Our groups are small, our guides seasoned and knowledgeable. We design our own routes. You can expect personable service, quality equipment, flexible itineraries and lots of fun. No regimentation here. Our tours are meticulously designed and researched to offer the most interesting aspects that a region has to offer. The routes travel through historically important and culturally rich regions, that very often are on less travelled paths. We seek out less trafficked, authentic regions where the natural beauty can’t be photographed from the inside of a tour bus.

A note about the routes. You may ask how do we plan a tour. The process is pretty exacting and a considerable investment in time and money.  Each tour requires nine - twelve months of research and planning before it is offered. Some tours are in the planning stages for years, like certain regions in Slovakia and Poland, which, until recently didn't meet our lodging standards or simply didn't have any lodging where we wanted to go.

We first look at the geography: how practical is it to offer a tour in this region? Would this tour appeal to our guests? Which ones? The avid cyclists, families or leisure cyclists? Does the region offer natural beauty and have enough variety in towns and villages and geography to make it interesting to spend a week there? We contact the local tourist board, pore over maps, search the Internet and make lots of phone calls. 

Using map software we plan a tentative route around hills, roads, rivers and mountains.  Then we read everything we can about the history, culture and attractions and what makes the area unique.  Armed with this information our research team inspects the area, meets up with the local tourist boards, talks to experts, hoteliers and restaurant owners - all this while driving and cycling the route. 

Hotels and restaurants are key. We look at where hotels are located, what makes them different, sleep in many of them to get a feel for the place, meet the staff and inspect the amenities. Inspecting restaurants is the fun part but are at times is an adventure in eating, especially with some of the more unique local specialties. Of six hotels we inspect, we'll choose one. Same with restaurants. We plan the lunch stops, locate picnic spots and tour chateaux, castles and other attractions.

If this inspection tour passes muster, we'll revisit the region twice more, the final time to cycle the entire route and also to cover details that we missed before.  By the time we finish we'll have spent a month in the area. If we do our jobs right the tour will be unique, interesting and memorable, and a hit with our guests.