Category Archives: Guide

Hear from our guide, Max Ackermann, as he reflects on his experiences guiding and how he found home while on the road.

It’s the first night of our 42-day trip. We’ve finished our first ride, a few guests have knocked out an afternoon nap, and the first sips of Santa Ynez chardonnay go down smooth. It’s time to enjoy dinner and get to know our group as we settle in for the trip ahead.

The question “where’s home for you?” is tossed around the table. It’s a starter for small talk, quickly left behind as the conversation deepens. When it’s my turn to answer, I catch myself in a double take.

For a long time, the answer had been simple, even automatic. Now, after moving out, packing my life into two duffel bags, and saying a series of goodbyes, the question seems complex. Do they mean where I grew up? Or where I go when I’m not guiding? Where do I consider home?

Is home where we live or work? Where we find our sense of community? Is it where we go grocery shopping, enjoy a night out with friends, or wake up with our morning routine?

I glance across the table to my co-guides. One I met three months ago. Another I met three weeks ago, just before the three of us crossed the country in a minivan finalizing the trip. The last one I met three days ago. I think back to the evening when the four of us toasted to the start of what would surely be an unforgettable adventure, biking across America.

Just imagining my days guiding that lay ahead excited me. Wake up before the sun and immediately put on a kit. Pack everything neat and tight. Don’t forget to check under the bed. Greet the guests, then fill up all the coolers with ice. Squeeze in some breakfast and coffee. Pack the luggage and double check the lobby. Ride all day. Arrive at the rest stop to set up snacks. Collect mail and packages at the next hotel. Shower, make a grocery run, and eat dinner. Moonlight bike wrenching and laughs with co-guides. Sleep.

For the next six weeks, life would be simple. Thirty-five people, all from different and distant walks of life, would embark on the same crazy adventure together.

My mind returns to the table. I look at the people seated with me who were strangers not long ago but will be coworkers, best friends, and family by the time we cross from California to South Carolina. And after far too long a pause to maintain the coolness with which the question was initially asked, I can’t hide an emerging grin. “Here,” I answer, as if I hadn’t just figured it out right then and there.

Each year, Trek Travel honors one of our guides for his or her tremendous season, exceptional hospitality, and a downright awesome attitude. We are proud to announce our 2019 Guide of the Year, Lisa Lieb!

Guide of the Year is a huge honor. To be nominated for this prestigious award, guides have to earn top-notch evaluations from guests, co-guides and the office team. The top five guides are then voted on by the Trek Travel management team to determine which guide provided best-in-class hospitality and reflected our company values. The winning guide receives a custom merino jersey with “GUIDE OF THE YEAR” embroidered on it as well as a $1,000 travel credit to anywhere in the world. The winner can use it for themselves, a family member, or a friend.

We talked to Lisa to learn a little bit more about how she feels about winning Guide of the Year, about her experiences guiding, and about where she is headed in 2020.

Why do you guide?

“Passion and happiness. It seems that I have found a job that fills my passions, and therefore my job has become my passion. The passion to be able to experience the joy of life by bike and the ability to share that with others. The passion to see different cultures, to meet tremendous people from around the world, and to be a part of bringing smiles to people’s faces. That is very rewarding. So, when I am getting to live my passion, the result then brings me to the goal of my life: to be happy. So, happiness is a pretty good reason to guide! And of course, all the donkeys I get to meet along the way!”

What are some epic moments or favorite memories from your travels?

“Having guided over 180 Trek Travel trips, it is very difficult to pick just a few of my most epic moments, favorite memories, or most unforgettable guests. There have been times over the past nine years that I truly cannot believe that this is my real life. Epic moments like meeting pro riders that I have only seen on TV riding in the Tour de France, climbing Alpe d’huez the day of the 100th anniversary of the Tour, running along side Cadel Evans on Mont Ventoux after sleeping in a vineyard on Bastille Day, and stopping to dance in the middle of climb because why not? All these and so many more epic moments come to my mind. Many guests over the years are truly unforgettable, like being a part of a guest’s confidence building moments after riding something they never thought possible, the “yes I can do this” revelations, the moment when a you see a woman be empowered just by riding a bike, those hugs and tears of joy at the top of an epic climb, the champagne toasts and jumping in the sea after crossing the Pyrenees mountains, times I am told “it just would not have been the trip of a lifetime without you,” the many notes written to me at the end of every trip, and the number of smiles I see on a daily basis are truly unforgettable. And of course some of my favorite memories are the ones I have made with my co-guides, like camping in the middle of nowhere, late night dance parties in the middle of a tiny village, and just the times of ridiculousness that makes those friendships even stronger.”

Where will you be guiding in 2020?

“In 2020 I will be guiding Mallorca Ride Camps, the Italian Dolomites bike tour, and the Mallorca Luxury bike trips. This will be my eighth season guiding in Mallorca, and it just gets better every year. Riding a bike in Mallorca is a way of life and for me. It is the place where I fell in love with road cycling. (Those of you that know, I am a mountain biker through and through, so I think that says a lot about the riding in Mallorca to turn a mountain biker into a roadie). In 2014 I guided the Giro d’Italia trip through the Dolomites, and every year I race the Granfondo Maratona dles Dolomiti. However, this is my first year guiding our Classic Climbs of the Dolomites trip, and I cannot be more thrilled. The Dolomites are a very special place on the planet, and your life will only be enhanced if you get the opportunity to experience those mountains by bike. The people, the food, those mountains – all your senses will be overtaken by the Italian and South Tirol culture. It is quite spectacular, and I am very much looking forward to guiding in the region.”

How did you feel about winning guide of the year?

“To be named Guide of the Year I feel very honored, humbled, and proud. My belief is one cannot do great alone. One must be surrounded and supported by great to accomplish great. Being named Guide of the Year is a reflection of the people around me. I am so lucky to have the opportunity to work with many amazing guides and am always learning so much from each and every one of them. The level of passion, professionalism, dedication, and fun in the people that guide Trek Travel trips is so high, I am blown away that I was chosen out of such a deserving group.Thank you to everyone at Trek Travel for honoring me with such an award.”

What else are you looking forward to in 2020?

“On March 15 I get the privilege to participate in one of the worlds toughest mountain bike stage races, the Absa Cape Epic in South Africa. The coolest part is, I was asked by a Trek Travel guest that I guided in Mallorca back in 2013. We have not stayed in touch nor followed each other on social media, but when this guest had received one of the coveted entries to the event, he remembered his guide in Mallorca and thought, “She would be a fun partner to race this event with, and I’m pretty sure she likes to mountain bike.” The many doors that this job opens are pretty rad.”

Meet Trip designer Ilona. Originally from the Czech Republic, but now a citizen of the world and the brains behind many of our Pro Race trips. What’s her inspiration you may ask? Our guests.

Tell us a little about your previous life before Trek Travel?

I come from the Czech Republic. I studied in Prague but kept on moving to different places and traveling. I lived a couple of years in the U.S., then I moved to the south of Spain and ended up in Barcelona, which I loved. I worked at all kinds of jobs—waiting tables in Wisconsin, bartending in Spain, guiding in Prague and working in a social service specialty with the homeless.

What inspired you to become a Guide and Trip Designer?
Honestly I had no idea that such a job existed. I was working in the office in Barcelona and my colleague and friend, Ingrid, was telling me about the best job she ever had. I checked the Trek Travel website and applied for a job right away. Five years later I still love it. It’s much more than just riding a bike; it’s a lifestyle, which connects traveling, working with people, outdoors and new cultures. Trip design was just another step. I enjoy having the possibility to plan a trip based on my guiding experience and knowledge of the region. And I like working together with the guides to make improvements. What inspires me is showing our guests the best of the places they always wanted to go, to meet with their favorite pro racer or be part of the race they always watched on TV. For a few days allow them to not worry about anything and just fully enjoy their time.

Can we get a quick run-down–what it means to be a Trip Designer? What’s your design process?
I mainly design race trips, except Tour de France. Long before the official route is announced, I keep my eyes and ears open for all rumors to get information ahead of time and start planning routes and booking hotels. After the official announcement it’s two weeks of speedy work—confirming hotels, arranging all the viewings, VIP passes etc. We try to get the trip online as soon as we can because people often ask right after the race is announced. The key is to have a good hotel in a strategic place, close to famous climbs where you can watch the race. Once the guides are on the ground before the trip, they make sure all details are dialed and it’s them who take the itinerary and make it the experience of the lifetime.

Tell us about your favorite trip you’ve ever designed and why.
That’s a hard question. Every newly designed trip becomes my favorite! Vuelta 2017 was an unforgettable experience. We work closely with the Trek-Segafredo Team, which makes our trips even more special and unique. Last year we met and talked to Alberto Contador the evening before the last mountain stage. The next day we climbed l’Angliru ourselves and then we watched him winning on this brutal climb in the last stage of his career. After such a hard race, he was willing to meet with Trek Travel guests and take a group selfie right below the podium. Thanks to our relationship with Trek-Segafredo we get to be a part of the race and see behind the scenes.

What’s your dream travel destination?
That’s a long list. Rwanda and Uganda would be at the top. I’m also planning a bike trip through my family roots, which will take me from Czech through Slovakia to Ukraine–Zakarpattia. Then it’s only a step from Romania and Moldova. I just want to see the whole world!

Best travel adventure of all time?
I will never forget 16 days of hiking in Himalayas. It was only my friend and I, sometimes we did not see people for days, sometimes we hung out with locals and slept in their homes. The landscape was breathtaking. It was a challenging hike and I can still remember the feeling on the top of the climb, looking at all that natural beauty around and being simply happy.

What are you looking forward to most in 2018?
So many things! Besides doing my personal travels, tandem skydiving above Czech lands (Xmas present from my brother), I can’t wait for Giro–we will climb Mt. Zoncolan and watch the race there, and ride other beautiful parts of Dolomites.

I’ve already mentioned Vuelta. North of Spain—Asturias, Cantabria and Basque country—has some of the best riding, varied landscape, delicious cuisine and cider! Vuelta is at the end of the season so it’s more relaxed and riders are super friendly and want to meet with fans.
We also have some new trips coming up so this year I will be working on new destinations and designing other trips beside race trips, which I’m very excited about!