READER'S REVIEWS
Here is the first reader review from Ray Cameron, who writes:
"My wife and I were impressed with Steve's Canberra Pedal Power article in the Spring Edition 2021 magazine, #277. We are both now in our 70s and are fortunate to have stumbled on a cycling holiday system when we started in 2006 and it has worked really well for us, until COVID. We want to encourage your readers to consider trying some of our tours themselves.
Our first adventure was in the Loire Valley in 2006, where we booked two bikes and panniers and planned our own tour. The panniers provided were very small "shopping panniers", yet we realised that we could each get by with less. We planned a circular tour over 10 nights, returning to the same hotel in Blois, and they were happy to store our bags until our return. Blois is the centre of one of the highest density of castles in Europe and the Tourist Information Centre had a very useful map of the local rides on specified routes to the castles.
We subsequently have had 13 years of most satisfying and enjoyable self-guided 3-4 weeks cycling holidays. We packed very little, my travel bag fitted into my wife's bag for storage at our first b&b in the town where we hired the bikes, panniers and helmets. As a result we booked the first and last 2 night's b&b accommodation at the town with the bike shop for each subsequent tour.
Our 14 self-guided trips were in France (3), Netherlands (2) and England (9), cycling a total of around 16,500 kms. The two files below contain a summary of the Cameron's 14 trips and some photos taken during their trips. Please open and peruse.