Pre-Trip Service
Appreciated email correspondence with Debra Redpath. She answered our questions within a day or two.
Trip Comments
By travel experience, I assume you mean the interaction with villages and castles and whiskey distillery? If yes, then I would say what we saw was very good! My lower average grade is due to the fact that Scotland is remarkable and beautiful and has a rich history. I would have liked a bit more time to explore the small villages and culture and nuances of the actual places we visited. The trip was very very focused on the actual cycling, less balance on the "travel experience" in my opinion. TEAM WILDERNESS RESPONSE:
Thanks for your comments on the cultural aspects of this tour. We have designed this trip to be a blue grade, which does mean some slightly longer days in the saddle and riding, with plenty of stops and visits along the way. We are currently designing a green graded trip for 2016, which will have less cycling and more time for the cultural interactions...watch this space for more details!
Accommodation & Food
People were wonderful. I believe there is an opportunity to add a few links to the website to get into the history and landscape and art/culture etc. before arriving. I don't think that would be too difficult? Maybe it doesn't exist, but then maybe WS could supply that with their own local knowledge? The dinners were not as good as they should be. the last pub was the best food on the trip. The hotel in Dundee? better to find an Inn or a B&B. It disrupted the flow of the week. I suggest staying in a smaller village outside of the industrial feeling city. Breakfasts were really good. Lunches -- more choices are necessary, especially the first lunch on the first day....that was just not a good start to the trip. I am sure there is either a better choice or you could work with that small retardant and help them help you. TEAM WILDERNESS RESPONSE:
The original design of this trip was to allow for the experience to visit the V & A Museum in Dundee on the waterfront, where they are currently undergoing a £1 Billion redevelopment. As there has been delays in the building works, this has meant that we haven't been to visit it as yet. We hope that once the works are complete, this will be a major attraction for the city and also our clients. The lunches are typically a highlight of this trip, with the flexibility to have lunches as picnic stops or if the weather is poor to find a nearby cafe. We do try to pick the restaurants for diner, based on handpicked experiences, so sorry to hear you thought the food wasn't as good as you had hoped.
Your Guide
Good to Very Good. Dave was wonderful. He is a gentle man and extended time and care to the safety and arrangements of the group. He interacted well with all of the members and served the role very well. Ben was on the trip, not truly a guide, however, he made the experience very good because he added a dimension to the trip that was essential. He was an additional rider for slower cyclists and necessary support, he was also a gentle and kind person who had knowledge of the area and he interacted well with every participant. The trip would not have been as good without him.
The Bottom Line
I will remember this trip fondly and have very good memories of the Country. My personal feedback in hopes of keeping WS on the books for decades to come, is to truly think about the goals of the Grand Tour. What is the vision for your client's 7 days? Once decided, then publish it! The cycling and the weather is understated on the webpage. The guides even downplayed it during the week. That is fine, if it is disclosed ahead of time. It was fine for me because I have decades of experience dealing with the less fun aspects of riding.....long days in wet and cold and wind with some steep climbs for a few days in a row. Yes, weather is unpredictable, but the actual difficulty of the ride is not well represented on the webpage OR the night before the ride and the morning of or the during the breaks. Scottish slang is one thing, and very enjoyable and interesting! However, when a cyclist really wants to know what lies ahead, hours, and energy expenditure, tell them!
The Grand Tour is heavily skewed toward the cycling, less focused on the travel experience as you say. I believe you will get more clients if you have more travel and fewer hours in the saddle. Or, if you really LIKE the hours in the saddle, tell your potential clients! Pick a side and market that. As a real cyclist, I came unprepared because I believed what you said in the material. I worked much much harder than I wanted to work --- on my vacation! I hope that makes sense. I wish I could see more small villages and coffee shops and small local pubs and castles and other interesting Scottish sites. I would consider coming back again and planting myself in a village and doing day trips on a bike from one location just so that I could experience the culture and the country from that angle.
So, all I am saying is, get clear about the purpose of the Grand Tour and then market it accurately. That's all. Then, if you choose more serious cycling, have better sag support along the way with water and energy drinks and small snacks to keep us going instead of larger lunches that are hard to digest when climbing hard.
One more comment. The bikes were not as good as I expected, even for brand new bikes. It seemed to me that they were all basically the same size and same set up. you have the skill and the ability to customize the fit much better. If you are spending 5-6 hours in the saddle for 7 days, the comfort and fit becomes very important. One easier gear would be helpful, a range of stem lengths and a choice of saddles could add some comfort.
I rank this trip as fairly expensive for what we got in terms of food and support. TEAM WILDERNESS RESPONSE:
That is fantastic that you go away with great memories for this trip and we appreciate your comments on how we might better market this trip. With our Trip Grading videos, we have provided clients the opportunity to pick the trips based on their fitness, ability and how much riding they want to do on the trip. As the Grand tour is a Blue Graded trip, this inevitably means that the days are slightly longer, as stated on both the website and in the guiding dossier. This trip wasn’t blessed with the good weather we all like to ride in and some tough head winds, which made the cycling harder. Typically on this trip we have the wind behind us (that is the prevailing wind direction), which certainly helps with the amount of energy we have to use up. Thanks for the comments on the bikes and set up, we will address this and allow for a better fitting for each clients at the start of the trips.
What does this mean?
