Abilities and Grading
Grading any activity holiday is difficult as we’re all different so here's a quick guide to our holidays and the cycling on offer in our area. If you are unsure as to whether one of our holidays is right for you contact us for an honest chat and you can ask as many questions as you like.
Cycling in our region provides a broad range of terrain from flat valley roads to long, steep climbs and, of course, exhilarating descents! With this in mind, we don't want you to book a holiday that is too difficult or not enjoyable so we are pretty clear that our cycling holidays are not for novices and you must be able to ride a bike.
With that in mind, here’s how we grade our routes to give you an idea of what to expect:
Leisure Cycling Holidays
Our week long leisure cycling holidays are graded as "moderate". We can discuss your experience level in detail on booking.
So, what does "moderate" mean?
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Routes will include some easy cycling on flat roads but also include a variety of terrain and some days will mean cycling up a hill to reach a point of interest or the towns/villages along the way.
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Routes are between 19-35 miles or 30-55km but we gently increase distance and effort as you adapt through the week so you really get the most of area whilst enjoying the cycling and come home wanting to book your next cycling holiday!
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Our leisure cycling holidays will generally suit those who exercise more regularly, cycle or have a reasonable level of fitness. However, you don't have to be super fit and we allow plenty of time each day to relax, take in the sights and scenery and go at your own pace . This is a fundamental ethos to our leisure cycling holidays and we think this is crucial to our guests enjoying what each day has to offer
Road Cycling Holidays
Moderate/Challenging:
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Routes are specifically designed for those on our road cycling holidays and are designed for road bikes and the more advanced cyclist looking for more challenging roads and beautiful scenery with like-minded friends, club mates or other guests on our road cycling holidays.
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Our road cycling holidays are intended to combine great roads with sociable and fun riding with cyclists of a like-minded nature. There's lots of great Strava segments to try for, if you're on Strava, but either way we expect you will return home having had a great cycling experience in a largely undiscovered area. If you're still unsure as to whether this holiday is for you contact us to discuss.
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These will typically include longer days in the saddle of around 80-120km or 50-75 miles, combining this distance with a combination of fast descents and long, steep climbs amongst dramatic scenery. We graduate distances each day to ease the legs in and allow everyone to get the most out of the trip.
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Expect gradients of 5-7% but rarely more than 10% and where this is the case there is usually an incredible view or a great descent to follow!