Tour Leaders

He has traveled and lived in Asia, Africa, Europe, and Central America, and understands the essential impact the bicycle plays in the lives of people around the world. Steve believes there is no better way to immerse oneself in a culture than to arrive on a bicycle. Steve has been leading tours for Adventure Cycling since 2014, he loves the shared comradery of the journey and overcoming challenges to reach the destination. He has led the TransAm, Great Parks-North, and Black Hills tours among others. His dream tours include the Great Divide and the North Star tours. Steve’s favorite food is raisins as they go perfectly with any situation.

After living and riding in Barcelona, Spain, he enjoys making paella and is still in search of the perfect socarrat. When she’s not riding her bike, she’s a photographer and painter, and to stay in shape during the Canadian winters, she also loves to Nordic ski. 2019 is her first year leading tours with Adventure Cycling on the Washington Cascades and the Cabot Trail Nova Scotia tours.

Weekend Event Guide: Earth Day, Filmed By Bike Party, Lake Oswego Tour, And More

Bike tour guides usually are paid on contract for a tour. Often airfare, room, board, and expenses are also paid. Pay will vary for each employer, experience, length of trip, and trip location. Plus many bike tour guides get tipped after a fun journey.

We are growing because we operate successful tours, know our region better than anyone else, and have a knack for finding great people with a passion for customer service and cycling. If you love to travel, ride your bike, and deal with people you should be a bike tour guide. There is nothing like fresh air as you pedal across the world. Bike tour guiding is a perfect seasonal job that provides a great opportunity to travel all over the world.

The Elusive Key To Being A Highly Successful Guide

Every day on the road in the fresh air, so enjoyable to discover new places on the bike, the beautiful towns we pass, magnificent nature, good food, and every week you make new friends on board. The combination of biking and sailing is truly fantastic! You always have the same room so you never have to move, but still you sleep every night in a different town. My hobbies are making and listening to music (I play guitar and sing, including on the ships.).

Tom Reitter is a retired software engineer currently living in Richland, Washington. He began leading tours for Adventure Cycling with the 2017 Black Hills tour. His favorite tour memory is the one where he met his now-partner, Kelly — the Great Parks North tour. A month later, Tom headed out on the Southern Tier, which gave him plenty of time to think about what’s important in life.

Job: Bike Tour Guides Wanted

The days can be long, the work hard, but it’s getting paid to ride your bike. I’ve found you have two types of clientele, ones who are looking for some direction, but like to have a value option which is cheaper than average, but will be semi-autonomous. The other is looking for carte blance service and want everything covered, they show up and ride and worry about almost nothing else. I have been living in the Netherlands for many years now and I always enjoy exploring cities as well as nature in the Netherlands by bike. Last year I graduated as a tour guide and the owner of Boat Bike Tours was one of the examiners. After earning my diploma, I could apply immediately and I am now very much looking forward to my first Boat Bike Tour through the Netherlands and Belgium.

She has been leading tours since 1980, her first tour being the TransAmerica Trail tour for Bikecentennial. That tour left Portland just days after the Mount St. Helens eruption! Recent tours she has led include the Leadership Training Course, Glacier Waterton tour, and Tetons-Yellowstone tour. Her favorite tour experience of all time was riding the Southern Tier on a tandem with her 13-year-old daughter. Her daughter entertained her with Dave Barry’s story about John Smith, which just cracked her up every time she heard it!

Star Guides Wilderness

If you can’t deal with bruises and sore muscles, and you dread feeling exhausted, thirsty and hungry, then bike touring is not for you. You don’t have to be an Iron Man to cycle tour but you should be OK with a certain level of discomfort. You don’t have to be a super-fit cycling demon to go on a cycle tour. I know some people who didn’t cycle at all before hitting the road and they had a great time. You can train on the road, starting off with short cycling days and going further as you get fitter. It’s worth noting that the information provided here is most applicable to commercial guiding.

Though you can plan a tour that takes you mostly on quiet roads or cycle paths, it’s very difficult to avoid busy roads entirely. There are also nights when you have to camp in an empty field or are the only guest in a creepy hotel. From there, it was downhill all the way to Bali, where we promptly got into a road accident, contracted dengue fever, and fell into a month-long slumber. With no energy left to face even another mile of road, we hung up our bike helmets to begin some new adventures. When our 30 day visa ran out, we went back into Thailand, exploring the south coast, taking a break in Bangkok, and then hightailing it to Malaysia. We faced more mountains in Malaysia, not to mention the scariest cycling city so far, Kuala Lumpur.

Guides

There are lots of bike coaching and instructor opportunities popping up, so if you’re interested in teaching bike skills or helping athletes maximize their potential, this could be a great fit. Below are a few bike coaching and instructing programs. Read about my experience getting my Level 1 PMBIA coaching certification here. Check for bike assembly jobs on bike brand websites or retailer websites like Backcountry or Mike’s Bikes .

His favorite tour experience was riding the North Star tour from Montana to Alaska in 2014. He had previously lived in Alaska for 19 years, so this felt like a homecoming. His dream tour is biking the European Atlantic coast from northern Norway to southern Spain and Portugal on the EuroVelo 1 route. His favorite snack is chocolate milk — it’s another good reason to bike!

Bike Mechanic

Being a cycling tour guide requires the right mix of cycling and skills, as well as regular seasonal availability. Tours are week-long commitments during the spring, summer and fall. Being a guide is rewarding yet demanding work, and requires an energetic person in good physical shape.

I have lived most of my life in North Holland; I know that province like the back of my hand. The Northern route is so varied and full of natural beauty, with a round of Texel as a bonus – I highly recommend it. But I also know my way around France and Belgium, and I lead my guests to the most beautiful places and castles. Paris – Bruges is very important to me because of the relaxed program and the time we share together as a group. A two-week tour gives people the opportunity to deepen their acquaintance.

Quick Facts About Bike Tour Jobs

I rode each day with no real plan — I simply followed the ocean around the province. Each afternoon I stopped to sample the local chowder and enjoy an Alexander Keiths . “Motivating and helping people achieve their goals is what drives me … it might be why I chose teaching as a profession.” Her favorite touring snack is a good ol’ peanut butter and jelly sandwich. Phillip Thompson grew up in Austin, Texas, but now lives in San Francisco, California.

Richard’s favorite part of leading tours is meeting the other riders he would normally never meet. Richard is always looking for his next on-trail snack. Helen Pilling has lots of enthusiasm for bicycling, ice cream, licorice, and life. Helen has been a guide for years leading trips not only on bikes, but also on dog sleds, skis, canoes, and hiking boots. Her favorite rides are ones where she ends up at water that she can jump into. Living simply, traveling light, and being outside are daily goals.