Frequently Asked Questions

On a guided tour, you ride with one of our professional tour leaders and a support van, on set dates each year, our Tour de France trip runs every July, for example. On a self-guided tour, you name your own start date. It’s just you (or your private group), a local concierge on call like a friend who happens to live there, and a route we’ve built for you. Both include lodging, breakfast, most dinners, and daily luggage transfers. The guided tours include a leader riding alongside you every day; the self-guided version gives you the freedom to go when you want, at your own pace.

We curate all tours in-house. We are not a tour wholesaler; we work closely with locals who live in the destinations. We work with local guides at every destination and keep quality consistent across every tour, built on nearly 30 years of experience.

A Tuscany cycling vacation or a Provence cycling tour are our two most popular, alongside Burgundy wine-country cycling, the Dordogne, and the French Alps in France; Piemonte alongside Tuscany in Italy; Spain (Andalusia, via our La Vuelta a España tour); and European-style cycling close to home in Asheville, North Carolina, in the Blue Ridge Mountains. Plus guided spectator tours around the Tour de France, La Vuelta a España, and Giro d’Italia.

Both are excellent, and the choice usually comes down to what you want more of. Tuscany leans toward hill towns, Chianti vineyards, and classic Italian food, with more climbing on the terrain. Provence leans toward lavender routes in season, wine country, and a slightly gentler ride overall. If you can’t decide, both are available as self-guided trips where you set your own dates, so the terrain and scenery are the real tiebreakers, not the calendar.

E-bikes are available at every destination. All five destinations offer Relaxed through Aggressive itinerary options, so terrain above reflects general character, not a hard difficulty ceiling.

Beginners complete both guided and self-guided tours all the time. Check the daily terrain and distances on the itinerary page before you book, so you know what you’re signing up for. Self-guided tours give you the most freedom to ride at your own pace, and our guided tours run a support van so you can hop off and ride along if a climb isn’t for you that day.

Yes. Anything not marked “Relaxed” is a real challenge, and our “Aggressive” self-guided itineraries are genuinely rigorous. If you’re the strongest rider in a mixed group, ask us about extending your daily distance with additional routes.

The miles per day vary widely depending on the destination and difficulty level of the tour being enjoyed. On many of our destinations, we have Relaxed, Standard, and Aggressive itineraries. And the riding distances between destinations vary depending on the terrain. For example, our Tuscany Relaxed tours have approximately 30km/20mi per day in the Tuscan hills, whereas a relaxed tour in sunny Provence averages about 45km/30mi of riding per day. Also, many of the itineraries offer ride extensions for those interested in longer rides. Ask us about those options!  And look closely at the itinerary pages for ride distances.

Yes. Let us know in writing when you register, and we’ll make sure it’s handled at every meal we provide.

Yes, it’s one of the most common ways people travel with us. You set the pace together rather than keeping up with a group, and if one of you wants to push harder on a given day, the route and support are flexible enough to handle that without splitting up the trip. Our Tuscany self-guided tours and Provence self-guided tours are two of our most popular for couples.

Yes, non-riders are welcome on any of our guided tours. They can join the support van, meet the group at hotels and meals, and take part in everything off the bike. Self-guided tours can work well for mixed groups too, since a non-cyclist can meet you at the next hotel or join for parts of the route. On self-guided tours, we only ask that non-riders arrange their own transportation, commonly a rental car.

We use RideWithGPS on every tour, guided and self-guided. Your routes are pre-loaded and turn-by-turn, so you follow along on your own phone or GPS device; we don’t issue GPS units directly, but the app works on whatever you’re already carrying. On a self-guided tour, your concierge, your local friend for the week, is a phone call away if you get turned around. No paper maps, no guesswork.

Leave your bag at the hotel in the morning with your provided OBT luggage tags, ride, and it’s waiting at the next hotel by the time you check in. Every day, every tour, guided or self-guided.

Yes. You’re never actually on your own out there, even though nobody’s riding next to you. Call your local concierge, your local friend for the duration of the tour, and they’ll walk you through a fix over the phone, arrange a repair, or come get you if it’s serious.

Yes, at every destination we run tours. An e-bike adds an electric motor that assists your pedaling, so you can keep up with a stronger rider in your group or cover more distance in a day without the same physical output a standard road bike requires. We have hybrid-style eBikes, and at some destinations eRoad bikes too.

Yes, and we especially recommend it for our mountain tours. Ask us for a packing guide.

Your Tour Packet includes a full packing list specific to your tour, but the general essentials: padded cycling shorts, a lightweight rain layer, layers for variable weather, comfortable off-bike shoes for evenings, and a reusable water bottle. Beyond that, pack like you would for any European trip, adapters, a day bag, and clothing that works for both a bike ride and a nice dinner. If you’re bringing your own bike, a proper bike case or travel bag is worth sorting out well before departure.

A single supplement applies, priced on each itinerary, to cover the cost of a room you’re not sharing.

Yes, though standard pricing doesn’t apply. We’ll put together a custom quote for you.

Self-guided tours are private by default, it’s just you and whoever you’re traveling with. Guided tours run in small groups, typically capped at 16, though we’ll expand to 24 when demand, accommodations, and guiding support all line up. If you want a fully private guided tour, ask us, we can build that too.

Getting yourself to the start of the tour and home from the finish. A rental bike, if you’re not bringing your own, though we have rentals available to add. Travel and health insurance, though you can add it during booking. And admission to sightseeing venues, unless a specific stop is called out as included on the itinerary.

On each itinerary page there is a Book Now link. Click that and complete the form. Each participant must book. There is a US$1,000 deposit for each booking, per person.

Our guided tours often sell out months ahead of time since groups are small. For self-guided tours, book around six months out if you want your first choice of hotels, though three to four months is typical. Peak season runs April through October, with June through September the busiest.

Deposits are refundable up to 60 days before your tour, minus a $400 cancellation fee. Final payment is due 60 days before your tour starts. Between 60 and 30 days out, half the tour fee is refundable. Inside 30 days, there’s no refund. Full terms live in our Terms & Conditions.

Yes, and we encourage it; it’s especially worth adding for international travel. You can add trip insurance during the booking process.