Laurie of Arabia: How We Travel

Tuesday, July 30, 2013

How We Travel

Again, my posts are out of order. This post was originally posted between Ode to the Olive and Ostuni, the White Pearl.

I chose to travel with VBT Travel, a Vermont based group that specializes in walking and cycling tours around the world.

How This Works
We had two guides, Luigi and Fabio. One guide would be the last cyclist of the group, while the other would drive our van. They would switch off these duties every day. The van was there to transport tired cyclists, or those whose bike had broken down.

Luigi to the left, and Mario, prepare a picnic lunch for us in a park in Castro, Italy.

We would be given a set of directions, and maps, and could leave at our own pace. We all left within 20 minutes of each other. This allows cyclists to ride at their own pace, and we may not all be riding together. For example, on our way back from Monopoli, I rode with a couple, Chris and Robin. For the first part of the ride Chris was lead, and I was last with the job of shouting out if cars were coming from behind. The roads are very narrow. After a shade break, I was the lead cyclist, and I set the pace.

Every day we would get instructions and would have a meeting to go over them.

Our bikes are set up with water bottles, map/direction holders, and packs to carry things.

Our Cyclists

Mike and Jennifer - Dividing time between Oregon and Washington, Mike and Jennifer were a party waiting to happen! We gave Mike the nickname of "Roadrunner" because he was the fastest cyclist, and usually the first out in the morning.

Alan and Rosemary - From New Mexico, this quiet couple were also front cyclists.

Chris and Robin- Hailing from Minnesota, Chris has his own pub, while Robin teaches school. It was fun to watch Chris consider all the food we ate. I think he was thinking "Would this work as finger food back home?"