While our guides come from different countries around the world and represent many different walks of life, each and every one of them shares a passion for showing you the world by bike.

This passion to show you an unforgettable experience drives our guides, who are consistently rated an average of 4.8 stars out of 5 by our guests. From their many home countries to their different professional backgrounds, get to know our guide team a little more before you travel with us next.

 

In the midst of uncertain times, our goal is to minimize the uncertainty of booking and traveling with us. With an enhanced cancellation policy and no-risk deposit, plus a host of added on-trip COVID safety protocols, we hope to offer you peace of mind from start to finish. But don’t just take our word for it. Hear the feedback we’ve received from guests about their booking, cancellation, and travel in these unprecedented times.

 

 

Our team of trip designers are world-travelers, cyclists, and adventurers who are passionate about bringing the best travel experiences to life. Have you ever wondered about the behind the scenes work that takes place to plan your incredible cycling vacations? Our trip designers share the inside scoop.

How our trip planning process works

As huge travel lovers, our trip designers are always carried away by wanderlust and the excitement of discovering new travel destinations. When they stumble upon a must-see destination, they prepare a brief overview, pitch the destination to the team, and, if it is a good fit, start designing a trip! A lot of things go into the planning process, from finding the best hotels to incorporating the highest safety standards. Our trip designers ask: What’s the history of this region? What is the terrain? What rider level is the best fit for the routes? Where are the best hotels and restaurants situated?

The research process is extensive and typically includes in-person visits to the region by the trip designers to check hotels, restaurants, and more. But the process doesn’t end once we have run the first trip. The designers are always looking for ways to continue to improve our trips. They carefully read every single guest evaluation and consistently get guide feedback about all elements of the trip, which helps them to find opportunities to include new routes, hotels, or excursions that are sure to wow.

Our trip designer, Penny, explains that when it comes to planning our epic race trips like the Tour de France, “We look at the race as a whole and imagine the very best experience possible. This is a combination of spectacular stages and rides, together with a few nights at a small luxurious boutique hotel where guests can relax, refresh, and enjoy their surroundings while refueling with delicious local cuisine. The perfect day is a ride on the day’s race route ahead of the peloton with lunch on the race course, where the riders fly by so close you can taste their excitement and sweat.”

How we put together our routes

Typically, our trip designers start off by researching the best hotels in the area and the most important sites to visit during the trip. Based on the riding level of the trip, they work to connect the hotels and points of interest through the most picturesque and fun rides. They also take a look at restaurants in the area, asking if there is a really great restaurant worth a diversion on the route? In many destinations, our local guides are another go-to source for our routes. They ride in the region frequently and know where to go for the best views, the quietest roads, and the most authentic experience. Our trip designers work closely with them to seamlessly blend incredible riding with the best sightseeing and dining in the region.

Once initial research and planning has been done, the second step involves work on the ground. Our trip designers get out in the field, hopping in a rental car and driving a lot of routes, and then actually getting on their bikes to test out some of the favorites. They are carefully making sure that the road conditions offer a safe riding experience and that the scenery is spectacular. On all of our trips, the routes are verified before the trip is ready to book.

The third step in the route planning process is what we call Final Trip Preparation. At this stage, the guides arrive a week prior to the first trip of the season to ride the routes and verify that the roads are still in good condition and everything is in order for when guests arrive.

How we choose hotels

We have a variety of stringent criteria to ensure that our guests have the most pleasant stay possible during their vacation. We typically look for boutique-style hotels that offer exceptional amenities, including onsite breakfast, a spa, pools, porterage availability, quiet guest rooms, and laundry services. The hotels need to be in the best area of the region and offer great riding opportunities nearby (or even right out the front door). We love to find historic properties that are tied into the rich history of the region they represent. We also look to see if they have sustainability standards in place and ensure that they meet our enhanced health and safety standards.

How we choose restaurants

Cuisine is a big part of a country’s culture, and when it comes to trip design, it’s hugely important to give our guests a memory that lasts a lifetime. We seek to foster a true connection to the region that keeps you wanting to come back again and again.

One of the things we really look for when choosing dining options for our trips is experiences that you couldn’t stumble upon on your own—an opportunity that came to be after developing long lasting connections with the locals, one that we found via the word of mouth, or one that is particularly authentic and unique. It might be a meal in a local’s home, a private cooking class in a family-run winery put together especially for us, or even a delectable picnic in a historic olive mill.

At Trek Travel, we celebrate gastronomy and enjoy dining at world-famous, Michelin-starred tables. But when it comes to great trip design, our job is to also scout the most undiscovered, small, family-run cafes, eateries, or restaurants that will welcome you like long lost family and tell you their story and philosophy. We look for places where they still cook with their grandma’s recipe from 80 years ago because it is always unmistakably delicious. The kind of places that decorate the walls with old family pictures and make the most authentic regional cuisine around.

What makes Trek Travel trips special

Having a team of professional trip designers working behind the scenes means that we can take travel planning to a whole new level. Our team carefully orchestrates the entire trip to balance excitement with relaxation, exceptional rides with unique, local experiences, and much more. Every day is perfectly planned to build on the next, reaching a final crescendo near the end of the trip.

We always work hard to make connections with locals in every region where we travel because they know that region so well and always have a pulse on the best new restaurants, routes, or hotels a region has to offer. We’re in contact with our partners constantly, and because of our long-term relationships, they are always willing to go the extra mile for our guests. For instance, some of our hotels will upgrade rooms for our guests celebrating special occasions.

Our Trip Designers are also a huge part of what makes our trips special. They love what they do, and their passion comes through in the quality of trips they plan for you.

At Trek Travel, it is our mission to show you the best of the world by bike through curating unforgettable adventures. We weave our signature hospitality into every aspect of our trips, which truly upgrades your vacation into the experience of a lifetime.

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

See how our guide, Thomas English, used the signature Trek Travel water bottle to help our team feel a little more connected.

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.”