A Note from Camille: Update from the road
Well, this has been quite the year. I’ve gotten to know so many of you over the past couple of years from conversations on tour and over the phone, and while they are usually about bikes and trips and fun stuff, all that shifted in March. Suddenly we were talking about the COVID-19 pandemic and postponing tours and avoiding travel. It’s been difficult, but Bicycle Adventures has kept going, knowing that pushing through would be worth the reward of getting back out on the road.
In late June/early July we did just that! We had a few small groups who wanted to travel and I was fortunate enough to get to guide our two Trail of the Coeur d’Alenes tours. Leading up to the trips, Michelle and I talked every day, going through our checklists and thinking about safety and logistics for our guests. Meg led us through a COVID safety training at the warehouse before we left, providing a good game plan of what to do to mitigate exposure on tour.
When the tour started it was initially a little weird to not shake peoples’ hands and to have masks obscuring most of our faces. But that quickly faded away as we started with the normal tour prep: sizing bikes, going over our safety talk, and route talks… then finally we were on our bikes! And all felt right with the world.
We stayed distanced but close enough to feel the camaraderie of the group. Lunches weren’t the family-style meals we usually do, but those were also great. Guests appreciated having their own snack bins with snacks, Nuun, sunscreen, and hand sanitizer so there was no communal touching. We had a great time eating take-out dinners on the patio of the Roosevelt Inn in Coeur d’Alene – some guests said they enjoyed our alfresco meals even more than our normal dine-in dinners!
Through it all, we spent most of our time outdoors and wore masks when we were indoors, in the van, or in close proximity to one another outside. Michelle and I spent a lot of time wiping down every surface imaginable! The whole time, we just kept open communication going and worked together. Everyone emerged from the other side of those two tours feeling good about all the safety precautions Bicycle Adventures is taking. While there are still so many factors outside of our control, it feels good to know that we can still offer the opportunity to get people outside on their bikes in beautiful places, pedaling happy.
We know that the decision to travel is a very personal one right now. We look forward to hosting your next adventures, whether that is in 2020 or beyond!
Pedal Happy,
Camille