A Cycling Tour through the Isle of Wight
In the summer of 2011 I decided to take a cycling tour in the UK. I spent hours researching where I was going to go and which tour to take. There are dozens of choices that cross gorgeous mountains, open fields and rocky coastlines. I ended up booking a tour for the Isle of Wight in July 2011. My fiance and I planned to do the tour together as a bonding experience.
We chose the Isle of Wight because of the beautiful scenery, slight hills and photography opportunities. As two hobby photographers, we wanted the best opportunity for photos. We also wanted a physical challenge that wasn’t too overwhelming.
Buying Supplies
Supplies are the most important thing when taking on a biking tour. We both chose mountain bikes from bikesnbits website. My fiancé chose the “Claud Butler dalesman 2012 touring Bike”, and I opted for the “Dawes karakum Ladies touring Bike”. Both had the specifications we needed for our body type and goal. We purchased some simple equipment in addition to the bikes from bikes-by-mail-order.co.uk. We already have hiking and cycling packs, but we needed water packs to include in our luggage. Bikesnbits provided all of our materials.
Setting Off On The Journey
The Isle of Wight tour is a medium-level challenge. It’s the perfect balance between easy and difficult. My fiance and I were very excited to set off on our journey. Day one started at Cowes, and it moves counter clockwise around the isle. It is 64 miles around the entire area. This takes five days to complete and four nights.
Day one
We rode for a few miles at a time. Periodically the group stopped to take photos, stretch and drink water. This wasn’t a race, so we were comfortable taking in the scenery and enjoying what the Isle of Wight had to offer. The first few hills were easy, but as the day dragged on they felt tougher. We rested in an open area spot for the night completely surrounded by beautiful grass and nature.
Day two
We started with a gorgeous sunrise over wight. We had a delicious breakfast of fresh fruit and nuts before gearing up to go. Our next stretch of land was Cowes to Mottistone. This is a total of 23 miles. It was uneventful for the most part. The village here is gorgeous. It’s all very quaint and charming. My fiance and I decided that we would live here happily if we could. We spied various animals running across our path and in the grasses. The weather was pleasant.
Day three
This route took us from Mottistone to Sandown, Just 22 miles in total distance. You can see the beach from this strip, and we actually stopped to enjoy it for a brief period of time. The ocean was still quite chilly though. We didn’t spend much time in the water, but we watched the wildlife on the shore until sunset. The weather was warm so no fires were needed. It was another beautiful day of perfect weather.
Day four
This was our last night that we would be sleeping. Nearing the end of our journey we felt quite sad to be leaving this beautiful place. It won our hearts completely. Sandown back to Cowes was a nice journey, but some of the final hills were a bit of a challenge. We were tired and ready for a shower.
Day five
Our last day was spent finishing up our exploration of Cowes and enjoying great company. We made some friends on the way so we exchanged our information with them. We had one last meal and departed by ferry from the Isle of Wight.
Concluding Our Journey
Experienced riders will not face any challenges while out. Beginners will have a harder time overcoming the rocky paths, hills and sandy shoreline areas. The path isn’t secluded completely, but it is quiet and away from the towns and villages as much as possible. If there were an emergency, you would be able to get help quickly. That’s part of why we chose this area.
This cycling tour has easy access to historical sites, villages and natural beauty. This tour can be as long or short as you like. It is customizable to include off-trail routes as well. We chose to stick with the trail. We didn’t want to risk getting lost. We are now excited to go on more cycle tours in the UK and around the world. It was simply a life-changing experience. Overall it was a trip to remember with adventures and good times.
Author Bio: Lisa and my fiancé take this tour and really enjoyed these places. We both love traveling and I love to write about tours, Traveling and biking.
