Martha Pomares is an incredible athlete. When I first showed her some options for cycling trips to Europe, she wanted to string together the Pyrenees, Dolomites and Alps one right after the other.
Many Americans would look at the trips based on not too much effort, lots of European ambiance, great restaurants and luxury hotels. But not Martha. The more climbing, the better.
She started cycling as a kid in Littleton, Colorado where her father was an avid cyclist. Her older brother got a fancy French ten speed bike in high school and the seeds were sown. She got her first bike, a 5 speed Schwinn at age 12 and went everywhere on it. Back then cycling clothes consisted of cut-off shorts and t-shirts. Now she’s on a custom magnesium Paketa bike.
Her first cycling trips included Pedal the Peaks in Colorado and New Mexico and then Heart Cycles’ Pedal the Peaks in the Colorado Rockies and California. She loved the scenery and the climbing, the sounds and the smells you can absorb from a bike seat that you don’t from inside a car. During those rides she was exposed to racing and got into doing some of that with the Women on Wheels team.
She’d always wanted to go to Europe and had a fascination with the Pyrenees. Back in 1997 there weren’t very many companies offering bike trips from the US to Europe. She did her research and at the time found one that offered the most miles per day for the least cost with decent accommodations and they offered their first trip to the Pyrenees at that time as well.
She especially likes how people respond to her on the bike in Europe.
Another inspiration from her dad came at the end of his life when he said he’d wished he’d gone to Europe but never made it. That made her realize that you don’t know how much time you have. The chances that you’ll ride the Pyrenees or Dolomites after you retire at 70 are unlikely. She’s glad she was able to do that while she was at her strongest. (She’s just in her early 50s now.)
Some of the people from the earlier trips began organizing their own. With less people on a trip, they had the opportunity to stay at some pensiones or family-run bed and breakfasts where you really get a feel for the people and the area. One out of the way place had a most memorable meal. It turned out the chef had worked in the US and was amazing. Another place was near Mont Ventoux and the best meal of her life! Some people on the trips took pictures of all their meals. When she first started going she wrote down every meal, everything she ate but decided that was kind of crazy.
In the Pyrenees it seems that each valley is like a different culture from the next. She’s ridden many of the same roads the Tour de France rides but also many others that the race doesn’t. She loves that they’re climbing every day. The different “cultures” in each Pyrenees valley (as well as many other regions in France) each have their local cheeses, wines, breads, specialties. Each day is the same but different.
More often nowadays they rent a villa somewhere and ride the region for a week and then go to a different region rather than riding point A to point B every day. It’s a little less exhausting not having to transfer everything every day. A two week trip is ideal. It’s enough time to get acclimated and you don’t feel like you have to race back home just when you’re getting going.
The closeness of the different countries is great. Andorra, Switzerland, Italy, Austria, France, Spain- they’re so close but yet so different. Her trips have included the Pyrenees, the French Alps, Switzerland, the Dolomites, western Austria, Mallorca and Liguria. The Vercours south of Grenoble was a hidden gem and the locals were curious as to how Americans found it! It’s on the northern edge of the Massif Central which in itself is non-stop hilly. She’d like to see the Czech Republic, Sardinia and so many other places.
She’s been lucky on her trips-her bike and belongings have always shown up and she hasn’t crashed or had any health problems. That makes for smooth sailing.
Every place she’s been is somewhere she’d like to go again. The scenery is just so amazing.
Back to food: One especially long day on the bike ended in a little bit bigger town. She went to the local patisserie and bought a box of about a dozen beautiful pastries. She went back to her hotel room and powered down all of them one right after the other. 
On a trip to Paris which was supposed to be a non-cycling trip, she ended up renting a bike and cruising all over Paris. It was a great way to see the city.
One note for people interested in going on a bike trip in Europe is to be flexible. She recommends respecting the people and their culture and try to speak a little of the language. She didn’t know a word of French on her first trip and has come a long way since then.
Have a sense of adventure and get away from the group to see things on your own a bit. The places to go and things to see are just endless. It just depends on how much time and money you have…
