International Bicycle Tours

The website starts off by telling you that International Bicycling Tours is different because they meet you at the airport...they do NOT. (alternative truth). $100 Lyft ride and 2 hours to get to the first venue. The IBT corner and sweep system is just a cheap trick so they don't have hire people to do it properly. The accommodations were mediocre at best, the first B&B was charming but uncomfortable. The second was a nice hotel at the airport, like right across the street and the planes were flying all night. Very noisy... The rental bikes provided were old and in disrepair. Mechanical problems ranged from brakes and chains failing to one man's handlebars slipping off. There was only one tour guide and he was very unprofessional. He knew practically nothing about the area and led us into a very dangerous situation which was avoidable. I did have one of the best prime ribs at dinner one night. The other bright spot were the people I was with, a Meet-up group from Tampa. Everything IBT did was to save money but the tour was quite expensive. I am doing a 5-day in Key West at about half the cost. If I were doing it again, I would do a little research and book my own. The area is beautiful and it would be hard to screw up a tour...but IBT did it.

I just finished a European bike tour that was a collaboration between IBT and Road Scholar. The tour went well and I have no complaints about the overall experience. But nothing could be done about the miserable, rainy weather we encountered on some of the days. However, there were some glitches, all on IBT's part. I will list them.nn1. I did not receive one of the information packets. This is the one that informed participants that they must provide their own helmets, had the name tag holder, and the liability release for IBT. Upon arriving at the assembly point I learned, for the first time, that I had to have my own helmet. This meant a frantic taxi ride into the nearest town to purchase one at the local bike shop. Fortunately, I was able to acquire one in time. Still, it was a bit of a scramble. As for the liability release, IBT did contact me about two weeks prior to the trip asking me where the form was. I printed it out from their website and sent it in. Another last minute scramble.nn2. The support vehicle was not provided with the necessary tools to make minor repairs. It even lacked the right pump for the tires. I was told by one of the employees that the van was not supposed to be a full-service repair vehicle. OK. I can accept that. But I don't see why providing a small tool box with pliers, hammer and wrenches is a problem.nn3. The driver, and all round handy man who handled the bikes and luggage, was untrained in basic bicycle maintenance. He had never repaired a flat before. He did not know how to replace the inner tube. The customers had to come to his rescue and show him how it was done. This is a surprising oversight on the part of IBT. One would think that the need for a basic maintenance training course would be obvious.nn4. One of the e-bikes tipped over and damaged a pedal. The pedal was deformed to the point that it was almost unusable. Again, a pair of strong pliers and a hammer might have straightened it. Luckily, there was a bike shop in the village and the problem was resolved. If this had occurred between towns the situation could have been serious.

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