As cycling increases in popularity within the North American travel market, consumers are demanding more, like electric bike options, unexpected destinations, and customized and family experiences. Saddle Skedaddle, experts on worldwide cycling tours celebrating 25 years of experience in 2020, has announced its key travel predictions based on biking booking behaviours ahead of the new year.

Paul Snedker, co-founder and director of Saddle Skedaddle, observes, “Finally, it’s no longer just hard-core cyclists who are looking at bike vacations. Travellers are seeing the access of exploring the world on two-wheels, and it’s changing the direction of cycling tours as we head into the next decade.”

And Saddle Skedaddle has picked four top cycling trends to watch in 2020:

Going electric: The great “e-qualizer” — In 2020, electric bikes will dominate the cycling travel stage. One bonus of a cycling tour is its low carbon emissions, but the downside is many people don’t feel they have the physical strength or endurance to cycle every day, tackle varying terrain or bike great distances. Thanks to electric bikes, that’s all changing as more people can choose itineraries and trails otherwise out of reach, without worrying about keeping up. Responding to strong client demand, Saddle Skedaddle currently offers nearly 50 self-guided electric bike trips and 23 guided electric bike trips, including several to far-flung destinations including Vietnam, China, and Chile.
Tailor-made family heritage — As travellers focus more on cycling tours as a way to explore unexpected destinations while making a low impact on the environment, there is an ever-increasing appetite for customized bike trips that allow groups to bond and explore. One particular area of growth for Saddle Skedaddle has been tailor-made itineraries that trace a family heritage, as genealogy tests like 23andMe have become more mainstream.
Wheeling into unexpected destinations — North Americans are craving new, adventurous trails to explore on two wheels. As such, Saddle Skedaddle is celebrating its 25th anniversary in 2020 with the launch of a new collection of adventure tours. “They want cycling safaris in South Africa. They want to explore Colombia’s Caribbean coast. They want cycling to enhance their travel experience, not the other way around,” Snedker says. Answering this demand, Saddle Skedaddle is now offering remote camping under the stars in the Simien mountains on the only international cycling tour in Ethiopia; being among the first to explore more than eight miles of verdant jungle and bike trails in Jordan’s Ajloun Forest Reserve; and a family-focused itinerary through Borneo.
Family-sized itineraries (toddlers included) — It’s no longer just empty-nesters – family cycling travel continues to explode in popularity. In 2020, more families of all ages, including those with young kids, will be hitting the trail together. Saddle Skedaddle has been offering family tours since 2014, and have seen interest-level sky-rocket lately. Saddle Skedaddle welcomes kids as young as two on its family holidays (which range from exploring Viking history on the Lofoten Islands of Norway to zip-lining and camping through the Moroccan desert) and rents bike trailers, tag a longs and kids’ bikes so the whole family can keep up at their own pace.

For more, pedal on over to www.skedaddle.com/us.