Testimonials

Amazing experience on and off the bike, great guides and seamless planning got us around Belgium and northern France in a way we could never do on our own. Unforgettable epic spring classics riding experience, with the team providing the right level of options for everyone and fantastic rental bikes. Highly recommended!

After having to delay in previous years due to other factors it was finally great to join Pat and Grace for the Paris – Roubaix challenge. They were both quietly efficient, friendly and thorough in their attention to detail. They ensured that we all achieved what we wanted and no task was too difficult.

Ride International Tours is fantastic. Pat, Grace and the entire team are experienced, genuine, helpful, passionate and very good at what they do. My son Tyler and I had the trip of a lifetime, with experiences and memories that we are so thankful for. If you are interested in a cycling vacation, I could not recommend a company more that Ride International.

Having just been on the 2023 Spring Classics Tour, I can honestly say that Pat, Grace and the wider team deliver a professional and well-coordinated tour program which includes many great experiences both on and off the bike. Every day was made easy for us guests in terms of being made aware of timing, schedules, transport, and general support from the whole team such as bicycle preparation and on route fuel stops. Furthermore, one cannot underestimate the benefit the team at Ride International Tours delivers through their knowledge of routes, roads and places to ride so you can be confident you will take maximum advantage of your time in their company.

Ride International Tours – Well done and thanks.

We’d heard fantastic reviews of Ride International before embarking on our 10-day tour of the spring classics, and I can honestly say it still managed to exceed expectations.

From the transport and accommodation to the ride planning and event spectating, our tour had it all. Would highly recommend Pat, Grace and the team at RI to anybody considering an overseas cycling trip.

Pat is the bike skills whisperer!
We worked together closely to improve my dirt skills ahead of cyclocross World Cups and world championships. With his help I achieved the best cyclocross World Cup result and world ranking ever achieved by an Australian – no small feat for an ex roadie!

I often do one-on-one sessions with Pat to continuously improve my technical skills for World Tour racing. He has a magic way of breaking things down so that they become achievable.
We often work on race specific technique like riding cobbles, cornering, and hill climbing, but he also throws in some fun tricks along the way.
I always leave feeling confident in my abilities and having had a really fun ride.

Thank you for all your hard work … We are having a great time… We knew you masterminded this wonderful trip

What an experience you have given me at the Santos TDU… the organising from you was simply amazing, exact timings, transport of luggage, bikes, (especially the bike, always transported with no damage) food… the atmosphere, everything really – I can’t fault a thing.

Your staff were unbelievable, Billy always with a smile and always ready to help, Vaughan bringing life to every ride, Grace’s passion for food, wine and Adelaide, Tanya and Megan always making sure everyone is ok and Steve the ride team leader, it was an honour to ride alongside, (well behind him ?) an ex-pro, a true cyclist… that for me was one of my highlights the whole week.

The routes were perfect, stunning scenery showcasing Adelaide, perfect distances and the climbing ‘amazing’. Meeting and riding with fellow cycling guests was wonderful.

Arriving at the start of the stages to watch the riders leave and catching most of the races at iconic sites or at the finish was simply incredible.

The Challenge Tour road race was more than I expected it to be… ??

Pat, you were a pleasure to deal with from the start and you’ve built a fantastic team around you. I would not hesitate to recommend Ride International Tours to anyone.

Wish you and Grace only the very best, thank you for a memorable experience… see you on the next cycling adventure. Grazie.

It is the small things that you guys do behind the scenes that makes all the difference.  It was an amazing experience to ride in Italy and experience the Giro first hand. Thanks again and looking forward to the next tour.

I first met Pat and Grace on a cycling tour in Europe in 2013. Pat and Grace make the perfect team to run these types of tours, both are friendly, bubbly and outgoing in their personalities and each bring their own invaluable skills to touring with a group. Grace is the most organised of guides, no request is too unusual or difficult for her to tackle and she always sorts things with a smile on her face. Pat is the ultimate ‘on bike’ cycling guide, his relaxed love of cycling and coffee is combined with incredible cycling skills which he is happy to impart to any cyclist who wants to improve any part of their bike handling.

I would absolutely recommend Pat, Grace and Ride International to anyone considering a cycling holiday.

Wow, two of the greatest tour guides I know. Knowledgeable, multilingual, always helpful, a great team to handle your once in a life time tour.  I’ve done at least 4 two-week cycle tours with one or both of this husband wife team.  Every one has been extraordinary. You will not go wrong with one of these two as your tour coordinators.

I want to especially thank Grace. You worried about our meals and always had a veggie alternative for us. I know it was extra work for you. You took care of my wife wonderfully and she is as pleased and satisfied with this tour as I am. I am grateful and appreciative.

Grace, it was so nice to meet you and Pat. Thanks for including me in every way and making me feel so welcome as a newcomer. I was not always anticipating what would happen but I really enjoyed the ride and feel so happy to have ridden such a great journey. It was really exciting to experience the Vuelta my first tour so close up and to feel the atmosphere of the small towns where everyone came out and the chaos of the roads. Just wonderful you organised it well and went with the flow and managed changeable situations without drama which made it great.

Big thanks to Grace & Patrick for an absolutely fantastic weekend… we had a Brilliant time.

Grace… you are still as efficient and organised as always.

It is with great pleasure that I advise I had an absolutely terrific time.

From my perspective, everything went very smoothly. Pat got the hire bike fitting right first time – even my Selle Italia seat (which I know can be a bit fiddly). I’ve got nothing but good things to say about Pat and Grace. They worked tirelessly throughout the trip to make sure everyone’s needs and expectations were met. At all times they were pleasant, capable and considerate.

I exceeded my own expectations and have returned home a much more experienced and confident rider. I now feel more confident in my ability to handle the challenges the other Giro outing has to offer.

I wanted to let you know how much I enjoyed the trip. With such a diverse group of people and wide range of riding ability… Pat and his team did an absolutely brilliant job in helping everyone come away with a massive sense of achievement… Overall, a fantastic experience.

The best thing I found about Grace and Patrick is their willingness to go above and beyond to make sure you have a good time. Grace is a born organiser and Patrick is very knowledgeable when it comes to guiding on a bike. I have been on three separate tours when they have been tour leaders. Their knowledge and their passion showed every single minute. I would recommend their services in every possible way.

I finished the Giro d’Italia trip on Monday, and just wanted to pass on a special thanks for the assistance provided by Grace Fitzpatrick. My return flight out of Milan Malpensa meant I was unable to wait for the group transfer. Grace was able to give me some very good advice on alternate (train) travel to Milan to make my flight connection. She also made a special effort in ensuring I was able to do the final ride into Trieste with the group and still be in a position to get my train transfer to Milan. It’s this kind of effort by Grace that would bring me back.

In a word fantastic, the experience exceeded all my expectations… it was truly great. This whole experience would not have been possible without the fantastic work done by Pat and Grace, they were awesome. Nothing was too much trouble, their demeanour was always cheery and their concern for everyone’s safety when out on the rides was commendable, they made the experience just so enjoyable.

Dear Grace and Patrick,

Just a short email to thank you… this trip provided us with a far greater appreciation of cycling Le Tour than perhaps even we anticipated. Your knowledge and experience, not to mention your love of France and Le Tour will forever provide us with an enriched context when we tune into SBS for coming Tours.

Our aim before booking anything to do with Le Tour was to see and experience Le Tour as it passed through French villages. As we said to Grace, we considered driving ourselves ahead of the tour and overnighting in a village ahead to see it pass through which of course takes 10 minutes; then spending the day exploring the village before moving ahead again to see the finish say in some other village a couple of days later. Clearly, however, I didn’t need the stress levels associated with driving in and around Le Tour. I was so grateful to leave that to Grace.

Grace, you have a great gift. You are warm, inclusive and infectious in your enthusiasm. These gifts do indeed need to be unleashed upon non-cyclist tours for Le Tour… let Grace change cycling appreciation the world over.

Patrick, you are really the gears on the bikes of all those cyclists in your charge. Sometimes it must feel like herding (the very nicest) cats. Admirable to watch.

Thanks again to all of you for our wonderful French experience.

We had a fantastic time. Exceeded our expectations. The group was terrific and Grace & Pat were ABSOLUTELY FANTASTIC!

I just wanted to let you know that the Giro d’Italia and Nove Colli Gran Fondo tour was one of our best trips ever! I concur that Grace & Pat are remarkable. Thank you so much!

The trip ran like clock work, which meant all we had to worry about was enjoying ourselves.

The Giro 2013 experienced challenging weather, yet every morning we were greeted with two smiling, relaxed and eager guides with itinerary updates and ride options for the day. Without Pat and Grace’s leadership the trip would have been difficult, yet it was the best trip I have been on.

We did back to back Tour de France trips and had an amazing time… everything ran smoothly.

I would like to make a special mention to Grace, our non-riding guide. Grace was wonderful, she did absolutely everything she could to ensure everyone’s needs or even just wants were met. I do not know where she gets her energy from. She is an amazing, fun loving and positive person perfect for the job she does.

Our trip leader, Grace Fitzpatrick was brilliant. Hard working and great company – so high energy, very resourceful, always helpful and meeting all contingencies.

Grace was on top of everything, Kudos to her.

What a team!   On road, Pat is a fabulous guide, support and mechanic… and he’s great company when you need distracting from an arduous climb.

Off the road, all our needs (and even things we didn’t realise we needed) were catered for with Grace’s amazing hospitality.  Both had extensive knowledge and no question was too much.

Can’t thank the two enough for my awesome experience in France.

Pat and Grace were excellent. They had a great attitude for the entire trip. Grace’s organisational skills were excellent. Things like assisting with the check in at each hotel made a huge difference.

The riding we did was outstanding – and giving individuals the freedom to ride as much and as hard as they liked was great. Overall the trip was excellent and I would definitely do another one.

In regards to the trip, we both had a terrific time. I was pleased I could do some rides, but still get to go with the non-riders in the van on other days. Pat and his team of guides were lovely, very encouraging and helpful.

Howdy Pat,

Thanks very much for a highly enjoyable and excellently run tour. You and your team certainly exceeded my expectations, not only with the rides but local knowledge which helped make life simple. Clearly for me though it was the way you guys went to great lengths to try and fix my bike in the first instance and coming up with a very nice contingency option which I will enjoy for a number of years to come. Great work!

I would like to thank you very much, we all had a great tour and enjoyed the full trip.   In particular, I would like to make mention of Grace and Patrick – they were excellent and each provided a different but unique experience to the tour.   Though we planned our trip to be self-guided, we were very lucky to have Patrick leading the rides – without him and his GPS I think you would be still trying to find us.  Grace’s knowledge of wines was superb whilst her stewardship kept us all on track. The combination worked particularly well for us with the non-cyclists feeling as much a part of the tour as the cyclists.

I have done many other bike tours where I have had other tour leaders and NOONE stands up to your level of engagement earthiness genuine care and concern.

I would like to send my thanks to all the team on the ground in France; Pat and Grace did a great job and smoothed a couple of minor hiccups fairly well (especially when it was out of their control – e.g, the weather on the day we were to climb Galibier – they organised alternative rides that more than made up for it).

Pat is a fantastic guy, very un-phased & not easily rattled – which is good!

Thanks again for what was definitely a trip of a life time. When people ask me “How was it?” I find myself saying “It was too good!”

Although I was more interested in the ‘cycling’ rather than the ‘Tour de France’, it was great to see the additional ‘buzz’ that the TDF brings to France and to experience this first hand… the guides we had were all awesome and always full of encouragement; it was so nice to be able to travel without any hassles.

Pat you were my guardian angel always quietly looking out for me. Grace, I loved the visits that you organised so well to places like Valence, Foix and Pau when I wasn’t riding and the camaraderie of the other non-riding group.

The guides under Pat’s leadership gave everyone what they needed from a support and guidance perspective. I never heard anyone complain about the guides, and never saw the guides complain about the same question being asked at least 10 times every day… Many thanks for a great trip.

Hi Grace, I’m sure you have everything sorted with all your wiley talents!! Anyway just wanted to say a big thanks to you for making my trip, as a non-rider, very memorable. It was nice to feel part of the tour with our own schedule etc and I know that at times the riders were very jealous of us.

Pat and I have ridden and worked together hosting tours in Switzerland and France over the past few years. He’s a brilliant bike rider that has an amazing eye and brain for analysing the art of cycling and its skills. The attention to detail of his performance bike set ups is brilliant, and the level of on trail analysis, support and feedback he gives riders on their style, skills, body position, line selection and information to improve their cycling is incredible. Pat’s the best cycling skills instructor I have seen in the world and trust me I have seen a few! I even picked up a few tips and tricks. If you really want to improve every aspect of your riding do a session with Pat, he’ll have you flying in no time at all.