We've been busy!
Santa finally showed up with our new website!
All our preparation work for 2022 made clear that our website needed some updating. We've opted for a completely new site, and you're looking at it here! We originally expect it to be up by December 10, but that was an aggressive plan. Finally, on the 30th of December we were able to give a green light to this site!
Please know that we've looked for items to correct, and the website is not yet perfect. There probably are a few mismatched items, and possibly a gremlin lurking in the coding. If you see any items which need correction or attention, please let us know. In the meantime, the Tour Chief is working on the old dog/new trick thing, trying to master the features which were second nature on the old website.
Lots of work on some new tours
Our 2022 tour season ended in August, and the last 4 months have been filled with lots of activity for you! First, our staff spent a week in late September finding new routes for our Hiawatha Gravel Adventure Tour, coming in September 2022!
Next, Tour Chief Jim spent a week in Wisconsin scoping routes for two new Beer, Brats & Cheese Tours. The first is a public tour in June near Madison, and the other one is a private tour loop in northern Wisconsin-more details below.
We've also grown our travel season, starting with an updated version of our Kentucky Ramble, a tour loop in the bourbon and bluegrass near Lexington in early May. We've got plans to return to Traverse City and Sleeping Bear dunes in mid-May on our Grand Traverse Tour.
In June we focus on Minnesota and Wisconsin with a focus on two big rivers and Lake Superior. There's a short break for the 4th of July, and then we resume touring in the Upper Peninsula. Our longest tour this year is the Great Waters Tour, seven days, six nights, three Great Lakes, and a really big waterfall come together on this 300-mile loop. The Ride to Pictured Rocks follows, our most popular tour loop.
Our 3rd week of U.P. touring is a private Ride to Pictured Rocks for our new friends from Black Girls Do Bike, Detroit and Flint chapters. Staff is excited for this tour, and so are the BGDB members!
August brings our second private tour of the season, a Beer, Brats & Cheese Tour for our old friends the Biker Boys from Chicago. 2022 will be their 6th tour with Bike Tour Vacations since 2014; we must be doing something right!
Also in August you have the opportunity to join us on a triumphant return to the Katy Trail in Missouri, 230 miles of traffic-free trail riding along the Missouri River on the Katy Trail.
September brings 3 new tours. The first is a weekend event on the Lakelands Trail from Hamburg to Jackson and back. Our premier event this month is the Hiawatha Gravel Adventure Tour, a week on gravel roads and trails in the Hiawatha National Forest between Manistique and Munising.
We close the season with a private tour for 6 cowboys from Texas with an expanded version of the Ride to Pictured Rocks, this time including an overnight stay at the Grand Hotel on Mackinac Island!
The look ahead!
The fun never stops around here. Tour Chief Jim and tour leader Marianne are headed for warmer climes for much of January and February, dragging bikes along for fun and exercise! Rumor has it that Tour Leader Tom and his spouse Spring may join us for a portion of this adventure.
Back at home, Tour Leaders Jordan Buzzy and Jackson Farley will travel to Des Moines for the January 29 Bike Expo, sponsored by the Iowa Bike Coalition. One of our super guests from past years, Pam Lund, will join them at the booth. If you're in Des Moines on the 29th, please stop by the HyVee Center and say hello!
Prepare yourselves: Jim and Tom will travel to Arizona in March for a camping tour on mountain bikes! This will surely cause some mental whiplash, but it's good opportunity to look at how other tour operators do their thing, and better still if it's sunny and warm!
Thank you
2022 will be our 12th season of offering exciting and safe bicycle tours. None of this would have been possible without the support of great staff help, and very willing (and sometimes forgiving) guests.
CONTACT US
Phone: 757 253-8687