Best Bike Touring Groups?

[marni]

have done three cross countries and several shorter trips with Woman Tours and thoroughly enjoyed them. More short ones are in my future. Yes they are a bit pricey but it is so worth it to me to be able to just ride, eat, and sleep with a group of like minded females. Long live mommy camp. Id rather do a Wt ride than any other sort of vacation, spa or anything else. For a mixed group the SAG guy and I have done 1 tour with Sojourn Adventures which was also lovely and not quite as pricey.

[Crankin]

Just ask a lot of questions and research. Call references. I would not be able to stand a "mommy camp" atmosphere. Even the words give me the creeps. We're all different and that's why you should make a very informed choice.

[tulip]

Just ask a lot of questions and research. Call references. I would not be able to stand a "mommy camp" atmosphere. Even the words give me the creeps. We're all different and that's why you should make a very informed choice.

I agree. I have steered away from WT because they "encourage" participants to switch roommates every night so that everyone gets to know everyone else. To some that might be great, but I'm a Single Supplement gal and need my alone time, especially in the evenings. The more tours I've done, the more I appreciate self-guided tours where it's just me and a map. "Mommy Camp" sounds dreadful, as I presume there would be no place for someone who does not have/never has had/never will have/never wanted children.

So do your research and know thyself!

[shootingstar]

choice.
I agree. I have steered away from WT because they "encourage" participants to switch roommates every night so that everyone gets to know everyone else.

I like sharing with other people who I know already before a trip...maybe I'm just particular. Chances are, I will jive with 1 or 2 out of a whole bunch of women. But I didn't know this practice of theirs and will ask someone who I know did 2 of WT's tours.

[Crankin]

Yuck. I'm too old for roommates, except for my DH. I don't do bunkhouses, either. Sleeping in a mixed gender group setting with a bunch of strangers during my AMC leadership training sucked. I didn't sleep for 48 hours.
I like camping, but again, only with close friends, or family. And, frankly, I don't do so well with a large group of women, unless they are already people I know.

[Karenanywild]

We are booked for the Tuscany trip next year with Trek Travel. After researching we chose them for the following reasons:
1. They are the only company I found that has a vested interest in making sure you have awesome equipment for the trip. i.e. they are hoping you buy a bike from them. An expensive bike trip with crummy equipment would be awful.
2. My research said, 'oh trek travel, they just took the best of everyone else and packed it into their own company'. Sounds like a plus to me.
3. For our work we spend a lot of time in hotels. When on vacation I absolutely don't want to stay in a stinky, old hotel room.
4. Very professional and organized. Their staff were a great help answering questions.

Hoping it turns out being a good choice. There are 6 in our group going.

[Crankin]

There are other companies that provide the same level of service as Trek, who don't have the vested interest of selling you a bike... Backroads and Ciclismo Classico are 2. They also have excellent bikes. Backroads now gives you a choice of upgrading to a Specialized Ruby.
I liked the Trek trips we took. I did not like the participants!
This is one of the reasons I built a custom bike with couplers that I can take on bike trips. I may or may not do this for my trip to Portugal. Cycling Country now has access to Trek bikes, instead of the Orbeas we had last time. If they can get me a 47 cm wsd Trek, my own bike will stay home.

[MartyM]

I have to tell you --- it's so nice to hear this from other women. I'm not anit-social but I don't like large groups of people I don't know and don't want to sleep or camp with them. In groups I can usually find 1 or 2 people I can connect with but I prefer the smaller more intimate groups. I thought I was an "odd ball" for feeling this way. So nice to hear others feeling the same way.

[KathiCville]

I commented earlier about my Natchez Trace trip five years ago with WomanTours. I happily paid the single supplement in order to have a room to myself. I was the only one in the group to do so. It was worth it (to me). As much as I enjoyed the women during the rides and at meals, I was so wiped out at day's end that I really needed to be alone to recuperate. And I definitely can't sleep well with a stranger nearby. I suppose I'm what you might call a friendly introvert---happy to meet new people and interact for a while, but then I absolutely need downtime to rest and get my energy back or I can't function........I don't recall a "mommy camp" atmosphere on my trip---but then, at age 50, I was the second youngest in the group! (The oldest was 80.) I probably heard more talk about grandchildren than children, LOL! Maybe I lucked into a lively group because I seem to remember a lot of chat about travel, food, books and, of course, cycling. For what it's worth, I'm never-married, no human children, just two beloved furballs. :-)