anybody have any experiences with noofunteers?

[lauraelmore1033]

My husband and I are thinking about taking a supported bicycling tour with this outfit. Our local club website lists a link to noofunteers but no reviews other than that the webmaster thinks the trips look intriguing. The trips do indeed look intriguing. When I google them I get other bike clubs that have received their promotional materials and posted a link. Has anybody here taken any of their trips? Would anybody? http://www.noofunteers.com

[SouthernBelle]

Sorry don't know a thing except to say that's a terrible name! "No Fun"

[lauraelmore1033]

yes, the name is quite off-putting. it doesn't exactly inspire confidence.

[bmccasland]

yes, the name is quite off-putting. it doesn't exactly inspire confidence.

Or that they're in Indiana, promoting trips out west. Maybe I'm showing my bias... Why aren't they doing trips in their own geographic area too?

[SadieKate]

Uh, new frontiers? Noofunteers?

[lauraelmore1033]

Or that they're in Indiana, promoting trips out west. Maybe I'm showing my bias... Why aren't they doing trips in their own geographic area too?

that too strikes me as odd

[Thorn]

Don't know anything about them, but I wouldn't think anything about their location vs. where they travel. We're off to Italy with a company based in Iowa. We've travelled to Europe with a group based in Wisconsin and to Texas with a group based in Colorado.

No, you can love a region to live in, but that doesn't mean you can't love some place else to travel in. Besides, would you be even looking at the group if they offered a fascinating trip in the suburbs of Gary?

I read a great article on how to choose a bicycle touring company. Alas, it was on paper, but it gave things to evaluate. Basically, review the itinerary and see if it is interesting. Pay attention to the mileage (does it match what you want in a day). Look at the hotels and food--do you like to travel in style or is basic, clean accomodation your thing? If things match what you want, then call the company up and talk to them. Do you like what you hear? If so, then ask for the names of people that have travelled with them? Contact those people and see what they have to say. Make sure you make them give you negatives as well as positives. If you still like what you hear...well, then take a gamble, go with an open mind, a happy spirit and get the best out of it.

[lauraelmore1033]

the locations, routs, mileage and proposed lodging all sound fabulous to me. Maybe too fabulous. My husband is afraid they could just be some fly by night outfit and will just take the money and run. It is worrying that I can't seem to find much info on them. It might be moot anyway. I'm beginning to suspect that my husband would really rather just go to hawaii (when it's cold here) and lounge around in the sun drinking frilly drinks. He just confessed to me that his push ten years ago to finish the STP ride in one day pretty much burned him out on cycling forever . My idea of the perfect vacation would maybe be hell for him ?

[ace]

I haven't heard of them. I did a lot of research on bike tours a few months ago (I'm going to Tuscany on a bike tour with ciclismo classico in May). Here are some centralized websites I found useful. The Bicycling World site is a huge database of tours all over the world, including the U.S.:

http://www.bicyclingworld.com/templates/default.aspx
http://www.biketour-reviews.com/

[lauraelmore1033]

I haven't heard of them. I did a lot of research on bike tours a few months ago (I'm going to Tuscany on a bike tour with ciclismo classico in May). Here are some centralized websites I found useful. The Bicycling World site is a huge database of tours all over the world, including the U.S.:

http://www.bicyclingworld.com/templates/default.aspx
http://www.biketour-reviews.com/

wonderful! Thanks!

[Thorn]

ace -- thanks for posting the review link. Awesome! I've bookmarked so hopefully I'll remember next time. I just looked up the group I'm travelling to Italy with and it gets rave reviews there! Whew!

Hope your trip goes well in May (still looking forward to your post trip report!)

[ace]

Which company are you going with Thorn?

Yeah, I hope to god my knee is better soon. My pre-trip training is stalled because of my injury. I got a cortisone shot yesterday, so am hoping that will get me back to a pain-free place....

[Thorn]

We're using CycleItalia--a small company out of Iowa. Given a toss up between companies, I tend to support the smaller business. We're taking one of their mid-level trips (100K/day and only hills, not mountains ). I am a flat-lander tortoise!

Hope your knee gets better. But since I started travelling, I took the attitude to focus on what you do on a trip, not what you didn't do. If your cycling distances get clipped due to an uncooperative knee, focus on what you can still do. There is no better way to absorb a culture than to sit back in a cafe sipping your favorite beverage and watching the world go by.

But, hopefully, you'll be riding pain-free and seeing the views from the saddle of your bike!

[ace]

That is really, really good advice, Thorn. I am so competitive, it's hard for me to be sidelined, but I've decided I'm going on this trip no matter what, so I better enjoy the parts I can do!

It will be fun to trade experiences when we get home