Lucy Claire is a recreational Australian cyclist who occasionally battles around the Akuna Bay loop on Sydney's North Shore. Depending on the route, that's a 40-kilometre ride with about 1,000 metres of elevation gain.

You might think a recreational rider like Lucy has no business tackling the Tian Shan Mountains in Kyrgyzstan, where the highest peak rises 7,439 metres into the sky.

And not just because of the altitude.

Kyrgyzstan is about as far culturally and geographically from Australia as you can get. The Central Asian country features vast, empty expanses of mountains, plains, and river canyons. Oh, and let's not forget the yurt tents and big pots of boiled horse for dinner.

The reality is that, whether or not Lucy had any business tackling the Tian Shan mountains, tackle them she did, as part of a week-long cycling trip organised by a local group called Bike Tours Kyrgyzstan.

(All the photos accompanying this article were taken by Lucy in Kyrgyzstan.)

“If you’re looking for a good example of someone who’s not a proper cyclist, that's me,” Lucy told CycleHub.

“But if anyone were to ask me now if they should do a trip like this, I would tell them to absolutely go for it. I was travelling in Europe and Asia for seven weeks, and the seven days I spent on the bike tour were by far the highlight.”

For Lucy, having the bus as a safety net at all times made it easier to keep going on those tough climbs. She was also glad to be part of a group.

“One of the stronger cyclists would cycle back and ride with me up the steepest parts. Having people there to share the experience enhanced it for me,” she said.

The worst part of the trip for Lucy wasn't the deep gradients or the corrugated gravel roads, but the drop toilets. We won't go into detail, but suffice to say they were not pretty

“I would definitely go for another cycling trip,” Lucy summed up. The trip made me realise one of my favourite ways to explore is by bike.”

The One Thing You Must Know

Going overseas for a bike trip is a dream for many, but only a handful, like Lucy, act on it. CycleHub wants you to make the leap from dreamer to doer. Later in the article, we'll share some resources where you can learn more or even sign up for a trip. And note that this is not a sponsored article, and we receive no payment from anyone mentioned in this article.

We just want you to have a better life, and we believe cycling is the best way to do that.

And you don't have to go to Kyrgyzstan or even Central Asia. Whether you want ancient ruins or wine country, tropical jungles or cross-desert treks, modern cities or developing countries, there's a trip for you.

One Aussie traveller, Mike Brown, told CycleHub about his cycling trip to Colombia. The country's reputation as a drug-trafficking haven made him nervous ahead of time.

“It turns out I had nothing to fear,” he said. Colombia was full of friendly and welcoming people. Even the hills are very achievable for a Mike who isn't a hardcore rider.

Mike isn't the only cyclist who has gone overseas full of trepidation and ended up having the time of their lives. Mike enjoyed it so much that he has now done three overseas cycling trips.

Just as he discovered, the most important thing you need to know about overseas cycling trips is that they are more manageable than you think.

It's easy to find a tour that requires you to ride no more than 30 to 60 kilometres per day. And in many cases, you can ride an e-bike, which makes cycling trips achievable by just about anyone who can stay upright.

If you need a rest day, most beginner trips include a support van you can ride in for air-conditioned comfort.

As to why do it, let's hear from Valerio Stuart. He is a seasoned bikepacker who can give you a taste of what it's like to be on a bike trip. Valerio reminisces about struggling along a steep stretch of trail in Morocco, too focused on the effort to pay much attention to the surroundings.

Then, he finally stopped to look around. His eyes took in the sheer walls of a gorge. The roar of the river met his ears. And above, there was a thin strip of blue sky.

"I’d never been anywhere so beautiful," wrote this veteran traveller. As dusk fell and he rode into a village, the air filled with the echoing sound of evening prayers. Valerio found Morocco a wild and beautiful place.

When he was back home, as other memories of the trip blurred, the human moments remained sharp.

“The café owner sharing his tajine,” he said. “The men cheering at the top of the pass, the generosity of people who have so little yet are always ready with a smile, a bed or a meal.”

The Minimum Requirements

Most experts agree that the minimum requirement to enjoy an overseas bike trip is being able to comfortably ride 40 kilometres at home. If you can do that, most entry-level overseas tours are achievable.

If you choose to ride an e-bike, you can reduce that distance even further.

Remember that bike touring is not like normal riding with your cycling buddies. Touring riders tend to take their time and stop for photos, coffee, and meals. Rather than pushing through 60 kilometres in one go, you might do it over six or eight hours, with lots of rests in between.

On a bike tour, you get to ride at a pace that feels "infinitely" sustainable, as Reddit user MondaytoFriday put it. You might be surprised at the distance that you can cover. At a leisurely jogging pace of 12.5 kilometres per hour, you’ll easily cover 100 km in eight hours of riding.

Fitness does matter, but the biggest thing holding you back from having the time of your life on an overseas cycling trip is the voice inside your head.

Overseas cycling trips are holidays that just about anyone can handle. If you read CycleHub’s article on Australian cycling influencer Josh Kwan, you know that taking his wife on a beautiful ebike trip across the islands of Japan’s Inland Sea was the secret to getting her to fall in love with cycling.

Now she's crushing 100 km days with him almost every weekend.

Where to Book an Overseas Cycling Trip

At Cycle Hub, we're not being paid by anyone mentioned in this article, and we encourage you to do your research and choose the trip that's best for you.

Seven- to ten-day guided cycling trips generally range from AUD $2,000 to $5,000 or more, depending on location and inclusions. You can go luxury and pay more, or go budget and pay less.

A two-week trip across Greece, for example, costs €6,300, which is approximately $10,500. In Cambodia, a seven-day trip is priced at a more affordable $2,765, bike rental included.

There are even groups that will organise your itinerary and lodging for you while letting you lead your own trip, without the expense of a guide.

Just keep in mind that the prices do not include flights.

Below, we've curated a list of exceptional tour operators from around the world to give you a starting point:

• Bike Odyssey: Point-to-point cycling adventures across Europe and South America, known for unique itineraries and exceptional guides.
• Bike Tours Kyrgyzstan: This is the group that organised Lucy’s trip. Local specialists offering fully supported cycling expeditions through Kyrgyzstan's dramatic Tian Shan mountain landscapes.
• Duvine: Luxury small-group cycling tours through Europe and Latin America, with a strong focus on food, wine, and high-end accommodation.
• Escape Adventures: A New Zealand-based operator running culturally immersive cycling tours across Africa, South America, and the Asia-Pacific.
• Exodus Adventure Travels: A well-established global adventure travel company offering cycling holidays across dozens of destinations for a wide range of fitness levels.
• Experience Plus: Guided and self-guided touring across Europe and beyond, led by local experts who specialise in quiet roads and hidden gems.
• Explore!: A global small-group adventure operator with cycling tours spanning destinations from Asia to the Americas.
• Intrepid Travel: One of the world's most popular small-group adventure travel companies, with cycling trips for all abilities across Asia, Europe, and beyond.
• Ride and Seek: An Australian-founded operator specialising in historically themed epic cycling journeys across Europe, Australia, and South America.
• Ride International Tours: Guided cycling tours through some of the world's most spectacular and remote destinations, with strong logistical support.
• Spice Roads: A Bangkok-based specialist offering cycling tours across Southeast Asia, Central Asia, Europe, and Africa, with trips for all experience levels.
• UTracks: A popular choice for Australian and Kiwi travellers, offering self-guided and guided cycling tours across Europe and beyond.
• Wilderness England: Guided and self-guided cycling holidays through England's most scenic landscapes, including the Yorkshire Dales, Lake District, and Cotswolds.
• World Expeditions: An Australian adventure travel pioneer offering supported cycling journeys across remote and iconic destinations worldwide.

How to train for an overseas cycling trip

We're not cycling coaches at CycleHub.com.au, so we consulted with the best resources we could find to put together these training tips for your overseas cycling trip.

Once again, all the data says that most riders overestimate the fitness required. A guided cycling tour is not a race. It is a staged, supported, paced experience designed to get ordinary riders across extraordinary terrain.

Here’s how the experts say you should prepare:

1. Train for repeat days

Your cycling tour will involve riding day after day. It will help if, during your training, you ride several days in a row. Ride two or three times midweek. Add one longer ride on the weekend. Then, occasionally, ride two days in a row. This will teach your legs to recover and help you build durability rather than peak power.

A steady, endurance-focused aerobic base will carry you further than short, sharp intensity sessions.

2. Understand the daily distances

Most guided tours average 30 to 60 kilometres per day, spread across six to eight hours. Make sure you know in advance the distances your trip will require you to ride and train appropriately.

Remember that, even if you go no faster than 12.5 kilometres per hour, you'll still achieve 100 km in an 8-hour day.

That kind of speed is infinitely doable.

3. Match your training to the terrain

In addition to distance, elevation will help determine how challenging your tour will be.

Look at daily climbing totals for the trip you hope to take. If the tour averages more than 500 metres of gain, you'll need to prepare by finding hills at home or prepping on an indoor trainer.

As you climb, stay seated, control your cadence, and learn what pace is most comfortable for you. You've got this.

4. Sort your bike early

If you're taking your own bike, make sure you've prepped it well in advance. Don't change your gear at the last moment, just before departure, especially your saddle, shoes, or bars.

If that new saddle proves to be less comfortable than you expect, that small annoyance could become a major pain by the end of a week of riding.

Make sure you have time to test your setup on your longer rides. Fix up your bike by replacing worn tyres and chains.

5. Learn how you like to fuel on your rides

Undoubtedly, your bike trip will involve trying new foods and drinks. Horse meat in Kyrgyzstan, camembert in France, and borscht in Ukraine. To maximise your comfort while riding, make sure you know what you like to eat to fuel your pedalling and bring a sufficient supply with you.

6. Benchmark Your Fitness

Unless you're using an e-bike, the threshold you need to aim for is comfortably covering 40 kilometres per ride. That fitness level will make most entry-level overseas tours achievable and enjoyable.

That is the threshold. If you're not regularly doing 40 kilometres, test yourself on this distance at least two months before your trip and try to increase your ride distance so you cover 40 kilometres more often.

Remember that you do not need to be a hundred per cent confident. Most people will wonder if they're really ready for a week-long cycling trip overseas.

Yet, if you've prepared your base fitness, you should be fine. These tours are designed to help riders succeed and have a great time.

The One Really Important Thing

In conclusion, let's think again about what is really important for a successful trip. Is it your power output or how much you paid for your bicycle?

No, I don't think it is.

The difference between the rider who goes on a life-changing overseas cycling holiday and the one who doesn’t is not VO₂ max. It's the willingness to try something intimidating.

I encourage you to do that and to let us at CycleHub know how it goes.

Happy trails.