Our bike tours through the California Wine Country get rave reviews. Between the majestic redwoods and the glorious ocean views along Bodega Bay, this tour earns its accolades with beauty and taste.

Beauty is in the eye of the beholder. On this Wine Country bike tour, you’ll have the opportunity to behold the great beauty of the region at your own pace be it leisurely or vigorous. The gorgeous natural beauty of California is apparent in every mile.

Taste in the case of our bike tours, taste is about very good food. Our destinations are based on it. And our guides are foodies, so you’ll enjoy great picnics and spectacular dinners at every stop along the journey.  And, on this tour, taste is also about wine.

Beauty and taste meet at Seghesio Family Vineyards in Healdsburg, in the heart of Sonoma’s wine country. Since the late 1800′s when Edoardo Seghesio left his family vineyards in Piedmonte, Italy to pursue his passion for wine making in Northern California, the Seghesio Family Vineyards has been a constitutive part of California’s wine industry.

Once he became an established winemaker with his employers, Edoardo started building his own winery in the evenings after work. In 1895, he planted the Home Ranch to Zinfandel and worked tirelessly until the vineyard was completed in 1902. His passion and dedication flavor every aspect of the vineyard today. The Seghesio Family Vineyards are now comprised of 430+ acres on six carefully chosen breath-taking vineyards. Seven Seghesio wines have made Wine Spectators Top 100 list and their wine pairings are legendary.

“Seghesio evokes the tradition of relaxed Italian dinners with its Family Tables Tasting.” — Wine Spectator

“A growing number of Sonoma County wineries are offering food pairings with some of their vintages. The best and most intimate is the hour-long tasting at Seghesio in Healdsburg.” — San Francisco Chronicle

We will have The Founder’s Room to ourselves for an evening! Chef Peter Janiak will orchestrate an amazing meal of local food and limited-release wines. Pairings will feature delicious appetizers and a private dinner in an intimate setting.

Take a look at a sample pairings menu:

Yellow-Fin Tuna Crudo
with Radish & Fennel Salad
2011 Arneis

English Pea Ravioli
with Black Trumpet Mushrooms
2009 Sangiovese

Green Garlic Risotto
with Pecorino Cheese and Olio Verde
2004 Home Ranch Zinfandel

Pan-Roasted Eye of the Round
with Creamed Spinach & Roasted Pepper Relish
2008 Defiant

Chef’s Selection – Seasonal Dessert
2005 Dionigia

Mouth-watering food, award-winning wines, and marvelous bike touring. This tour brings it all together. There are only a few rooms left for the weeks of May 20 and June 17. Sign up now. Don’t miss the vacation of a lifetime.

Salute!

image credits: www.seghesio.com, www.sfgate.com

Our fabulous Texas Hill Country Bike Tour is bursting with color this month. It’s wildflower season and winter rains have conspired with spring sunlight to produce the most prolific bloom in years. Bluebonnets, Paintbrush, Blanketflower, Wine Cup, Primrose, Greenthread…the wild flowers are even prolific along the Mission Trail in San Antonio, a Texas landmark that includes the Alamo and is usually noted for its arid beauty.

But flowers are not the only bounty in the Texas Hill Country. The cuisine here is as varied as the picturesque landscape. Because Texas was part of six different countries at different times, “Authentic Texas Cuisine” has many different definitions and flavors. Food traditions here reflect Mexican, Spanish, French, African, Cajun, German, Czech, and cowboy influences.

Get a wonderful taste of the German influence in Fredericksburg, a historic town that serves as the base for three nights of the eight-day Hill Country Tour. Home to Texas-German, a dialect spoken by the first German settlers here in the 1840′s, Fredericksburg was named after Prince Frederick of Prussia.  The town is also the hometown of Admiral Nimitz which explains why the impressive Museum of the Pacific War is also located here.

The Emily Morgan Room at Hoffman Haus

The indescribably tasteful Hoffman Haus is our home for three nights in Fredericksburg. The decor at the Hoffman Haus is a breathtaking blend of old country Texas and upscale comfort. With buildings on the Hoffman Haus compound dating back to the mid 1800′s and the comfort of modern amenities, this B&B exemplifies the epitome of casual elegance.  Gracious owner, Leslie Hoffman, provides warm Texas hospitality, and is a wealth of historical and local information.

The first evening in Fredericksburg, you will enjoy a gourmet dinner in the Great Hall, catered by one of the region’s finest chefs.  Local Texas wine and beer will also be served.  Mmm…close your eyes and you can almost taste the local Bandera Quail.  The Gulf Shrimp Etoufee’s not bad either, nor is the Vanilla Pots de Crème garnished with melba sauce and roasted hazelnuts.  And, the breakfasts are to die for!

Due to a last-minute cancellation, there’s one room available for the April 15  bike tour of the Texas Hill Country.  Don’t be scared away by the “hill country” designation – what would you call rolling hills in a huge, mostly pancake-flat state? Grab your bag, your sunscreen, and c’mon down!

Welcome to sweat-free bike touring. Sojourn is pleased to announce the introduction of electric bikes to its bike tour fleet! Starting April 1, you’ll be able to select the electric bike option on a limited number of Sojourn Bike Tours in the US.  You’ll save your breath, your legs and your outfit as you glide along in comfort and style. You may not even need to bother to freshen-up before dinner because you likely won’t have exerted yourself much.

Choose from the fabulous retro-look Izipit  (right) or the futuristic Optibitbike (below) on any of the following trips:

• California Wine Country Bike Tours
• Niagara Wine Country Bicycle Tours
• North Carolina Outer Banks Bike Tours
• Oregon Bicycle Tours in the Columbia Gorge

The Izipit bike has a powerful and very heavy nickel metal hydrate battery that can propel even the non-cyclist up a steep incline. The 1950′s styling begs for matching accessories. A limited number will be available with straw baskets – just perfect for that wedge of cheese, hunk of salami, and loaf of bread.

The OptibitBike is the Ferrari of the electric bike world and is equally adept on the road or off. With futuristic styling and a top speed of 20 mph, you’ll feel like vintage Lance  – charging up some epic mountain stage during a Tour de France.

Both bikes give you extra torque to help you when you need it most. You will still have to pedal a wee bit and will need to stop every ten miles to charge the battery but you won’t have to break a sweat.  The Sojourn van will be following close behind and towing a charging station to take care of all of your electrical needs so you’ll have time for plenty of snacking while waiting for your bike to charge.

You’ll climb hills like a champion – without any of the annoying sweat, exertion, or over-sold health benefits. Just flip the switch and you’ll pass your fellow tour guests with ease. The best part is, you’ll still have that healthy wind-in-your-face glow at the end of the day.

Choose an electric bike for your tour and we’ll throw in a yellow jersey – because you’ll feel like a winner!  Sign up early  - yellow jerseys and electric bikes are in limited supply.

April Fools!  There are no electric bikes available on Sojourn bike tours.

We believe in the beauty of earning those downhills – and that refreshing cold beer at the end of your ride!

Cheers

Image credits: pcmag.com, electricbike.com, rynoventoux.blogspot.com

The Outer Banks of North Carolina is famous for leisurely bike touring. Sojourn’s tours of this region are responsible in part for this fame. Imagine cycling along miles of uninterrupted ocean and pristine dunes on the island of Ocracoke, basking in the breath-taking expanse of the Cape Hatteras National Seashore, or sailing with dolphins in the sparkling waters of the Pamlico Sound. It’s the stuff of legends…

Yes. But historically, what becomes a legend most in this part of North Carolina is Blackbeard (1680-1718). An English pirate who marauded ships along the shores of North Carolina, Blackbeard, born Edward Teach, was a savvy sailor who used his giant stature to great advantage. He disdained violence (there are no accounts of his ever having murdered or harmed his captives) and instead elicited compliance from his victims through fear.

Legend has it, he used his big black beard. Before attacking the ships of his victims, Blackbeard dressed to kill in thigh-high boots, a three-cornered hat, brightly colored cloaks, and bandoliers of assorted swords, knives, and pistols. He braided lengths of hemp rope into his voluminous beard and lit the ends on fire. To those who fell prey, his smoking visage was the devil incarnate.

It is not known how many vessels Blackbeard captured during his exploits, but some researchers attribute as many as 45. His most notorious achievement was the blockade of the port of Charleston, where with a flotilla of as many as 400 pirates, he captured ships and took hostages for nearly a week.

Near the end of his infamous career, Blackbeard thought he’d fortify Ocracoke as a pirate haven, instead this is where he met his doom.

In Ocracoke Inlet, he was seized by an armed deputation sent by Virginia Governor Alexander Spotswood and led by Royal Navy Lieutenant Robert Maynard. “In a desperate battle aboard Maynard’s sloop, Blackbeard and a number of his fellow pirates were killed. Maynard returned to Virginia with the surviving pirates and the grim trophy of Blackbeard’s severed head hanging from the sloop’s bowsprit.” (http://www.qaronline.org)

It is much more tranquil in the Outer Banks these days, but Sojourn’s bike tours will pique your curiosity for this salty tale. You don’t have to be clean-shaven to enjoy this trip, but it might be a good idea. Yaaaar….

Image credits: wikipedia.org, theepochtimes.com

It’s that time of year where the nation is gripped yet again by March Madness. We decided we’d have a little fun of our own and add bike tours to the frenzy. Here in Vermont we’re celebrating the University of Vermont’s win last night which gives them their second ever NCAA men’s basketball tournament win. Last night’s win pits Vermont against top-seeded North Carolina. In their first appearance, Vermont’s Catamounts shocked the nation with an amazing upset over a perennial power.  Can they repeat? Save $150 now through March 22nd on select bike tours by commenting (below) with answers to the following questions:

       1. Who did Vermont upset in their first NCAA tournament appearance?

       2. What was the score and year of this upset?

       3. Who was the player that scored the winning basket?

Savings applies to new reservations only on a space available basis.

Niagara Wine Country  June 24-29

North Carolina  May 5-11

Sonoma Coast  May 20-25  &  June 17-22

Oregon Columbia Gorge  July 15-20  &  22-27

Acadia National Park  July 8-13  &  August 12-17

Vermont to Quebec City  July 7-15

Best of Cape Cod  September 9-14  &  30 – Oct 5

Vermont, the undisputed North American home of bicycle tours and micro brewing, is the ultimate backdrop for a new bike tour designed by Sojourn.

Famous for excellent local food and craft-brewed beer, Vermont has a higher number of craft breweries per capita than any other state. More than 12 percent of beer sold in Vermont is brewed in-state. This is because Vermonters have a huge loyalty to Vermont products and, Vermont beer is quite simply better.

It’s better because it is brewed with love (and other fresh local ingredients). Vermont brewmasters are passionate and even philosophical about their work. For example, Hill Farmstead Brewery, in the Northeast Kingdom, brews a Philosophical Series that includes Fear & Trembling, Society & Solitude, and Twilight of the Idols.  Rock Art Brewery in Morrisville, takes a lighter tone with Sunny & 75, Hells Bock, and Midnight Madness.

Thirsty? You’ll probably just have to venture up to Vermont this summer to sample many of these great brews:

• The Alchemist Cannery – Waterbury, Vermont
• Fiddlehead Brewing – Shelburne, Vermont
• Hill Farmstead Brewery – Greensboro Bend, Vermont
• Lawson’s Finest Liquids – Warren, Vermont
• Long Trail Brewing Company – Bridgewater, Vermont
• Magic Hat Brewing Company – South Burlington, Vermont
• Otter Creek Brewing – Middlebury, Vermont
• Wolaver’s Certified Organic Ales
• Rock Art Brewery – Morrisville, Vermont
• Switchback Brewery – Burlington, Vermont
• Brewery at Trapp Family Lodge – Stowe, Vermont
• Trout River Brewing – Lyndonville, Vermont
• Northshire Brewery – Bennington, Vermont

Vermont beer is also better because after riding over hill and dale on a bike tour, you’ve earned it.

Bottoms up.

There are many great reasons to take a bike tour: it’s good for the body, good for the soul, and good for the environment. A recent post about Sojourn’s Arizona bike tours delves into a few good biking motivations. Worldbiking.info lists the 11 reasons why you’ll love bike tours. Let’s look at how each pertains to Sojourn:

1. Catching the sunrise – The sunrise will happen each morning of your bike tour. Catching it is up to you, though you wont want to miss sunrise on Cape Cod, Martha’s Vineyard, or the Outer Banks.
2. The satisfaction of sleep – Good exercise produces good sleep. With the satisfaction of your daily accomplishments and terrific accommodations, you’ll probably even have sweet dreams.
3. Fresh Faces – Guides, hosts, locals and fellow travelers will be fresh faces. After a few miles, your own face will feel fresh, too.
4. Fresh Air – You will take in fresh air in beautiful locations and can even increase your cardiovascular fitness by as much as 3-7%.
   
5. Trials and Tough times – There are hills, but what goes up, usually does come back down.
6.  Unpredictability – There is always something new to experience.
7. Pushing yourself – It feels good to push yourself and stretch your limits.
8. Inner discovery – Thoreau encourages us to “meet” our lives and live fully. A bike tour issues the same invitation.
9. Being real 100% of the time – Any worthwhile endeavor that stretches your limits is bound to have this effect.
10. Guilt-free gorging – Sojourn’s tour leaders are foodies. Our tour locations are in some of the greatest foodie destinations in North America: California, Vermont, Texas.
11. Magical Moments – Hmm. Magic is different for each of us.

This is a wonderful list, but it doesn’t quite describe the the euphoric feelings that pedaling a bike infuses, especially in beautiful natural places. Science tells us that exercise boosts endorphins and makes us feel blissful. Our hearts tell us that exercising in nature – Sojourn chooses beautiful natural locations for its bike tours – magnifies the effect. Even MSNBC reports that “Looking at nature makes you nicer.” Imagine the combined effect.

Biking and bike tours bring you back to the simple pleasures of life. They make you feel like a kid again. Really. Just give it a try – dust off your bike and ride it around the block, you’ll see. Let the following poem “If I ride” inspire you to bliss.

Why do you love bike touring? We invite you to respond with your own poems and top ten (or eleven) lists.

training wheels image credit: 18milesperhour.tumblr.com

You’ve checked your calendar, you’ve seen some of Sojourn’s incredible bike tour locations, met some of our tour guides, learned how a bike tour can boost your health and even your love life, but something is missing: The unsung hero of Sojourn Bike Tours is your constant companion, the bike!

It’s high time to meet the fleet. Sojourn uses two great bikes on its tours: the Cannondale Synapse Road Bike and the Fuji Absolute Hybrid. Both bikes are well-loved, light weight, high quality, comfortable and responsive. Both feature lightweight aluminum frames with carbon forks (the fork holds the front wheel and allows the rider to steer and balance the bicycle). The aluminum frame gives the bike some stiffness, and thus greater energy efficiency (more of your effort is translated into forward momentum). The carbon forks permit a little bit of shock absorbancy. Let’s take a closer look:

Cannondale Synapse

• Drop handlebars allow for three different hand positions.
• Body position can vary depending on where you place your hands on the handlebars.
• 700-23 tires provide maximum comfort, performance, and handling.

According to About-bicycles.com, “Cannondale bikes are excellent quality and have won cycling awards and races in just about every category. The Synapse is a comfortable and responsive performance road bike that is good for commuting, long distance rides, training and can even handle competitive rides and racing.”

Fuji Absolute

• Flat handlebars allow the rider to travel in a more upright position.
• Body position provides greater visibility and more comfortable breathing.
• Riders with back or neck problems are usually more comfortable on this bike.
• 700-25 tires are slightly wider to provide greater traction on a wider variety of surfaces.

“This is one of the best hybrids available within its price range…this bike can handle touring and long distance rides, comfortably but with much less effort than a heavier comfort bike, and can handle paved, crushed stone, grass, or fairly rugged dirt bike trails.” (About-bicycles.com)

When you book your tour with Sojourn, you’ll be asked about your height and bike preference. You can choose a bike type or the Sojourn staff will recommend a bike style that provides the greatest comfort, stability, and performance for your body type. You’ll also have a pedal choice: plain or toe cages. For a more personalized fit, bring your own clipless pedals, Sojourn’s guides will install them on one of these bikes. You’ll also be given a choice of Giro or Bell helmets to ensure the perfect fit for your head.

Mark Weinberg is passionate:  about people, about cycling and about Canada – his homeland. You can just hear it in his voice. As a Sojourn bike tour guide, he satisfies all three passions as he introduces Sojourn travelers to some of his favorite places.

Mark knows the landscape, history and culture of eastern Canada like the back of his hand. Born, raised, and still residing in Montreal, Mark is a self-appointed goodwill ambassador for his country, province and beloved city. A bilingual Anglophone in a predominantly French-speaking province, Mark empathizes with and seeks out confused American tourists in his home town.

Mark is particularly excited about Sojourn’s new bike trip: Ottawa to Montreal. “Pedaling into the city is wonderful,” he sighs. Montreal loves bicycles. There are more than 300 kilometers of bike routes and paths located on the island of Montreal alone and more than double that in the surrounding region. Bicyclists love Montreal. It is a terrific place to visit, people like Mark make it so.

When asked which is his favorite tour, he describes aspects of each, but claims “Vermont to Quebec City is my baby…pedaling into Quebec City is so beautiful.”  This trip evolved out the Champlain 400 Celebration, a Quebec, Vermont and New York collaborative commemoration of Samuel de Champlain’s discovery of Lake Champlain in 1609.

Much of this trip is along Quebec’s La Route Verte, the Green Route, a biking network that connects 320 municipalities. Comprised of 4,036 kilometers (2,508 mi) of marked paths, paved shoulders and designated roadways cross-crossing every region of Québec, La Route Verte is the largest cycling network in the Americas.

Mark giving a daily route review on a Niagara Wine Country Tour

Mark also guides the Niagara Wine Country Bike Tours. Known for world-famous wine and what Wine Spectator Magazine calls “bucolic” and “charming” countryside, the wine country is right up there on the list of fabulous bike tours – and is an easier trip that the other Canadian tours.

A former school administrator, in 2009 Mark was selected to ride his bike from Vancouver to Halifax as a participant in the Sears National Kids Cancer Ride. The ride visited pediatric oncology units across Canada to raise funds for children’s cancer charities.

Mark always wanted to guide bike trips. When he retired, he set out to do just that. He learned of Sojourn through a friend during a ski holiday and drove down to Vermont for an interview. “We talked for an hour and that was it!” he recalls. He has been leading trips with Sojourn for four years and loves every minute of it.

There is no doubt that bike tours make excellent Valentine’s Day gifts. They’re much better for your figure than a box of chocolates; they’re more nourishing than a candlelit dinner; and memories from them last far longer than a dozen long-stem roses. Bike tours are good for your heart and soul. And the titillating truth this Valentine’s Day is:  bike tours are good for your libido, too!

The direct correlation between regular physical exercise and increased potency is undisputed by medical science and happy lovers alike.  Livestrong.com sites several university studies on libido and exercise. A study done at the University of Texas shows that women who had finished 20 minutes of cardio exercise were more readily aroused than women who had not exercised. Another study at the University of California showed that men who exercised for one hour at least three times per week had sex more often, performed better sexually and were happier with their sex lives than they were before they began exercising.

The reasons for the excitement are fundamental. Aerobic exercise is good for you. The endurance you’ll develop during a bike tour can boost your stamina. Sustained exercise, like you might experience on a bike tour, releases endorphins. These hormones secreted within the nervous system are natural pain inhibitors that create a feeling of elation. Elated people are happier between the sheets.

The biggest reason a bike tour is good for your libido: it reduces stress, the greatest suppressor to a healthy sex drive. And like endorphins, a bike tour will leave you feeling blissful.

Perhaps it’s time to conduct your own study? A bicycle tour in the Wine Country of California is about as romantic a backdrop as anywhere in the world with world-class inns, intimate dining, and seductive wines. For a delightfully easy-going trip, visit the Outer Banks of North Carolina. This vacation features sand dunes, beaches and a sail where you can snuggle up on a big hammock above the water.  Dine on fresh, local seafood, a known aphrodisiac, and the salt air can make you feel sexy, too.