Testimonials
Read what the participants of Ave cycling tours think about their experience.
I'm coming in Marianske Lazne on the 27th of March 2010, leaving on the 1st April. I and my friend joined the group in 2008 for the grand tour in Prague and the Karlstejn castle tour which we both enjoyed a lot. I want to know if you can arrange any tours in Marianske Lazne for this period. If you do please let me know. If you don't I would appreciate it if you introduced me to any other sources of cycling.
Thrasos 2009
I had a wonderful trip from Czesky Krumlov to Dresden, and cannot think of a better way to see the region. Many thanks to you and your colleagues -- your maps, route descriptions, and services made it quite easy to get around, locate hotels, and identify interesting sites to visit en route. I'll definitely let the Biketours Direct folks how great your services were!
Nancy 2009
We truly enjoyed the tour. We could tell your company is very detailed oriented in the hotels you have selected for guests, the suggested lunch locations, and the overall service. We will certainly not hesitate to recommend you to friends should they consider a tour in the Czech republic which I think everyone should do at least once in their lifetime!
Lisa 2009
This is a short note to let you know that we were hugely impressed by both the tour you organized and your country. Both Neasa and Myself found Barbaro and Henry to be fantastic company and wonderful guides for our cycling trip. Sometimes the people you meet on such trips either make them great or leave a bad taste. I can tell you in our case both Barbaro and Henry did make a difference and the difference was all good. It was for us a great experience and one which we will remember for the rest of our lives. I would like to thank you for your patience in helping organize the tour and for choosing such a lovely route. We will definitely do a cycling tour again and would recommend to our friends that tour with avetravel is well worth doing.
Rob 2008
Riding through the forests of Bohemia and beautiful countryside was a truly memorable experience. Tours of some beautiful castles were also included. Accommodation and meals were of a good standard, not to mention the excellent Czech beer. A support vehicle met us every 10kms or so to provide water and occasional snacks, and we had the option of riding in the vehicle to the next stop if it rained (it didn't) or we needed a rest (seldom). Morning and afternoon stops were made for coffee etc. (sometimes beer!) at taverns along the way. Good mountain bikes were provided at low cost, and I could not praise our tour director and his assistant enough.
Beverley Marshall, Brisbane; published in Sydney Morning Herald on Jan 19th 2007
Dear Jiri, We wanted to let you know that we had a wonderful time on our bike trip with Milan, Henry and Lukas. Milan taught us so much about Czech history and became a good friend in our week together. He always had our best interests at heart. Henry was always waiting with a smile, a laugh and a good snack. Lukas was a delight and obviously a very intelligent young man. The three of them made a fantastic team. The bike trip allowed us to see a very special part of your country. We would ask for Milan to be our leader again, anytime.
Thank you for all your help and thank Renata for us.
(The Hotel Monastery is very lovely, the people so kind.)
(We wish we were still on our bikes!)
Sincerely,
Martha and Jay Markson
An excellent trip. Very well organized. Beautiful scenery and impressive „fairy tale“ villages. The only constructive criticism I’d give is that it should perhaps be graded “B” (and not “A”) as there were a lot more hills than the trip notes led us to believe. However, I thoroughly enjoyed it and very pleased to have taken part. Sheila Agnen
The bike tour was excellent, and the guide superb. David M.
Barbara was great, very easy to relate to and so helpful when any challenges arose, and great fun to hang out with. Really appreciated the use of rain coat and helmet.
Loved the small roads we rode on and the off-road experiences which challenged us. I was under the impression we would be cruising on flat roads but was glad for the physical uphill challenges. Bikes were great quality.
Hotels were of adequate standard with facilities to unwind at the end of the day.
Will recommend trip to friends. Deb Sawtell
Simply stunning, was expecting to be just riding from village to village, I wasn´t expecting the castles the varying fields, the prancing deer in the fields we were riding beside, the bear and the other wonderful beer, the galloping horses, the bombshelters, the freshness of the fields, the joint effort of singing ‘Bohemian Rhapsody’, the freshness of the air and most importantly the opportunity to ride through plenty of mud.
One highlight was when Rob fell and grazed his knee, Barbara was quickly on hand to offer a pack of condoms, just in case. Coney Sautell
My first experience of a bike holiday and I really enjoyed it. The guide was excellent and Martin was always there for us. The route was good and we saw many of the sites we would probably not have seen otherwise. The holiday was very enjoyable and I met a lovely group of people. anonymous
I had a really good holiday. More hills than I was expecting but not a problem. Perhaps the holiday should be graded B. One criticism is that I thought the lunch stops were too long on some days and the lunches were a bit too big. The guide was very good and really looked after us. Dave
We love Barbara!
Despite the bad weather, we had a great time and missed the cycling today. A great route of easy touring and more testing hills. An excellent tour. Beautiful scenery. Good fun. JulienS.
Overall a good trip – mostly because of Barbara – she was great! Good motivator, personality and lots of “short-cuts” up her sleeve (which I´m convinced were long cuts!) The route was very scenic – only spoilt by the lousy weather. The standard was just right – not too challenging with lots of flat, down hills and the odd nightmare hill to test you. Great fun. Had a great trip.
Thanks. Dean
I met some lovely people, a very friendly and supportive group. An excellent group leader, good-humoured and caring, she shepherded the whole group throughout the tour. Good vehicle support by Martin.
An all-round good activity holiday. anonymous
A truly excellent experience. An excellent leader (especially in the first aid department). Even though the trip was rated as a Grade A it was probably a B but, I was glad that it was tougher then expected. A big thank you to Barbara and Martin and to everyone on the team for making this such a memorable holiday. Roberto Tirone
Friday 26/08/05
Day 1
Cycle, cycle, cycle ................ raining! Cycle, cycle, cycle through the rain. We saw Nova Pec – beautiful temperate forest, a man-made canal to float a transport logs. One of us got food poisoning but the efficient tour leader was prepared with Imodium on hand! The tour leader got lost but turned up in the pub.
Day 2
Another troop member fell! We tripped over the railway tracks. Cycle, cycle, cycle........... rest, rest. Wonderful food for morning tea, lunch and dinner on the trip – pork, beef stroganoff, fried dumplings. At last we reached Vissy Brod – an old monastery. Admired the architecture, toured the church, then more cycling for the strong. The weak ones were allowed to jump into the support vehicle.
Day 3
Up at 8 am – big breakfast as usual – Czech breads, pastries, ham, cheese, yoghurt. Then cycle, cycle, cycle (uphill unfortunately) then downhills (wwwheeeeeeeee!!!!) of course it is beautiful countryside but the main difference between seeing it in pictures or in a car, and riding a bike is the wind-rushing part and that feeling that you are part of the landscape. It is very surreal. We rode into Rozemberg and toured the castle. Great hotel room 5*!! We had a 4 poster bed and chandeliers!
Day 4
Onwards to Cesky Krumlov! The tour was flexible so some of us rode directly via the road and arrived with more time to see the town. The true cycling fanatics weaved gracefully through the forest (Ha! more uphills and uphills again). George took us for a tour of the pubs in the evening – then looked mutinous when we went to bed at 9. He probably called as skivers in Czech.
Day 5
Cycle, cycle, cycle. It was a nice wind down ride today. Rewarded with a beautiful castle at the end of the day! Sleep, sleep, sleep in the van all the way back to Prague. Thanks! Mari and James
Trip 21-28th August 05
My best friend and I had never been to Czech Republic before nor cycled more than 7 miles at any one time! The country is beautiful and very undulating. We had a very friendly guide and got on well with everyone on the trip. A lot of stamina is required to complete the mileage from the Monday to Friday, - 150 miles, however the effort is always rewarded by good, cold beer and filling local dishes/specialities. It is important to remember that everyone is in the same boat and just as exhausted at the end of the day. Bed tended to be at ten and breakfast at eight, although if you have been training prior to the trip there is always the early morning swim at six and lots of late night discos with the enthusiastic, smiley and fantastic guide – George. I have really taken to the cycling and more importantly to the country. Everywhere we went to the Czechs were on hand to help with the language and the farmers in tractors to wave us on. I will be coming back to have lots more fun with my friends. Angela Thomas
George, send us the photos please! James Warr
The tour
Staff
George .- very enthusiastic tour leader. Always interested in our welfare and ensuring we had a great time. Eager for us to try all the Czech delicacies and beer.
Tereza – extremely good cyclist giving us lots of help on how to improve. Very intelligent with lots of extra knowledge the sites on our trip.
Martin – great support guy – although he doesn’t speak English, he is very good at miming to be part of the group.
Equipment
Good bikes, helmets, water bottles, everything you need really. Be careful of the gorgeous service ponchos! I’d advise bringing a squishy gel seat to ease the love-hate relationship between the saddle and your derriére! Cycling gloves are handy but George can find a little backstreet shop that sells them for about 3 ₤.
Weather
tip: Layer your clothing. First few days it rained. Generally the weather was very variable. If you forget your waterproof you can sport a very fetching poncho.
Food
Great variety of Czech dishes. My favourite desserts were palačinka with zmrzlina or the sweet knedliky.
Route
4 of the 5 days we rode 50 km. The beginning of the week was more challenging, but your stamina soon improves, quickly! You must remind yourself the views would not be so beautiful if it was not rolling!
George always eased the trip with nice stops for good Czech beer.
Thank you for a fab tour, I leave tired, fitter, more tanned, fatter, cultured, improved Czech, and happier. Bryony Robinson
