Woman Tours?

I am doing the Oct. 11 - 17 Moab Trip. I am excited (this is my 3rd Woman Tours and LOVE the "bike vacation"). But nervous...I am a Florida flatlander, I am under trained and a bit over weight! Most days are 40 miles...very do-able. I may be slow...but I can go a long time. And it IS vacation. My other concern is the descents...I did a bike ride in Colorado and I SAGGED DOWN not up! (probably the only person that goes up but nto down!). And in Hawaii I wore out my brakes decending.
Sorry, off topic.
I'll let you know about the Moab trip sometime later in Oct.!

Ah, I might be another person who sags down and not up!
On my Austria trip, we had a 7 mile switchback descent. The road was wide, but it was a highway, sort of, although very few cars actually passed me. I got to the bottom a full 10 minutes after my DH.

I'm #3 for wanting to avoid descents more than climbs.

I'll be #4 then. ;)
My DH loves to go riding whenever we visit Colorado. I do, too, but dread the descents for months leading up to it. I can't really practice them around here (no hills), so it's a skill I can't develop. I just ride the brakes and say an extra Hail Mary before I head down. :p

Oh, and back on topic- I got the newest Woman Tours catalog of rides and drooled over soooo many of them! We've never taken separate vacations, but I would secretly LOVE to go off on a biking tour one summer when I'm off. Tell us how you like it (both of you doing the Moab tour).

My first-ever tour with WomanTours was bicycling the Big Island, and I've also done the Death Valley tour. They're a top-notch company! Jackie and Laurie are terrific, as are many others.

My three tours with them have all been long ones, Southern Tier, Underground Railroad Route, and The Northwest Loop (this is not in their catalog this year because they rotate their second long trip each year) DO NOT pass up the NWL..I got back from this trip a month ago and it was fantastic.


http://www.crazyguyonabike.com/doc/2009NorthwestLoop

They do the Southern Tier every year and one other long trip besides all their week long ones. Next year they will do the first half of the Northern Tier, and the following year, the second half. In 2012, they will do their Meandering Mississippi, so maybe they will put it the NWL again in 2013. It is a long way off but time flies and it was an awesome ride.

Patti is usually the Moab guide as she lives there and she is wonderful. She cooked for half of our Southern Tier ride in 2007 when one of our guides fell and broke her wrist. Our cook became our guide and Patti came in as the emergency cook. She was superb and cooked with Julia Child sometime in the past!

I have recommended WomanTours before on this forum and I can highly recommend them for quality tours, guides, and food (if you are on a long trip!) Save up, ladies, there is nothing like a women only ride! You will learn so much about bikes, tire changing, riding downhill :( and all in the presence of women who have the same fears and questions as you. They will help you, guide you, and give you tips and pointers without disdain. Women support you, hug you, and let you know that it is ok to worry about the downhills. They do, too! And then suddenly, you realize that it is not intimidating anymore. I went to the Southern Tier never having ridden more than 70 miles in a day and never having changed a tire myself. I did all that and more!

They have tons of week long trips to try them out! TRY IT, you will LOVE it.

I have done 4 tours with Woman Tours-one a week long in Vermont, 10 days from New orleans to Memphis, The Underground RailRoad from Mobile AL to Niagara Fallls Ontario, and this year from San Diego CA to St. Augustine, FL. I have nothing but praise for the quality of the tours, the guides, the food, and support on and off the road, the accomodations, and the people on the ride as well as the rides themselves.

While I have not done the Moab trip, it is on my wish list for 2011. My sister did the Moab trip two years ago and although she found it challenging ,she also spoke very highly of it.

We are already signed up for the Mississippi meandering in 2012 and I will be doing the Texas Hill country in 2010.

hippie biker chick

Thanks for all the great feed back. So much so that it's taken away any hesitation in going abroad with the group.