Riding Through 3 Countries In The Alps – Awesome
Riding Through 3 Countries, In The Valleys Of The Alps
Several years ago, some friends of ours convinced Susan and me* to take an overseas bicycle trip. I say convinced, because, from our point of view, there are more great places to ride in the United States, like the Columbia River Gorge, in Oregon, than we will ever have time to do. For us, overseas trips were meant to see as much of area as we can.
Suffice to say, we went, with them on a VBT (Vermont Bicycle Club) of Italy, Slovenia & Austria, in June of 2018
We took the easy tour, 20 to 40 miles a day, mostly flat or slightly downhill. 98% of the riding was on off road bicycle trails.
VBT is a pricey tour, but the group is small, there is multiple staff and they do a superb job of making sure everyone is happy. The included meals and accommodations were all fine, except one location where the Inn was 1/2 step above camping. The tour leader explained that the problem in that location was that was the only Inn large enough to hold the whole group.
On arrival day we had an afternoon in Ljubljana, Slovenia’s capital. It is a small extremely walkable city with lots of good restaurants.
We also spent some time there at the end of the trip, I think.
VBT provides you with a road bike, hybrid bike or eBike. You may bring your own pedals and saddle if you wish.
Bring your cell phone. VBT provides you with fully guided maps, through Ride With GPS. You download the maps into your cell phone, so you do not use up any data while your ride. They provide cell phone mounts for your bicycle. It took us a while to figure out how to properly configure the settings, but once done, the map and vocal cues only pop up as you are near a turn (you can set how far in advance your want to be notified).
On the few long or steep climbs we encountered, the tour leaders were always there to drive you up, if you preferred.
The next several days we rode as the scenery below passed by.
Our group opted for the extension in Salzburg, Austria as did some others. However, we did our reading and homework before and during the trip, so we knew where to go and what to see. Another small group did not, and needed to hire a guide.
Glenn
Comments welcome, below.
* me is correct