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Dear Robert,
I've made a couple changes to the tour schedule: - The December 2009 Lao "Journey Back in Time" tour has been moved up one day so that it now starts November 30, 2009 in Vientiane (to avoid meeting a big group of cyclist coming the other direction in very small Kiu Kacham).
- The February, 2010 Vietnam Tour will now include both Vietnam and Laos. "Tour d'Indochine" is back! If you are going all the way to SE Asia, you might as well see both. If time doesn't permit, you can join us en route.
It's Spring; time to think about your riding options this year. I have my own take on how to select a tour and also a tour operator. It appears below. It's worth your time to do some research. Check out the latest tour Video: India - "In the Garden of the Gods". Videos seem to capture the spirit of a destination at least as well as words can. Consider watching it as part of your research. If you are customer (past or present), don't forget to click on "Customer Login" at left and register for the "customer only" area of the website. We want you to be able to stay in touch with the extended "Far and Away" customer family. Ride safe! All the best,
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Don't Throw that Dart!
 Now is a good time for researching overseas riding adventures.
Following these 3 simple steps will help you find the right tour
operator and the right tour.
#1 Where
As
a starter look at "Ride the Road.com". Sally and Peter Blommer have cycled
the world for the last 30 years and have ranked each of their
destinations based on a 15 factor scorecard. This site caught my
attention when I noticed that the Lao PDR was ranked #1
Also google "cycling in _________(fill in the blank)". You will get,
among other things, trip reports, blogs, etc. that will give you both
ideas and a feel for the places. Dig deep into the search listings to
find the gems.
Read more
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"In the Garden of the Gods" Tour Video
 India is a place of contrasts. With 1.3 billion people, it's the world's largest democracy. It has the world's only democratically elected communist government. It's not so much a single country as an amalgamation of nation-states. There is wealth. There is poverty. There is spirituality. There are beaches, big mountains, tea and spice and some of the most interesting faces on the planet.
It's challenging to capture the essence of the tours and especially the tour in Kerala. Words just don't seem to be enough. Videos help communicate the feeling of a place.
Our bike tours are all about discovery. That's is why the tours are all outside the country. There is plenty of cycling; enough for even the most serious rider. Likewise, there is enough support to take care of the not so serious. The bottom line is that the bike is a means to travel, to be exposed to something new, to be immersed in the reality of the destination; to learn about other people and, sometimes, to learn about yourself.
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Going Solo? or F&A timing not right?
 Chantal and I were huffing and puffing our way up the seemingly endless stairs of Tashiding Monastary in Sikkim, India when we ran into Adrian (from England). He was bikeless at the time, but we were in our bike clothes so we quickly figured out we were all biking self-supported in Sikkim.
Later on we also ran into Adrian on the road. He was admiring my light touring bike and I was coveting his disc brakes. I wouldn't have thought it possible, but he was carrying about as much stuff as Chantal I combined. Adrian is the only other touring cyclist we met in our 3 weeks in Sikkim. He is actually still in Sikkim. Take a look at his nice blog and/or drop him a post. It's great going solo, but it can also be a tad lonely out there: http://adriancyclingtosikkim.blogspot.com/
If you are planning to bike self supported, I'll do whatever I can to help you. At a minimum, I can make suggestions. All I ask is that you stay in touch and let me know how you make out. I have plenty of info on file and in my head: bike rental options, cue sheets, hotel suggestions....and other tour companies.
There also is plenty of good info on the "Links" page on the F&A website as well as elevation profiles and gps data on most of the tour itinerary pages.
Sikkim was a fantastic place to bike. An account of our trip there is in the Wobblin' Sprocket. I'll be back to Sikkim with tour.
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