News & Reviews

SeaFrance definitely into liquidation: Jan 2012. The Commercial Court in Paris has ordered the full liquidation of SeaFrance on the January 9th 2012. As a result, the company is no longer able to trade.

France's Tribunal de Commerce ordered the liquidation of the company after a £165m bail-out by President Nicolas Sarkozy's government was ruled illegal by the European Commission.
The 127 UK jobs will be lost in Dover. They include office workers, check-in staff and those who helped passengers board the company's ships on the Dover to Calais route.
SeaFrance collapsed into receivership in 2010 and sailings between Calais and Dover were suspended last November. The company carried more than 3.5m passengers a year.
Approximately 800 to 1,000 jobs are being lost in total, and the company's downfall has created a political battle in France as the country approaches a presidential election.

On a much minor note, we have used SeaFrance as our preferred carrier whenever possible, for the best fares and the best service when it comes to bikes and their security onboard.

This will mean that we shall have to use an alternative carrier for our tours departing from Dover, which means a slight increase in fares.

The good news is that this additional cost will NOT be passed on to our customers.

New Zealand Motorbike Tour now available Oct 2011. We are very please to add this new tour to our itnerary. 11 Days starting and ending in Christchurch including Mt Cook, Dunedin, Franz Josef and Queenstown. For full details look here

USA Motorbike Tours now available Oct 2011. We are very please to add two new tours to our itnerary. 14 Days Canadian Rockies & Calgary Stampede as well as a tour which includes the infamous Sturgis Bike Week.

South Africa Motorbike Tour now available Oct 2011. We are very please to add this new tour to our itnerary. 14 Days Johannesburg to Cape Town. For full details look here

Support for CRASH April 2011. Having recently come across this scheme, we were keen to show our support.CRASH Card is a scheme in which motorcyclists place a card inside their crash helmet as a medic alert. The details which the rider has written on the card provide vital information for attending ambulance crews if the motorcyclist is injured in an road traffic collision. Saving valuable time and helping treatment especially if the rider is either unconscious or unable to communicate.

This scheme, which has been in use for nearly two years in some parts of England, was created by the committee of the Ambulance Motorcycle Club a group of experienced Paramedics and ambulance staff who are passionate about motorcycling.

The card also has a mnemonic “CRASH” which gives helpful advice if a rider comes across a road traffic collision. Ian Burrell Chairman Ambulance Motorcycle Club comments: “We know that riders are more likely than any other road user to stop at the scene of an accident and offer to help. CRASH is an excellent way of helping the emergency services get the right resources to the scene as quickly as possible and we hope riders who stop to help will use their own card to provide information when calling 999.” Extra Mile will automatically send out one of these cards with each booking we receive. More information can be found at The Ambulance Motorcycle Club

Long weekend Euro tours now available ! March 2011. Due to popular demand we have added a program of Long weekend tours to our itnerary. These tours are Thursdays to Sundays and cover France, Belgium & Germany. A round trip tour spending each night in a different country. There is limited availability on these tours so early booking is essential. See here for details:

Hull departures now available ! February 2011. Due to popular demand by those of you that live in the North, we are now offering the option to depart from Hull rather than Dover.

This will mean a departure date the evening before the current published dates, with ferries going to Zeebrugge.

This would arrive on the same morning as those arriving from Dover to Calais.

Example:
Hull departs 29th April @ 18.30 arrives 30th April @ 07.45 ride to Calais meet rest of tour @ 10.00
Dover departs 30th April @ 07.00 arrives at Calais @ 09.30 meet riders from North @ 10.00

It is approximately a 90 minute ride to our meeting place at Calais for us all to be able to ride off together.

This option is available on the following tours

France
Germany
Eurotours 1 & 2
Italy

As this is an overnight ferry it does incur additional costs between an additional £200 to £255 per single rider dependant upon departure dates

Why not take another look at the tours and dates on offer ( Tours ) and contact us for exact details /pricing and of course availability.

All tours booked on a first come first serve basis and many tours filling quickly

No Bike? No Problem! January 2011. If you would like to go on an Extra Mile Motorbike Tour, have a full motorcycle license, but don't currently own a bike...then no problem...just rent a bike from us. New for 2011 a selection of bikes for rental

VFR800 NT700 CBR600

Contact us for details and prices info@extramilebiketours.com

Snow gets bikers booking early January 2011 The snow is obviously keeping people at home / in front of their computers, and getting people to think about their biking holidays early this year, hence why we have seen a tremendous amount of increased traffic to the site, resulting in more enquiries than ever for this time of the year.

Whilst some people are making sure of a place on their chosen tour by booking early, others are still either undecided or just taking the risk and waiting until closer to departure date before placing their deposit.

Most popular tours so far are

France 7 Day Tour Departing June 18th (FULLY BOOKED) & Departing 22nd July 2011

France 6 Day Tour Departing 30th April 2011

Italy 10 Day Tour Departing 1st July 2011

Germany 7 Day Tour Departing 18th June 2011

Our advice is always "Book Early". With deposits of just £95 per bike, you can be sure of not missing out. If you have any questions or queries please don't hesitate to ask.

Pit Stop Diner Wins Competition September 2010 The Pit Stop Diner, in Stockton, Teesside, is the UK’s best biking spot according to the thousands who voted in the Keep Britain Biking competition with MCN/Devitt.

The café was nominated by Gary Worthington, pictured above with Carl Coombes Managing Director of Extra Mile Bike Tours. Gary is the lucky winner of a fantastic UK touring holiday for two people worth £2500, organised by Extra Mile Bike Tours and to be taken during the 2011 season.

The picture above was taken during a Free BBQ organised by The Pit Stop Diner as a way of saying thankyou to all those that voted for them.

Extra Mile Bike Tour Free Draw Winner still not come forward September 2010 Throughout this year we have been running a free draw which took place on the 21st August 2101. The Prize was a Free Tour during the 2010/2011 season. The winner was notified by email but as yet has still not responded. If the winner does not respond by 30th September 2010 then we shall have to conduct a re-draw. The winner a Mr Raymond Powell who lives in the B77 post code area. If anyone knows Raymond please let him know he is a winner and get him to contact us ASAP.

MCN & Devitt Insurance Choose Extra Mile 30th June 2010 MCN & Devitt are running a competition to uncover the UK's best biking destinations and have chosen Extra Mile Bike Tours as the company they prefer to provide the prize.They want to build a map of the UK's top bike spots: the twistiest roads, friendliest dealers, best value bed and breakfasts, and the most entertaining biker pubs. Entering is simple, all you need to do is visit http://www.keepbritainbiking.com, go to the Biking Intel page and mark all your favourite top biking spots before 30 July.
By helping to create the UK¹s most comprehensive biking atlas you could also be in with a chance of winning an amazing UK touring holiday for two people, organised by Extra Mile Bike Tours, worth £2500! For full terms and conditions go to www.greatcompetitions.co.uk

National BikeSafe Motorcycle Show 2010.: 16th June 2010 Extra Mile Bike Tours attended the show last weekend and declared it a great success. Once again the crowd was drawn (excuse the pun) by the the chance to win a Free Tour of their choice by entering the Free Draw, by choosing the top three destinations that they would like to tour. The day saw most interest in the Balkans tour departing on 20th Aug 2010 for 15 days. Tony Carr, Tour Director said" The demand for this tour is as we would have expected. We have chosen some fantastic routes, great locations and have priced it very very competitively".

National BikeSafe Motorcycle Show 2010.: 21st April 2010 Extra Mile Bike Tours have today confirmed they will be attending the National BikeSafe Show at the Sheffield Arena on 12th and 13th June 2010. This promises to be a great day with over 100 exhibitors and some 17000 visitors attending last years show, this year even more are expected. Already confirmed for this year's show are world record holding stunt rider Dave Coates, the sensational Extreme Globe Riders, International Trials Champion Steve Colley, Ady Smith's KTM Off road experience and one for the youngsters, Honda - My First License. Honda, Yamaha, BMW, Kawasaki and Triumph have also confirmed that they will be exhibiting. Extra Mile Bike Tours will be there too.

Ready to Ride Weekend a Great Successs: 18th April 2010 Extra Mile Bike Tours attended the Ready to Ride Show held at Haslemere Fire Station which was deemed to be a great success. The weather was perfect, with glorious sunshine and hundreds of bikers entered the Extra Mile Free Draw. The greatest amount of interest was definitely the 9 day Italy Tour with enquires and bookings for both this year and next. There were plenty of other activities and stands to entertain and educate the crowds from safety lectures and CPR demonstrations, to advice on motorbike maintainance. All in all a great day which will be repeated again in September. We'll be there!

New deal with Motorbike Rentals: 2nd April 2010 Extra Mile Bike Tours have today confirmed that they are in talks with a UK based, motorbike Rental Company which will allow them to increase their offering of UK Guided Tours to customers flying in to UK from countries such as USA & Australia. Full details to be released shortly.

Increased demand for France, Spain & Italy: 13th March 2010:Since the merger between Extra Mile and RPT Moto, we have seen a huge increase in demand for our 14 night guided motorbike tour of France & Spain. This is partly due to many bookings coming from earlier clients of RPTMoto who originally enjoyed their tours to the WW1 & WW2 battlefileds, and are now going further afield. Maybe it has something to do with the fact that we have had such a miserable Winter here in UK and with the great British weather being so unpredictable, many want to "guarantee" themselves some sunshine and good riding weather.

Whilst the 14 night / 15 days tours of France & Spain has seen a massive increase in demand, the most popular tour is still the 9 nights / 8 days tour to Italy. This has become known as our Eurotour as we ride through France, Belgium, Germany, Austria, Switzerland & Italy..... and then back again. Great German roads, picture postcard scenery of Austria and Switzerland, and of course the infamous twists and turns of the 48 hairpin bends which make up one side of the Stelvio Pass.

Tony Carr, European Tour Director said "Demand and early bookings are enabling us to negotiate better rates from hotels and B & B's, which we can then pass on to our clients.Tours for 2010 are filling quickly, but it is always best to contact us before booking on line, just in case there are any bargains to be had"

New Operations Centre for Extra Mile Bike Tours: 15th November 2009:Due to the increased demand for our Guided Motorbike Tours, Extra Mile Bike Tours Ltd have now moved our base from Dorset and have established an office in Banbury, Oxfordshire and are about to open a brand new Operations Centre in Stockton on Tees, Cleveland.

The two new offices, one North and one South, now ensure greater support and co-ordination of the growing number of tours and courses on offer. Following an extensive, recent recruitment and training programme, we have increased the number of tour leaders within the team, so that we are able to offer more guided motorcycle tours and survival courses throughout the year and this means more flexibility for the customer.

The Banbury operation has moved into an existing base, previously used by RPTMoto which was merged with Extra Mile earlier this year, whilst the Stockton on Tees location will be a new, purpose built, operations centre with state of the art computer and communications technology. All the tours and routes will be mapped and tracked from here with 24/7 cover and support during the touring season.

No VAT to pay on ANY Tours booked before New Years Eve: 13th October 2009: Yet again we are going the Extra Mile and offering an amazing deal. We will pay the VAT on any tour booked and secured with a deposit before 31st December 2009 Choose your tour and dates fill in the booking form today!.