Reviews

Most Inspirational Moment

Seeing one of the less experienced cyclists tough it out on the hardest day - cycling about 12 hours and a fair portion uphill. She got in at 7:30pm and was just determined to make it to the finish line.

Thoughts on Group Leader

A Sri Lankan fellow doing his first solo tour - he did very well and was really kind hearted. Liked him alot.

Advice for Potential Travellers

It really is very hard to get cycling gear in Sri Lanka - even if you can find it, most stock stops at 'Asian' medium size which is kinda small.

Suggestions

Much nicer way to see a country than bus travel. Sri Lanka is suited to this also - small enough to see some of the highlights, roads not too busy.

Most Inspirational Moment

Getting to the top of the 2000m summit at the end of a gruelling day. We were exceptionally well supported - so everyone who wanted to made it!Also the close up leopard viewing on safari.

Thoughts on Group Leader

Great. Very well organised, good knowledge of biking and Sri Lanka and supported by an excellent team.... Shame about his dancing in Colombo though ;o)

Advice for Potential Travellers

A trip worth recommending. Advice would be to remember your mosquito net - they're not too agressive, but some of the hotels didn't have nets and I wished I'd thought to take mine.

Most Inspirational Moment

Seeing the Sri Lankan people (including an army convoy) waving and cheering us on!Seeing Leopards (three), elephants, crocodiles and lots more on safari. Whales(six) and about a thousand dolphins! 

Thoughts on Group Leader

Peter and the whole team were great.Peters knowledge of the country, animals etc is amazing. Saresh and his map! The speed of AK!

Advice for Potential Travellers

Try and get some cycling in before hand as there are a couple of days of challenging climbs.The food service in the hotel in Kandy was rubbish (2 hours and no food). Go to the pub at the bottom of the driveway. The beer is also cheaper.If you do the day of the big climb when there is a full moon make sure you buy any beer etc the day before as it can't be sold on full moon. We had tea!In the Hill Club don't order sparkling water. It will cost more than your meal! 

Suggestions

There have been some complaints on this forum about the hotel at the beach. Our accomodation was fine but the staff were unfriendly and don't try the breakfast unless you enjoy cold scrambled eggs and bacon!I would recommend to Exodus that they try out Peters sister'n'laws place up on the red cliffs. Stunning location.  

Most Inspirational Moment

I loved the challenging bike day. Yep - it was a climb but at a steady pace and aided with chocolate cake (best of the trip!) half way up the hill it was a fantastic day and sense of achievement. That mixed with the daily shouts of "good morning" and waves and excitement when passing through... the backroads ...as the trip notes made for a brilliant trip.

Thoughts on Group Leader

Peter was an old hand at our trip and this came through in his knowledge and love of Sri Lanka and of routes and experience in bringing the group together. While taking more of a back seat the local guides were also encouraging, hard working and great working with the group.

Advice for Potential Travellers

Take techical t-shirts... SL is very humid.... I'm never sure how folks do these trips in T-shirts that don't dry out!

Suggestions

Enjoy!

Most Inspirational Moment

Reaching the top in Nuwara Eliya after the tremendous climb ...  

Thoughts on Group Leader

Peter, the best you can get ... 

Advice for Potential Travellers

Just do it, every kilometer you cycle is worth it 

Suggestions

so nothing but nothing to complain about ... and don't forget to have an EGB ..... best gingerbeer in the world ... 

Most Inspirational Moment

There were many inspirational moments. Watching the elephants from the Elephant Orphanage in the river at Pinnawala, arriving at the The Hill Club in Nuwara Eliya after the gruelling hill climb from Kandy, the tour of the tea factory were all highlights of the trip. 

Thoughts on Group Leader

Peter is an exceptional leader and worked so hard to make sure our trip was great. Along with his team, he made sure all the bikes were ready and servicedand food stops were organised. His extensive local knowledge helped give the group confidence to try local food and he was happy to answer our questions about Sri Lankan life. Suresh showed the group around the historical sites and temples. His English was patchy and he was quite hard to understand at times, but he was always kind and attentive to our needs and requests. 

Advice for Potential Travellers

We had terrible rain early on in the holiday so a small umbrella would have been really useful. The bikes didn't have mudguards and the mud on the road got everywhere which was impossible to get out of clothes. The standard of accommodation was varied so don't expect 5 star rooms and hot water every night.  

Suggestions

We were a diverse bunch, but we all had a positive outlook and shared a love for adventure. As with all trips, it's the people in the group that makes a holiday really special. 

Most Inspirational Moment

Where to begin.Elephant sanctury visit.Whale watchingThe hill climb day, especially lunch by the waterfall, followed by staying at the Hill Club hotel.Experience of the street food, the Pooja, the impromto stop at the school and the interaction with the tennis balls, playing cricket, playing catch etcAll the cycling, (even when wetter than I thought possible), and meeting all the lovely Sri Lankan people

Thoughts on Group Leader

Peter - Absolute star, always available for help and advice, and really aimed to show us all Sri Lanka had to offer. Not permenantly sharing his knowledge, but did know the answer to anything, (from what I saw), he was asked, ie we may not all like to know the name of every single bird or flower we see, (too much info), but ask Peter and he will know.Suresh - A lovely lovely man, permenantly smiling, with our clear love for his country. Suresh had a very good knowledge of all the sights he took us to, and he loved his Sri Lankan map. The only thing that lets Suresh down is his grasp of the English language, in my opinion it may be too early to let him lead the trip. In my experience, people from this part of the world are far more adept at learning another language than I and many other Brits would be, so, all being well, Suresh will quickly brush up on his English skills, and end up as good a leader as Peter.

Advice for Potential Travellers

Anyone who normally cycles at home with "clip in's", take your pedals and invest in some SPD sandals, I bought the Keen make, brilliant.Take a small lightweight umbrella.

Suggestions

This is a fantastic trip, if you book this you will not be disappointed. Although, described in the trip notes as moderate/challenging, this should not be beyond someone who is just interested in cycling. If you have a partner who is at a different level of cycling to you, still do it. This is not an "eyeballs out" set of rides. There are plenty of stops and re-groups. For those of you who want to ride fast, you will be catered for as well, prepare yourself for the cat and mouse chase near the end of the trip, (not obligatory).In the words of the Nike advertisements - Just do it!

Most Inspirational Moment

For me the best day was the big climb up to Nurawa Eliya (day 8 ex London).  A huge variety of scenery and a decent physical challenge with 2000 m of ascent. Fortunately, the steep hills aren't long and the long hill isn't steep.What goes up must come down.  There are also some epic descents - really exciting when round the bend the tarmac road surface disappears into gravel!

Thoughts on Group Leader

Everything worked, it all held together, Pieter made time to talk to all of us and generally took the load (and the lead in some of the wilder exploits).  All that could be expected.Cycling in Sri Lanka is what he does as a day job, so he knows the country thoroughly.

Advice for Potential Travellers

Go for it! But note it is more than a 'moderate' ride overall with a couple of long days and it's hot.  Confidence in traffic is necessary too - the faster ones of us got to overtake most other sorts of traffic at some time. Sri Lankan traffic is slower than British traffic, and more used to slow vehicles.

Suggestions

Some of the road surfaces are appalling, or even non-existent (there are some epic roadworks under way) - I'm glad I didn't take my touring bike.  The supplied mountain bikes with semi-road type tyres (not knobblies) were ideal for the job.Breakfasts were pretty good (British style if required, apart from the chicken sausages) and there were good opportunities to feed up on fish buns etc too en route, so no shortage of food for strenuous days.  Don't expect to lose weight!Sketch maps for the longer days provided a measure of independence, so it was not necessary to cycle in a bunch all day.

Most Inspirational Moment

There were many good moments rather than one particular, from seeing another welcome stop for drinks and very tasty nibbles, the amazing old sites, the elephants and the way the kilometres rolled by.

Thoughts on Group Leader

Unflappable, well organised and able to handle the varied demands of a large group without a fuss,

Advice for Potential Travellers

Take your own saddle or a gel saddle cover as there are a lot of miles covered if you are not used to it.

Most Inspirational Moment

completing the big climb

Thoughts on Group Leader

Peter was good

Advice for Potential Travellers

Insect repelant