Cycling Holidays in Europe

Get off the beaten track and see how ordinary people in Sri Lanka live, yet still visit many of the well-known tourist sights.

John Mitchell Cycle the Back Roads of Sri Lanka

The accommodation we stayed in was of a high standard and the different parts we saw of Sri Lanka were very varied and I feel we saw so much of this special country during this trip.

The food was absolutely outstanding on this trip and we went to some amazing off the beaten track restaurants. One of our favorites was the ladies who cooked the vegetable curries, the dinner at a locals house, and another was the buffet at the old colonial hotel, you may burn 2000 calories cycling but you will eat 3000 calories of amazing food if you want too. Suresh has a saying ‘do maximum damage’ at the buffet and that we did! wait till you try the egg hoppers you will be hooked!

A bit of detail about the cycling: my husband and i were the youngest on the trip at 44 and 52 but we decided to go for the e bikes as it was our first cycle holiday. I highly recommend this option, whilst we had a good level of fitness, and I had trained for this trip doing 100km cycles. Even though we had done level 4 graded Exodus hiking trips before,we wanted to make sure we enjoyed the big climb days and did not slow everyone down, not that it is ever an issue with a lovely exodus group! We also didn’t know if everyone would be super amazing club cyclists and we would be the slow ones, but we had a complete mix of lovely people and we didn’t have anything to worry about. We have just booked our next Exodus cycle trip and have gone for normal bikes.

We had the e bikes turned off most of the time and actually felt after a couple of days we should of gone for normal bikes but it did mean we could enjoy the big climbs and not worry at all, but the van is close behind you on those days and very easy to jump into, so if you are worried you are not fit enough for this trip or not a super keen cyclist i highly recommend going for the ebike option as the trip is definitely worth it and an amazing experience, the ebikes were a very good standard and brand new. At the time of the trip I was a modest cyclist and cycled mainly during the summer months at home, I did properly train for the trip and made sure i had done the 100km distance on a few occasions but this was just to give myself confidence and I just wanted to make sue i was well prepared, don’t think you have to do a lot of training for this trip, the pace is good and no one was ever left behind, it is a level 4 so you do need some fitness but with a good level of fitness you could do it, if you are worried definitely go for the e bike option.

I would agree with some of the other comments that it wasn’t aways back roads and sometimes the traffic was crazy but we always felt safe with Suresh at the front another guide at the back and the bike mechanics were often following us, i really cant thank the whole crew enough just an amazing team who were brilliant and everything was seamless.

It can be hot and I recommend bringing some electrolytes with you, the crew carry more water and food than you could ever need so nothing to worry about there. Have cold gear for the mountains in the evening as it does get cold.

I felt there was also a good amount of things organised outside of the cycling and it felt we always had plenty of things organised in and out of the saddle, the tea plantation visits were amazing also the jewelry factory, the visit to the gardens in Kandy also really great mix of things to see and do outside of the saddle. Finishing the trip at the beach was fabulous as well, there are so many different sides to Sri Lanka I felt we saw them all.

We had a totally amazing group of people in the group who shared this adventure with us, and we all got on so well it was wonderful to get to know them all, we have always had great groups with Exodus. but this was the best group yet, so thank you also to all of them who made the trip so memorable.

Sara Mitchell Cycle the Back Roads of Sri Lanka

We added this trip as an extension to the Discover Sri Lanka trip which was fabulous and we highly recommend. Unfortunately
this trip for us fell far short of the standard we have come to expect from Exodus. I write this as a qualified ride leader with over 40 years of experience in bike maintenance.

Our bikes had multiple problems including excessive play in the rear wheel, unreliable gears, poorly adjusted headsets and badly set up brakes all which affected bike handling and created unnecessary risk. Having discussed this with Exodus they have assured us that changes will be made to the servicing of the bikes and that the ride leader will test ride every bike before handing it to a client.

Generally it is easy cycling on flat roads with a few minor hills on the last day. A lot of the roads are fairly busy, the Indian drivers like to toot so you know they are there, so it is also very noisy. The backwater roads are lovely but views of the sea can be limited because of the coastal defences. There is also a lot of litter and some unwelcome smells due to the lack of sanitation. The locals are generally very welcoming and friendly, plenty of smiles particularly from the children.

Linda Hamilton Cycle the Coast of Kerala