Mountain bike holiday protection

It is no surprise then that mountain biking holidaysare very popular and are well catered for, and resembles what skiing isto winter sports. It's not a difficult thing to learn, in fact it's assimple as riding a bike, and is relatively cheap to buy what you needas a beginner. The vast areas of good terrain mean you'll never have tovisit the same place twice unless you want to.

For the dedicated enthusiast, or those who simplyprefer to follow a sense of adventure, planning a mountain bike holidayfrom the bottom up can be a great experience. Numerous sources ofinformation and advice will help construct a holiday that suits youdown to the ground. Lonely Planet, Rough Guides and other travel booksare always good, given that they have info on biking but also all theother aspects such as accommodation and travel routes.

Mountain biking magazines regularly run features oncertain areas that can be really useful. But perhaps the easiest way isto choose a resort that is known for good quality mountain biking, bookflights and accommodation, and get the local knowledge of where is bestto ride when you get there.

One thing to make sure you take with you if you’regoing to bike abroad is travel insurance. Because of the nature ofmountain biking, most standard policies won’t cover all aspects of thesport, particularly things like downhill racing or cross-country inextreme areas.

This is because insurance is based on risk and themore skilled areas of biking are very risky. The chances of injury aregreatly increased the higher the speed of the rider and the mordifficult the ground on which he is travelling, not to mention risk ofdamaging expensive equipment. Personal liability for accidents can alsobe an issue, given that cyclists can cause an accident just like anyother road user.

But don't let these statistics put you off. Prettymuch anyone can get insured for anything, for the right price. Theymight cost more but paying a high premium sure beats paying thehospital bills for a broken leg when you take a fall off a high saddle.And medical bills aren't the only benefits, because things like earlyflights and cancelled accommodation can be refunded when you need toreturn home early in plaster.

Closer to home, there are several popularlong-distance routes in the UK, such as the coast-to-coast route inNorthern England that starts on the West coast in Cumbria and takes insuch wonderful areas as the Lake District, on the way to the Eastcoast. The ride can be done in three or four days, staying in hotelsalong the way or even camping.