UPDATE: We’ve rescheduled this tour to 2021 due to Covid-19 Pandemic. Changes are reflected and highlighted in the post. 

In Europe, bike & barge tours exclusively for tandem riders are a challenging proposition for tour operators. One has to consider the availability of tandem rentals and the space constraints on the ship’s decks where the bikes are stored overnight. Most ships that host bike & barge tours maintain their own fleet of hybrid touring bicycles (for solo riders), better suited for the terrain than the road bikes most of us ride at home. In order to offer an all-tandem tour, the crew would need to switch out a couple dozen hybrids for a dozen tandems, which they’d likely need to rent locally. And at the end of that tour, switch all of those bikes out again, in addition to all the usual tasks to ready the ship to welcome a new group of travelers!

I’ve hosted several bike & barge tours over the last five years but it didn’t occur to me to offer an all-tandem tour until I had the pleasure of traveling with a fun tandem-riding couple on one of my recent tours. Tom and Diane (pictured above) lobbied me daily on behalf of tandem enthusiasts everywhere for an all-tandem tour. They were so convincing that after the tour ended, I tapped into my expert bike & barge network for a recommended itinerary that could cater to tandem riders, with enough proper tandem rentals. The network’s unanimous vote: embark from the city where there are more bikes than citizens: Amsterdam. It so happens to be one of my favorite cities on the planet, so let’s do it!

I’m excited to announce our 2021 tour: Tandem Ramble through Holland’s Hansa Towns. AND we will open this tour up to all cyclists and will offer hybrid touring bikes and e-bikes (surcharge)!

If you want to bring your own bike to ride on tour, you are welcome to do so. Please let us know when you inquire about booking so that we can make recommendations on the type of tires you should be bringing – skinny road tires won’t perform well on cobblestones. 

From Amsterdam, this tour will take you on a scenic journey through the central region of the Netherlands, its landscape shaped by the many rivers and streams that crisscross it. This region flourished during the Middle Ages when the Ijssel River was one of the most important Hanseatic trade routes in Europe. This relatively undiscovered area is a favorite among Dutch cyclists and we’re confident it will become a favorite of yours!

For more details on this fine voyage, please check out the complete itinerary and contact us for pricing and availability! 2021 Tandem Ramble through Holland’s Hansa Towns