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Bike Butlers coming to cycling tours in Scottish Highlands

Hire your very own 'domestique' for four- or five-day tours ... at a price...

A new service called Bike Butlers puts a new spin on the cycling term 'domestique' by  aiming to give people who want to tour the Scottish Highlands on two wheels a five-star service – but unsurprisingly, it comes with a hefty price tag.

It’s fair to say that if you are someone who begrudges paying £50 or so to enter a sportive when you can ride those roads whenever you want for free, this isn’t aimed at you.

But the fact that one of the tours starts at Gleneagles, which in 2008 hosted the G8 summit and, two years ago, the 40th Ryder Cup in golf, gives you an idea that this service isn't pitched at your average weekend cyclist.

And certainly the way the pound has gone in recent months may make it an appealing option to wealthy foreign visitors looking to add some cycling to a longer trip to Scotland.

The tours will see Bike Butlers follow riders in a vehicle, organising refreshments, and you can also climb in if your legs get too tired.

They'll also roll up their sleeves to perform roadside servicing and repairs if needed.

On its four- or five-night tours, accommodation is also provided in luxury resorts such as Cameron House on the banks of Loch Lomond and the Old Course Hotel Golf Resort & Spa at St Andrews.

The initiative is a collaboration between Connoisseurs Scotland and cycling specialists The Carter Company, with the cost including the hire of bikes from top brands.

Connoisseurs Scotland chief executive Jeremy Hawkings says: “We’ve gone the extra mile to ensure visitors get the most out of a cycling experience in Scotland.

“The beautiful routes, combined with stays at some of the finest hotels in Scotland and excellent quality cycling equipment including luxury bicycles, such as Cervelos and De Rosa, promise an unforgettable and enjoyable Scottish adventure.”

Prices for the four-night Highland Fling Tour begin at £1,570 per person, based on two people sharing, with a further £3,843 charged (in total) if you want the services of a Bike Butler.

The five-night Scotland’s Grand Tour trip costs from £2,305 per person – and despite the extra night, the services of a Bike Butler start at a more reasonable £2,975.

You can find information about both tours here.

Simon joined road.cc as news editor in 2009 and is now the site’s community editor, acting as a link between the team producing the content and our readers. A law and languages graduate, published translator and former retail analyst, he has reported on issues as diverse as cycling-related court cases, anti-doping investigations, the latest developments in the bike industry and the sport’s biggest races. Now back in London full-time after 15 years living in Oxford and Cambridge, he loves cycling along the Thames but misses having his former riding buddy, Elodie the miniature schnauzer, in the basket in front of him.

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8 comments

Avatar
handlebarcam | 7 years ago
0 likes

This kind of conspicuous consumption used to be amusing, but since greed got so bad that even stupid people have realized they're being screwed, it has led to some disastrous outcomes (e.g. Brexit, Donald Trump possibly becoming President.)

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VeloPeo | 7 years ago
0 likes

Bloody hell - those prices are ridiculous. Not trying to get a free plug, so not mentioning the name of our place, but something similar, including supported riding and food in the evening for 2 people at our cycling B&B in South Wales would come in at around £800 for 4 days, cheaper if there was a group of you.

Admittedly we're not a 5* hotel but are they really expecting to get takers at £1500-2000 each for 4 or 5 days? Good luck to them if they can

Avatar
Stef Marazzi | 7 years ago
0 likes

Wow. I'll do it for a grand all in.

Avatar
Dnnnnnn | 7 years ago
1 like

"if you are someone who begrudges paying £50 or so to enter a sportive when you can ride those roads whenever you want for free, this isn’t aimed at you".

Well, that's a fact. 

Still, each to their own. Someone to keep the midges off when stationary would be nice though.

Avatar
tritecommentbot | 7 years ago
2 likes

"The beautiful routes, combined with stays at some of the finest hotels in Scotland and excellent quality cycling equipment including luxury bicycles, such as Cervelos and De Rosa, promise an unforgettable and enjoyable Scottish adventure.”

 

At these prices I'd want to keep the Cervelo..

 

How on earth did you come across this nonsense that no-one is ever going to do. Did Fester Jr. in the pic there email in and ask you to cover it? 

 

 

Avatar
Jitensha Oni replied to tritecommentbot | 7 years ago
1 like

unconstituted wrote:

"The beautiful routes, combined with stays at some of the finest hotels in Scotland and excellent quality cycling equipment including luxury bicycles, such as Cervelos and De Rosa, promise an unforgettable and enjoyable Scottish adventure.”

 

At these prices I'd want to keep the Cervelo..

 

How on earth did you come across this nonsense that no-one is ever going to do. Did Fester Jr. in the pic there email in and ask you to cover it? 

 

 

+1

 

Avatar
stenmeister | 7 years ago
1 like

Will they hand you a towel after you've had a pee at the side of the road?

Avatar
brooksby replied to stenmeister | 7 years ago
4 likes

stenmeister wrote:

Will they hand you a towel after you've had a pee at the side of the road?

For that sort of money, they should bl**dy hold *it* while you pee!

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