Frequently Asked Questions

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 Your Bike or a Hired bike

• In good working order - check tyre pressure, breaks, chain and gears are working
• Bike Helmet - is compulsory 
• Bike lock and a spare inner tube 
• Water bottle or drink to take with you.

 Clothing

• Synthetic clothing with stretch is best - Top: base layer plus fleece plus a good light water proof jacket. Bottoms: Short or long synthetic trousers (not jeans) seamless under wear or padded bike pants. Bike mitts or thin gloves are a good idea.
• Foot wear - Flat trainers with good grip as a minimum. No open toe sandals.

Your Stuff

• I can carry small personal items, your lunch, drinks and any additional clothing in my panniers, but keep you stuff to a minimum.
• Bulky Back packs are not recommended for cycling and can be dangerous. Very small light  bike packs designed for biking are worth considering if you want to carry your own stuff. Alternatively panniers or a small handle-bar bag are the best option if your bike is designed for carrying these items.

• Yes you can hire bikes from Burley, Lyndhurst, Brockenhurst and Lymington (for Isle of Wight). Public car parks are near to the bike shops and I will happily meet you there for the start of our ride and we can adapt the bike tour accordingly. Please give me a call if you require any further information

There are so many great places to stay within the New Forest and surrounding area from campsites ,B&B's ,House rentals, Pubs with accommodation and manor houses. We can start your bike tour from just about anywhere if you have your own bikes, but if you are hiring your bikes it would make sense to start from that location. Burley Village offers the most convenient location in my opinion and being a small village you can quickly access the many cycle paths without negotiating busy roads. If you are interested in cycling on the Isle of Wight only it would be best to base yourself at Lymington or indeed stay on the Island itself and arrange your bike tour there.

I would be reluctant to take anyone out on a bike tour if they have never been on a bike before or not for many years. You will need to have a reasonable amount of fitness and  be steady riding on two wheels. That being said, most bike hire shops offer electric bikes now and although you still need to peddle they do take out any major effort especially when you are going up hill. If you are unsure I would strongly suggest an e-bike and opting for a level 1 or 2 bike ride first. My option 1 around Burley bike paths would be a good option for just 2 hours or even less stopping off for a picnic half way or just in a loop and back to one of the pubs in Burley. Its your bike tour and if you want to stop and take in the scenery every 10min then thats what we would do.