Nova Scotia's south coast last August. My group was riding from our waterside inn at Hubbards Bay to Lunenburg, an 18th century seafaring town. The first day had seemed easy to this Manhattan bicycle commuter, so I elected the extra-mileage option. As the other members, most of them boomers like me, climbed into the support van provided by Freewheeling Adventures Tours, I set off on my Trek hybrid. Five miles later I spotted a monster hill looming ahead. Behind it was another, and then another. As I panted upward, suddenly the van whirred into sight. Did I want a lift after all? Please! That night, after some exhilarating seaside riding, I dined on fresh scallops at a trendy Lunenburg restaurant and slept tucked into an antique four-poster in a Victorian inn.

The other cyclist is my friend Christian Ward, 55, a New York City writer. This brave--and economical--lone traveler took his bike, loaded with 60 lbs. of camping gear, by train to Rutland, Vt. Studying his map, he calculated that he could ride the 45 miles to his destination that night. But his map did not show a little local landmark known as Sherburne Pass. After a few miles of steady climbing, he rested and asked a trucker where it leveled off. The answer: After 12 more miles. Ward considered turning back--often. But he pressed on, pushing the bike uphill the last three miles. At the top he felt exhausted--and immensely satisfied. He downed two hearty bowls of clam chowder at the mountaintop Inn at Long Trail, then snuggled into his sleeping bag.

Our contrasting experiences illustrate the extremes of vacations on two wheels. Mine was fully catered. Freewheeling Adventures provided (and adjusted) the bicycles, reserved the quaint inns (and one luxury spa) and booked most of the restaurants. It had scouted the routes ahead for scenery and difficulty. And the two guides kept a constant vigil to make sure all our needs were met. Of course, it charged for this, although not as much as some tour companies. Ward used only his own bicycle and maps, ate at diners and restaurants and camped at state parks. He saw spectacular scenery along the way. If he had a flat or met a mountain he didn't like, he was on his own. But his vacation cost him less than he would have spent at home in New York in a week. The important thing is that each of us had a fabulous time.

We're among the hordes of travelers, most of us 40 and older, who elect to vacation in the saddle, at costs that range from $250 all the way up to $5,000 a week. "The average age on organized tours is going up," says Rick Lovett, author of The Essential Touring Cyclist. "There's an explosion of bicycle tours in every conceivable niche all over the country and the world." Tim Kneeland, whose company, Tim Kneeland & Associates, has produced more than 75 large tours for nearly 17,000 participants, estimates there are from 600 to 700 commercial touring companies worldwide and thousands of nonprofit tours.

Older travelers today are healthy and adventurous. Many have rediscovered in middle age the bike riding they loved as kids. They see cycling as a benign form of exercise that's easy on the knees and joints. Experts caution them, however, to pay attention to the level of difficulty of a trip. Most tours rate their trips as easy, moderate or challenging and describe the terrain and mileage. And it's important for riders to get in shape before a tour, especially if they haven't been on a bike all winter--or all decade. Practice trips should increase mileage gradually. Being able to ride 30 miles in one day doesn't mean you can do it every day for a week.

Touring by bicycle, you can cover more ground than by walking and experience the landscape far more intimately than in a car. Scott Hudelson, 48, a dentist who lives in Flower Mount, Texas, remembers a Club Toscana tour from Florence to Venice during April: "Riding along with fields of yellow flowers stretching away on each side, you could hear the bees." You can also connect with local people and cultures better from a bike. Jay Jacobson, 63, a semiretired Orangeburg, N.Y., executive-placement official, says he treasures the memory of "following a rickety school bus, overloaded with girls smiling and waving, all dressed in uniforms, for 40 minutes in Thailand." On a tour in France, he passed some women picnicking on a steep hill who shouted, "Courage, monsieur! Courage!"

The range of destinations for the bicycle traveler is immense. New areas are opening all the time. For example, until recently, Lake Manyara, Tanzania, did not permit biking in game areas. Now, says Park East Tours president Eric Gordon, "we'll pedal within 40 or 50 feet of elephants, lions, gazelles and zebras. Biking is so quiet, you don't scare the birds." Marcia Corbet, 55, of New York City, who cycled Lake Manyara with Park East in August 2000, says, "The great thing was getting close to the animals and people. We'd talk to the Masai as they herded their cattle."

The biggest operators, such as Butterfield and Robinson, Back Roads and VBT, offer the largest selection of exotic destinations. They also charge top dollar. But scores of smaller-niche operators provide almost identical trips and can save you some money. POMG, for example, which does tours exclusively in Vermont, offers fully catered, midpriced vacations, with guests staying at small bed-and-breakfasts. Some niche operators, like Club Toscana, in addition to their fully catered tours, offer a cheaper, self-guided tour. They supply maps, inn reservations and luggage transfer. But cyclists must make it from point A to point B on their own.

If you don't care for changing your own tires or climbing every hill no matter how your legs protest, you can still vacation on wheels at economy rates. Ted and Karin Barlow, both 69, of Torrington, Conn., spent seven days in October 2000 cycling the 350 miles from Corning, N.Y., to Cockneysville, Md., following the path of the Delaware River. Among a group of about 30 assembled by the Wayfarers, a nonprofit company, they stayed at inexpensive motels and B and Bs, ate at small-town restaurants, ranging from a Chinese buffet to a German brewery, and had van support--all for about $500 a person.

Another way to do a budget tour is on an event ride. These go annually to nearly every state and several countries. The rides, like July's 500-mile RAGBRAI (the Des Moines Register's Annual Great Bicycle Ride Across Iowa), with more than 8,000 participants, and August's 300-mile Maine coastal tour, with only about 65 riders, take their groups over highly scenic terrain. A week on a bike, including camping and some food, could cost as little as $300.

The choices of vacations on wheels are limitless. You can travel solo with tent through the Rockies or glide along Dutch canals with a feather bed awaiting you at your five-star hotel. But however you go, even if you begin with a sore behind, you will finish with a soaring spirit.