Daylesford and Goldfields Bicycle Tour 2012

Day 1: Come up the night before to extend your get away or join us in the morning. We will meet today at 9:30am and head off on our first ride at 10:00am which takes you through spectacular scenery with exhilarating descents and open pastures to Clunes, one of Victoria's most authentic towns where we stop for a beautiful lunch at the local cafe. Clunes has a classic 'early Australia' look about it and has been used in many films to capture the era. This day's loop returns through dairy country back to Daylesford, were we will be for the next three nights. The town still holds the charm of the great gold mining town that it became in the eighteen hundreds, with grand buildings like the Post Office and Town Hall. The mine is today a beautiful lake and the surrounding mineral springs are comfortable baths to soothe tired legs.

Enjoy an evening meal with the group and some new friends (included).

Day 2: Today we cycle past old hotels and alpaca farms along quiet bitumen roads to Newstead, a quaint little town beside the Loddon River. If you like, visit the Cricket Museum where willow cricket bats are manufactured. Then we ride on to the Hepburn Bathhouse and Spa where we invite you to spoil yourself in the warm therapeutic waters - all included in your weekend package. Massage and pamper packages are available at additional cost. Once rested and wonderfully relaxed we will transport you and your bike the last 5 kms of uphill back to the open fire at our accommodation and you are free to enjoy the local cuisine of your choice for your evening meal.

Day 3: On Monday we head in the opposite direction, with a few climbs through forest and grazing land, visiting Trentham and the lovely railway station. We have lunch in the historic town of Kyneton, that begun as a town in 1836 and quickly grew as it became a stopover for teamsters who drove their horse or oxen drawn wagons up to Bendigo. It became a town of note when gold was found nearby and the grand buildings of that time still stand today.

After lunch we return through small villages to Daylesford where we have a group dinner (included) tonight and another great day of cycling ahead of us tomorrow.

Day 4: Today we head south into the Wombat State Forest in the Great Dividing Range. Dairy farms, potato farms and rolling countryside add interest to this quiet cycle tour through the verdant wonderlands of this part of central Victoria.

We get back with plenty of time to enjoy lunch, socialise, and get home to watch the Melbourne Cup, or perhaps arrange for the group to pull into a pub and cheer for another popular early means of transport as it races around Flemington Racecourse. Join us in the Australian tradition of a Melbourne Cup sweepstake after a brilliant weekend full of fun, new memories and, of course, new friends.

Congratulations - what a ride!

[Phil, Sue and Ben, We all had a great time. The organisation, routes, post-cycling activities and the support team was fantastic. My friends are so pleased that I suggested that they come on the tour. Nicky and I had our expectations met ... We endorse your organisation as very professional, easy to deal with, reliable and a pleasure to be with - good people. What we also enjoyed was the company of the other riders. Phil is right when he says that cyclists are usually of a certain type and they can be relied on to be good company.] John W (NSW) Daylesford Rideaway Weekend 2011

[A thoroughly enjoyable break from work and nothing better than exploring the lovely country side around Daylesford , perfectly briefed by Phil, well fed by Sue , great mechanical tips from Ben and good company. Thanks to everyone.] Colin W (NSW) Daylesford Rideaway Weekend 2011

[Loved the whole thing, also Ben did a bike fit for me, and that has been a success, and as usual Susan and Phil are great hosts. Made new friends, some of whom I will see again on the Great Vic Bike Ride.] Helen G (VIC), Daylesford Rideaway Weekend 2011

[Phil and Susan, what a great ride, lots of challenges and fun. You thoroughly spoilt us and the lunch breaks each day were something to look forward to. Hope to do this again next year!] Carol H (VIC) Daylesford Rideaway Weekend 2011

[Thank you again for a great long weekend. We both thoroughly enjoyed it and hope to be back with you soon.] Susan & Greg L (NSW) Daylesford Rideaway Weekend 2011

AllTrails is a proud Australian owned company with over 14 years experience running cycle tours throughout Australia and overseas. During the course of running over 100 tours since 1997, we have established a top reputation in the bicycle tour industry and cycling community that has been earned through hard work and dedication and we sincerely care about every person on every tour.

Our large community of loyal AllTrails riders that keep coming back year after year are testament to the high standard of tours that we provide. The safety and confidence that comes with riding on one of our tours is one of many great reasons to book your cycling holiday with us.

Check out our testimonials page for some recent feedback from our clients.

We include most meals on tour. This means good cyclist-sized breakfasts in the morning, healthy home-made snacks and fruit for morning and afternoon tea during your ride, quality lunches, and two great dinners.

We have support vehicles on the road showing 'Caution Cyclists' signs to warn traffic about our cycling group. This is not common among other cycle tour companies. AllTrails drivers also talk to truck drivers via 2 way radio, advising them of cyclists ahead.

As much as possible we will let the riders go at their own pace but on occasions we will need to make sure that we travel with a ‘safety in numbers’ approach where we may split the riders up into 2 or more groups and allocate a support vehicle to travel closely with each group.

Feel free to contact us at any time through our website ‘Contact Us’ page, phone or email. We love what we do and want to get you on the best bike ride for you. Speak to us about what's on your mind and we'll help you make your decision.

If you have a good level of general fitness, are in good health and are a reasonably keen cyclist that is prepared to do some additional training you shouldn’t have a problem with our tours. As a guideline you should be able to comfortably ride at 20 km/h on the flat with consistency more important than speed.

The Daylesford Ride is a great ride for couples or friends that may be at different levels of cycling ability, or singles that perhaps want to test themselves before riding a full distance AllTrails tour. The cycling terrain is challenging enough for those who want to push themselves, but we also cater for those that only want to ride partial distances, or do not want to ride every day. We can take you up the big hills or give you a head start to make the day's ride easier where required.

Build your kilometre total distance in training, to gradually attain about 80 km a day for 2 days straight if you intend to do the full distance each day. A training outline will be sent to you in your pre-tour info pack so that you get the most out of your ride. In situations where you cannot complete a particular section of the ride for any reason we will always have support vehicles to transfer you and your bike.

We do everything possible to get great accommodation that is up to our AllTrails standard. Our motel is a 3.5 star heritage listed motel in a great location with character and charm.

On the online entry form you can nominate any travelling companions that you would like to share a room with and/or be accommodated close to so that couples or friends can be roomed together. This can be in a double bed or in twin beds. If you are travelling alone like many of our riders, you can choose to 'twin share' where single riders are paired with other riders of the same gender. Single Supplement is also available for those that would like their own room for the whole trip. If you are a chronic snorer or have other habits that may affect your fellow room-mates we suggest booking your own room.

Yes, why not make a weekend of it? Partners can come to play golf or spend some time looking around the shops and local area from our motel which is located in the heart of it all - accommodation, breakfast, 2 dinners, afternoon tea and entry to the Hepburn Bathhouse and Spa is all included in the non-riding partner price.

Contact us if you would like to find out about booking an info session for your group of friends, or if you would like to find out about a travel talk happening near you in the future.

Be inspired, hear from the experts, learn more about a destination and even book your tour on the night.

A comfortable racing bike, road bike or touring bike with a good seat and road tires with slick or near slick tread. A hybrid or mountain bike is also possible if you are used to riding these distances and speeds on it.

Yes, you can rent a bike. We often have overseas riders coming to Australia, or interstate riders that would rather not take their bike around Australia on a plane.

We will be able to help you out with organising bike hire through our local contacts near our office in Melbourne. When you make your booking just let us know that you would also like to hire a bike and we will get the ball rolling for you and put you in touch with the right people.

You can also bring your own seat and/or pedals to give you that little bit of 'home comfort'.

Always a big part of any cycling holiday! Check tour details for meal inclusions on your ride. Our emphasis is on fresh food and balanced diet with plenty of carbohydrates, proteins, fruit and vegies catering for a cycling holiday. We successfully cater to most dietary requirements, however feel free to contact us with any questions. Most meals are included as part of our tours, however you may be required to purchase some meals as per the inclusions and daily itinerary.

A bike mechanic will be part of our crew and is there to help you with minor adjustments and servicing of your bike and will have a good stand pump for different valves. We will have limited parts available for replacement which will be charged at shop prices. Labour is free for the first fifteen minutes, there after costs may be incurred at the mechanic's discretion. Cyclists with rare or different bikes are asked to contact us at AllTrails and advise our mechanic.

We suggest you carry a spare tube, full water bottle and your own personal goods such as camera, wallet, perhaps rain gear if it’s threatening. We carry your day packs, food & extra water.

People from all parts of Australia and overseas. Ages generally range from 25 - 70 with the average age about 50 years old. Adventurous cyclists usually about 40% women & 60% men with a mix of singles, friends and couples.

Yes. Either Bicycle Network Victoria membership insurance, Cycle Queensland membership insurance or similar, travel insurance, or another personal accident insurance is compulsory on our AllTrails rides. We also strongly suggest travel insurance to cover cancellation fees and lost/damaged luggage.

Welcome! Traditionally most of the clientele on our rides have been from Australia or New Zealand, but we also have had many riders from USA and UK/Europe. You just need to make sure that your passport and visas are in order and check the cost of transferring your bike to Australia, or rent one here.

We have a great safety record and do our best to inform motorists so that they can drive accordingly, however cyclists have to play their part in keeping well over to the left. We have support vehicles on the road showing 'Caution Cyclists' signs and a ‘tail end Charlie’ (vehicle following the last rider) with a flashing beacon to warn traffic about our cycling group. You will also be briefed before each day's ride pointing out parts of the road that may get narrow or have any known hazards.

We have a great safety record, but accidents can happen. We have comprehensive First-Aid Kits with trained 1st aiders as tour guides and drivers, mobiles and a satellite phone for emergency calls and the locality of hospitals in the areas that we travel through. We also have vehicles that can take anyone injured or sick for further treatment.

We highly recommend that you purchase travel insurance for all our Australian rides at the time of deposit and ensure that it includes coverage for cancellation fees if for some reason you are not able to travel. For our international tours we require all participants to have Travel insurance to assist you in the event of a medical emergency, lost baggage, personal liability, cancelled tour or any other trip related issues.

Should you wish to change your booking with AllTrails to a different tour, there will be a very reasonable service charge. We try to keep this figure as low as possible to allow flexibility where we can as we want to make sure that you get on the right tour for you.

For cancellation and refund policies for your tour click the ‘Book Your Place Today’ button on the relevant tour page of our website and scroll down for Conditions of Contract.

You can download an AllTrails brochure from our homepage, otherwise contact us with your postal address and we will mail you a copy.