High-End Bike Trips

[crazycanuck]

Umm..If you want to come to Western Australia you could do the Munda Biddi Mtn bike trail.
www.mundabiddi.org.au At the moment it's 332km.

And the best part is you have someone to show you part of the way

I know of an outback mtn bike tour but the details seem to have escaped me at the moment..

What about cycling the Great Ocean Road in Vic, Australia or touring Tassie?

Good luck!
C

[Crankin]

I have been on 2 "high end trips" with Trek Travel and a slightly less plush trip with Classic Adventures (they work with Bicycle Adventures). Everything was great on these trips; the guides, especially at Trek were unbelievably knowledgeable and great leaders. I know several people who have done Backroads trips and I haven't heard any complaints.
The only negative thing I can say about these trips is that some of the other participants were a bit obnoxious, at least to me. When I get back from a hard day of riding I do not want to sit around in sweaty bike clothes and drink beer. I also can't stay up until midnight getting drunk if I have to be up at 8 getting ready to ride again. On the trip we did to the Czech Republic and Austria, half of the group were friends and had known each other since college. They weren't "bad" people, but it definitely made the trip seem like there were 2 groups. The Classic Adventures trip we did to Quebec last summer went much better, even though the level of support was a teeny bit less (2 guides instead of 3). We purposely chose a trip that was listed as easy/moderate so there would be none of the competition we saw on the other trips. Most of the people were strong riders, just older like me.

[maillotpois]

We did a Backroads "epic" trip to the Tour de France several years ago. It was great - the riding was really good and the guides were awesome. We rode by some Butterfield & Robinson buses - my impression was that B&R was a bit more about the luxury and less about the riding than Backroads. Although the easier level Backroads trips are likely less about the riding. I think Backroads has trips to suit just about every riding need (lots of miles or not as many).

I loved the rides they planned for us - I did wish we had a bit more time no our own to just poke around and explore on our own. But that was probably a function of the fact our trip was "epic" and they had to fit in some super long rides along with Tour viewing. It didn't leave much time for poking around on your own.

[bcipam]

I have done Backroads and I have done other organizations which are much less expensive. I don't have a complaint about any touring company. Backroads is definitely top notch, great staff, great inns, but so pricey. I started taking less expensive vacation and frankly am happier. I don't go on these vacation is stay in nice hotels, I go to ride my bike through great scenary. Whether you pay $5000 for the trip or $1500, the scenary and the riding is the same. What a great adventure you have planned. Have a great time!

[spokewench]

I've never done one of these Tours with a company before, but I wanted to tell a nice story about some Backroads employees. This was years ago, when I had first started mountain biking. I was out in Chabot Park which was practically in my backyard and I ran into a group of people riding. I fell in with them cause they were going about my speed and went around a corner and slid out - Almost immediately my left hand started to swell up like a balloon and I was not sure I had not broken it - (it turned out I only bruised it real good) - but one of the people I was riding with (who I did not know at all) was a Backroads employee (tour leader) and he sent his buddy back to get a car and sat with me until he came around to pick me up and took me home. They were great so I would definitely say that Backroads, if their employees mean anything, are a great group.

[ace]

I went on a Ciclismo Classico http://www.ciclismoclassico.com trip to Italy in May/June, and it was fantastic, I wouldn't have changed a thing. They focus mostly on Italy, but also do other trips in Europe.

I found this site really helpful when deciding which company to go with:

http://www.biketour-reviews.com/index.htm

It provides participants' feedback on a wide range of bike tour companies, as well as gives insight into the differences between the various (many many) companies.