How do you come up with the idea of starting a bike tour-company? That’s just one of the things we asked Lenny Versteeg, proud owner of the Iris and new bike company, BikePlanet. Get to know this adventureous, cheerfull woman!
Why did you start BikePlanet?
It’s simple, life is short and I’m adventurous. I wanted to keep changing and growing. Starting BikePlanet is a great adventure I want to share with travelers and my family! My son Wouter works as a tour guide and he’s also a mate on the Iris. And it’s about friends who have helped me develop new tours. Thomas Wuts designed the Berlin-Dresden-Bamberg tour and Tina Page developed London-Amsterdam!
What is different about BikePlanet?
Now, we extend traveling to areas we could not accommodate with our barges. Like Berlin, Dresden, Bamberg all in one tour! England and Holland… I wanted to add more options to our usual bike and barge programs.
A lot of our international guests are looking for longer holidays, especially Australians. This way they can bike and barge for a week, then add on a traditional hotel-to-hotel bike tour with the same guides, van support and seamless logistics. Adding onto the barge and bike tours is just an option. Of course you can just book a hotel tour by itself.
I wanted to add more options to our usual bike and barge programs.
Doesn’t everyone like to Barge?
No, they don’t. Even though we are convinced people will be amazed with the barging lifestyle, not everybody will try it. That’s another reason why I decided to offer something new with BikePlanet. Some guests are looking for easy routes with more space and privacy in hand-selected hotels and inns. We have this.
What do you have in common with Eurosail?
Well, I’ve known Jossie Verkerk for 40 years; she’s like a sister to me. The IRIS is very dear to us both and nothing will change there. Jossie continues to run Eurosail Travel, offering more bike&barge tours.
BikePlanet is like a new sister to Eurosail. It will bring something unique and different to the bike and barge scene. My company compliments what Jossie/Eurosail is offering and vice versa. It’s a win-win for everyone and more fun to share your passion with someone else, rather than go it alone! On the website www.bikeplanet.tours you will find the NEW tours as well as Eurosail Travel offers!
It’s more fun to share your passion with someone else, rather than go it alone!
What if someone doesn’t want to bike, can they still join BikePlanet?
Oh yes, absolutely! Not everybody wants to bike every day. But you can still be active and join your (biking) spouse/friend on a BikePlanet tour. It’s ideal for couples and friends who have different needs and interests. Non-riders will still experience the same thrills and excitement as the cyclists, they just won’t be pedaling to highlights and destinations.
I’m single and I want to bike and barge, how does this work?
Yeah, well, it’s not so easy. We can only take one or two singles on a barge tour, but on the inn-to-inn bike trips, we can take an unlimited number. This is another reason why I developed trips “off the barge”.
If you want to know more about Lenny or BikePlanet, you can always just contact us!