About four years ago, Ben and Celia Leber put an idea into practice for their Wild Hearts Cycling bicycle tour company that in hindsight makes a lot of sense.
They began offering bike tours in Oregon, California and Vermont that didn't use the customary sag vehicles to carry everyone's gear during the day and pick up stragglers along the route.
The decision had the expected result of making their bicycle tours more eco-friendly and sustainable. It also had the unexpected consequence of making the small touring groups more cohesive and supportive of each other.
“People relate to each other better,” Ben told me when I talked with him at the Seattle International Bike Expo last weekend. “They ride together more.
“You don't have cyclists who make it a point to race ahead. They tend to do more social networking… For many that's the real fun of it.”
Logistics
Leading bicycle tours through the Cascades, along the Pacific Coast or around rural Vermont without sag vehicles means a couple of things. First, the bicyclists have to carry their own gear; second, there are logistical problems that must be solved.
To solve the personal gear issue, Wild Hearts Cycling provides lightweight, two-wheeled Burley trailers for the riders. They easily attach to any style of bicycle.
Celia says she can get her personal gear weight down to about 20 pounds for a week of bicycle touring. They offer a recommended packing list at their website, and rent ultralight tents, sleeping bags and sleep pads for those who need that equipment.
The guides carry their own gear, plus all the tools, cooking utensils, food and other common goods for the tour. One of the logistical problems that Ben and Celia have had to solve is hooking the tour groups up with fresh, healthy food for three meals a day.
There are two guides for the groups of six to 10, so one is always riding sweep to ensure no one gets left behind.
Gear
Although carrying your own gear on a bicycle tour might sound challenging for some, Ben says that people get used to the added weight and getting to the days destination isn't much of a strain.
“We ride about 50 miles a day. The guides make it a point to break camp early in the morning, so the groups can reach their destinations by early afternoon. Fifty miles in 6 to 8 hours is not that strenuous.”
Their riders like the idea of taking a bicycle tour without leaving a carbon footprint and don't miss having a sag vehicle driving up and down the road.
“Some people really embrace that idea and like the self-supported touring. Others just like the small group and the places we go,” Celia said.
Tour routes
Ben and Celia say they've only once had a problem with a bicyclist who couldn't get across some terrain. The person ended up taking a bus to a town further down the route picking up with the group there.
Wild Heart Cycling offers four bike tour routes in Oregon, two in California, and one in Vermont. The tours are three to eight days in duration. You can see details about their tour routes at Wild Heart Cycling-Tours.
Other “ecofriendly” outfits
Few other bike tour outfits try to offer travel without sag vehicles.
The oldest is of course Adventure Cycling Association. The group cut its teeth as Bikecentennial in 1976 with self-supported cross-country bicycle tours. The Montana-based nonprofit still offers 15 self-supported regional bike tours, as well as the Trans-America tour. It also offers sagged tours.
Another is Ibike Bicycle Tours, which offers tours throughout the Americas, Asia and Africa. Ibike has been offering bicycle adventures since 1983. The tour outfit is part of the International Bicycle Fund, based in Seattle.
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