Safe Travels in a Bike Tour Bubble

The Joy of Travel reclaimed in a Bike Tour Bubble

“Riding a bike feels manifestly good in a world where almost nothing else does.” The Atlantic Monthly

Making a decision to travel this year is a personal one. However we discovered on our later summer and fall tours that bicycling was a perfect solution for what many of us are yearning for: safe traveling, outdoor activities, and camaraderie.

We are super excited about our Close to Home locations and very proud of everyone involved – our partners, guides, hotels and restaurants who all took the many additional steps required to ensure we could have amazing and safe tours.

We are also very thankful to our guests who traveled with us this year and happy that they each found joy & peace of mind while traveling in our Ciclismo biking bubble!

Since so many have been asking about how our 2020 season went and what is in store for 2021, check out our Frequently Asked Questions below about Safe Bicycle Travel in 2020 and beyond!

Why is cycling a perfect option during these times?

Experts agree that the best place to stay safe from the pandemic and to interact with others is the outdoors. Because it’s easy to stay six feet or more from your fellow cyclists, bicycling is an easy, safe and enjoyable way of physical distancing. Cycling also creates lots of natural feel good endorphins and calming serotonins that are needed more now than ever. This year there were more cyclists on the roads than ever before and while so many businesses have suffered, bike shops have been the big winners as people rushed to buy new bikes and fix up their old ones. The reason is pretty simple, in challenging times, we are all craving the simple joys and emotional reset that cycling offers.

How did traveling this year impact the overall Ciclismo Classico experience?

According to our guests, not at all! In fact, every guest said they were so happy to have “escaped” the daily stress of the pandemic. We spent a lot of time talking to all of the guests before the tour to make sure that they felt absolutely comfortable. Just like our European tours, every Ciclismo Classico Close to Home tour was carefully planned, gorgeous and full of many magical moments like this one on the Stone Arch Bridge in NH.

How did the Ciclismo experience exceed your guests’ expectations of traveling during these uncertain times?

All of our guests were absolutely craving cycling with others (and socializing in general) so the mood of all the tours was quite euphoric. While our guests have been biking more this year, it has been mostly alone, so everyone welcomed the joyous and sharing atmosphere of a small group Ciclismo tour. For those who were concerned about travel, they relaxed quite quickly as it became clear that we were taking every precaution.

What were the biggest challenges of operation tours domestically?

The biggest challenge was the constant changing of where guests from each state could travel. We had people signed up for our tours in Maine, Canada and Vermont but could not run them because of closed borders. We ended up running tours in New Hampshire, the Finger Lakes, North Carolina, Oregon and along the Natchez Trace. We are confident that will change for the better in 2021.

What was the biggest success?

There were so many! In a year that started so desperately grim for international travel, our domestic tour pivot was a ray of sunshine and hope. Creating our Close to Home tours gave us something to use our expertise and focus our creative energy on. Even though our enrollment was way down from normal, the opportunity to cycle with our guests and share places we love, was energizing and incredibly inspirational. Finally we learned so much from our Pandemic Pedaling Pivot – how to redesign COVID-friendly tours, prepare guests, develop and execute COVID protocols, even create Ciclismo masks out of leftover jerseys! Most importantly we now feel completely confident that the Ciclismo Magic can thrive in our small group biking bubble.

How do you envision your 2021 biking season?

I am filled with hope knowing that bicycling will continue to boom and triumph as a panacea for our troubled times. We are 100% prepared and excited to operate our bicycle tours in Europe as soon as it becomes possible AND as a Native New Hampshirite, I am also thrilled about our Ciclismo Close to Home expansion. We will continue to implement our COVID protocol and trust as the situation evolves that we can have our own “bike tour small group pod” and travel with better Peace of Mind.

We will offer tours in the Finger Lakes, Southern New Hampshire, North Carolina, Oregon and Arizona and are planning to expand to Vermont, Maine, Canada, Western Massachusetts and Colorado. The exciting news is that we will be bringing our Italian guides here to be on tours. Finally stay tuned for our spring, summer and fall Ciclismo Weekend Reunion in Texas, Vermont, and The Berkshires. Our wheels will be spinning all winter and we can’t wait to bike with you in 2021.

A View from the 2020 Bike Tour Bubble:

“The southern New Hampshire bike tour was an opportunity to re-energize and reconnect with nature and cycling enthusiasts. I have been on numerous trips with Ciclismo Classico outside the U.S. prior to 2020 and was curious as to how the tour would translate into a U.S. location.

To be honest, I was nervous about the logistics of the trip in light of COVID. It soon (the first day) became apparent to me that the tour had been carefully adapted to accommodate the requirements and restrictions relating to COVID.

I felt safe throughout the tour because much of our time was spent outdoors and because the other guests, Ciclismo guides and hotel personnel followed protocols relating to masks and social distancing.

The camaraderie of other cyclists, the challenging cycling routes, the natural beauty of lakes, mountains, rivers and forests in the fall, and the interesting local history made this a trip to remember! Grazie mille Ciclismo per un’altra avventura spettacolare! “

– Alumni Marisa M. who joined us on our Southern New Hampshire Tour