Bike Vermont fulfills nearly all these requirements and for $330 (the cost is about $30 higher if you don't supply your own bike) offers a good deal. For this you get two nights in a country inn, two suppers and two breakfasts. Menus are fixed but you can make arrangements in advance if you have special dietary needs. The fulfilling experience is provided by the staff and by the biking routes. The staff are right with you as you challenge yourself to ride those 50 miles in a day. It is a type of  customer service that fosters a  camraderie bolstered by pride and accomplishment. It can set off a heady feeling similar to that offered by weekend encounter group retreats.  You can leave at the end of your weekend feeling quite high.

Preparing for the ride: All bike tours like to hold meetings the night before. You receive verbal as well as written route instructions and you are cautioned about possible dangers. Bathroom availability is outlined and warnings issued about poison ivy. You must provide the name of someone to call if there is an emergency. It all adds to the drama, rather like a mountain climb!

Day one of the tour took us around Mount Ascutney and on some very busy highways. It seemed as if only a slight misjudgement by car or rider could have led to an accident. Vermont highways do not always have shoulder areas. You are well advised to use a rear view mirror and listen not only for the car behind you but be aware that there could be one behind that one. ``That's the one you'll never hear," observes Ben Haller, a veteran 82-year old rider on the tour.

There were some complaints about sore butts after the first day of riding, but Bike Vermont's Bruce Faulkner was ready with a solution.

The second day of the tour was only about 25 miles. The route took us around the Ludlow area with a major portion of it being on an unpaved road which felt so much safer. You could also ride side by side and talk to someone because traffic was very light. Towards the end, the directions led to a local swimming hole. Such areas are almost a prerequisite towards the end of a route when you are hot and steamy.

You might think that you could save some money by discovering your own route and finding your own inn and restaurants, but it wouldn't be the same.  Joining the Appalachian Mountain Club and biking on one of their routes is the closest alternative, but again, it is not the same. There is little luxury with the club. No, tour biking inn-to-inn is an experience unto itself.

There used to be a whole bevy of such tour companies when it was the popular thing for high income professionals to do. Now that segment of the market wants a European tour. That's one of the reasons why Bike Vermont offers tours in Ireland and Vermont Bicycle Tours offers ones in Europe.

Timothy Palmer-Benson
Scenes of Vermont - PB Publishing July 2000

Please note;

• Post comments on the Review by clicking here
• To contact me, Tim Palmer-Benson, directly click here
• In keeping with Scenes of Vermont policy of complete editorial independence, no freebies were asked for or offered during the process of preparing this review. The opinions expressed are those of the writer.
• This review was written when guided bike tours in Vermont were a lot more popular. Some of the comments and descriptions may be out of date now. (2006)