Bizi Cycle Tours is born

Bizi Cycle Tours is born to offer you premium cycling tours in the Basque Country. And it has come about at the same time as the birth of our son Luka. That’s life! Embarking on this project that was whirling in my head for so many years and another of my great wishes, if not the most important, becoming a mother, is now a dream come true. And so, my two babies have come hand in hand.

However, like I said, it is not something that came out of the blue. About 6 years ago, when I was finishing my career as a professional triathlete, I dreamed of showing the beauty of my province Bizkaia and all its surroundings by bicycle.

The timing wasn’t right; tourism did not have the impetus it has now, it was more transitory, a visit to the Guggenheim Bilbao museum, a good meal and not much more… and that discouraged me. Added to the fact that I was “alone”, in the midst of transition from the professional sports world to the real world and lacking in confidence, it made me put the project on hold.

In recent years I have been looking for my niche and it has taken me a while to get there. I have had the opportunity to work with Elisa Gonzalez and great colleagues at Gyrotonic Bilbao and after a demanding training, gained work experience.

However, the idea was still hovering in my head. We are now in 2019, a year in which tourism, Bilbao and the Basque Country in general, is in constant growth. Cycling as a form of enjoyment, beyond the competitive one, is on the increase. So, I felt that it was now or never. In addition, there was a very important factor, the support and confidence placed in me and the project of my partner, the other 50% of Bizi Cycle Tours, Ander. With an enviable working background and, above all, a continuous entrepreneurial spirit, he believed in me, in the idea, and so we decided to embark on the adventure together.

For me, Bizi Cycle Tours is not just a work project. It’s about bringing together all my passions and making it a way of life. During my sporting career, I have been able to travel to all the corners and roads of my country. I have been lucky enough to be able to interact with great people from different social, cultural and gastronomical backgrounds. All this, together with my love for my land, its people, its culture and its gastronomy.

I have travelled throughout the continents of the world, and that is what I miss most, the contact with people from other countries and cultures. What excites me most about this whole project, is getting in touch with them again and showing them everything that I love and am passionate about in the best way I know how, on a bicycle.

Bizi means living in Basque, you could also see it as the beginning of the word bicycle. That is what Ander and I want. For you to have a great experience with us.

We started off with lots of ideas, but our ideal, our dream, would be for you to choose a tailor-made experience. We want to be the ones who adapt and you only have to worry about enjoying yourself. To achieve this, we will take care of all the details, and we have partnered with shops, restaurants and quality brands, but, above all, with people who are professional in what they do and do it with love and passion.

Now all that is missing and the most important, is you!

Virginia Berasategui