There are numerous ways to see Europe.
None of them may be as intimate as biking through places like Girona, the Basque country, the French Alps or the Pyrenees, especially if your guide is not only a former Parkite, but also a former racer that rode professionally for seven years.
Marty Jemison grew up in Park City and started riding bikes as a necessity. He saved money as a kid to by his own bike “for commuting purposes.” Necessity, though, quickly turned into passion.
“It started before I even knew about the sport. It was not just for transportation, but more like a vehicle to get away,” Jemison said.
Soon he started meeting more cyclists, which led to meeting racers.
“When I first saw a race from the sidelines, I was hooked,” Jemison said.
That race took place in a shopping mall parking lot. Racers weaved around cones in a circle.
“You could see the whole race from one spot. It’s silly to think of now,” Jemison said.
He immediately got into the sport and rapidly climbed the racing ladder. Eventually, he won the 1999 U.S. Pro Championships and the Stars ‘n Stripes national champion’s jersey, and he is one of 29 Americans to have completed the Tour de France. He did it twice in 1997 and 1998.
From a local parking lot to the Tour de France is an impressive jump.
“It’s a gigantic leap,” Jemison said. “It’s from the Earth to the moon.”
For 11 years, he split his time living in Europe and Park City and continues to do so. Throughout his years of racing, he wanted to show others the beauty of Europe that he experienced. So, after he retired from racing, he formed Marty Jemison Cycling Tours and takes people on cycling vacations through Europe.
“There are just beautiful, beautiful roads all over the countrysides,” Jemison said.
After touring Europe professionally, he believes it is the ultimate setting for cyclists.
“If a race car lived most of its life driving around city streets and then found a grand touring race course, it would know what it means to be a race car. It’s a whole other game when you go to certain places in Europe. There are so many more choices of road.”
Part of the reason Jemison got into biking was to travel. Racing enabled him to see things all over the world. From his experiences, he’s developed tours where bikers travel about 50 miles a day along the roads that are, often times, not on a map.
“I’ve chosen the best, most exotic places,” Jemison said. “We are in Tuscany and Gerona, Spain it’s a place on the planet that people need to know about. We go to areas in France, in the Basque country, from the Atlantic Ocean to the Mediterranean Sea. We do the French Alps and the French Pyrenees Mountains.”
Bob McClenachan of Park City went on two trips with Jemison. His first trip, in 2005, traveled along the Mediterranean Sea and through the highways and back roads of Spain. Last summer he cycled through Tuscany.
“He knows all the roads better than anyone else,” McClenachan said. “He allows the common bicyclists to enjoy some of the roads that experienced riders might see. He can take us on routes and adventures we wouldn’t have experienced.”
McClenachan, a man in his mid-50s, took up cycling about a year prior to his first trip. Although McClenachan was in good shape after cycling roughly 1,500 miles in preparation for the trip, he said Jemison was able to accommodate those of various skill levels and gauge the pace to satisfy a group.
“They do a first-rate job,” McClenachan said. “They pay such attention to detail.”
McClenachan found it is a “great way to combine exercise with sightseeing.”
“It’s a combination of tourism coupled with insight into what (Jemison) has done in the past,” McClenachan said. “He’s taken us on challenging rides and very enjoyable rides coupled with a region of history as we go through it and his experience as a pro racer.”
The logo for Jemison’s touring company includes a dinner fork and a bicycle to show that not only will he focus on sightseeing and biking, but he wants his clients to experience the unique fine dining in the countries visited.
“We do a variety of dining,” Jemison said. “We try to ignite the culinary experience in Europe. We look for really fantastic eating experiences. The culinary experience is as important as cycling itself. We are all about fun. We’re not just focused on bike only; we try to make people think outside the box.”
McClenachan agrees.
“From the moment you arrive, with the accommodations and tremendous food, it’s just top notch the whole way,” McClenachan said. “It’s rigorous riding but very luxurious riding. They sweat the details.”
“It’s a high level of service from the moment we pick people,” Jemison said. “We take care of 90 percent of meals. Everything else is provided and paid for. It’s virtually all inclusive.”
Jemison said the trips are for the average recreational athlete or those who can be comfortable riding “50 miles a day, every day.”
“Most people in Park City would qualify,” Jemison said. “They are active, they ski and most of the people would fit right in to demographic.”
He recommends people bring their own bikes, but if there is someone interested who is in shape and doesn’t have bicycle, then he can provide one.
Jemison does not miss the racing experience because of his opportunity to guide people across Europe.
“I had fantastic rewarding experience as an athlete,” he said. “Now I’m doing what I did to fall in love with traveling. It’s exactly what I want to do. I love to show these places in Europe to people that I meet.
“We need to bring people to these places; they need to be aware of discovering Europe by bike. It seems like the ultimate way to see Europe and an ultimate way to understand things about the bike you may not have known.”
For more information on Marty Jemison Cycling Tours, log on to www.martyjemison.com , e-mail [email protected] or call (800) 492-9159.