Are you thinking about heading to Spain for a cycling vacation this summer and you’re not sure where you want to go? There are many wonderful towns and cities in Spain to choose from, such as Barcelona, Seville, Madrid, and Granada. These are the major city centers, which means they will be swarmed with tourists.
But if you want to sample the real Spain and escape the crowds, get out to its smaller towns such as Girona and Malaga. But if you want to ride where the pros go in the off-season, then choose Girona, north of Barcelona and reachable in an hour by train, or another location in Spain or Europe. Eat Sleep Cycle specializes in just these types of trips.
Who Is Eat Sleep Cycle?
The two founders of the company, while having a healthy interest in cycling, had never worked in the hospitality industry before. Louise is from the U.K. and worked at the London School of Economics. Lee was an engineer who worked in the sustainability sector. Together, they started Eat Sleep Cycle in 2015.
Their mission was not to start some half-hearted business only driven by the desire to make money and to quickly get rich. No, authenticity and sustainability are at the heart of Eat Sleep Cycle. As Louise and Lee see it, the mission of the company is simple: “to share our love of cycling with everyone who likes to ride a bike.”
With that concept in mind, both Louise and Lee focus on some core principles they stand by as a company and for every trip they organize. Those are to see cycling as a way of life with the new connections, experiences, and relationships it brings, growth through innovation and to always improve, go further and get better with each trip the company hosts, and to do it as a team. To achieve that model, Eat Sleep Cycle operates out of two loacations in Spain: Girona and Malaga.
What Makes Eat Sleep Cycle Unique?
Eat Sleep Cycle is unique because the company bases its operations in Spain, and because every person involved with the company has a shared passion for cycling. All the trips are led by real cyclists who know the roads and climbs, and as stated on the company’s website, all “the local secrets that make every ride unforgettable.”
Louise and Lee want guests to experience their tours like a local, which is why Eat Sleep Cycle chooses “boutique accommodations and cultural stops” along the way so guests see something most visitors to Spain never see. Each trip is crafted to be specific to guests and not a standard tour where variation is not allowed.
Eat Sleep Cycle attempts to offer every type of tour that a guest might be interested in: seasonal tours, pro race tours, self-guided, tours for women, group, corporate, etc. In other words, you name it and the company, most likely, has a tour to fit your needs. And it doesn’t just have road cycling tours but also caters to gravel riders.
Destinations To Explore Through Eat Sleep Cycle
The key element that makes a bicycle travel company stand out amongst all others are the areas of the world where it can create a trip. Eat Sleep Cycle definitely accels in this area. In addition to Spain, it has trips in the following places.
- Canary Islands
- Colombia
- Denmark
- France
- Iceland
- Italy
- Morocco
- Patagonia
- Portugal
- Slovenia
- U.K./ Ireland
Morocco: Marrakech to Essaouira Grava
One of the most intriguing trips Eat Sleep Cycle has created leaves from Marrakech. The trip descriptions states it is 520 kilometers (320 miles) and is for gravel riders. Having visited Morocco, I can attest there’s more pavement than one would think, but in more remote regions that might be true. This trip is 6 days and 7 nights and runs for $4,660 with a $1.400 deposit up front.
The company has an additiional Morocco trip that transits the Atlas Mountains. It is also 7 days, primarily gravel, and is $3,185 with $960 deposit. If I had my choice, I’d do this one. It sells itself on the light and vistas you’ll see, based on a motorcoach tour I did in November of last year.. What’s included or not eluded me during my research because most of the website’s pages are in Spanish. It’s best to email them if you have a question.
Last Thoughts
Eat Sleep Cycle appears to be a solid travel company, which it has accomplished in the span of 10 years. That’s pretty amazing with all the competition from other bicycle travel companies offering similar experiences, and with the large number of trips on its docket.
A smaller company like Eat Sleep Cycle, though, is where you know it will try extra hard to make everything personalized down to location, roads you will ride, and the places you’ll visit. Fees may seem high but not uncommon in an industry where trip prices fluctuate, so if you have a location in mind off the beaten path, they might just create a trip for you there.
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