Need more cyclists for Spain Andalusia Tour 4 Oct to 11 Oct

[fidlfreek]

Oh my god that looks amazing! Anybody been on one of these? How was the bike? I am skeptical about the provided bike...

[MauiRockHopper]

Oh my god that looks amazing! Anybody been on one of these? How was the bike? I am skeptical about the provided bike...

I wrote to Cycling Safaris about this and put their reply in red. I suppose you could bring your own bike if you wanted to. Anyhow the bikes look ok to me for the distance & type of riding. I'm going to book!

I have attached a picture of our bike models used on our Andalusia tours - they are new HYBRIDS, made in Europe and the brand is La Pierra (france).
These are excellent bikes with comfy saddles and in line with cycle touring / not road riding.

We have no dropped handle bars nor are the seats narrow and hard like road bikes.

We have not had any complaints about our bikes and nearly all riders have noted how pleased they have been with the quality.

Hope this helps!



Best regards
Sofia
Sofia Hansson
Irish Cycling Safaris Ltd.
Belfield Bike Shop
University College Dublin
Dublin 4
Ireland

www.cyclingsafaris.com
Ph: 00353 (0) 1 260 0749
Fx: 00353 (0) 1 716-1168

[michelem]

Have you seen this review? Just something to keep in mind.

http://bicyclespokesman.com/irish-cy...f-the-company/

P.S. I found these photos on flickr, which might give you a better idea of their tours:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/cycling...7603909642699/

[MauiRockHopper]

Hmmm, doesn't sound like a good experience, but hopefully the Spanish branch will be good. I think this tour is more self-guided, with the van acting more as a shuttle for luggage. Which is why the price of the tour is about half price of a fully guided tour.

Looking at the photos, it appears that the cyclists aren't very "hard core" so this tour may be too easy. I'm looking at some other possibilities too.

[fidlfreek]

Looking at that description of the bikes "no hard road seats" "no dropped bars" it seems like this is more of a tour for people who maybe don't ride bikes all the time....

[MauiRockHopper]

I ended up booking with Bike Spain for the Vuela a Espana 2009 Tour! It is 10days of between 49-55 miles per day closely following the race. There will be numerous opportunities to see the actual race, and VIP area tickets to the finale. It includes a cool jersey too. The lodgings are more upscale, some Paradores. The support van has a long trailer for all the bikes so the van has passenger room.

September 12 to 21, 2009. Cost 1650 Euros

http://www.bikespain.info/en/t_roadVuelta_en.asp

[ginny]

I did a self supported (short) tour this summer in Europe. When I was figuring out the route, I called some tour companies there. They were actually snobby to me and said no one would want to do the mileage I proposed. They told me I was nuts for planning it the way I was. I was SUPER happy with the mileage. I rode alone so didn't have much else to do but ride, and the distances I did (40-60mi/day) were fine for a whole day. Based on this experience (okay, and n of about 3), I think maybe the tour companies often plan for people who aren't used to riding serious miles. If you can put that aside, any tour with a bicycle has to be way better than a bus!