There’s nothing like traveling on two wheels. A bike is the best way to see the world’s most stunning landscapes: the French Alps, the Spanish coast, the sunsets on Big Sur. And at the end of the day, you can gorge on gourmet food without the slightest twinge of guilt.

But planning a bike tour isn’t a simple matter, even if you arrange a tour company to handle the details. Where do you want to go? How much do you want to spend? And how many mountains do you want to climb? Here are seven questions 50+ travelers should ask when planning a bike vacation.

1. What’s your cycling fitness level?

Leisurely weekend cycling trips are not adequate preparation for a week-long cycling tour of the Alps. REI recommends a four- to eight-month training program that includes strength training and running.¹ If you overestimate your fitness level, you’ll be stranded far behind the group, muttering a few choice words as you push your bike up an endless hill. Underestimate your abilities, however, and you could end up bored and longing for a challenge.

When booking a trip with a cycling tour organizer, read the fitness-level descriptions carefully. “Recreational” cycling may sound like a cake walk, but as Trek Travel defines it, recreational cyclists are regular riders who can handle 50-mile days and short mountain climbs. “Avid” cyclists, on the other hand, manage up to 110 miles or 13,000-foot-climbs on a long day. If you’re not sure where you fall on the cycling-fitness spectrum, consider a trip that offers multiple route options each day. Trek Travel’s coast-to-coast cycling tour of Italy, for instance, includes short and long routes from stop to stop.²

2. How much do you want to carry?

A “credit-card tour” means cycling with hardly any possessions — just your clothing, a few emergency supplies and, of course, your wallet. You plan to get meals, comfy beds and creature comforts at stops along your route. At the opposite end of the spectrum is self-supported touring, which means carrying all your gear in panniers or on a trailer. A third option is arranging a support vehicle to haul gear, which can be invaluable in case of a bike breakdown or injury.³

3. Are you medically able to participate in a cycling tour?

You may be in the best shape of your life, but if an old knee injury flares up, your week-long bike tour could end on Day 1. That’s why it’s a good idea to consult your doctor before planning a challenging bike tour. It’s also essential to protect yourself with travel insurance that includes emergency medical benefits and trip cancellation/interruption benefits.

Travel insurance from Allianz Global Assistance can cover existing medical conditions if you insure the full cost of your trip within 14 days of paying your first trip deposit, but only if you’re medically able to travel on the day you buy your policy. It doesn't matter if your doctor says you should be fine to travel by the time you're scheduled to leave; if you’re not medically able to travel on the day you buy travel insurance, you won’t be covered for losses due to an existing medical condition. 

4. How much do you want to spend on a bike vacation?

Bike tours don’t have to be expensive. With your own bike and camping gear, you can spend very little. On the high end, private, luxury biking tours of France, Chile or China may cost $7,000 to $10,000 per person.⁴ If that kind of budget makes you blanche, keep in mind that there are many ways to reduce the cost: joining a larger group, organizing your own itinerary or choosing a destination closer to home.

5. How much do you love your creature comforts?

At the end of a long day’s ride through the Peruvian Andes, you’re ready for a hot bath and a little pampering. When you arrive at a rustic lodge with hard beds and lukewarm showers, you might cry. If you enjoy massage treatments, decadent food and a big glass of wine, look for cycling tours that offer a little luxury. They’re not hard to find. Outside magazine recommends Gourmet Cycling Tours, which arranges for cyclists to refuel at Michelin starred restaurants.  Another top pick is DuVine Cycling + Adventure Co.’s tour of Argentina, a gently paced trip that includes many, many vineyard stops and luxury hotels.⁵

6. Which sounds better: an international bike vacation or one in the United States?

If your dream cycling tour includes medieval abbeys and chateaux, you have to head to Europe.    Some of the best European bike tours are the Costa Brava, a rugged stretch of coastline in northeast Spain; Provence, France, known for its lavender fields and hill towns; The Netherlands, which has windmills, tulips and blessedly flat terrain; and the Italian Dolomites, for serious cyclists only. Other international destinations for bike vacations include Thailand, Cambodia, Peru, Costa Rica, Argentina and Australia.

But don’t overlook U.S. bike tours for 50+ travelers, which offer equally stunning landscapes and more affordable prices. Popular destinations include coastal New England, California’s Big Sur, the Everglades and the Florida Keys, the South Carolina Lowcountry and Napa Valley. 

7. How much pedaling do you actually want to do?

Some cycling tours are all about riding hard, every day. Others consider the bike to be merely the means of transportation and include lots of opportunities for exploring on foot or just relaxing. Sojourn Cycling’s Best of Cape Cod cycling tour, for instance, builds in time for cyclists to dismount and browse the shops in Provincetown, stroll along the beaches, go on a whale-watching cruise or swim in the pool at Wequassett Resort.⁶ In Europe, you can opt for a river cruise bike tour, which carries you to a new region to explore each day. Backroads offers Danube river cruise bike tours in which cyclists pedal through the Czech Republic, Germany, Austria, Slovakia and Hungary, sampling beer and bratwurst as they go.

Wherever your bike tour takes you, protect yourself and your vacation investment with travel insurance from Allianz Global Assistance. You can enjoy perfect peace of mind when you have a travel insurance plan with emergency medical benefits, trip cancellation/interruption benefits, trip delay benefits, lost/delayed luggage benefits and more. 

Richmond-based travel writer Muriel Barrett has a terrible sense of direction, and has spent many happy hours getting lost in Barcelona, Venice and Jerusalem. Her favorite travel memories all involve wildlife: watching sea turtles nest in Costa Rica, kayaking with seals in Vancouver and meeting a pink tarantula in Martinique.

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