How to Check Cycling Off Your Bucket List: A Beginner's Guide

"I haven't cycled in twenty years, but travelling with a bicycle has always been my dream. It's on my bucket list." We hear this from time to time, and often we can hear something else underneath it: a quiet worry that time is slipping away to do the things we most want to do, before one day we no longer can. If that is you, please read on. This is very much a list you can still tick.

A gentle, honest word about time

We will not pretend age is nothing at all. It is true that some travel insurance policies cap their coverage past a certain age, and it is true that you do need to be physically able to do the things a cycling tour asks of you. We would rather be honest about that than sell you a fairy tale.

But here is the far more important truth. Where there is a will, there is almost always a way. If you are willing to put in a little effort, to practise, to take good advice and to quieten the naysayers, then completing your first overseas cycling tour is genuinely within reach, even if you have not ridden in years. And the sooner you begin, the more of that dream you get to enjoy. We have a complete pipeline to take you from zero to hero in less than four months, which happens to be the perfect window to plan a dream holiday.

We say all this gently, because we understand what is really behind the question. It is rarely about the bicycle itself. It is about proving to yourself that the best adventures are not behind you. They are simply waiting for you to begin.

Your path from zero to hero

• Book a confidence ride. Come and see us, and we start with a confidence ride. It gently reveals your true starting point. We run some basic drills in the comfort of a large private training area, with no onlookers and no pressure, and we get a clear picture of exactly what you need to work on.

• Train one to one. We keep coaching you on a private, one-to-one basis until you have picked up the key skills, and until both you and our marshals feel confident that you can comfortably hold your own on a group ride. Nobody is rushed out before they are ready.

  
  

• Join our club rides. Now you put those new skills to work. Our free weekly club rides let you practise in a real group, discover what riding in a friendly formation feels like, and see honestly whether there is a little more to build in fitness or technique.

• Meet your fellow travellers. At the club rides you meet others walking the very same path, and you learn from their journeys. We treasure the stories of riders who only learned to cycle during the pandemic and who are now, quite literally, conquering the world on their 16-inch Bromptons.

  
  

• Pick a tour you know you can finish. Finally, you choose a first tour that feels within reach. We keep a list of beginner and intermediate trips chosen for exactly this moment, and our ride levels explain what each one asks of you. Better still, bring a friend and share the journey. It makes the whole adventure less daunting and a great deal more joyful.

The perfect first tick: Taiwan

For most of our first-timers, the ideal opening adventure is a Taiwan Cycling Tour. It is close, it is friendly, and it is beautifully gentle to begin on. Our Brompton Taiwan tour rolls through easy countryside, quiet coastlines and wonderful food, all at an unhurried pace. As a small group cycling holiday Taiwan is hard to beat for a nervous beginner, and it makes a superb first beginner cycling tour Asia has to offer. Best of all, a guided folding bike tour Taiwan means the planning, the safety and the support are entirely ours to carry. You simply ride and enjoy.

We have removed every excuse

You do not have to wonder any longer whether this can be done. It can, with the right support and guidance, and all of it is available to you at the click of a button. In fact, because you have taken the time to read this article, your first confidence ride is on us.

No bike? We have one ready for you. No travel case? One can be loaned to you. The only thing we cannot provide is the willingness to dare to try, and that part is yours. Of everything on your bucket list, this may be the easiest one of all to check off. Talk to us today, and let us help you make the dream real while the road is still open.

Your first confidence ride is on us. Come and take the first step towards a dream you have carried for years.

Message us at +65 8925 7912 on Whatsapp

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