Are you ready for a once in a lifetime cycling holiday?

by Kraig Becker on

Pedalers Pub and Grille may sound like a place where you’d stop for some grub after a long day riding your bike, but in actually, its an adventure travel company that specializes in cycling holidays to some of the best destinations on the planet. To celebrate their 25th anniversary, the company has just announced a new tour that will take riders on an eight month, six continent odyssey that will truly be a once in a lifetime experience.

The trip will begin with a “get acquainted” ride through Vermont, which will give everyone who signs up for the tour a chance to get to know one another before the real excitement begins. That shakedown cruise will also give travelers an opportunity to work out the bugs of the trip, such as learning what to carry with them on their daily rides, how to pack and unpack the bikes, and how to endure the rigors of the open road.

From there, the route will take cyclists across Europe, Africa, Asia, Australia, South America, and Central America, before eventually returning to the United States. In all, they will ride will through nearly 30 countries, including Ireland, France, Italy, Egypt, Kenya, India, Nepal, New Zealand, Peru, Costa Rica, and more. They’ll average anywhere form 45-60 miles (80-100km) per day on mostly paved roads with the occasional dirt track as well.

The Once In A Lifetime Tour won’t get underway until June of 2012, which gives you plenty of time to save your pennies. With a price tag of $95,000 the trip doesn’t come cheap, but that price does include all accommodations, most meals, all transportation costs, guides, tours, and even a custom built bike.

If you happen to have $100k and 8 months of free time coming your way, you may want to consider joining this trip. If nothing else, it sure seems like it’ll live up to its name and truly be a once in a lifetime experience.

[Photo credit: Pedalers Pub and Grille]

Photo of the day (10.7.10)

by Meg Nesterov on

I’m one of those weird adults who doesn’t know how to ride a bike. No great excuse, just never bothered to learn as a kid, preferring indoor pursuits and walking on nice solid ground, and it’s become harder to learn as an adult. My husband has attempted several times over the years and now I’m sort of like Toonces the driving cat – I can ride, just not very well. Maybe this fellow in Tokyo is also a non-bike rider and thus looks a bit shamed by the row of bicycles. No matter the reason for his sour face, this photo by Flickr user jrodmanjr is a nice composition in black and white of a city that takes its eco-friendly commuting seriously.

Have a great travel photo you’d like featured here? Add it to our Gadling group on Flickr and we might choose one as our Photo of the Day.

World’s lightest bike weighs 6 pounds, cost $45,000

by Kraig Becker on

Last weekend the 2010 Interbike Expo was held in Las Vegas. Each year the show highlights all the latest innovations and updates in the biking industry, with major players, such as Trek and Specialized, on hand to show off their latest models. But this year, it was a little known company called Fair Wheel Bikes, based out of Tuscon, Arizona, that made the headlines by introducing an incredibly lightweight, but incredibly expensive, bike.

The new prototype features ten speeds, both front and rear brakes, a carbon fiber frame, and titanium spokes. When fully assembled, the unit weighs in at a mere six pounds, which makes it the lightest bike ever built, but it just might come with the heftiest price tag. Fair Wheel has spent $45,000 building this particular model, and while it isn’t available to purchase yet, they hope to move it into production in the future.

As a point of reference, the bikes that are ridden at the Tour de France weigh in at roughly 15 pounds, which is the minimum accepted weight by the Union Cycliste Internationale, the governing body of professional cycling. This new design from Fair Wheel weighs in at less than half of that, and yet the company says that it remains durable and tough. The company has logged more than 20,000 miles on the prototype, testing its strength, and its still going strong.

While it may be some time before the technology behind the six-pound bike comes to market, there are already avid cyclists drooling over this machine. The thought of shaving ten pounds from their current rides probably has more than a few of them reaching for their credit cards and looking for a way to contact Fair Wheel to place their order.

Take a cycling tour with Trek Travel

by Kraig Becker on

If you’ve been watching the Tour de France this week, you’ve no doubt seen Lance Armstrong and the rest of Team Radioshack riding their beautiful Trek bikes as they’ve rolled across the Netherlands, Belgium, and of course France. Perhaps it has even motivated you to dust off the Huffy and hit the road yourself. But did you know that Trek offers cycling tours to exotic places around the globe? Tours that would put you on one of their amazing bikes, while exploring a country like you never have before.

Trek Travel offers adventurous and active cyclists a host of options to pedal their way across Europe, North America, Latin America, Asia, and Africa. These trips have a little something to fit everyone’s needs, including private tours, group excursions, and custom made itineraries. Additionally, the tours can be geared for families, as well as riders of a wide variety of skill levels ranging from beginner up to avid cyclists. Accommodations can be at the luxury level or a simple, no frills option to fit a variety of budgets too.

One of their most popular offerings is the Lance in France Tour which are actually going to be taking place during the Tour, as fans of the sport follow Armstrong and the other riders on two different legs, one in the Alps, and the other a ride from the Pyrenees to Paris. The highlights of those two tours include not only getting to watch the Tour de France, but ride some of the popular stages in the mountains as well.

Of course, it is too late to sign up for either one of those rides, but other cycling tours include the Tuscany Explorer which sends riders on an amazing trip through Italian wine country, and the Yellowstone and Tetons Multisport, which combines cycling and kayaking in one of the most iconic national parks in the U.S. My personal favorite would be the mountain biking tour through South Africa and Zambia.

One of the best parts of these tours is that you can be as active or inactive as you want. You decide how much you want to ride on any given day, and if you’re feeling a little tired (or hung over!) from the night before, you can take it easy on the team bus or at your next lodge, while your companions spend the day in the saddle. You’ll also get to ride some of the best Trek bikes in their catalog. The road tours will put you on a Madone, not unlike what Lance himself rides, while mountain bikers will be treated to a similar level of off road machines.

If you’re looking for a unique and active way to take a trip, perhaps a cycling tour is just what you need. It truly is a perfect way to see the sights while cruising through some of the world’s best landscapes. Check out the Trek Travel catalog for some excellent travel opportunities.

[Photo credit: Trek Tours]

Explore Australia on the Great Victorian Bike Ride

by Kraig Becker on

Travelers looking for a unique and unusual way to explore Australia should look no further than the Great Victorian Bike Ride, an annual cycling event that offers a healthy dose of the legendary Aussie hospitality with an active, adventurous holiday.

Now in its 27th year, the 2010 GVBR is schedule to take place from November 27 to December 5. This year’s course will highlight some of the best scenery that the Australian state of Victoria has to offer, including gorgeous lakes and rivers, wide open scenic vistas, and stunning mountain ranges. The riders will begin in Yarrawonga and cover more than 599 kilometers (372 miles) before ending in Marysville. On average, they will cover about 70km (43 miles) per day while on the route.

Just because you’ll spend the week on a bike, cycling through the Australian countryside, doesn’t mean you’ll have to skimp on the amenities however. This ride is a full service affair with luggage transportation provide, a licensed cafe at the nightly campsite, and more. In fact, even though you’ll be sleeping in a tent along the way, you’ll still have access to a masseuse, a full featured bike repair facility, and a medical team that will be on hand to take care of those saddle sores.

The Great Victorian Bike Ride is an affordable adventure Down Under to be sure. The cost of the nine day event is just $795 AUD for adults, while kids under 17 and can ride for $595 AUD. Children under 12 are just $295 AUD, and Infants, categorized here as age 5 and under, get to come along for free.

For those who would like to ride, but think this sounds like it might be just a bit too challenging, you might want to consider the Goulburn River Explorer option. This is a shortened version of the GVBR with riders joining the peloton on Day 6 and peddling for just four days rather than the standard nine. This option costs $395 AUD, with discounts being applied for the younger crowd.

Finally, well heeled riders can also elect to take the Gourmet Peddler Ride which takes you out of the tent and puts you into a hotel instead. This package costs $3450 AUD for a 9 night twin share option. For $3950 AUS you can even have your own room.

To register for the Great Victorian Bike Ride click here. Only 5000 riders are accepted however, so if you’re looking to get a true Aussie experience with true Aussies themselves, you may want to sign up soon. As a further incentive, you can get a $100 AUD discount if you sign up before the end of July.

[Photo Credit: Bicycle Victoria]