Lanzarote, both road and another off-road. I’d also like to do a walking tour there at some stage, and possibly a faster road tour, 70-80 miles a days, but these are likely to be 2027+
Mainland Spain (near Alicante) for a week in October 2026
There will always be one or two around the Midlands
I’ll go back to the Isle of Man at somestage, but perhaps not until 2027
The new Royal Chilterns Way in June, King Alfreds way either later in the year or in 2027
I live right on the southern edge of Birmingham and work fulltime in IT, but hoping to reduce these hours in 2026 to concentrate more on cycling holidays. Although I have toured all of my life, I only joined Bikexplore in 2022 and to date, pretty small scale: I did my first week-long holiday in 2024 and my first outside the UK in 2025. In 2026 I plan to start gravel/trail tours in 2026 and possibly a walking (not cycling!) trip, we’ll see..
As well as cycling I also run a bit (mainly Parkruns) and am a member of a local hiking group, like camping and skiing. I work on the ‘use it or lose it’ principle and generally love being outside, particularly when the sun shines.
I would say reasonably laid back and relaxed. I am happy for a group to (within reason) do what it wants – if some want to go faster then by all means shoot off if you know where you are going or don’t mind waiting up the road. But you will usually find me nearer the back as I don’t want to leave anyone behind.
I have never ridden with any sort of support vehicle, preferring the more basic, self-sufficient approach, but this is set to change (for a gravel/trail tour) in 2026..
Quiet country roads wherever possible. Cycle lanes and quieter roads through towns and cities. I do love an old railway line if there is one that’s not too far out of the way. I typically aim for 40-50 miles a day with at least one coffee stop as well as lunch and time to have a look around anywhere interesting on the way. Gravel/trail riding is obviously a bit different, but that avoids anything technical wherever possible.
So far it’s been guest houses, hotels and self-catering holiday homes. I would typically go for those for the more budget-conscious, but it is nice to treat yourself every now and then, and if there is somewhere with a swimming pool..
A lot of my tours are fixed based as this seems to be the preference of many, but I also do ‘moving-on’ as I enjoy the accomplishment of getting somewhere and am well practiced at travelling light.
Mainly UK and Spain, particularly Lanzarote which I know really well.