Christmas is almost here! - Early New Year's Resolution ideas

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With Christmas upon us, everyone (including us at 2 Wheel Tours) is frantically shopping for last minute gifts, decorating the tree and preparing their bodies for the upcoming boozy feast.

At times like this, it's nice to distract yourself from all this madcap action by dreaming of summer or spring holidays, and what better way to do so than in checking out our new range of cycling tours around Scotland!

The fact that all of our cycling holidays are active, outdoorsy trips means that they would fit quite happily into a forthcoming New Year's Resolution. A perfect example of something to aim for would be the challenge of completing our Southern Upland Coast 2 Coast tour - a 253 mile epic route through some of Southern Scotland's most spectacular countryside. On the other hand, you may feel that you would like to set your sights a little lower in terms of challenge, and in this case the Edinburgh Countryside Explorer tour would be perfect. This is a fully customisable holiday and allows for guests to tailor their stay in whichever way they would like - whether that would be basing themselves in Edinburgh for the duration of the holiday or venturing out into the beautiful countryside and coastline of East Lothian.

Either way, we at 2 Wheel Tours hope that all of our customers and future customers have a wonderful Christmas and a very happy Hogmanay (New Year) and we look forward to hearing from you in 2010!

Alasdair
2 Wheel Tours

Highland Holidays!

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As some of you may know, 2010 is a big year for 2 Wheel Tours, as it marks the beginning of our foray into offering full cycling holiday packages. We have had an incredibly exciting few months and our day tours in East Lothian have been a great success. The main aim however, has always been to be a fully fledged cycle tour operator and we have been spending the last few weeks putting the finishing touches to a fantastic range of cycle tours across Scotland.

The full details of these will be published on our main site in the next 2 weeks, but as a wee taster I can give you a brief overview of two of our new holidays, both of which are situated in Highland Perthshire. These are the Lochs and Mountains tour and the Highland Discovery holiday.

Lochs and Mountains

Starting in Pitlochry, home of the smallest whisky distillery in Scotland, this tour takes in two of the country's most beautiful lochs, Loch Rannoch and Loch Tay. We also pass magnificent mountains, among them the majestic Schiehallion and Ben Lawers, thankfully we avoid climbing either of these monsters on our bikes.

This is also an area which has great potential for adventure sports, and we can arrange white water rafting, sphereing or any number of madcap activities through our extensive network of local suppliers.

Highland Discovery

Also starting in Pitlochry, we head off in a different direction, visiting the oldest tree in Europe, the site of Rob Roy Macgregor's famous escape from the English and one of the most peaceful and isolated glens in the country - Glen Lyon. Again, additional activities can be arranged and there is a wealth of local wildlife to spot - red deer, the rare red squirrel, golden eagle and wild salmon.

As I have mentioned, full details of both of these holidays and the rest of our tours will be published on our main website very soon - keep your eyes peeled!

Alasdair

When Irish Eyes Are Smiling!

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Recently we had the pleasure of a group of girls from Ireland joining us on a couple of tours, and one of them, Sally, offered to write a testimonial of their Half-Day Beach Bum ride. Her article is as follows:

Having seen John and Alasdair's advert for East Lothian cycle tours, we three decided to give it a go. Aren't we glad that we did! Having sorted us out with great bikes, cycle helmets and a safety talk, we set off, one of us somewhat slower than the others, but no names shall be mentioned!

We went via the Glen Golf Club on towards Tantallon Castle, John pointing out things of local interest on the way. We continued on for several miles until we reached the log cabin at Ravensdale - spectacular views overlooking the deserted beach. Here we stopped for a short history lesson, much to Marion's relief as it has been many years since she has been on a bicycle. However, the promise of a stop a few kilometers further on at the coffee shop in Tyninghame gave her a new lease of life!

Once there, we sat outside in the sun (yes it does shine in Scotland) enjoying our food and drink. The company and banter was great, but it was now time to head towards home. John did try to alter his normal route so as to avoid the one long hill; however, in the end three of us cycled it and one walked it. The only complaint from Marion was that she thought her bike was slower than Kay and mine!

A great day was had by all and we are signed up for another tour before we fly home to the Emerald Isle.

Sally

Norway Calling!

We were recently visited by a lovely young couple from Norway. They chose to go out on two self-guided tours with us while staying in North Berwick.

The first tour they tackled was the Hillfoots Trail and were blessed with some good weather for the day, which allowed them to experience the full beauty of the views. They decided to go for the full day tour, which is probably our most strenuous route, but enjoyed the challenge.

On their second day they plumped for the Whisky Trail, a much less demanding route, capped by a visit to the Glenkinchie Whisky Distillery. Needless to say, they got home safely, if a little slower than on the way out!

Here they are, pictured before setting out on the Hillfoots Trail.


Alasdair
2 Wheel Tours

BBC Countryfile Magazine Review

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2 Wheel Tours were recently featured in an article in the BBC Countryfile Magazine website.

Named as a provider of one of "Britain's Best Cycling Holidays" and the only company recommended in Scotland, this is a great endorsement of our day tours and holidays. Although we have only been up and running for a couple of months, there is already a real buzz about what we are doing!

If you're interested in finding out more about our tours of East Lothian and the Borders, visit our main website for more details. We're only minutes from Edinburgh and it is very easy to combine our tours with a trip to the city's International Festival.

Please feel free to visit the site and check out the other cycling holidays on offer in other parts of the UK.

A detailed look at our routes - Beach Bum

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This bike tour takes us to some of the finest, hidden beaches in the country. Our knowledge of the area means that we can introduce people to quiet sandy coves with a stunning outlook over the Firth of Forth.

We journey east, along the coast away from North Berwick towards our first stop - Seacliff beach. This has a hidden harbour at one end of the bay, used by the owners for lobster fishing now, but once perhaps a landing spot for smugglers. The beach is one of the less well known in the area but has a cracking view of the Bass Rock and beautiful yellow sands.

Next we head further along the coast, following deserted farm lanes to a local gem - Tyninghame Beach. This is perhaps the most beautiful of all the settings we visit, and also the quietest. It is relatively inaccessible to cars and therefore is a perfect spot to get away from the buzz of modern life.

Heading inland, we stop at an excellent village cafe for complimentary refreshments and lunch. Finally we cruise on to Yellowcraig Beach, a busier bay but a great bathing spot - the perfect way to cool down and reward yourself for your efforts. North Berwick is then only a 10 or 15 minute ride home.

This is the full day programme of the Beach Bum tour and is designed to take around 6 hours. It is rated as an easy tour and is mostly very flat. We stick to traffic-less farm lanes or quiet country roads for the duration.

A half day Beach Bum tour is also available, which takes in 2 of the 3 beaches and is designed to take around 3 hours.

Please see our main website for prices and booking details.

Alasdair

www.2wheel-tours.com

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New Tour!

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We're delighted to announce the addition of a new tour to our roster - The Whisky Trail.

This is a tour we have only recently surveyed, but is sure to be one of our most popular routes. It takes in views of Edinburgh, the Lammermuir Hills and the distant shores of Fife, across the waters of the Forth. The trail is mostly very flat and easy going, with only a few minor uphill sections to tackle.

Our destination is the famous local distillery of Glenkinchie, which produces a fine single malt whisky. Once there, tour members can spend some time in the visitor centre and find out about the process involved in creating Scotland's national drink. There will even be the opportunity to purchase your own bottle as a souvenir and have it meet you back at our office!

Full details of this, and the rest of our tours are published on our main site.

http://www.2wheel-tours.com

Summer Cycle School

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Monday not only saw the launch of our cycle tours, but also the Aberlady Summer Cycle School. For the next two weeks, from Monday to Wednesday (11.00 - 12.30) we will be running a cycle skills course, accredited by British Cycling.

This is based on the Go-Ride programme, and is designed to give beginner and intermediate cyclists the confidence and skills to be able to ride safely on and off the road.

We had a great first session today at Aberlady Sea Green and hope to see more kids there in future. Hopefully we'll continue to be as lucky with the weather as we were today - only Alasdair (the coach) got wet at the end of the session!

We also plan to run a cycle school in Gullane and North Berwick towards the end of the school holidays - more details to come.

Our coaches are fully Disclosure checked and presently hold the British Cycling Level 2 Trainee Coach qualification.

Get in touch if you're interested. You never know, you may have a budding Chris Hoy sitting at home just waiting to be discovered!

info@2wheel-tours.com

Official Opening!

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2 Wheel Tours officially opens for business on Monday the 6th of July!

It's taken months of planning, but we are now able to start taking people out on our bikes around this stunning part of Scotland. East Lothian's beaches, castles and countryside are best seen from the saddle and we have the guides, maps and bikes to help you discover it.


To celebrate we are offering a 20% discount on all tours for our first week of trading. That's 20% off everything from Monday the 6th of July to Monday the 13th of July!

If you have been staying in or around North Berwick, you may have seen our signs or cars pop up in the last week. Our website has also now gone live and we are about to be listed on the Visit Scotland website. We will be distributing leaflets about this offer throughout the area in the next week.

John and I have been spending the last week researching routes for our holiday tours, and will soon be able to offer short breaks in East Lothian and the Borders, as well as an epic Coast to Coast trip following the route of the Southern Upland Way. More details will be available on the website in the next two weeks.

2 Wheel Tours are also organising Summer Cycle Schools in the county and will be promoting these in the next few weeks. Although these will initially be focused on providing tuition to children, we will be offering group lessons to adults in the near future.

If you have any enquiries about anything mentioned in this post, or wish to book a tour, feel free to contact us on info@2wheel-tours.com or check our site at www.2wheel-tours.com.