Before, During and After: Andalucia

Posted on October 31, 2017 - 2:19 pm by keith_ritter

Andalucia is a perfect destination for a cycling vacation of a lifetime. If you find yourself with a flight to Andalucia for a Spain bike tours, consider any of the following cities before or after your trip. From the flamenco caves of Granada to the northern Pyrenees and coastal cities of Catalonia, you will be enchanted by Spain.

Like any country, the landscape and culture is unique wherever you go in Spain. Andalucia, or Andalusia, is a region in southern Spain known for its warm weather, agriculture, sherry, Jamon Ibérico, flamenco, bullfighting and Moorish architecture. It’s an incredible experience for a cycling vacation with a variety of climbs and rolling hills, stunning views, friendly people and endless tapas throughout your ride that continue into the night alongside a glass of sherry or local vino. Just a train ride away you’ll find a handful of popular and to-be-discovered cities throughout Spain that are also worth a trip.

Before: Seville, Spain

On Trek Travel’s cycling vacation, we begin in Seville, Andalucia’s capital city, where we meet up with the guides to start the bike tour. If you arrive at the end of April, you could catch the beginning of Feria, one of Spain’s biggest festivals. On the night of the festival, follow the crowds along the river to the grounds that house hundreds of decorated casetas, or little houses, for private gatherings that celebrate well into the night and into the following morning. During the day, be sure to enjoy the local tapas bars and explore the history and architecture of Seville. Lonely Planet named Seville the “Best city to visit in 2018.”

Travel to Sevilla, Andalucia on an Andalucia bike tour

Empty streets of downtown Sevilla. The entire city made their way to the Feria de Abril festival.

Plaza de España in Sevilla

During: Ronda to Antequera, Andalucia

If you’re a lucky guest on the Trek Travel trip, hop in the van with the guides and drive into the hills to a lovely olive oil farm. Your first ride will lead you down into a valley and up through the hills towards the hidden gem of Ronda. Ronda is a historic mountaintop city overlooking a gorge that includes the diverse “old town” and “new town”, separated by an iconic stone bridge. The “old town” houses residents who’ve lived there for centuries, and across the bridge you’ll find shops, tapas bars, flamenco dancing, the oldest bull fighting ring in Spain and more. The whole city is quite small and very walk-able. Ronda is extremely charming and a gem of the South.

The hills of Andalucia bring slow climbs and views of pueblos blancos, or white villages, dotted throughout the landscape

A hidden gem in Andalucia, Ronda is a historic town that overlooks a breathtaking gorge

After (Southern Spain): Granada

After the Trek Travel trip, consider taking a train to experience Granada. Granada features the Moorish castle Alhambra which overlooks the old neighborhood of Albaicín. Sit down and have a beer or glass of wine here and you’ll also receive a small plate of tapas – whatever the kitchen is serving up that day. You might never have to pay for food here, as long as you have a drink ordered. Be sure to get tickets in advance to tour the Alhambra, it’s a popular tourist sight, but you’ll find the city itself is filled with friendly, charming locals. You can’t miss the flamenco in Granada either – here, step into a cave, sit down with a drink and enjoy the dancers and musicians perform the traditional flamenco.

Travel to Granada, Andalucia on an Andalucia bike tour

The view from Generalife at Alhambra and a hot air balloon floating over the city of Granada

After (Northern Spain): Barcelona, Girona and San Sebastian

If you’re looking to head north, book a train to Catalonia to find a variety of cities to fall in love with. Travel to Barcelona for its seaside cityscape, world-class dining, museums and famous architecture. Or hop on a quick train just north of Barcelona to Girona in Costa Brava for cobbled streets, medieval architecture, a cycling scene and endless pintxos. Girona is just 20 minutes from the coast where you’ll find unbelievable views of the Mediterranean sea, and roads that are perfect for a scenic bike ride. San Sebastian is only a train ride away and nestled into the northern edge of Spain on the border of France. San Sebastian is in the Basque region, home of some of the best seafood and beaches in the world. It is a foodies delight, with enough Michelin star restaurants and world-class pintxos and cidre to keep you full for your entire stay.

Wherever you choose to travel to in Spain, you will not be disappointed. This warm and welcoming country will keep you busy with activities or relaxation and make you want to come back for more.

Old town in San Sebastian and one of the best beaches in the world, La Concha

Plan your cycling vacation to Andalucia with Trek Travel

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Why I Ride: Dave Burke

Posted on October 20, 2017 - 2:46 pm by keith_ritter

WHY I RIDE: A series that gets to the heart of why we love what we do. This week, Dave recounts time spent on two wheels with his family as a child and how his passion for cycling remains strong to this day.

I have been on a bike since before I could walk, not riding of course. My joy of biking started out sitting in a bike seat on the back of my mom’s bike while my dad and brothers rode alongside. We would spend weekends exploring the gravel trails of the Illinois Prairie Path, stopping along the way for ice cream.

Surprisingly, I can’t recall learning to ride a bike. I do have memories of riding my red mountain bike, or my brothers’ cool BMX bikes. When I was about 12, my passion for cycling grew when my grandfather handed down his 1987 Trek Elance. He was getting older and he moved on to recumbent bikes, and golfing. After riding mountain and BMX bikes for so long, I was fascinated that a bike with skinny tires and drop-down handlebars could go so fast. I spent countless summer days riding that bike as far as my legs would take me, again exploring the trails of the Prairie Path I had seen from the back seat of my mom’s bike.

It was only until I moved to Madison that I realized the joy of riding a road bike on the road. Who knew how much faster you can ride on a smooth surface? I still love riding my sparkly blue Elance. I didn’t have many chances to ride with my grandfather when he was alive, but riding his bike somehow makes me feel like I am riding with him.

Recently, I have upgraded to a 2018 Trek Domane SLR 6. I enjoy the road riding, but I can’t resist going back to my roots of gravel riding. The Domane is a little smoother and faster than the Elance on the gravel paths.

I ride my bike to explore destinations that would take too long to reach by foot, and those that are not accessible by car. I ride to have the wind in my face and the sun on my shoulders. I ride to reach new speeds and personal bests. I ride because it the only exercise I can enjoy getting up for, early on a Saturday morning. Most of all, I ride because it is what I knew even before I could walk, and I haven’t been able to stop.

Go North: Alaska Beckons

Posted on October 19, 2017 - 3:09 pm by keith_ritter

From the majestic living glaciers and steep fjords of the Kenai Peninsula, north to the lonesome gravel roads of the interior outpost of Talkeetna and skyward to 20,310’ Mt. Denali, America’s last frontier is untouched and full of mystery. Here, Trip Designer Tony Ferlisi pulls back the curtain on the rugged and beautiful landscape that is Alaska.

“There’s gold, and it’s haunting and haunting;
It’s luring me on as of old;
Yet it isn’t the gold that I’m wanting
So much as just finding the gold.

It’s the great, big, broad land ‘way up yonder,
It’s the forests where silence has lease,
It’s the beauty that thrills me with wonder,
It’s the stillness that fills me with peace.”

-Robert Service, from The Spell of the Yukon

Scale acts to lend us perspective. It clarifies detail. It takes something small and magnifies it. Takes something giant and makes it tangible; brings it into our human world of understanding. Sometimes we use numbers or ideas to correlate size. Sometimes, we create physical replicas. Spin a globe in your local library or restructure a model atom in high-school chemistry class.

The scale of Alaska is seemingly impossible. Rivers and their flood plains stretch laterally across valley bottoms farther than you can see from the window of an airplane. Imagine the Hudson, the Columbia, the Ohio, the Colorado, the Rio Grande all running within a few hundred miles of each other. Add those to over 9,000 other rivers and you get the idea of the number of waterways in Alaska. 3 million lakes, 100,000 glaciers, and almost 34,000 miles of coastline; more than Florida, California, Louisiana, Texas, North Carolina, Maine and Virginia… combined. Mountains tower above the landscape, piercing the clouds and consuming all horizons; the highest rising over 20,000 feet above the sea and 10 of which are higher than any peak in the lower 48 states. Overlay a map of the continental United States with a map of Alaska and its land-mass stretches from the Pacific Ocean to the Atlantic.

But none of these perspectives do justice to those who haven’t laid eyes upon this place. Recall the feeling of standing at the foot of the Empire State Building for the first time and looking up or sailing on a boat just out of sight of land. Imagine what it might be like to be awash in the emotional waves of experiences like these for days in a row, each one new and each different than the other. That is Alaska, even for those who return time and time again.

After John Muir first visited Alaska in 1879, he recorded in his journal that one should “never go to Alaska as a young man because you’ll never be satisfied with any other place as long as you live…” There is truth to this thought. You’ll dream about this place: the possibilities and the impossibilities. Movies against the backs of your eyelids as you lie awake at night, teetering just beyond sleep. Wind playing tag through dense alder thickets. Afternoon sunshine casting shadows against the jagged, snow-covered towers of the Chugach. Two bald eagles perched in a snag high above a shallow creek teaming with spawning salmon. Waiting. Watching. Your nostrils twinge with the scent of a Sitka spruce stand. Fingers feel the chill of the morning dew. Ears deafened with the silence. You contemplate the size of this landscape. You meditate on its scale. You’ll wonder when, not if, you’ll journey back to the north. Back to the great big, giant mystery that is… Alaska.

Make a great escape to Alaska

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Meet Our Team: Penny Gatward

Posted on October 17, 2017 - 9:46 am by keith_ritter

Designing for the Tour de France takes a lot of passion, patience, planning, skill and a little bit of luck. Hear from our expert Trip Designer, Penny, who for the last nine years has created Le Tour itineraries that capture the spirit of this iconic race—winning the hearts of guests and guides alike.

Tell us your story. How did you end up at Trek Travel?
That’s a very long story! In a nutshell, I guided with Tania (Trek Travel’s President) in the late 90’s. We ran 10-day Tuscany camping trips together! Guides cooked breakfast, lunch and dinner for guests and slept in the trailer! After that I guided wilderness adventures and then I joined Tania once again at Trek Travel in 2005.

How long have you been designing for the Tour de France?
Since 2009.

How do you put these trips together? Tell us about your design process.
As soon as the TdF finishes at the end of July, I start looking for rumors about next year’s race. I contact hotels in the areas where I think the race will be to get our reservations in early. Having great relationships with hotels is a key advantage as the ASO blanket books all hotels in areas where the race will be. Once the race route is announced, we confirm the hotels that are best situated for our guests to view the race and also ride the climbs that will be featured. The ideal itinerary is one that has one or two excellent hotels and is in close proximity to the race action and featured climbs.

What are some of the greatest challenges?
Finding great 4- and 5-star hotels especially in mountain areas, working with the ever changing logistics of the race itself and road closures.

What is the most rewarding part of designing for the Tour?
Definitely designing a first class trip on paper which the guides then take and create an experience of a lifetime for guests. Guides put the icing on the cake with these trips, no doubt. Talking to guests at the finale in Paris and seeing that twinkle in their eye that means they’ve had an experience of a lifetime makes it all worth while!

If you could ride any stage what would it be?
Stage 19 Lourdes to Laruns: It has been a while since the final mountain finishes have been in the Pyrenees and this stage features some of the most spectacular climbs of this stunning mountain range. The beautiful Col d’aspin, epic Col du Tourmalet, and the stunning Col du Solour and Col d’Aubisque double.

What are you most excited about for this year’s Tour?
Watching the mountain stages. With only four days between the Alps and the Pyrenees and both regions packing huge bucket list climbs such as Alpe d’Huez and the Col du Tourmalet, the pro’s will definitely have a fight on their hands.

Piece of advice for guests going on a tour trip for the first time?
The race has a life, personality and magic of its own that can only be felt up close and personal. A great hotel is nice to stay at, gourmet meals are a pleasure to eat, BUT riding and sweating up a famous Tour climb ahead of the peloton—your legs begging you to stop— and feeling the elation of making it to the top is where it’s at. A short while later while in the comfort of the VIP zone at the finish line you’ll watch the pro’s do the exact same thing, sweat and pain in their eyes. Be warned it is addictive!

Experience the 2018 Tour de France for yourself.

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Top Mountain Biking Trails: Bend, Oregon [Video]

Posted on October 13, 2017 - 4:21 pm by keith_ritter

Bend is synonymous with amazing beer and even better dirt. Central Oregon is loaded with flowy, purpose-built single track through dense forests and dramatic volcanic landscapes. The expansive network of trails is approachable for any level, whether you’re new to knobby tires or a professional rider. Watch Freehub’s latest video capturing the trails in Bend, then ride them for yourself on our newly designed bike tour.

Experience our Bend Mountain Bike Tour.

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[trek-fullwidth-img src=”https://trektravel.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/03/©16BERC_0619_Zjones-0586_1600x670.jpg”]

When Reality is Better Than Your Dreams: Vuelta 2017

Posted on October 13, 2017 - 1:02 pm by keith_ritter

As a guest of Trek Travel’s Vuelta a España race trip, Jordan Sher knew this year’s race was going to be special to him. But he couldn’t have predicted just how how special.

I’ve waited my entire life to see a Grand Tour in person. And this year was the dream, realized. As you can imagine, I had both hopes of what it would be like, and expectations of what was to come. But then came the reality of this year’s race, and it almost literally blew my mind. Where to begin? Let’s itemize it out:

The Race Route

WHAT I EXPECTED: I knew that we were going to climb two biggies: Los Manchucos, outside the town of Bustablado, with 28% ramps across 8km and the Angliru, often referred to as Europe’s most feared climb. Would they really be as bad as advertised?

WHAT I HOPED FOR: The Vuelta was always known for tremendous, hidden climbs that laid in wait for bike racers across Cantabrico, Spain. These weren’t the famous Alps, nor were they the high Dolomites in Italy. They were unique climbs with a special bite. I hoped we would be introduced to the teeth of Spain in a big way.

WHAT REALLY HAPPENED: Oh man. The steeps were some of the steepest rides I’ve ever seen. I tipped over twice on Los Manchucos, in the rain, as Vuelta crowds cheered me on. I ground out the ride of a lifetime across the Angliru’s worst section, Cueña les Cabres, as crowds cheered me on. It was so pro. So Euro. So historic. I had never seen roads like these, and I may never see them again.

What’s even crazier? I rode them literally an hour before the pros rode them, and watched them do it. Their pain had never been more real.

A post shared by Jordan Sher (@the_jordo) on Sep 7, 2017 at 1:31pm PDT

A post shared by Jordan Sher (@the_jordo) on Sep 10, 2017 at 11:24am PDT

The Race Itself

WHAT I EXPECTED: I knew Contador was a Spanish legend – but would I get wrapped up in it with the rest of the fans? I’d always liked his racing style, but never felt emotional about it. Maybe I’d finally be able to connect.

WHAT I HOPED FOR: I knew this was historic already. Chris Froome was lining up to win the Vuelta and the Tour in one season. All the heavies were there, including Roman Bardet, Vincenzo Nibali, and of course, Alberto Contador. It was Contador’s last race. Would I feel the gravitas?

WHAT REALLY HAPPENED: Unimaginable happiness. It started when we met Contador the night before the Angliru, and his storied ascent and win of the stage. He was gracious, friendly and personable. He took time on the biggest night of his life to be with us. How could I not be a fan for life?

Then, we got wrapped up in the rest of the race due to our sheer access to the big moments. We were there for Contador’s triumph. We were at the finish for his attack on Manchucos. And we found ourselves with ‘super’ VIP access at the last stage, where Contador was celebrated, Froome was awarded, and all the big hitters were giving their interviews. I was as close to the biggest names in cycling as you are to your computer screen right now.

I didn’t just get to watch this race. I got to be a part of it.

A post shared by Jordan Sher (@the_jordo) on Sep 8, 2017 at 9:37pm PDT

A post shared by Jordan Sher (@the_jordo) on Sep 7, 2017 at 7:08am PDT

The Total Experience

WHAT I EXPECTED: There’s a certain level of excellence to any Trek Travel vacation, so my expectations on food, rides, service and hotels were pretty in line with my hopes. Trek Travel just has a way of delivering what you both expect and wish for.

WHAT I HOPED FOR: I had been on a Trek Travel vacation before and knew what to I was in for. But I definitely hoped for something special. They always had great guides, but I hoped these were amazing. We always did great food, but would this be amazing? Would the rides be better than advertised?

WHAT REALLY HAPPENED: It’s tough to even list out how everything was better than I could imagine, but let’s try anyway:

• I stayed in the greatest hotel of my life: Stay at Hotel Castillo del Bosque
• I rode with Chechu Rubeira, former Discovery pro
• I ate dinner at a magical gem of a restaurant in Oviedo that I’ll never forget
• I toured the Trek bus and met several other members of the team (including Giro winner Ivan Basso!)
• I got a group selfie with Contador himself
• I could reach out and touch Chris Froome’s race bike
• I stood on the Vuelta podium
• Our guides got us past both the velvet rope and the rope beyond the velvet rope on several occasions with a little ingenuity
• And I rode every last peak, valley and country road I’ve ever wanted to through northern Spain

Let’s just say this is one rare time when reality GREATLY surpassed both my hopes and expectations.

As I mentioned at the start of this adventure, I’m no casual fan of bike racing. I could watch races, talk about races, and read about races for the rest of my life. But honestly? If the 2017 Vuelta a Espana is the first and last Grand Tour I ever get the privilege to attend, I can say, with confidence, that I’ve done everything I’ve ever wanted.

And that’s truly a dream come true. Thanks, Trek Travel.

See more photos or follow Jordan on Instagram here

In case you missed it: Venga, Venga, Vuelta

Read On

Monthly Archives: October 2017

Before, During and After: Andalucia

Before: Seville, Spain

During: Ronda to Antequera, Andalucia

After (Southern Spain): Granada

After (Northern Spain): Barcelona, Girona and San Sebastian

Why I Ride: Dave Burke

Go North: Alaska Beckons

Meet Our Team: Penny Gatward

Experience the 2018 Tour de France for yourself.

Top Mountain Biking Trails: Bend, Oregon [Video]

Experience our Bend Mountain Bike Tour.

When Reality is Better Than Your Dreams: Vuelta 2017

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