FRIDAY FRIENDLY TOUR COMPANIES - Page 1

Adventure Cycling Association - the famous 'big one' with excellent cross-country maps for solo touring to guided journeys abroad. Their tours are largely camping, with up to 2 weeks of motels on longer tours. Check out their tours at www.adventurecycling.org/tours
In 2005 ACA bought a Friday for their staff to do work trips! Read about it |
AC members get a 5% discount on any custom Bike Friday

AGILE COMPASS dynamically customizes your tour every week from May through July in southern France or northern Italy (plus September-October in northern Italy). Michael Khaw on his Air Friday. Michael says: I've done the Giro delle Valle Monregalesi and La Dieci Castelli rides in Piedmont and the Granfondo del Prosecco in the Veneto on my Friday, drawing quite a bit of attention from the Italian participants - at the starting line, when I keep up with the pack on climbs, and especially when I coast past them on downhills!

THE BICYCLE ADVENTURE CLUB (BAC) is a very large non-profit touring club headed up by Bike Friday owner Bill Deverell. BAC tour guide Chuck Shinn rides a New World Tourist. He says "The quick packing of the Bike Friday and its good performance were the deciding factors that pushed me to finally buy my own Bike Friday after 10 years of going on annual trips with other members using them" If it's good enough for BAC presidents and tour guides, it's perfect for you!
Customer Story: Wilson Cooper reports on a bunch o' BAC Fridays in Ireland

BIKEANDTHELIKE Phone 1-877-776-6572. Suzie and Roger Knable started leading rides back in the 80's for their local bike club, and soon after were elected into leadership of the 2,000 member organization. They've since conducted over 130 week-long tours, suitable even for first-time recreational cyclists. As a small family-run business with low overheads, they can offer the most reasonable trip prices possible which include their personal hosting, support, quality lodging, and most meals. Suzy says:

"Roger and I are cycling advocates - in the old-school sense - so we do everything without pay and that means no staff and lots of work!  That was our vision when we started in the '80s when we were still working jobs, rising kids and volunteering to promote cycling through our bike clubs and other cycling ventures. We are just glad there is a bicycle that everyone can ride no matter what age or stage, and that's why we ride and support Bike Friday." 

Suzi and Roger own and ride their Bike Fridays on every trip. Here's why.

Advocacy Group of League of American Bicyclists
Supporting Member of Thunderhead Alliance
Members of  National Bicycle Tour Directors Association.
Our Cape Cod Tour VOTED "One of the 50 best state rides in the U.S." and  our C and O Canal Tour listed as "one of our favorite trips of 2009" by Bicycling Magazine

A shot from BikeandtheLike's Spain Tour with 10 Bike Fridays

Cape Cod on a Friday 2009 Galfromdownunder multimedia report

Latest trip offers

Pictured right: Bike and the Like's BF contingent, 2009 Maine Coast Tour

CICLISMO CLASSICO - a National Geographic Best Adventure Travel Company on Earth 2009 for bicycle touring - is a favorite of Bike Friday Club of North Carolina leader and Pocket Rocket Pro owner Juliann Tenney. CC specializes in tours of Italy and New England. She's done the Tour of Southern Italy, voted the Best Tour in Western Europe 2004 by Outside Magazine.

"Bill, and I are on our second Fridays," says Juli. "Bill likes his Friday better than any bike he's ever had and has no interest in even trying another! When we were with Ciclismo on a trip last year a group of us stopped by an Italian bike shop. The fellow who owned the shop tried to buy the bike from me for more than I had paid for it originally, four years earlier! An Italian speaker in the group explained to him that though his offer was quite generous, I needed the bike for transportation."

Customer Story: The Galfromdownunder bikes across Italy with Ciclismo Classico

Other Ciclismo trip offers

CYCLE GREECE (www.cyclegreece.gr) is the only bicycle tour operator in Greece with guided and self-guided tours throughout the islands and mainland.   Its parent company, Aegea Adventures, was named a National Geographic Best Adventure Travel Company on Earth 2009 for bicycle touring.   Co-founder Colleen McGuire says, “I’ve been to over forty islands, most of them by bike, and many on my orange Pocket Crusoe.  It’s easy to zip around the islands.  Any boat – sailboat, ferry, pontoon -- can fit a Friday.”   

Colleen is pretty certain she owns the only Bike Friday in the entire country.  Her mission is to share the wonders of the Cradle of Western Civilization with other BF riders.  Check out the CycleGreece blog for entertaining bike adventure stories in Greece.

See current offer in the Events Calendar

Customer Story: Read about Greece from the saddle in this evocative short story by Colleen published by Seal Press. 

JAPAN CYCLE TOUR is owned and operated by Bike Friday's Bicycle Travel Consultant and Japan expert, Ruthy Kanagy, who has lived in Japan for 20+ years and has written a guide to help you plan your trip - Living Abroad in Japan. Each year we explore one or more regions of Japan, take our folding bikes on a train, sleep on futons in a Japanese inn and soak in hot spring baths after a day of riding. See photos of previous tours with Bike Friday riders in the north island of Hokkaido & Tokyo, as well as Mt. Fuji & Kyoto.

Next Up: Oct. 2012: Ancient Kyoto, Nara and the Inland Sea Join fellow Bike Friday riders and friends exploring temples, shrines, gardens of Japan's old capitals and island hop across the blue Seto Inland Sea on 2-wheels. More details coming soon. Email Ruthy to get on the mailing list.  More Japan on a Friday

Latest trip offers

Cycle Indonesia and Indonesian Cultural Communications (ICC) leads expeditions on the island of Sulawesi. New World Tourist owner Colin Freestone, has extensive experience living and working in Indonesia for over 38 years. He is an expert in Indonesian culture, having organized over 30 educational and training programs in Indonesia for Australian universities through his educational management consultancy company in Jakarta. Colin is a fluent speaker of the country’s national language and has ridden in Indonesia since 1992. He has been a Bike Friday New World Tourist owner since 2002. He’s also a keen swimmer and is a trainee Yoga teacher. More about Colin.

Customer story: Inaugural Jan 2009 Cycle Sulawesi Blog

Upcoming departures

CYCLE OREGON - attracts more than 2000 riders each year to its week-long challenging tour of Oregon, that's been called "The Best Bike Ride in America".

Customer stories: Read BF staff stories of the Weekend and week-long events, including the Bike Friday Homecoming.

El Tour: www.bikemexico.com Guided tours in small groups of 8 to 10 people, loaded and self-supported, going inn-to-inn. Flexible, pay as you go accommodation and meals. Basil and Alix like nothing better than to share their passion for Mexico with a diverse group of enthusiastic cyclists. Basil says: We've had many repeat clients on Bike Fridays. One in particular, Phil, clearly demonstrated to us that a BF is as good as any bike by keeping up in one of the fastest groups we've ever had (included a former Canadian masters champ and his much younger friend who was always keen to hammer). Phil kept up on his BF and even set the pace on occasion, and let's just say that Phil was no spring chicken! Since then we've even had people onBF's on our super challenging tour in Oaxaca (bringback the "Killer" rating says my friend, client and BF owner Kevin). Frankly, I have nothing but respect for anyone who survives that tour, never mind a 68 year old man on a BF ...

http://www.bikemexico.com/flybike
http://www.bikemexico.com/bikechoice

Tours of the Chiapas region are run by Basil's friends Ursula and Joel of Los Pinguinos Bike Tours.

Customer story: The Galfromdownunder's Los Pinguinos tour.

GRASSHOPPER ADVENTURES was started by long time Asia traveller/guide and New World Tourist owner Jason Williams. Rides are based on finding the best cycling routes to explore in Asia that take you away from the tourist traps. Roughing it a little where necessary and going with comfort when possible ensures that you can get out and into the heart of the country. These trips are adventurous but completely rewarding - a truly unique approach to Asia. And as you can see here, it's a truly Friday Friendly Tour company!

Customer story: LAOS on a Freedom Friday

Grasshopper tours are particularly interested in Bike Fridays because they can use smaller vehicles for support.  Having just completed a two week Vietnam tour with Grasshopper on my NWT, I can vouch for their knowledge of backroads and their commitment to eco-friendly tourism. The riding is nothing short of fantastic and the interaction with the Vietnamese in small villages is special.  Many people I spoke to before going to Vietnam warned me against riding because of the traffic.  Grasshopper have the routes and the expertise to meet that challenge - Megan, Sydney, July 2008

International Bicycle Fund Bike Tours - www.ibike.org offers tours of Africa and Asia led by New World Tourist owner David Mozer. Photo of David's Bike Friday.

From the ibike website:

David Mozer is the founder and director of Ibike. He is an African studies specialist and accomplished bicyclist. He has appeared on National Public Radio, the Voice of America and the Voice of Kenya discussing Africa, and is the director of the International Bicycle Fund where he works on rural development, environmental issues, urban planning and cross-cultural understanding. David is the author of 'Bicycling In Africa' and numerous articles on transportation and travel.

ibike recommends Bike Friday on their 'What Bike Shall I Bring?' and Bike Africa FAQ pages

As the airline reduce their baggage allowance and increase their baggage surcharges, good quality folding bikes become a serious consideration.  The Bike Friday "World Tourist", which fits in a suitcase, has been used by the program director and participants on all of the programs; through the sands of Mali, rutted roads of Ethiopia and mud of Cameroon, without failure and with great overall satisfaction ... If you are considering taking a folding bikes and have questions, please contact us.

Photo: from ibike's Cameroon trip