On a supported bike tour, you don't have to worry about smelling like road kill after days upon days of cycling. There will be opportunities to shower along the way.
You needn't schlep all your gear on your bike. A van will deliver your street clothes, your iPod, your Tom Clancy novel and the rest of your needs to your next destination.
Your lodgings could be a motel or hotel instead of a tent. There might even be gourmet dining: succulent salmon if you are riding in the Pacific Northwest, perhaps roast pigeon if you are cycling in France, followed by a glass or two of Muscat.
"Supported bike touring" is a departure from traditional bike touring, which generally has meant roughing it. Organizers provide creature comforts, sometimes even luxuries. Velo Classic Tours, a New York City-based company that operates tours in Europe, offers lodgings that include a manor in France, a converted guild house in Belgium and a four-star hotel in the Dolomites.
For any supported bike tour, all you have to do is ride, leaving the logistics to the specialists.
That seems to be especially appealing to baby boomers and cyclists in their 40s.
"We're at that age where we appreciate a nice comfy bed, and the fluffy towels," said Dee Real, a 44-year-old veteran cyclist who has organized supported bike tours for friends in the mountains of the Pacific Northwest.
Bike riding for fitness and recreation has been on the upswing over the past several years.
The number of road bikes sold grew from 10.8 per cent of all bikes in 2004 to 17 per cent in 2006, according to U.S. Commerce Department figures cited by the National Bicycle Dealers Association on its website.
Road bikes are favoured by fitness cyclists because they are lightweight, fast and responsive on corners - Maseratis of the velo world. They are also the two-wheelers of choice among folks who are drawn to supported bike tours.
"This is an industry that's here to stay. As the boomers get older, they are looking to do outdoor things," said Doug Torosian, president of America By Bicycle, a commercial operation based in Atkinson, N.H., that organizes coast-to-coast bike tours.
People who sign up for supported tours are generally not neophytes. Many rack up thousands of kilometres each year on day rides, and add a supported tour lasting a week or more during the summer.
"It's my sanity," Dick Fairbank, 60, of Portland, Ore., said of cycling. He has been on about 15 bike tours.
As appealing as supported bike tours are for fitness and environmental reasons, they can be costly.
You can get a road bike with an aluminum frame for $1,000. But aluminum can be jarring on long rides. Steel is another option, but it tends to be heavy. Many long-distance cyclists instead opt for titanium or carbon fibre frames and kit them out with ultralight Dura-Ace or Campagnolo components, resulting in a price tag that can easily exceed $4,000.
The costs of the tours themselves vary widely.
An 11-day tour of Belgium organized by Velo Classic Tours costs $5,195. That doesn't include airfare, but it does cover lodging at four-star hotels, and watching professionals compete in both the Tour of Flanders and the Paris-Roubaix, a race as famous in Europe as the Tour de France. Dining includes frequent close encounters with Michelin chefs.
