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In Summer 2024 join Lizard Head Cycling Guides In the Swiss Alps!

Back in the summer of 2022, Lizard Head Cycling “celebrity guide”, Joe Shults, rode the Hope 1000 Bikepacking route with his wife Ali. Although Joe had ridden previously in Europe, the mountain beauty, quietness of the roads, challenge of the terrain and access to amenities of the Hope 1000 route, inspired Joe to offer this as a guided offering for Lizard Head Cycling Guides

Switzerland’s Hope 1000 bike route was originally created as a bike rally route but was later adopted as the route for what is now the Hope 1000 bike packing race. The Original Route is traverses 1000km across the Swiss Country sideband but we have chosen the last 400 miles of the route to make this more accommodating to our guest’s 21st century schedules. NOTE: If you or your group want to ride all 1000-miles, please contact us directly.

Although the HOPE 1000 route can be done as a self-supported bike ride, it can also be enjoyed at a more comfortable pace with overnight accommodations in local hotels and meals enjoyed in good company. This is the option Lizard Head Cycling is offering.

This adventurous bike route traverses an incredible cross section of Switzerland mostly overlooked by traveling tourists. Cyclists find yourself riding through picture perfect farm meadows, along the shores of crystal clear lakes, passing through welcoming villages and beneath the high Alpine Peaks. The combination is hard to find anywhere in the world.

The route provides enjoyable riding on quiet farm lanes, gentle single track, and well maintained dirt roads. Best of all, there is almost no traffic on this carefully designed route. Make no mistake though, this is not a leisurely tour and the riding is very challenging. We will plan to cycle over 400 mies and climb 65,000 feet of elevation.

Hope 400 Adventure Bike Tour: Highlights

Hope 400 Adventure Bike Tour: Dates

Potential tour dates are listed below and not all tour dates will run. Lock in your preferred tour date early as unopened tour dates will be closed. Please see the Winter/Spring/Autumn Tour Calendar and the Summer Tour Calendar for confirmed departures. Any unopened date can be a Custom Week (9 riders required). Please contact us via email or call 970.728.5891

To easily register for a particular tour, please click the Book Now! link after the tour date listed below. This will select the tour name and the appropriate date on the registration form.

2024 Tour Dates

• June 16 to 24, 2024 15-Days @ 1000km/600mi (Book Now!)
• June 21 to 30, 2024 10-Days @ 750km/400mi (Book Now!)

Tour Status Notes: NO STATUS = Date Set, no riders have signed up. TOUR OPENED = Tour Opened, rider minimums not met. TOUR A GO! = Tour is Go, rider minimums met. SOLD OUT = Tour Full, rider maximums met.

Hope 1000 Adventure Bike Tour: Overview

Tour Length: 10-Days Cycling/9-Nights Lodging

Meeting/Ending Town: TBD

Total Distance: 15-Days @ 1000km/600mi, or 10-Days @ 750km/400mi

Ability Level: Intermediate (2/3) , Upper Intermediate (3) , Advanced (3/4) , Expert (4)

10-Day Tour Cost: $TBD per person. Add $TBD per person to this Tour Cost for a private room each night of the tour (includes X-Nights).

Tour Includes: 10 days of guide service, all meals, park service fees, energy food, liquid refreshments, shuttles, and mechanical support. Alcoholic beverages, bike rental, and massage are additional.

Lodging for # Nights: (subject to change)

• Night 1: HOTEL_NAME, TOWN, ST (elevation 0,000′)
• Night 2: HOTEL_NAME, TOWN, ST (elevation 0,000′)
• Night 3: HOTEL_NAME, TOWN, ST (elevation 0,000′)
• Night 4: HOTEL_NAME, TOWN, ST (elevation 0,000′)
• Night 5: HOTEL_NAME, TOWN, ST (elevation 0,000′)
• Night 6: HOTEL_NAME, TOWN, ST (elevation 0,000′)
• Night 7: HOTEL_NAME, TOWN, ST (elevation 0,000′)
• Night 8: HOTEL_NAME, TOWN, ST (elevation 0,000′)
• Night 9: HOTEL_NAME, TOWN, ST (elevation 0,000′)

Meeting Hotel and Ending Hotel reservations and costs are NOT included unless specified otherwise. Guests are on-their-own to make reservations at the Meeting Hotel or Ending Hotel, or other nearby hotels.

Road Bike Rentals

NOTE: The make, model, and specifications of rental bikes may differ from what is described below. Please contact us if you have any specific needs for a rental bike or have any questions about rental bikes.

Lizard Head Cycling Guides is proud to rent Scott Bikes. The Scott Addict 10 Disc was designed from the ground up with those longer days in mind. With geometry that is less focused on racing and more on enduring, the Addict 10 will be your go to when you’re looking to put the miles in.

The Scott Addict 10 Disc features: Carbon Frame and Fork, Shimano Ultegra 2x11 Drivetrain, 34x32 Compact Gearing, 30mm Tires, and Hydraulic Disc Brakes. Approx. Weight: 16.89 lbs / 7.66 kg (without pedals)

☛ Learn more about our Rental Bikes and Equipment

Road E-Bike Rentals: Click Here for more information on our Road E-Bike Rentals including pricing. Please note that E-Bikes are not available for certain tours including those that involve camping. Please contact us for more information before registering for a tour. NOTE: E-Bikes are great, but our tours are designed to be ridden without motorized assistance. We offer "bumps" along the road so that everyone can stay together.

Tandems and Recumbents: Lizard Head Cycling Guides happily accommodates both tandem and recumbent bikes on our tours.

If you have any further questions, please read more on our Rental Bikes FAQ page. You can also email us at info@lizardheadcyclingguides.com or call us at 970.728.5891

Meals On Tour

Lizard Head Cycling Guides provides most meals on all tours (unless otherwise noted) including breakfast, lunch, and dinner. Guides will prepare a daily lunch en route for nearly every tour, both road and off-road, as well as provide nutritious snacks at periodic aid stations during the day.

Most of our road tours utilize local restaurants for all meals and occasionally guides may prepare a dinner or two during a tour. Due to the nature of being "off the grid", most of our off-road tours feature guide prepared meals for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. FUN NOTE: When guides prepare a meal in camp and the guests sit around and watch, this is called "Guide TV".

We also pride ourselves on being able to cater to specific dietary requests and needs, so rest assured that you will be able to get the nutrition that works best for you during your tour. Gluten Free, Dairy Free, Vegan, or a someone who loves it all – we will keep you well fed during the tour!

Lunches: Lizard Head Cycling Guides prepares healthy lunches to keep you going. We will serve you fresh organic fruits and veggies, salads, hummus, sandwich fixings, nuts, gourmet cheeses and, of course, plenty of salty/sweet snacks such as chips and cookies.

Dinners: On our road tours, Lizard Head Cycling sources our favorite restaurants in each town that we visit. Our guides focus on establishments that offer fresh and local ingredients and guests choose whatever they desire to eat off the menu including: appetizer, salad, entrée, and of course, dessert... yum! Also, while on tour if a guest wants to dine early before the group and go to bed, this is fine. We understand that on some days sleep is the most important post-ride element.

Ability Level: Can I Ride This Tour?

Definition of Ability Levels

= Intermediate (2/3) Rides and/or takes spin classes 1 to 3 times a week for a total of 50 or more miles.
= Upper Intermediate (3) Rides and/or takes spin classes 2 to 4 times a week for a total of 75 or more miles.
= Advanced (3/4) Rides and/or takes spin classes 3 to 5 times a week for a total of 100 or more miles. Has ridden multi-day tours and done a century ride.
= Expert (4) Rides 4 or more times per week totaling 150 or more miles. Rides E.F.I. with regularity. Has done numerous multi-day tours, century rides and races.

How Fit do I Have to Be? If one month prior to the tour, you can ride 2 to 3 times a week equaling a total of 75 or more miles a week, you'll do just fine. We like to jokingly say that "one is ready for a Lizard Head Cycling Tour when they are finished with tour" and this is true! The only way to simulate a week long bike tour is to go on a week long tour.

Our average rider age is 55 years. These are bike tours, not races so we take our time to stop, take pictures and see the sights. We have all day to reach our destination and most riders take "bumps" at some points. We offer reduced mileage options for each day. Of course if someone wants to ride E.F.I. (Every Freaking Inch), we love to show them all the extra climbs, loops and hidden canyons that can be included!

Do the Bump! Daily mileage options allow cyclists of varying abilities to enjoy this tour. One of our favorite options is to give cyclists a "bump" via the support vehicle, or a 10 to 20 mile lift down the road representing an hour of pedal time. After the bump the rider is "off the front" and riding at his or her own pace without feeling they are being left behind the group. They'll then have time to linger and take in the spectacular scenery. All cyclists come together in time for lunch. Afterwards, cyclists can take another bump and/or continue riding.

Seamless Mileage Options: Lizard Head Cycling Guides designs multiple mileage options for each tour – something we're well known for in our business. This technique is similar to heliskiing in that one does not ski everything, they ski the best. 🙂

Slow or Fast? Many cyclists who sign up for our tours have worried themselves silly about not being able to keep up, but then they're surprised to find that all the worrying was about nothing. They do just fine! Slow and Fast only exist relative to other cyclists. Speed does not matter as long as one is moving on the bike. As long as one is moving, they are truly going fast enough.

If you have questions about your ability to ride this tour, please contact our office via email or call us at 970.728.5891 - we'll more than happy to guide you!

Please also see this blog post for more information.

Overall Route Map

Below is an example of the daily routes for this tour and are subject to change based on season, available accommodations, road closures, and other factors. The actual routes will be made available to registered participants before their tour, so please view these routes as a general outline as to what to expect.

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Although steep and challenging, the riding surfaces on the Hope 1000km are almost always very good and allow for staying on the bike. Also, interspersed on the route are short sections of single track riding. Although most of the single track is not very technical (think novice or beginner level) there are short difficult sections and you may find yourself doing a few short sections hiking-a-bike.

For Lizard Head Cycling inaugural trip we plan to ride 400 miles of the route depending upon the participants (limited to 6) that time allows. The riding experience and expectations. We plan to be traveling between 40-50 miles (65-80KM) each day with 1-3 large climbs to be expected. These distances will be challenging but also provide time to stop and enjoy the Swiss villages, sip great coffee, enjoy local cheese and bread while taking it all in.

Is this ride for me?
This tour is designed for adventurous, advanced riders that are willing to prepare for a once in a lifetime experience. The route is not very technical so people with limited mountain biking experience should find it enjoyable but best to go ride some single track before you arrive. (gravel riding experience is expected). The riding will be challenging with possibly multiple 3000-foot ascents on a given day. You will be riding a heavier bike than usual so expect riding speeds to slower (see How it works).

Ebikes are not possible on this ride.

While riding through mountainous terrain the weather can change quickly with sudden rain storms and percipient drops in temperature. There will not be a sag wagon, although civilization is almost always nearby. You will be expected to be equipped to handle inclement weather situations.

How will it work?
The tour meets at the Geneva airport in the afternoon the day before we begin riding (TBD between June 15-19. 2024) At this time, we will unpack our bikes and get ready. Bike boxes and any spare luggage can be left at the airport as there is a luggage storage facility there. Cyclists then hop on the incredible Swiss rail system for a swift ride, 3-4 hour ride, to our jumping off point. When riding we will be carrying our hotel clothes/ toiletries and day food (which we will purchase daily) , so you will traveling without a lot of extras (an equipment list will provided).

What kind of bike would I ride for this?
Although I would not truly consider this a mountain bike route, having ridden the route, in addition to thousands of other miles bikepacking, Joe would strongly suggest a hardtail mountain bike with 2.2″ tires. This is not the type of ride you want to “under-bike”. You can probably do it on a fully rigid gravel bike but larger tires (2.2″) are strongly recommended. Have a look at here to see what the people racing the route have selected. (LHCG will have a few rental bikes available)

This tour will truly be a once in a lifetime riding experience. There will incredible highs and possibly some insightful points too. What we can guarantee is a lifelong memory and some great tales to pass on. We hope you can make it.

Hope 400 Adventure Bike Tour: Itinerary*

*Tour itineraries are subject to change and modification based on the group, available accommodations, road construction, road closures, and other unforeseen circumstances including weather, wildfires, flooding, hurricanes, landslides and/or other acts of nature. Also, the distances and elevation profiles shown below may not reflect the actual distances and elevations while on tour as these are provided here to give an idea as to the anticipated mileage and terrain. Please view this itinerary, the distances, and elevation profiles as a general outline as to what to expect while on this tour.

Day 0: Arrival in TOWN

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Hope 400 Adventure Bike Tour: Logistics & FAQs

General Tour & Cancellation Policies

Please take a moment to familiarize yourself with all of our tour and cancellation policies, which can be found by clicking here.

Travel Insurance

If you have not already, now would be a great time to consider adding travel insurance to your tour. You are welcome to use any travel insurance company you would like. We recommend Generali/Trip Mate.

Generally, if contracting COVID causes clients to cancel or interrupt their tour, trip insurance companies would treat it as any other illness as long as it is contracted after the insurance was purchased. Please check your individual plan documentation for details. Please note that quarantine is usually only covered if clients are actually sick with COVID. If a state requires quarantine upon arrival because of standardized state law, coverage is generally not covered. Again, check your individual plan documentation for details.

American Guests - use this link: http://www.generalitravelinsurance.com/get-a-quote.html?partner=LIZA0855

• The Premium Plan is the only plan which offers Pre-Existing coverage so long as the plan is purchased prior to Final Payment.
• The Premium Plan is the only plan that offers an optional Cancel For Any Reason - the policy must be purchased within 24 hours of initial trip deposit, the full trip cost must be insured, and if they cancel for Any Reason, it must be 48 hours prior to departure, and the reimbursement for an Any Reason claim is 60% of pre-paid, insured, non-refundable trip cost.
• Customer Service can be reached at 1-800-874-2442 for coverage questions and policy modifications or to purchase by phone. Agency Code: LIZA0855

Canadian Guests - use this link: https://tripmate.catravelins.ca/?utm_source=lizardhead