Cycling Adventures - Exodus Cycling Adventures

Our simple grading system You don't need to be young or super-fit to join us. If you want to push yourself, we can provide the challenge, but most of our cycling holidays are exactly that holidays. Each trip has a difficulty grade and a ride profile with information on the number of cycling days, average daily distance and terrain. Please consider both the level of physical fitness and the technical riding skill required. If you have specific questions, please contact one of our sales team before booking your trip. Grade A If you can ride a bike and enjoy gentle exercise then these are an ideal introduction to a cycling holiday. Unfortunately no routes are entirely flat, so expect some short climbs and descents. Maximum daily height gain is approximately 250 metres and daily distances rarely exceed 50km (32 miles), any longer days are often optional. Grade B Most people who enjoy a weekend riding on either trails or roads at home will enjoy a Grade B trip. You need to be in good health and reasonably fit. Ideal for occasional cyclists, or as a more relaxed trip for fitter riders. Grade B off road trips require no previous experience. Distances on road trips rarely exceed 70km (43 miles) per day. Grade C For any ride at this level, fitness is important. Grade C trips require confidence in your own ability and physical condition. They are equivalent to an extended period of cycling at home. Previous mountain biking experience is essential for Grade C off road trips as they will involve some technical riding. Grade D At this level previous experience of the cycling style or surface is a must. These routes have long cycling days and tougher terrain on both road and off road trips. You need complete confidence in your fitness and technical ability to cope with difficult or steep terrain, rough surfaces and longer distances. Ideal for those seeking a challenge! Group holidays Most of the holidays in this brochure are group holidays. Group sizes vary from 6 to 18, but normally comprise of around 10 like-minded travellers. Small groups allow flexibility and plenty of fun and laughs, particularly if you are trying a new activity. Perfect for solo travellers It may surprise you to know that almost half of our clients are solo travellers, choosing to travel on their own rather than with a partner or friends. Of course, when you travel with Exodus, travelling solo doesn't mean travelling alone. All of our cycling trips are ideal for solo travellers. From the moment you arrive at your destination, you'll be with a group of like-minded people who share your passion for active travel. There will be others who have booked individually, and the couples and friends who travel with Exodus generally do so in order to socialise within a group and to enhance their holiday experience. Dinners are taken as a group and even on `free days' your Tour Leader will recommend a restaurant and the majority of the group choose to eat together. It's a great way of meeting new people. Solo Departures SOLO DEPARTURES On certain trips we have set departure dates that are recommended for clients booking individually. Solo Departures are aimed at taking away the concern that you may be the only solo traveller when you arrive overseas. Whilst we won't prevent friends or couples booking these, we expect the majority of people on these trips to be solo travellers. Look out for the Solo Departures highlighted in orange throughout this brochure. ChOOSinG YOur TriP Private Groups - get your own group together GROUPS PRIVATE Have you ever thought about an adventure holiday with a group of your family, friends or colleagues but don't know where to start organising it all? Exodus, the UK's original activity and adventure travel company, has experts on hand to help you. The vast majority of our trips can be tailored to Private Group departures, on dates that suit you and with smaller or larger group sizes than those listed. We'll meet you to discuss your requirements, offer suggestions on customising our itineraries and help present slideshows to build numbers in your group if need be. Detailed, tailor-made Trip Notes will then be prepared for your team. All that's left for you to decide is who to take with you, where you want to go and when (but if you're really stuck, our experts can provide advice on this as well!). Private Groups specialist: Paula Mason Paula has extensive experience of Exodus' adventure travel portfolio and is a keen cyclist and walker. Paula's love of travel started when she went InterRailing around Europe as a young student - whetting her appetite to explore new destinations and cultures. Over the years her travels have taken her to a diversity of amazing countries such as trekking some of the remotest parts of the Great Wall in China, camping out under the star-lit skies of the Western Desert in Egypt, being enchanted in mystical Tibet, and cycling to the Dead Sea in Jordan. These days Paula runs our specialist Private Groups Department and is always happy to suggest and discuss itineraries and put together special packages. If you are based in the UK and would like to discuss your trip in person, Paula will even arrange for someone in our Private Groups Department to visit you at a convenient time! Split grades In order to provide more accuracy, where a trip falls between two grades we use an intermediate or `split' grade, for example Grade A/B. Vehicle support On the majority of our cycling trips, a support vehicle accompanies the riders. These carry tools and spares, refreshments, your luggage and even (on occasion) yourself. If there is a high level of vehicle support you can confidently book a certain grade in the knowledge that there is back-up should you get tired. Equally this means that friends or couples of different fitness levels can still enjoy the same trip together. Details are given in the ride profile on each page. Want to find out more? Talk to our Private Groups Department on 0845 330 6009, email groups@exodus.co.uk or visit www.exodus.co.uk/groups today. For up-to-date prices and availability call 0845 863 9626 or visit www.exodus.co.uk 7