Your Next Bike Vacation

The bike touring company Ciclismo Classico, which is based in Arlington, MA but considers the world its home, had to cancel all its European tours this year.  But trying to salvage a bike touring season, they sponsored bike tours late summer following all the latest COVID-19 protocols, not to their signature destinations in Italy and Ireland, but in the Finger Lakes of New York and also Southern New Hampshire.   This allowed adventure seekers to drive to the start and bike routes consisting of loops, out and back, so that they would be near their car at the end of the trip.   These “close to home” tours were able to satisfy participants yearning for new experiences, outdoor activity, and camaraderie.

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​After 30 years as the founder and owner of Ciclismo Classico, Lauren Hefferon is no stranger to the ups and downs of the travel business.  At the Dec. 8, 2020 Chicago Cycling Club virtual meeting, she said there was a similar downturn in travel after 9/11.  One of the biggest impacts to a tour company of a travel decline is to the livelihood of the tour guides.  For many of them leading tours is their primary source of income and with travel curtailed and trips cancelled, so did much of their income.   
 
Pivoting a Tour Business
For Lauren, an avid cyclist since high school, she relied on cycling to help her come up with a plan to pivot her tour business.   She would take long rides starting from her back door to do her thinking, and racked up over 10,000 miles this year.  Some of the initiatives she came up with are:

• Domestic tours – The company established a “bike tour bubble” with the help of its partners, guides, hotels and restaurants who all took additional steps required to ensure a safe tours and enable guests to escape the daily stress of the pandemic through cycling. Just like the European tours, steps were taken to ensure these new domestic tours were carefully planned and full of magical moments. 
• Cookbook – Ciclismo Classico guides from all over the world contributed their top family recipes and they published a cookbook.  Over $50,000 was raised and distributed to the guides to help make up for their loss of income this year.
• Favorite rides book– This is still in process but will be a collection of the favorite rides of the guides which will be sold, again, to raise funds to benefit the guides and their families.
• Bike Travel Film Festival – Ciclismo Classico sponsored the 11th annual version virtually this year since it was not possible to gather physically in theaters.  The Regent Theatre, the longtime hosts, streamed the festival so it could be accessible to adventure lovers anywhere in the world.  Donations were collected via a GoFundMe page to benefit the Regent plus the Adventure Cycling Association and to assure the festival returns in 2021. ​ 

The lure of exploring new places with other people resulted in a bounce back in previous downturns and it is expected to bounce back this time also.  The question is when. 
 
Vacation Planning Advice
Lauren offered the following advice for who are itching to make bike tour plans for 2021:

• Be flexible – since no one knows when it will be safe to travel again, stay abreast of the latest information and follow professional tour operators who are knowledgeable on the most current protocols and advice.
• Stick with small groups – Until experts are sure of the transmission patterns of COVID-19, it is best to limit interactions to a smaller number of people.  This also allows the time to get to better know all the members of the group. 
• Consider tours close to home - Exploring the wonders in the United States will minimize travel to the tour start and eliminate the need to be knowledgeable about the quarantine restriction around the world. 
• If selecting an organized tour:
  • Check refund policies  
  • Determine if the guides are knowledgeable of the area, friendly, and outgoing
  • Give priority to companies with extensive tour planning experience
  • Consider requesting a private or custom tour with friends and family

 
Cycling remains an ideal form of exercise for pandemic times.  We can use this time to dream of all the places we want to visit so we will be ready to start tackling them when the time is right.  Take heart, normalcy is in sight.

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