Category Archives: Guide

Both our guides and our staff love to ride bikes, whether they are on trip or at home. Sometimes, their adventures lead to some pretty wacky situations. Three of our team members share some of their favorite memories carrying something a little crazy by bike.

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A “Beary” Big Friend

“I was on a morning ride with a guide and coworker from the Trek Travel office, doing one of my favorite loops near my house. On our way out of town, we spotted Mr. Bear for sale at a garage sale. It was starting to drizzle, but I said if he was still there on our way back, I would buy him and take him home. As we rode back up the road, sure enough, there he was. So, 14 bucks later, he was strapped to my back with my cycling jacket as we completed the final few miles (and hills) towards home. Today, Mr. Bear is loving life at the Trek Travel office as our unofficial mascot.”
– Brie

BEACHSIDE PICNIC SUPPLIES

“On the second day of our Gravel Ride Camp in 2019, we were going on a memorable picnic on the beach in Platja de l’Estartit. ‘Epicness’ is the word I would use to describe the activity! Eating bocadillos in front of Medes Islands was the perfect lunch spot for our Ride Campers. My fellow guide Miqui and I set up an awesome spot right on the sea front, and we even had a guest go for a swim (in November!). The only way to bring everything through the sand was with a bike trailer and a bit of will. We loaded all of our supplies, from food and coolers to chairs and garbage cans, onto the bike trailer. It was a ton to pull, but it ended in one of the most awesome trips ever.”
-Thomas

Party Time

“There’s nothing like friends, music, and bicycles. Those were the basics when I was in college in Mexico (besides studying and getting good grades of course!). One day, a friend offered his house for a party, but we needed a bigger stereo system. Another friend said we could have an old stereo he was getting rid of. But to move it, I needed to use my bike. After carefully placing the stereo in my bike racks, I began my ride across town. People initially looked very confused when they saw a bicycle with a stereo system in the back, but there were smiles everywhere. Looking back, I wish I had a way to power it and blast some music as I rode.”
-Diego

This year marked a special milestone for three of our teammates, who celebrated 15 years with Trek Travel! Back when these three initially started with us, George W. Bush was still president, YouTube had recently been founded, American Idol was a top TV show, and Lance Armstrong was winning the Tour de France. Since then, things have changed quite a bit, and we are honored that these three incredible humans decided to grow and change with us.

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Meet Penny Gatward

In her life before Trek Travel, Penny worked as a Jim Beam and Jose Cuervo promoter, a mountaineering and river rafting instructor, and even a cruise ship fitness instructor. Penny actually guided with Tania (Trek Travel’s President) in the late 90’s before Trek Travel was even born. Together, they ran 10-day Tuscany camping trips, where they were required to cook breakfast, lunch, and dinner for guests and slept in a trailer. In 2005, Penny officially joined Tania once again at Trek Travel and has been with us ever since. Today, Penny lives in Spain, where she continues to guide trips and work as a trip designer. Most notably, Penny is responsible for our incredible Tour de France experiences.

In her words, “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!”

Over the years, Penny has touched the lives of so many guests and co-guides with her warm personality. Our guide, Marquette, says about Penny, “Trek Travel has a few very special treasures, and Penny Gatward is one of them. Penny is a stop-you-in-your-tracks, ton of fun, beast on a bike type of girl who takes you for a ride whenever you are with her. She’s fierce, as a guide, trip designer, and most importantly as a friend and a mom. Penny is one of those rare people you’ll meet who never loses site of what’s important in life. She is truly genuine. I can honestly say, I’m always looking forward to the time we spend together and always leave a little bit happier.”

While many of our guests have not met Penny, they have still experienced her while traveling with us in Europe, as she has likely designed their trip. If you are lucky enough to have Penny as your guide on a Trek Travel trip, be prepared to: 1) have a strong drink in hand; 2) laugh a lot 3) rely on her stability and support to freely enjoy exploring a new country and having an experience of a lifetime.

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Meet Mark Thomsen

Mark has always loved bicycles, since he was a kid riding a repainted red Huffy on trails by his house in Wisconsin. When the opportunity came up to supplement his “skiing problem” in Jackson Hole, WY with a summer guiding job, he jumped at it. That was over 15 years ago, and he is still having a blast at Trek Travel today. In his time, he’s seen a lot of change and has held a lot of roles, from guiding and logistics to trip design and managing marketing to his latest position building and directing our new technology department. To say he’s grown with the company would be an understatement.

Mark says, “Some of my best memories over the years are from guiding at the Tour de France with all the crazy fans and our annual company guide reunions. We have a pretty amazing company culture where even when we haven’t seen people for years, when we get together, it’s like we haven’t lost a step in the relationship.

I think the biggest change I’ve seen in my time here is the size of the business in terms of people, how many more countries we travel to, and the technology we use in the office and on trips. We have a much larger staff and guide department all over the globe, and who would have thought that our road bikes would have disc brakes and electronic shifting, not to mention the fact we can now book people online 24-hours a day. But the core sense of family and hard work still remains.”

Mark has truly been instrumental in both the guide department and the office. He is always learning and looking for ways to improve. His co-guide, Hershy, says, “Mark is the quiet thinker in the room. He is always listening and watching what is going on around him. And he is always analyzing what we are doing well, and what we can do better. Today Mark Thomsen is an integral part of Trek Travel.

In the spring of 2009, I was guiding with him for the first time. We picked up our group of cyclists, along with three tandems and made our way to the wine country outside of Santa Barbara. Mark’s exceptional planning helped this trip to begin on a high note.

By Wednesday afternoon, we were making our way to Santa Barbara for the last two nights of the trip. Upon entering the city, the sky was dark, the sun was blackened from smoke, and ash was falling like snow in winter on the van. Helicopters were flying frantically overhead; we had entered the Jesusita Fire of 2009. Upon arriving to the hotel, we were informed we would have to evacuate.

What to do? We had bikes, a van, a trailer, guests, and luggage. Thankfully, I was working with Mark, who already had plan B in the works. Before the guests were barely aware, we were on our way to Ojai for the last two nights of the trip, which ended up a massive success. This was largely in part to Mark’s quick thinking and attention to detail, which he has brought to every role he has taken on at Trek Travel in his 15-year career.”

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Meet Dan Frideger (aka Danf)

Danf’s background is in teaching foreign language, which made him a natural fit for traveling the world and communicating with a wide range of people. He currently lives in Durango, Colorado and has been guiding with us for over a decade.

One of our guides, Hershy, told us a little more about Danf, saying, “In late May of 2005, I was one of 10 guides gathered together to prepare for all three weeks of the Tour de France. We were in the city of Nijmegen, Netherlands, waiting for our debrief with the two guides who had spent the last month researching our trips. As they arrived, I saw one was a young guy and the other had the appearance of an absentminded professor. What struck me most about the meeting, was how the professor was extremely methodical when it came to folding the maps. I came to learn this was none other than Dan Fridegar, known as Danf.

Over the next few years, I had the opportunity to guide with Danf both in Europe and the USA. What I learned from Danf was this simple saying, “There are no mistakes.” It was his mantra, and it became our mantra, from setting up our Normandy trip to any time thereafter. Even when we would get lost, somehow later in the week, it became a key point of our preparation. Instead of having a mindset of perfection, he helped to foster a mindset of wonder. Through wonder and realizing there are no mistakes, we never made one. And we created amazing trips for our guests.

Danf loves to have real conversations with people. When I asked him how he learned French, he said that after his first trip to France, he could not communicate at all. So, upon returning to the USA, he decided to go back to school and major in French. Danf and his wife Suzy are amazing. They met while guiding together in California. They have guided together in South America and Europe. And they have raised their two kids with the ability to communicate. They have lived in France, Spain, Mexico, and Colorado (just to name a few places). Their entire family is fluent in English, French, and Spanish, and they can flow between the languages with ease and grace.

Danf has been with Trek Travel for over 15 years, and if you have the opportunity to be on one of his trips, come with an open mind and be ready to ride your bike, enjoy great meals, and learn that there are no mistakes.”

When you’ve been guiding with Trek Travel for over a decade, you’re bound to have seen quite a few changes, experienced incredible destinations, and made enough memories to last a lifetime. To get firsthand knowledge of how things have evolved for guides over the years, we chatted with Hershy, who has been with us since 2005. Here’s what he had to say…

What was your first trip like?

My first trip was the Tour de France in 2005. Our team was working all three weeks of the tour, and each trip was sold out. We had a massive tour bus with a trailer, two Trek Travel vans, and four guides on the trip. I think our guest count was around 30 guests per trip. The first week we started in Brittany and finished in the Loire Valley. Our second week was in the Alps, and our third week started in the Pyrenees and finished in Paris. The first stage ended on the island of Noirmoutier, where we were standing on the finish line of the Time Trial. Due to the road closure, we took a boat back to our hotel, toasting the start of a glorious Tour. Just like the Tour de France, our trip finished in Paris. On the last day of the Tour, we awoke just before sunrise, and rode our bikes around the quiet Parisian streets. We did laps around the Arc de Triomphe and Longchamps before making our way to the Eiffel Tower, with our final route taking us along the famed cobblestones of the Champs-Elysees. Later in the day, we watched the pros finish their epic race, rushing past at lightning speeds on the cobblestones. Every day was spectacular during the Tour, riding the routes before the pros, seeing and being part of the spectacle, and finishing the month with amazing new friends, and memories that will last a lifetime.

Nowadays, we are running more race trips all over the globe. We truly keep improving on all our years of history, experience, and research.

How has guiding changed over the years?

Back in 2005, our main business happened during the Tour de France. We had trip offerings across the USA and Europe, yet the bulk of our business revolved around the Tour. At the time, guides were based in the Netherlands. Over the years, we moved our EU operations from the Netherlands to Provence, and then eventually to Girona where our EU operations are based today. Housing an influx of guides was always challenging, and given the amount of trips we would run for the Tour, we were always in need of finding enough space. One year, we rented little bungalows on a beach in the Netherlands. Another year, we rented a hotel in the Alps, and yet another year, we were all based in the city of Lourdes, France.

Back then, whenever we would leave the Netherlands to start a trip in another country, we would always make a special stop for beer in Belgium. Why you may ask? They have the world’s best beer of course. I can remember leaving Paris one year after the Tour de France with a group of guides. After being on the road for three weeks, we were all half asleep. The drivers ensured we would stop in Belgium to purchase beer. In those days, we did not have a GPS. We relied on maps and a Road Atlas (and the hope that our navigator could use them). In essence, we all had to be excellent map readers & navigators. At times, this made for some unique conversations, especially when we would miss an exit or a needed turn. On this particular trip, after picking up some good Belgium beer, we got back on the autoroute. Unfortunately, before we knew it, our four-hour drive became an eight-hour drive because our driver did not realize that we entered the highway heading in the wrong direction. Thanks to traffic, the inability to turn around right away, and tolls, it made for an even longer drive. But hey, at least we had good beer to share with everyone when we finally reached our destination.

Thankfully today, our guides do not need to plan drives so far in advance because we can simply turn on our GPS, and it will guide us (or reroute us) to our destination.

Technology has definitely changed over the years, and in some ways made the guides life easier. It used to be quite a task finding a phone line to dial up an international modem to connect with the office for information or updates. Now, we just connect to WiFi, and we have access to get information, make phone calls, and check email on the go. Cell phones in general have changed greatly in terms of capabilities, and having the ability to stay on one SIM card to travel around Europe is hugely beneficial. We used to have a little bag with our multiple SIM cards. At one point in time, I had a SIM card for the Netherlands, Belgium, France, Spain, Italy, Croatia, The UK, Ireland, and the USA. Whenever we crossed from one country to the next, I would have to remove the old SIM card and insert a new one. Today, our phones are far more powerful than even our computers used to be. From built in apps like WAZE for driving, to RIDE with GPS for cycling, and maps for finding a specific restaurant, our lives have been enhanced. But truth be told, having a good old Michelin Map, that highlights in Green a section of beautiful road to cycle upon in France, is definitely missed. As is having a good navigator to help plan the drive, figure out where to get gas, and decide where to stay for the night.

What makes Trek Travel a unique place to work?

Trek Travel being a small and privately owned company has allowed us to make changes rather quickly. From the beginning, guides all knew each other, and we would encourage each other to always improve. I feel like we all helped each other to continually grow and reach for excellence in all areas. From learning about the history of an area, to learning to use technology, or how to became a better athlete, guide, and coach, we all encouraged each other to be the best we could be. This is probably one of the most valuable qualities that Trek Travel instilled in the guide team back when I was hired in 2005 and continues to instill today. And as Trek Travel has hired more people over the years, I would say that we have experience and wisdom from older guides, and have infused that with the energy and creativity of the new guides to continually provide better trips for our guests. The camaraderie inspired by our leadership in the office, combined with the teamwork and passion of the guides in the field has helped to make Trek Travel what it is today. It is also the reason why so many of us have been here since the beginning.

How has your role changed over the years at Trek Travel?

From 2005 to 2011 I was full-time seasonally with Trek Travel, working in the spring, summer, and fall. My schedule typically consisted of starting and finishing my season in Napa & Sonoma, with my summer spent in France at the Tour. Some years I was at the Giro d’Italia, and on the rare occasion, I was able to lead a few other trips in Europe. Starting in 2012, I went full time with Trek Travel and found myself mainly guiding in Europe through 2016. Over this time, I became a trip expert for various regions, and often I would help to set up and design new trips. Now, I am a part-time guide and am ready to jump in and help when needed.

Do you have any awesome guests who have traveled with you time and time again?

What I love most about our Trek Travel guests is that so many of them travel with us again and again. Many of the guests who have traveled with me in the past remain in contact with me today. When we are together again, we are able to recount the memories and stories of the past. For me to speak specifically about one guest over the years would do a disservice to them all. All of my pasts guests have left indelible impressions that make me smile. A few memories that come to mind include cycling the last few kilometers of Alp d’Huez on a closed road before the pros at the Tour de France, boat rides on the Adriatic sea, spinning through Napa Valley, and riding through the red rocks of Zion National Park. Besides spending time together on the bike, there is nothing better than hearty dinners sharing stories and getting to know the guests personally. What I appreciate and love is how many of these guests continue to be part of my life today.

“It’s hard to tell you what a typical day of a Trek Travel guide might be, since some days we find ourselves driving a van through roads full of gendarmerie⁠—French police—during the Tour de France and other days we’re rushing to sneak in a speedy shower to be impeccably clean for a Michelin dinner.”
-Diego, Trek Travel Guide

In this post I will try to share with you some of the behind the scenes of what the guides do in order to provide world class service and hospitality to our guests. One day seems to have way more than 24 hours once you dissect it.

Early Morning

I love to wake up early and run to breakfast before anyone else. Everyone who has shared some time with me will know that I need to drink at least one double espresso in the morning in order to wake up and function properly. As disappointing as this will be to all my Italian friends, I love to sit down and sip that coffee with some chocolate pastry, preferably a delicious brownie or a pain au chocolat.

Out of the many breakfasts I’ve had in different hotels and countries around the world, my favorite breakfast locations on trips would be:
• Grabbing coffee and fresh toast with butter and sitting outside on the patio at Hotel Edelweiss in La Grave during our Classic Climbs of the Tour trip. As soon as you sit down and look up to the mountains, the glacier La Meije is visible and it just takes your breath away with its magnitude.

• All hotels on the Cinque Terre trip offer unforgettable ways to start the morning. At one hotel, you sit down looking at vineyards and olive tree plantations; in the second hotel, you sit around Carrara Marble sculptures while you enjoy freshly squeezed juices and something delicious off the menu; and in our last hotel you fuel up for the day in a charming courtyard where there is a little sculpture engraved with a date earlier than even Christopher Columbus landing in the Americas.

• Of course, an honorable mention for breakfasts goes to Italy because, in general, they know how to make a delicious cup of espresso.

Mid-Morning

After the well deserved first meal of the day and a brief moment of calm, the guides get to work on a couple of key tasks.

First, we must make sure that all bikes have fully charged front flares, rear flares, and Garmins. We’ll do a mechanic check on every bicycle to ensure all tires have the proper pressure, break systems are working, battery levels for Di2 are good, and many other details to assure that our bikes are ready to ride. We’ll also gather everything we need to set up our signature snack table, where our riders can find unique local sweets and snacks or satisfy their annual intake of Vitamin M (AKA the almighty peanut M&M’s).

After greeting the group, we lead a logistics talk, which includes all the highlights of our planned route and what to expect during our fantastic rides. Some days we have to think of ingenious ways to cheer each other up because the sky is darkening with the promise of rain. “Skin is waterproof!” and “No need to have sun to have fun!” is what I hear most often from the British guides when we have dark clouds covering our start location.

Rain and shine, as soon as the group is prepared for the ride, we set off to explore beautiful countryside, tackle some epic climbs, or soak in views of the coast.

Afternoon

The next part of a guide’s job is crucial. We must check on everyone as they make their way to our delicious lunch stop or to one of our exclusive experiences. If I am riding my bike with the guests, I also have to make sure to snap a few pictures of them, so they can relax and focus on enjoying their day knowing we’ll take care of the little details like photos.

At this point, there really is no typical afternoon on a Trek Travel trip. Every day is different and local life brings a factor of unexpected surprises. We keep our eyes open for any street markets, festivities, farmland seasonal activities, or any other local attractive thing that can make a good addition to our ride. This is probably why we often surpass guest expectations when coming to our trips! Our guides don’t just lead you by bike from point A to point B with our heads down, oh no! We take you on a cycling vacation of a lifetime.

After a hearty and delicious lunch of local specialties, we continue riding in the warm afternoon, which brings a whole new set of adventures. Someone got a flat? Missed a turn? Decided to stop and chat with the locals? Drank a few too many glasses of that delicious Italian wine? No problem, we are there to fix the bike or give you a boost in the van to make sure you don’t miss out on any of the day.

Evening

We return to the hotel after a spectacular afternoon of riding and exploring. Is the day over at this point? Not at all! We still have dinner planned. After locking bikes and securing other gear, the guides go to our room and charging all the electronic devices. The lights glowing in the charging cases sometimes give me the sensation we have special astronauts equipment in our hotel room. Ah! We have dinner plans right? No worries! We have 10 minutes to shower, change to formal attire, and upload the pictures we took during the day to the computer. We are guides, we got this.

Depending on the trip, some nights we attend dinner with the group at a Michelin Star restaurant with course after course of exciting food, while other nights we head to a hidden gem like a small family-run restaurant in a medieval town. We take part in a wonderful evening full of unique conversations that might take us on paths never imagined before, but we have a few hot topics. Pets are always present in our conversations as are incredible bicycle rides around the world.

Sometimes we are lucky enough to get invited to post-dinner drinks, while other times the weather is so nice that we choose to have an evening stroll (to help get the food belly down so we can go to sleep).

Rest and Repeat

Finally, we make it back to our rooms and collapse into bed for the night. And guess what? We’ll do that all over again tomorrow!

“Out of all the Trek Travel Trips that I have guided, the French Alps have a special place in my heart. Climbing throughout the Alps is a surreal experience where cycling in this mountainous region is as mind-blowing as the scenery.”
-Thomas English, Trek Travel Guide

Having lived in the French Alps for the past four years, I fell in love with the area and guiding trips here. One of my favorites is the Trek Travel Classic Climbs of the Alps trip because of not only the incredible riding but also the cultural experience.

While riding in one of the most cycling-friendly areas in the world, with unforgettable views, it’s hard to miss the strong French alpine culture and cuisine. With herds of cows or sheep crossing the road, the smell of freshly baked baguettes as we cruise by the local boulangerie, the blueberries growing on the side of the road, to the amazing cheese and charcuterie platters with local wines awaiting that day, you will grasp how generous and friendly this French region is. Entering the home of all cheeses and you will quickly learn the various ways in which cheese can be prepared. According to the French, there are as many cheeses as there are days in the year. Even though local cheese is a crowd favorite, one of my simple pleasures on a warm summer day is reaching the freshwater fountain in the village square to top off my water bottle. Simply pure and refreshing, straight out of the spring. In the town square, the locals might invite you for a long talk or, even better, to try some fresh produce. With all of our snacking, we are fueled for the epic climbs we will encounter!

The trip starts in Annecy, also known as the “Venice of the Alps,” the heart of the Haute-Savoie region, on the banks of the emerald lake so blue you can’t stop drinking it in with your eyes. We start our bike fit the proper way—with a French coffee and croissant in hand. Before you know it, we’re cycling right on the waterfront for about 12 kilometers before going deeper into the mountains on the smoothest cycling path. It’s breathtaking!

We then head to La Clusaz, staying in the most amazing chalet-style hotel. This is not a bad place to be after tackling two climbs featured in the 2018 Tour de France. Even though the roads are absolute silk, tiredness in the legs starts to sink in. The next two days, we explore my favorite mountain village, traversing picturesque passes along the Aravis mountain range, overlooking Mont Blanc. Upon departing this village, a feeling of humbleness settles in as you reflect on the grand scale of nature that our world presents. I like to refer to a climb as a journey, a challenging conspiracy between perception, imagination, and physical constraint. Life becomes simple; no directions, no thinking, only trending up or down as you enjoy the scenery. The alpine climate keeps the air cooler on the summits, where the colors of the rock and vegetation contrast the blue sky.

Halfway through the week, we head further south towards the Isère region, a mecca for cycling and mountaineering pursuits. We start from La Chambre to climb Col du Glandon, my favorite ride on the trip. Amidst this 21-kilometer climb, the raw essence of the French Alps is truly felt. As we ride as a group, it’s fascinating to witness the commitment of everyone as the grades get harder. Remoteness and breathtaking views from the top of the pass are rewarding as we all have different motivations bringing us up to this peak. On the way back down, we reach the heart of the Romanche valley that links Alpe d’Huez with Les Deux Alpes using a secret junction balcony road, where the steep views leave me gobsmacked every single time. The following day, we tackle the one, the only: Alpe d’Huez. From one switchback to the next, picture yourself in a shoulder wide path surrounded by fans during the Tour de France. The battles that have been experienced on this climb before push you to hang on too. You inhale a large breath, soaking up the views and, all of the sudden, you forget about struggle, every pedal stroke becomes effortless, because whatever it takes, you know you’re nearly at the top.