Biking Starts Where the Bus Stops

Just out of the starting gate this month, Adventurebus, a bus service designed to carry (and sleep) 26 passengers and their mountain bikes, hits the road in Southern California to explore the Southwest, Baja, Alaska and New Orleans on a variety of budget-priced themed tours.

If the new service sounds like that Northern California favorite Green Tortoise, it’s no accident. Adventurebus organizers include a former Green Tortoise passenger and one of its drivers. The Adventurebus contains tables and chairs that will convert into beds. After touring in the daytime, passengers will be able to spend their late evenings reading from the bus library, playing cards or listening to music before drifting off to sleep while the bus cruises along to the next destination.

One itinerary is a 16-day hiking and biking tour of national parks (including Zion, Bryce Canyon, Yellowstone, Grand Teton, Canyonlands, Arches and the Grand Canyon) and Moab, Utah (the Moab Chamber of Commerce calls it the “Mountain Biking Capital of the World”). In Moab, passengers will be able to ride the 12-mile Slickrock Mountain Bike Trail or spend the day rafting on the Colorado River. The cost for the tour is $489, plus $151 for a shared food kitty.

The nine-day “Slickrock Express” tour stops in Las Vegas, moves on to the red sandstone walls of Zion National Park and includes stops in Canyonlands National Park and Moab. Here, too, passengers can choose between rafting on the Colorado River or biking on the sticky sandstone Slickrock Trail. The cost is $289, plus $89 for the communal food fund. Departures are scheduled for September, October, April and May. There’s a special departure Oct. 10 to focus on the Flat Tire Festival in Moab (the mountain biker’s Mardi Gras). For five days the bus is based in Moab, where up to 1,000 cyclists are expected to gather for games and music.

If you don’t have a bike, the Adventurebus can help arrange a rental. Non-biking tours include the nine-day “Baja Sun Safari” (November to March) for $275, plus $65 for the food fund (a 16-day version costs $379, plus $81); a nine-day “Yoga and Meditation” tour of the Southwest for $319, plus $71 for the food fund, with departures in October, November and April; and a 16-day Mardi Gras Madness trip to New Orleans, scheduled to depart Feb. 13, for $349, plus $101 for food.

The Adventurebus will offer departures from Los Angeles, Orange County, Riverside and San Diego. Contact Adventurebus at (888) 73PLANET. Adventurebus information is located on the Internet at https://www.adventurebus.com.

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A new 20-page publication, “The Student World Traveler,” designed for students planning to travel, study and work abroad, is now available. Created by Eric Tiettmeyer, a 23-year-old University of California student, it contains brief articles by college students and recent college graduates about their travel experiences and has been distributed free on Southern California college and university campuses.

The current issue includes stories on Costa Rica and India, learning how to teach abroad, tips on around-the-world travel and contacts for volunteer opportunities. The August edition will include study-abroad information and travelers’ tales, including one student’s story called “Why I Was a Monk in Thailand.” To receive a copy send $1 to Student World Traveler, 638 Camino de los Mares, C-24O, San Clemente, CA 92673; tel. (888) 233-0603.

In far more depth, the 60-page Big World Magazine, a journal for alternative travel and independent world explorers, is now in its 13th edition and is a great source of information for budget travelers. The current issue includes a story on traveling in Laos, backpacking in Bolivia, working your way around the world, tips on air fare deals, guidebook reviews and an article on how terrorism affects you. One-year subscriptions (four issues) are $15. Contact: Big World, P.O. Box 8743, Lancaster, PA 17604.