Bicycle Adventures

My second excursion with them was bad enough that I would not use Bicycle Adventures again. My first trip was great, good and responsible guides, good lodging equipment etc. Good enough to use them again. Our second trip was Montana. Breathtaking views, but half way through fires forced the guides to change plans. Something unforeseeable and beyond their control. At this time my bike broke down on a timed ride ie Ride to the Sun, the sag wagon was late coming (at least 3o mins) and then even afterwards my rented bike was not completely fixed. They had also sent me off that am with a broken cyclometer that they couldn’t repair.
The next day when walking to the van to start the next days events, I asked the more mechanically inclined guide if he had fixed the cyclometer and the back derailer. He looked at me quizzically admitting that he had forgot. Then when we drove the van to the point we would start the ride my bike was last to be removed from the van roof and then attempts were made to fix the cyclometer and make sure that the derailer system was working, Again the cyclometer was not fixable (so I had no idea the distance I would be pedaling) and the group I had come to Montana with was NOW 30mins up the road. That is when I finally vented my frustration with the two guides. The guides agreed that they had handled my situation poorly, the bike while rideable was not fixed, but they would if I wanted, put the bike back up on the van and I could get in the sag wagon and they would ride me up to where my friends were riding. I was exacerbated and explained that we had ridden enough in the van. I had not come from across the US to be put in a sag wagon, but wanted to bike !
At the end of your BA tour, one receives an immediate email survey regarding your opinions and how was your experience. I was critical of the knowledge and maturity of the guides. I gave a poor review. I had hoped that BA would demonstrate good customer service and contact me. BA never did not so I called and the woman who sent out the survey commented that she had not read the responses to the survey. But based on our conversation she would have Brad one of the vice presidents of the company contact me. Again I waited and then after several weeks I received an email from Brad saying he had just called an disconnected number and to call him. I did, and he agreed that BA seemed to have performed poorly for me, but other did not have similar complaints. I agreed and said, «why would they? their bikes worked and they never stood on the side of the road looking for help, or began two days with malfunctioning equipment.». He said he would check into my complaints with those involved with the ride.. After three weeks I had to send him an email asking him if he planned on getting back to me. He apologized and said he should have given me an update.
By this time, my initial reaction was that my bike mishap was an isolated incident and reflective of the guides only. However when the woman who sends the surveys immediately does not read them on a timely basis and the vice president of the company fails to contact you in a timely basis it seems like it is a top down lack of efficiency. Of course if all goes well the system is not tested. The VP blamed a lot of what occurred with me on the terrible fire. Perhaps the guides had their minds on other issues but fixing my bike and addressing my concerns would have taken only some minor forethought. Obviously the fire did affect the VPs apparent lack of attentiveness in getting back with me. BTW I was offered a voucher for 300 dollars for another BA trip when I had asked for a refund. Why would I want to ride with a company that responded to my concerns the way they did?

This is a bicycle touring company and we have done at least 4 trips with them, Utah-​Bryce/​Zion, Oregon, CA Wine Country and my all time favorite the Canadian Rockies (a bucket list trip for sure). If you like bicycling and travel this company will spoil you. All you have to do is «play» all day on your bike. They take care of all the details; transportation, meals, hotels, maps, snacks and water while you ride, van support, etc. They have different levels to satisfy all type of riders so you can ride to your desire and ability. You can add miles if you wish and of course my husband always signed us up for the extra miles. The support team is carefully selected and they are amazing, we are still in touch with one of our tour guides 5 years later. We had friends who did a bike tour on their own without the support of a company (Jasper/​Glacier Park) and they did not have as good of a time as we did. That is because this company selects great routes and will van you away from the less desirable roads to ensure a safe and lovely ride. Sometime we were riding in areas that were so remote we would have run out of water, so it was nice that we would fill our water bottles and grab yummy snacks from the van. Some trips are so popular they fill-​up fast. We booked our Canada trip in January for a September trip and were that last ones to get in, it was booked solid in a recession. A little pricey but well worth it if you want an active, adventurous trip and you love to bike.

Bicycle Adventures runs high-​dollar bike tours in various places throughout the western United States, Canada, Hawaii and New Zealand. I had booked the California Redwoods tour for late 2008, a six-​day trip that included two days in the Sonoma Wine Country, a day riding Avenue of the Giants, and a day riding out to the Lost Coast.
Their tour groups are pretty small. There were nine riders in our group, and two tour leaders. The van is capable of carrying all the riders and all the gear — this is significant, because the routes are cherry-​picked from the best roads in the area, and we ride the van from one general area to the next. For example, the first two days were a contiguous route, but at the end of the second day we drove a hundred miles up Highway 101 to Benbow.
They advertise that many of their tours are suitable for riders of various skill levels. The setup of the van allows this — it is very easy to skip some of the hills if you want.
We stayed at the nicest inns imaginable, and ate at the nicest restaurants. The service was very personal. The guides were hard-​working, competent, and pleasant to be around.
It was the best vacation I’d ever had. Others in our group felt the same way.