Celebrating 30 Years Of Skedaddle!

Chile is where the idea of Skedaddle was born back in 1994 so of course we have a cycling adventure in Chile in our selection of Skedaddle Classics! We’ve been running cycling holidays in Chile for three decades now but this particular holiday, the Carretera Austral, was actually created five years ago. Our founders described it as “like being re-acquainted with a dear friend.”

Skedaddle founders Paul and Andrew (aka Straws) had always dreamed of running a cycling holiday in this region of Patagonia but for a long time the logistics proved too tricky, and the roads were unrideable in places. Following improvements and some clever route finding from our local guide Ernesto, we’ve removed the need for too many transfers and now have a magical and unique tour that feels like a proper cycling adventure. In this remote part of the world there are few tourists and the communities in the small villages we stay in are always welcoming and inquisitive. The Carretera Austral really is a once-in-a-lifetime trip!

With a rich cycling history and epic mountains, Colombia had been on David’s radar for a number of years before he first headed out in 2010. David met with a local guide called Tomas and together they created an itinerary that has made Colombia one of our bestselling road cycling holiday. Our first trip ran in 2011. Not only was a group of foreign cyclists travelling through Colombia considered pioneering, because the route takes in some very remote Andean towns and villages, in many places it seemed that David and Tomas were leading the first groups of foreign tourists ever to visit. Certainly, they were the first to do it on bikes.

David recalled “We used to go to this town down in the lowlands – one morning, I got the message that the police wanted to see us. I went outside, and the local police chief was waiting for me with his entourage and a translator. They’d put up a small stage from where the guy was preparing to make a presentation, saying that he was there to thank us for visiting Colombia, especially his city, and that we were the first group of foreigners to have done that. He was delighted that we were there, he gave everybody a gift and he asked us to go home and be ambassadors for Colombia – and as you know by now, we’ve done just that!”

Skedaddle’s roots are in mountain biking but prior to 1999 we didn’t have a mountain biking trip in Scotland. Steve wanted to create something unique – a classic wilderness adventure. He and another guide, Ian, spent days bike-packing in the wildest parts of the Highlands route finding because there was no Strava or Trailforks back in the late nineties!

Steve recalled “To help us, we used the maps dating back to 1800 that showed the paths drovers (that’s someone who herds sheep or cattle) created, alongside General Wade’s Military Roads.”

The final route is a coast-to-coast journey from west to east that takes you deep into the heart of the Scottish Highlands with a delightful mix of singletrack, ancient drove roads and rolling forest trails. The Highlands Coast to Coast is as popular today as it was when we first launched it. Steve has guided more than 40 trips and it must be good because regular Skedaddler, Jim, has mountain biked the Highlands Coast to Coast 13 times!

The C2C is a 30 year old route that started out as an idea in the early nineties by Walk Wheel Cycle Trust (formerly Sustrans) founder, John Grimshaw, who was looking for a way to connect old railway paths in Cumbria and Consett. Using sections of the National Cycle Network (which also turned 30 this year!) you’ll traverse the north of England from west to east through some of the most wild and unspoilt areas of the Lake District and North Pennines before finishing on the coast at Tynemouth. Skedaddle has been running tours of the C2C for more than 20 years and it’s still one of our most popular leisure cycling holidays today. It’s a fun challenge and we love the fact that the route rides right past our front door on the Quayside in Newcastle!

In support of Walk Wheel Cycle Trust and our incredible National Cycle Network we set up a special partnership that has been running since 2010 – we donate 5p for every mile that one of our customers rides on the NCN on one of our tours. Combined with customer donations, we’ve helped to raise £62,000 for Walk Wheel Cycle Trust and the C2C has undoubtedly been our biggest contributor.

France is the spiritual home of cycling and host of the world’s first professional cycling race, Le Tour de France. We can’t think of a better way to traverse the country’s beautiful and varied landscapes than by bike. When Skedaddle guides Hannah and John set out to create their road cycling epic from the Channel to the Med, they may not have realised just how popular it would become, but with a route that winds through lush landscapes, past vineyards and criss-crosses legendary sections of Le Tour before finishing on the glamorous French Riviera, it’s easy to see why St Malo to Nice has become a Skedaddle classic!

According to Hannah “Your bicycle and your journey will open up many conversations, often in surprising quarters, the surly bar tender can suddenly erupt into smiles and questions once you reveal you have cycled to his bar all the way from St Malo! Your bike will be treated as an honoured guest. In Chateauneuf-du-Pape we have even been invited to store our bikes in a wine cellar amongst the finest vintages!”

Our very first Skedaddle Italia holiday created almost 25 years ago! Head of Skedaddle Italia, Naomi, hails from Sardinia so unsurprisingly she knows exactly where to find all the best biking trails. Our Coast to Coast mountain biking route has needed little alteration over the years – it’s a cross-country classic that has stood the test of time.

Far from busy coastal regions of north-east Sardinia, our journey begins on the peaceful west coast and heads east, deep into the lush green heart of this Mediterranean paradise to uncover remote mountain trails. Stopping in authentic agriturismos along the way, your ride is fuelled by delicious homemade food and after 6 days of beautiful and fun-filled riding you’ll find yourself on the coast of Bari Sardo, sipping wine and watching the stars shine over the Med.

This holiday has so many things that are the essence of Skedaddle – an epic place to place journey through incredible mountain scenery with lashings of culture, history and mouthwatering cuisine along the way. It’s no wonder Bilbao to Barcelona has become our most popular Spanish road cycling holiday since it was first created by head of Skedaddle Espana, Dan, more than 10 years ago.

In Dan’s words “It’s a beautiful and rich journey! We start at the Atlantic and finish on the Med, and we’re in the shadow of the majestic Pyrenees through the whole journey. It’s not a famous cycling area, it’s more about the journey, changing landscapes and cultures. I love the variety of provinces! Each of them has strong identities – Basque Country, Navarre, Aragon and then Catalonia. Basque Country and Navarre are northern provinces that are quite different from the south; and then we enter Aragon and you’re in ‘real Spain’, the heartland with castles and medieval villages everywhere; Catalonia doesn’t feel like Spain at all with its own language and culture – and on this journey, you get to know them all which is fantastic.”

Riding the length of the UK is a bucket-list challenge for many cyclists. There isn’t a set route or timeframe for becoming an ‘End-to-Ender’ and over the years we’ve crafted several versions of LEJOG that we hope will encourage more people than ever to enjoy this iconic journey. Cyclists traditionally complete the route in two weeks which strikes a balance between being an achievable yet challenging ride. Our route avoids busy roads to take you through some of the most scenic parts of England, Wales and Scotland. We introduced the three-week version to allow people to enjoy the journey at a more leisurely pace and in 2025 we introduced a brand new LEJOG by e-bike holiday.

We love that LEJOG brings together riders from all walks of life, from teenagers to octogenarians, paralympic riders on hand cycles, tandem cyclists and more!

Skedaddler Richard said “This was my 4th trip doing LEJOG (first with Skedaddle) and it was most definitely the best route by far.”

In our 30th anniversary year we’re bringing back a Skedaddle road cycling classic – the Route des Grandes Alpes. This was one of the first road cycling holidays in our range when David Hall first joined the team and introduced Skedaddle to road cycling back in 2005.

Route des Grandes Alpes is a spectacular mountain journey from the shores of Lac Léman (Lake Geneva), crossing one of the most famous mountain ranges in professional cycling, before finishing in Nice on the Côte d‘Azur. David Hall said what makes this tour special is “The chance to ride across one of the most dramatic mountain ranges in the world, ticking off Tour de France classics every day. We’ve created an itinerary that makes it a manageable and enjoyable challenge – though make no mistake this is still our toughest cycling holiday in the Skedaddle range!”

We introduced Gravel Riding to our range in 2023 so you may be wondering why is one of our Gravel holidays considered a ‘Skedaddle Classic’? The Ruta de la Plata was, in the early days of Skedaddle, a cross country mountain biking holiday but as the bike tech evolved we looked to more challenging trails. The growing interest in gravel bikes makes the Ruta de la Plata the perfect re-addition to our range as we re-kindle our love for old school off-road riding.

If gravel riding is all about adventure and heading off into the wilderness than the Ruta de la Plata has to be up there as one of the best experiences you can have on drop bars and knobbly tyres. As one of the many Camino de Santiago routes, it’s an ancient pilgrim and trading route that takes you along 1000Km of trails through some of Spain’s least populated areas, the province of Extremadura.

Our iconic Atlas to Desert trip was conceived over 20 years ago when Skedaddle guide Charlie packed his bike in the boot of a battered Mercedes taxi and headed for the highest pass in the Atlas Mountains in Morocco. From there he rode a staggering, other-worldly off-road route down the “Valley of a Thousand Kasbahs”, that launched his own mountain biking company and created an overnight success with Skedaddle.

Down the years, a few tweaks have been made to the route – it’s now a cycling adventure rather than a mountain biking holiday – but the idea remains the same. To ride through a dramatic, ever-changing scenery from the highest mountains in North Africa to the Sahara Desert, giving adventurous folks an immersion into parts of Morocco that most visitors never see. Boutique guesthouses lost in desert kasbahs, camping on wild plateau and a fantastic overnight in a camp in the dunes of the Sahara combine with great effect to make this one of Skedaddle’s all time favourites!

You might call Costa de la Luz a ‘new classic’ destination – we launched two relaxing holidays exploring Spain’s ‘coast of light’ last year and added guided tours for 2026 after they proved hugely popular. The Costa de la Luz is a stone’s throw from our Espana office in Tarifa, which has been our casa for more than two decades. As you might imagine, we know a few good spots in this area to go cycling!

The Costa de la Luz sits on the west coast – opposite to the Costa de la Sol on the east. It still benefits from plentiful Andalucian sun, but you’ll also enjoy a gentle coastal breeze and far fewer holidaymakers here. In addition to the gorgeous coastal riding, you’ll have the chance to explore historic cities, taste mouthwatering cuisine and immerse yourself in the vibrant Andalucian culture – all the hallmarks of an amazing Skedaddle holiday. We’re not the only ones who think this region is an incredible travel destination; the magnificent coastal city of Cadiz was named as one of the Lonely Planet’s top 25 destinations to visit in 2026!

Our partnership with Antonio and Wendy in Portugal dates back well over 20 years. Our mountain biking holidays in Portugal proved popular for many years so, in 2013, we thought that a more relaxing leisure cycling holiday would be an excellent addition to the range.

Azure Ocean Ride is a beautiful coastal journey between two incredible cities – Porto and Lisbon. Cycling along country lanes and cycle paths from north to south, you’ll visit numerous golden beaches, traditional fishing villages and historic towns. Skedaddlers tell us that the combination of beautiful ocean views, warm hospitality, outstanding level of support from the team, wonderful accommodation and delicious fresh food makes this a dream leisure cycling holiday. No wonder it’s still one of our most popular leisure cycling holidays today!