TOUR OF LUXURY?

I never thought I would be writing a story about myself doing a ‘guided’ mountain biking trip but here goes!

I have always travelled independently, with a past of long cycle touring trips on a heavy bike and an extremely light credit card, saving dollars to lengthen the trips. Riding huge mileage to see as much countryside as possible, a diet of PB & J sandwiches and roadside cooking isn’t for everyone, but back in the day, I loved it.

The planning, navigating routes, camping, cooking whilst having to avoid the financial burden of standard touristy extras, my style could be described as ride all day…'get the photo'…ride all day…and maybe ‘get the t-shirt’. Regardless of how physically challenging it was, my Macpac tent was my home for 3 ½ years, I tasted beer in 17 countries and pedalled 45,000 km.

I look back and realise I missed many tourist gems that now I wouldn’t hesitate in paying for. To top it off, the last 900 km to Nelson was ridden in grotty cold weather. A tough