With the first of Pure Adventures’ new supported self directed cycling tours departing next month, have you started preparing for the epic adventures that await? These trip preparation ideas can do triple duty, since there is some overlap in services and support in the different styles of cycling trips (guided, self-guided and supported self directed). Now ready, set, ride!
1. Get a group together
Check with fellow cyclists to gauge their interest in travelling on a training camp together. Many of our fall and winter supported self directed tours are for higher intensity training, like Epic Climbs of Arizona for road cyclists and Sonoran Desert Single Track for mountain bikers. Not only is there the camaraderie of traveling together as a team but there’s significant cost savings for group travel as well!
2. Get plenty of time in the saddle
The rides in our lineup of supported self directed tours are just as epic as the destinations themselves, many of which have daily ride distances of 50 miles or more. To truly enjoy (and not suffer) during your trip, plan to spend as much time as possible cycling before your departure. There’s a few cheats you can use to overcome training obstacles (like sprint sessions on a trainer if you can’t do hill repeats), but nothing beats saddle time.
3. Plan your meals and menus
The benefit of supported self directed tours is that you can plan meals and menus around your ride schedule and the food preferences you have for yourself. Pure Adventures includes a small cooler and trips to the grocery store on our US tours so you can pack your own snacks for rides or meals to enjoy back at the hotel. Trips to grocery store help cut down on travel expenses, so you can splurge on meals out at local restaurants after a hard ride. Ask your ride leader for dining suggestions.
4. Fixing a Flat
Upon arriving at your destination, we’ll outfit you with a well tuned and fitted bike from our rental fleet, and after that all you have to do ride. If you flat, you need to know how to fix it quickly, but any other matter is handled through the SAG support included in your SSD trip!
Pure Adventures’ complete list of supported self directed tours can be found on our tour calendar or you can sign up for our newsletter for all the latest tour announcements.