Global cycling with local character
The ExperiencePlus! Team
ExperiencePlus! staff and tour leaders are as diverse as you can imagine. Yet, we share in common a passion for exploration and adventure. From our home office in Colorado to our headquarters in Italy and our other overseas offices, our aim is to help you connect with new people and places.
Our mission is to help travelers slow down and experience the world at their own pace by providing extraordinary guided cycling vacations that feature curated routes, quality bicycles, local experiences and engaging travel companions.
Two sisters and a lifetime of adventure
Since Monica’s first trip to Italy when she was nine months old and since Maria Elena’s debut as an expert “gelato” consultant on a tour in Italy at age 5, the Price sisters have made bicycle travel part of their lives. Founded in 1972 by their parents, Rick and Paola Malpezzi-Price, Maria Elena and Monica grew up first ‘joining’ tours as children, then leading tours as teenagers and young adults. As bilingual and bicultural global citizens they truly believe that traveling by bike can forge meaningful connections between people and places that change peoples lives.
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Maria Elena Malpezzi-Price
Co-Owner
Maria Elena manages the ExperiencePlus! headquarters from its office in Fort Collins, Colorado. After spending many summers being a tour leader in Spain and in Italy, she has settled into her role managing greater strategic operations for EP from behind a desk.
Maria Elena holds an MBA from the Leeds School of Business in Boulder, Colorado and earned a dual Bachelor’s degree in Psychology and International affairs from the University of Colorado, Boulder. Together these disciplines enable her to focus her attention on day-to-day operations and user experience while maintaining a strategic vision for the business as a whole.
In 2011 Maria Elena and Monica were both selected by National Geographic Traveler to be featured in their Top 10 Guides in the world. Active in the cycling and active and adventure travel Industry and motivated to continually improve the whole industry, Maria Elena has been on the advisory board of the Adventure Travel Trade Association and currently is on the Board of Directors of Adventure Cycling Association in the US.
More than anything, Maria Elena still loves to immerse herself in new places and see the world by bike. In her spare time she rides her bike with her son and husband in the Colorado mountains and (when possible) further afield.
Her favorite trip—when pressured to choose—is the Camino de Santiago from Roncesvalles to Santiago de Compostela for its extraordinary combination of everything that makes a bike trek great: history, cuisine, landscape, pilgrims, great cycling and languages galore.
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Monica Malpezzi-Price
Co-Owner
Monica Malpezzi Price led her first bike tour across Italy for her parents’ company at the age of 15. Spending her life between the United States and Italy, with an American father and an Italian mother, Monica experienced short stays in France, Ghana and India, and has been involved in the world of active tourism all her life.
Today she lives with her husband and their two children in Emilia Romagna where Monica runs BikesPlus, an incoming travel operator specialized in active holidays and trips for small groups. Monica’s sister Maria Elena lives in Colorado (USA), home of the family business ExperiencePlus! Bicycle Tours.
With a degree in Cultural Anthropology and a Master’s degree from American University (Washington, DC) in Development Management, she firmly believes that active, sustainable and responsible tourism increases the link between people and this world we live in together. Since 2020, she has served as co-founder and President of ActiveItaly, a Sustainable Travel Business Network formed by more than 30 Italian Tour Operators / Travel Agencies, all specialists in active and sustainable tourism.
Origin Story
Rick and Paola Malpezzi-Price, founded ExperiencePlus! in 1972 with a ride from Pisa, Italy to Paola’s home town in Forli – the rest, as they say – is history.
Meet our staff and tour leaders
It takes a special person to be a great tour leader and it takes a lot of attention to detail to organize a bicycle tour. We truly believe we have some of the top tour leaders and staff in the industry, many of whom have been working with ExperiencePlus! for decades.
Our tour leaders start with an unlimited supply of energy, and mix in talent, resourcefulness, and knowledge of local history and geography. These expert interpreters will be there when you need them and have a sixth sense for knowing when to help, and when to let adventure happen naturally.
Our tour managers and staff expertly design trips so you can explore and find something special every day, on and off the bike. If you join us on a self-guided trip, you’ll be greeted by a local professional who will fit your bike and explain all tour details in a thorough orientation. Then you can explore as you wish on your own timeline.
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Matias Gatica Duco
Tour Leader
Matías was born in Chile, but his wanderlust spirit soon made him leave his country to start exploring the world. Following this vocation, he studied anthropology in Buenos Aires. Music and sports have always been part of his life, so for him they have also been a way to explore different cultures. This moved him to continue his journey of exploration but this time in the direction of the old world. Before settling in Spain he lived in Chile, Argentina, Greece and the United States. Traveling, playing music, self-knowledge and cycling are his must-haves. He currently lives in Seville and works as a tour guide and musician.
- With Experience Plus: 2024
- Languages: Spanish, English, French, basic Italian and Greek.
- Favorite bike item: Panniers & Racks
- Favorite place to ride: Hillside locations with historical sites.
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Anastasia Papadogianni
Tour Leader
I live in my home town of Sparta and work as a Special Education teacher. I am very grateful for living in a small town because everything flows peacefully and I have the time to enjoy activities in the nature that is surrounding me!
I have a passion for fitness and I enjoy helping others achieve their health and fitness goals, especially children and elder people. I also enjoy traveling and exploring new places with good company!
- With Experience Plus: 2024
- Languages: Greek, English, Russian, Spanish
- Favorite bike item: I find mountain bike apparel really cool!
- Favorite place to ride: I love riding in the forest and by the sea.
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Pau Simó Solà
Tour Leader
I live in Menorca. I studied Political Science. I love doing sports when I have the chance, and also playing board and video games, I must confess.
I started getting involved in cycling many years ago in Berlin, where I created an NGO to promote cycling among city visitors. Later, living in Brussels, I became a bike messenger and a bit later I started leading bike tours in France.
Now I enjoy leading tours. It has become my lifestyle and I love it. I am also passionate about learning and seek to understand as much as possible.- With Experience Plus: 2024
- Languages: Catalan, Spanish, English, French, Portuguese, and Italian
- Favorite bike item: I love single speed bikes.
- Favorite place to ride: Cities. I know I am weird.
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Elu Redondo
Tour Leader
I’m a passionate cyclist and amateur illustrator, with a deep love for food, art and culture. Traveling is my love language.
- With Experience Plus: 2024
- Languages: Spanish, English and Italian
- Favorite bike item: A good saddle 🙂
- Favorite place to ride: Manfredonia and Mallorca
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Elen Tusell Ivanow
Tour Leader
Hi! I was born in Barcelona and studied nursing but realized that I cannot stand too much time indoors or get used to a Monday to Friday, 8 hours-a-day job! So, I started mountain leader studies in the Pyrenees and fell totally in love with sharing my passion for the outdoors with others. I stayed with this work for many years. Although, since I am suuuuper curious – physically and mentally – I also started to study and work as a bike mechanic because I wanted more autonomy while traveling on “The Master,” my bike since I was 16 years old. Hope we get to know and learn each other on the way and grow together.
- With ExperiencePlus! since: 2024
- Languages: Spanish, Catalan, English, Portuguese and French
- Favorite bike item: Let’s say, the saddle 🙂
- Favorite place to ride: Mountains, do road climbs on the Pyrenees
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Jörg Schmiedel
Tour Leader
My name is Jörg. I was born and raised in Germany and spent most of my time after university working abroad as a language teacher. I always had a thing for changing places but rather late in a young man’s life – in 2016 at the age of 32 – I discovered bike travel and immediately took to it like rubber to the road. The following years, I rode some 80,000 kilometers in more than 60 countries on a very low budget and enjoyed the simplicity of life. Now it’s time to give back the hospitality I have received while travellng and share some skills and experiences… happily as a Tour Leader for ExperiencePlus!
- With ExperiencePlus! since: 2024
- Languages: English, German, French
- Favorite bike item: The rack. It turns your bike into your travel companion, which carries all of your luggage.
- Favorite place to ride: In the mountains, under the sun…in remote places.
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Milada Kratochvilová
Tour Leader
Milada is from Czechia and she lives in Prague and in Austria. She studied Agriculture at Uni, but mostly worked in tourism and sports. She is a ski and snowboard instructor and licensed guide for Prague and Czech republic. She has been leading bike tours for more than 15 years.
- With ExperiencePlus! since: 2019
- Languages you speak: Czech English German and Russian
- Favorite bike item: She likes trekking bike for trips and folding bike for town
- Favorite place to ride: She likes to ride on unpaved roads to explore the countryside in Czechia
- Next dream vacation: She would like to bike from the North Cup in Norway to Oslo
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Francesco Paliferi
Tour Leader
He is 100% Roman who now lives in a very old farm house located in Umbria where he grows his own vegetable garden, he makes honey and produces olive oil.
In 1995 he became a big supporter of the famous Italian cyclist Marco Pantani and since then he started to ride my bike almost every day and also traveling with his bike, South America and Europe mostly, but now he enjoys rides thought the Umbrian hills.
He has worked as a tour guide since 2004 and he really lovse to show his country to other people, share with them life experiences and talk about food, Italian wines and lifestyle.
- With ExperiencePlus! since: 2022
- Languages you speak: English, Spanish, some Greek
- Favorite bike item: carbon wheels
- Favorite place to ride: Umbrian hills
- Next dream vacation: Silk Road by bike
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Iris Marischi
Tour Leader
She was born in Austria but discovered early that the Mediterranean was where she really wanted to live. Her passion for traveling and ancient cultures brought her into the tourism industry – it was the perfect way to travel the world and stay in other countries for longer periods, before she finally settled in Syracuse, Sicily. Nature lover and keen environmentalist, curious about history and culture.
- With ExperiencePlus! since: 2022
- Languages you speak: German, English and Italian
- Favorite bike item: a good set of gears
- Favorite place to ride: anywhere near the sea with ancient ruins closeby
- Next dream vacation: anywhere near the sea with ancient ruins closeby
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Adam Phillips
Tour Leader
Adam grew up in the UK, and after training for seven years to become a physicist, he naturally decided to become a farmer. After several years working on farms and vineyards in France, it was time for another change. He now lives in Greece and work as an editor and translator in between leading tours for ExperiencePlus! in Greece and France.
- With ExperiencePlus! since: 2022
- Languages you speak: English, French, Greek
- Favorite bike item: My saddle bags
- Favorite place to ride: Corsica
- Next dream vacation: The Snowdonia National Park in Wales
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Attila dalla Palma
Tour Leader
Born in Predazzo, in the heart of the Dolomites, Attila has travelled across Italy for most of his childhood while following his parents in their work as sport reportage journalists. That imprinting gave him the great opportunity to discover the world of nature, photography and outdoor sports. Whenever he’s not working, Attila is in search of adventure, whether mountaineering, hiking, climbing, skiing or biking. After working 10 years as a store manager for different sport brands, the call for adventure was too strong and he decided to become a hiking and bicycle guide as well as a survival instructor.
- With ExperiencePlus! since: 2022
- Languages: Italian and English
- Favorite bike item: The high pitched and super noisy freehubs of professional road bikes
- Favorite place to ride: Everywhere there’s a horizon to get to!
- Next dream vacation: Hiking New Zealand and Nepal…hoping to discover all the world, the cultures and people a little trip at a time!
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Wassim Chouakria
Tour Leader
Wassim was born in the beautiful city of Annaba, Algeria, and spent his childhood there. After he learned to walk on his own two feet, he moved to France to finish his computer science studies. He settled down in the picturesque city of Nantes and worked there as a web developer for almost five years. Wassim is a curious person with diverse interests. His passions include going to the cinema and watching movies (he secretly dreams of becoming an actor), improvisation theater, Lindy hop, slackline, surfing, scuba diving, and many other activities.
- With ExperiencePlus! since: 2023
- Languages: French, Arabic, English
- Favorite bike item: A comfortable saddle
- Favorite place to ride: Any place along a sea
- Next dream vacation: Travel through Europe by train with a backpack
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Sonia Guillemette
Tour Leader
Sonia left her native Quebec to discover the world in 1996, starting with a few months in Honduras to learn Spanish. She also lived in Cameroon and French Guiana while working as a flight attendant. In 2002, she decided to settle down in Grenoble, France. She has been a cycling enthousiast from a young age, and whether she’s climbing a pass in the Alps or going through a historical village in Provence, the beauty and richness of the country never cease to amaze her.
- With ExperiencePlus! since: 2022
- Languages: French and English
- Favorite bike item: water bottle full of freshwater
- Favorite place to ride: The Alps and Provence
- Next dream vacation: Anywhere. Anytime.
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Sebastiano Peyronel
Tour Leader
Before leading tours with ExperiencePlus!, Sebastiano worked for mountain bike associations and as a bicycle mechanic. He lives in Piedmont close to Torino and is passionate about nature and alpine environments which he explores by hiking, climbing and skiing.
Sebastiona is passionate about food and wine and claims to be a great cook. In his free time he loves creating and restoring objects, from the artistic to the artisanal, including lamps, earrings, bikes and wooden forniture.
- With ExperiencePlus! since: 2022
- Languages: Italian, English, Spanish, and French
- Favorite place to ride: The alps
- Next dream vacation: Corsica bike trip
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Panos Paraskevopoulos
Tour Leader
Panos was born in New York and moved with his family at a very young age to Greece where he learned to appreciate, and developed a passion for, nature. Panos earned his undergraduate degree in marketing management and has worked in the US and all over Greece. He currently lives in Nafplion, in the Southern Peloponnese. He loves rock climbing, hiking, cooking, yoga, working in his olive grove, spending quality time with his family, and of course, cycling.
- With ExperiencePlus! since: 2018
- Languages: Greek and English
- Favorite bike item: My pedals
- Favorite place to ride: The mountains in Southern Peloponnese
- Next dream vacation: Iceland
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Nico Baun Ruiz
Tour Leader
Outdoor sports and traveling are my favorite hobbies. I train almost daily for endurance sports (ski touring, trail running, mountain biking or road biking), I enjoy photography and filmmaking, and I love to travel. He loves sharing his knowledge of place and activity, a passion that stems from the many sport and travel experiences he has had. Working with ExperiencePlus! gives me the opportunity to share my vision, my culture, and my knowledge of my country while we practice one of my most loved sports – cycling!
- With ExperiencePlus! since: 2022
- Languages: English, Spanish, German
- Favorite bike item: The sound of a hub
- Favorite place to ride: Anywhere in the mountains
- Next dream vacation: Anywhere I can have an outdoor adventure
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Melanie Chilesotti
Tour Leader
Melanie was born and raised near Venice in the city of Padua. She fell in love with cycling at age 21 when she decided to pedal across Italy from her town in the north all the way south to Sicily. When Melanie is not traveling by bicycle for work, she travels by bike or by van for fun, meeting friends, reading books, writing, and listening to music. She also enjoys hiking in the mountains, climbing, and camping.
- With ExperiencePlus! since: 2022
- Languages: Italian, English, Spanish, German
- Favorite bike item: Sunflower on the handlebar
- Favorite place to ride: Euganean Hills
- Next dream vacation: The Balkans
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Martina Safarikova
Tour Leader
Martina was born in Czech Republic in Prague, where she graduated in sport management studies. A professional sports instructor, Martina dedicates her time to skiing, snowboarding, climbing and biking, which allows her to connect her hobby with simultaneously working and traveling the world.
- With ExperiencePlus! since: 2022
- Languages: Czech, English, Spanish, German, Slovak, and Russian
- Favorite bike item: Comfy saddle
- Favorite place to ride: Mountains of Czech Republic
- Next dream vacation: Mexico
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Lucio Gnai
Tour Leader
Lucio was born in southern Italy, in one of the small towns of Apulia in the Lecce area. He studied and lived in Bologna, where he developed a love for poetry, geography and pedals. He is a passionate cycle mechanic in various “bike kitchens” in Italy, and he loves to bicycle tour alone and in the company of friends. Lucio loves sharing anecdotes about the places he rides through and the people who inhabit them. He also loves dialects and minority cultures, so when you are with him you may stop often to meet someone local.
- With ExperiencePlus! since: 2022
- Languages: Italian and English
- Favorite bike item: Frameset
- Favorite place to ride: The place I haven’t cycled yet
- Next dream vacation: Along the Balkans, Chile and Namibia
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Justin Wuycheck
Tour Leader
Justin got into leading cycling tours in 2007 because he wanted to be paid to ride his bike. From 2004 until 2013, Justin immersed himself in French culture, cuisine and cols (mountain passes), before trading that in for the ’rounder’ terrain of the Czech Republic and Central Europe. When not wrestling with the Czech language, Justin likes talking history and wine, coffee, and tea, and trimming grape vines.
- With ExperiencePlus! since: 2019
- Languages: English, French, and Czech
- Favorite bike item: My mind keeps coming around to the wheel
- Favorite place to ride: Any lost corner of Europe
- Next dream vacation: Japan
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Jessica Brenzikofer
Tour Leader
Jessica found out about leading tours while she was on a self-guided tour herself. Now she shares her passion for cycling with everyone she encounters, whether on tour or back at home. Jessica lives in Basel, Switzerland, where she is a passionate cycle courier and upcycles used inner tubes into fancy items like pouches and more.
- With ExperiencePlus! since: 2015
- Languages: Swiss German, English, Italian, French, German
- Favorite bike item: Snack bag
- Favorite place to ride: Alsace
- Next dream vacation: Japan
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Ivan Mercier
Tour Leader
Ivan was born in northeastern France where his parents introduced him to cycling and hiking. He earned a business degree but his passion for adventure won out. He has extensively travelled the world and has led tours in South America, Asia, Africa and France. India became his second home for five years when he practiced and studied yoga to become a certified teacher. Join Ivan and share his love for encounters, food, new experiences and laughter!
- With ExperiencePlus! since: 2023
- Languages: French, English, and Spanish
- Favorite bike item: My saddle, since I had to ride without any when my previous one was stolen!
- Favorite place to ride: Jura mountains, green and peaceful hills
- Next dream vacation: Crete Island
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Ilaria Zinzani
Tour Leader
Ilaria started leading tours with ExperiencePlus! in 2013, after she moved back from Berlin to her hometown of Faenza, where the ExperiencePlus! European headquarters is located. Ilaria is a full time yoga teacher, passionate traveler, love of India, and since 2017 she organizer and leader of yoga retreats and holidays in Italy and Europe. In her free time, Ilaria loves cooking, eating, reading and horse riding.
- With ExperiencePlus! since: 2013
- Languages: Italian, English, and German
- Favorite place to ride: The Italian Coast
- Next dream vacation: Svalbard islands
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Ignacio Sierra Fernandez
Tour Leader
He loves nature, mountains, and bicycles. When not leading tours, he works as a photographer and filmmaker. He makes the best sangria of all the ExperiencePlus staff.
- With ExperiencePlus! since: 2022
- Languages: Spanish, English, and French
- Favorite bike item: One mountain bike, or gravel bike, a bike bell
- Favorite place to ride: Morocco
- Next dream vacation: Colombia
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Giannis Adamoudis
Tour Leader
Giannis started leading tours with ExperiencePlus! in 2022. He is also a kitesurf and snowboard instructor. In his free time he rides his mountain bike and enjoys the outdoors with his dogs. Giannis lives in Greece and travels far and wide.
- With ExperiencePlus! since: 2022
- Languages: Greek and English
- Favorite bike item: Good saddle
- Favorite place to ride: Peloponnese
- Next dream vacation: Portugal
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Gian Cavini
Tour Leader
In deep love with art, food nature and the outdoors.
- With ExperiencePlus! since: 2023
- Languages: Italian, English, Spanish, Catalan
- Favorite bike item: Bikepacking gears and custom bike frame
- Favorite place to ride: Colombia
- Next dream vacation: Japan
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Felix Tandler
Tour Leader
Felix started leading tours with ExperiencePlus! in 2019. He is a passionate cyclist, connecting personal athletic challenges to travelling and getting around, or just riding up and down his beloved hills of Tuscany. He was born and grew up in Bavaria, but has been living in Italy for much of the last 24 years, only interrupted by a year as an exchange student in Portugal. With a lot of curiosity for a wide range of topics, Felix has always tried to study and observe as much as possible, especially regarding history, geography and culture. He loves sharing and introducing people to his favorite towns, landscapes, artworks and architecture.
- With ExperiencePlus! since: 2019
- Favorite bike item: His own legs
- Favorite place to ride: Tuscany
- Next dream vacation: It could be just some climbs away, discovering new perspectives on a place seen dozens of times before
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Federico Witula
Tour Leader
Federico was born in Emilia-Romagna, the region where ExperiencePlus! headquarters are located. He has lived in Italy, Ireland, Chile, France and Indonesia. After obtaining a master’s degree in geography and territorial planning at the University of Bologna, he worked for 10 years as a CSA (community supported agriculture) network coordinator with small organic farms in France. In his free time, Federico likes farming, cooking, eating, cinema,listening to and playing music, and exploring new regions by bike and on foot. When he’s not leading tours, he travels around the world and works on small farms.
- With ExperiencePlus! since: 2022
- Languages: Italian, French, English, Spanish, and German
- Favorite bike item: Panniers
- Favorite place to ride: South America
- Next dream vacation: Mongolia
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Dan Mitre
Tour Leader
Dan was born and raised in Romania in a beautiful town in the heart of Transylvania (I know what you think, but sucking peoples’ blood is for some reason illegal now) and developed love for the outdoors, nature and animals while spending summers with my great grandmother in a small village of only 11 people. I think that’s where my passion for traditional food was born. When he was 12 my family moved to Almeria, Spain. In college I studied translation and interpretation in Granada, Spain. After a few summer working abroad in Iceland, Italy and Malta, I started guiding bike tours. I am an easy-going, patient and happy person who likes to enjoy life, have fun and make sure that everyone around does the same. I currently live in Germany with my wife and dog.
- With ExperiencePlus! since: 2019
- Languages: Romanian, English, Italian, Spanish, German, and French
- Favorite bike item: Comfy saddle (there is no such thing as “too soft” for me) and rear rack
- Favorite place to ride: any place with mountains or close to the sea
- Next dream vacation: Working on it… but he needs to take my dog with me
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Cesare Pedrini
Tour Leader
Cesare quit his office job and started his dream career as a tour leader with ExperiencePlus! in 2019. Since then he has led tours in Italy and other European countries. Born in Italy, Cesare has lived in the UK and in Spain. His pursuits include competing in ultra distance races like the Transcontinental and the North Cape-Tarifa. When not leading tours, he plans long distance adventures he can comlete on his fixed-gear bike. Maybe we’ll find him racing the Silk Road Mountain Race on one of the next editions.
- With ExperiencePlus! since: 2019
- Languages: Italian, Spanish, and English
- Favorite bike item: my special tool set
- Favorite place to ride: South of Spain
- Next dream vacation: Silk Road Mountain Race
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Bartul Dragicevic
Tour Leader
Bartul is a freelance software developer who has embrace a digital nomad lifestyle that he has combined with his other big passions, bike touring and gastronomy. He has been travelling by bike since 2008 and in the process visited over 40 countries. In 2019 he set off to fulfill his lifelong dream of cycling around the world, but unfortunately the pandemic brought his journey to an abrupt end after a year and a half on the road. That pursuit of adventure and the discovery of different cultures, customs, and cuisines is what inspired him to become a tour leader, giving him the chance to share some of that love and passion with others.
- With ExperiencePlus! Since: 2023
- Languages: Croatian, English, Italian, and Spanish
- Favorite bike item: Rohloff hub
- Favorite place to bike: Somewhere I haven’t ridden before
- Next dream vacation: Patagonia
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Aurore Lucas
Tour Leader
With a degree in photography, I have experienced this beautiful world through the lenses of my camera for about 20 years.
Thanks to my sense of observation, I was able to release a few books in my name between nature, tradition and cultures as well as some guide book of France. Whether it is through my job as a photographer, guide or for humanitarian associations, I have traveled and explored many countries including India, Tanzania, Spain, Portugal, Ireland, Mauritius, Seychelles, the Caribbean islands, Italy, and Morocco, immersing myself in their cultures and learning from their biodiversity. A sports fanatic and curious at the same time, I love to discover new cultural and environmental horizons both on foot and on my bike.
- With ExperiencePlus! Since: 2022
- Languages: French, Italian, Spanish, and English
- Favorite bike item: sunglasses
- Favorite place to bike: Pyrenees
- Next dream vacation: Scotland
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Aurore Debry
Tour Leader
Aurore leads tours with ExperiencePlus! in France, Spain, and Belgium. She previously managed a supermarket and a yoga school until she left everything to travel by bike around Europe for a year and a half. Eventually she decided to combine all those experiences into leading tours on the road, sharing her passions and interests along the routes. When not leading tours, she welcomes cyclotourists traveling the Eurovelo to her family’s bed and breakfast located on a farm outside Brussels. She also coaches women to create the life they want for themselves. In her free time, Aurore loves to travel, practice yoga, play music and dance.
- With ExperiencePlus! Since: 2022
- Languages: French, English, Spanish, and Portuguese
- Favorite bike item: Saddle
- Favorite place to bike: Portugal
- Next dream vacation: Indonesia
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Anja Neral
Tour Leader
- With ExperiencePlus! Since: 2018
- Languages: Slovenian, Portuguese, Croatian, English
- Favorite bike item: full water bottles and full panniers
- Next dream vacation: The Kamchatka Peninsula
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Antonio Laforgia
Tour Leader
Antonio started to lead tours in 2016 and joined ExperiencePlus! in 2019. When he’s not on tour he works as a Documentary Filmmaker and Video Producer. Based in Florence, Tuscany, he believes it’s the ideal place to cultivate his passion for food, wine and cycling.
- With ExperiencePlus! Since: 2019
- Languages: Italian, English, Spanish, and French
- Favorite bike item: Chalk waterbottle
- Favorite place to bike: Corsica
- Next dream vacation: Indonesia
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Alvise Callegari
Tour Leader
Alvise was born in Padua, north-east of Italy where he currently lives. He graduated with a degree in Economics from Foscari University of Venice. Additionally he got his instructors license in several sports such as kayaking, rafting and swimming. He was a triathlon athlete for years, taking part in the most important European competitions such as Herorace and Ironman Frankfurt. In the past Alvise held many different jobs around the world, from shepherding in New Zealand to being a baseball player at Disneyland Paris. When he’s not leading tours, he works as rafting guide in the mountain rivers and as kayak tour leader.
- Languages: Italian, English, French and basic Spanish
- Favorite bike item: My sportful shorts
- Favorite place to ride: Dolomites and Euganean Hills
- Next dream vacation: Canada, Iceland and Albania
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Uni Zumalde Meneo
Tour Leader
Uni grew up in the the Basque Country, the door to the Pyrenees, where he discovered his fascination for the Nature. Once he finished his University Degree in Busines Administration he lived in Denmark, Germany, Austria and Ecuador working in International Commerce.
After some years backpacking around the world he became Hiking and Cycling Tour Guide. He was able to join both professional and passion ways. He loves what he does and feels to have many things to offer to this world.
He has lived in Barcelona the past 10 years. Travelling and getting to know new cultures is one of his biggest motivations in life. He enjoys hiking, cycling, skiing and basketball.
- With ExperiencePlus! Since: 2018
- Languages: Basque, Spanish, Catalan, English, German and some French
- Favorite bike item: Cycling Cup
- Favorite place to ride: Luz Ardiden, the best place to stay in the Pyrenees
- Next dream vacation: Cycle-touring in Iceland in the summer time
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Toni Elezovic
Tour Leader
Born and raised in Split, Croatia, Toni has loved a variety of land and sea sports since childhood. For 9 years water polo tournaments allowed him to combine sport and travel as he explored Europe while traveling to tournaments. He then took on karate (blue belt) and triathlons. Toni still competes in national and international level triathlons (including World and European championships). He has even taken a place on the podium in national championships. When he’s not taking his place on the podium, Toni can at times be found scuba diving, or on his favorite toy, the bike. An avid ocean lover, Toni holds a masters degree in Marine Fisheries from the University of Split. He now links many of his passions together while leading bicycle tours in Croatia and sharing Dalmatian’s beauty with travelers.
- With ExperiencePlus! since: 2018.
- Languages: English, Croatian
- Favorite bike item: Full water bottle
- Favorite place to ride: Kotor to Lovcen, Montenegro
- Next dream vacation: Cuba, Dolomites
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Blaz Pogacnik
Tour Leader
Blaz grew up in the Julian Alps close to Lake Bled, Slovenia. This beautiful area is where his passion for outdoor recreation was born. As a young boy Blaz climbed all the highest mountains around, and as a not so young boy, he climbed them again. His life has been commited to rock climbing, cycling and woodworking. After gaining a Bachelor degree in wood science and technology, Blaz worked as a salesman for two different companies, and then finished his Master’s degree in entrepreneurship. Nowadays you can find Blaz guiding tours all over Europe, at home having fun with his family, or in the workshop cutting wood and gluing it back together.
- With ExperiencePlus since: 2013
- Languages: Slovenian, English, Croatian, Serbian, German
- Favorite bike item: Tube patch
- Favorite place to ride: Anywhere, as long as there are mountains around
- Next dream vacation: Walking Iceland
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Aleksandra Vida Mulic
Tour Leader
Aleksandra was born, grew up and still lives close to one of the most popular and beautiful lakes in Slovenia, Lake Bled. She studied Geography and Tourism in Ljubljana and as a student started working as a tourist guide for several tourist agencies in her area. More or less she stayed in tourism, working at the offices in commercial departments as well as a tour manager and a tourist guide. For some years in between she also worked as a teacher in a elementary school. She loves working with people, discovering new places and she loves her job which is her passion.
* With ExperiencePlus! since: 2017
* Languages: Slovene, English, German, Croatian, speaks some Italian and French
* Favorite bike item: Bike saddle and GPS
* Favorite place to ride: Karst area in her country
* Next dream vacation: New Zealand, Scotland -
Sophie Deslauriers
Tour Leader
She was born and raised in Montreal, Canada, Sophie has been living in France in the Grenoble area since 2009 after making a ‘small’ detour by China. After studying history and then graduating from a business school, she worked for 13 years in Manufacturing operations. In 2015, she decided to leave the corporate life and get out of the office to go play outside, giving in to her love of travel and discoveries. A history buff, a foodie, an outdoors lover, she is just curious about everything and loves to share. If she doesn’t have the answer, she’ll find out !
- With ExperiencePlus! since: 2016
- Languages: French, English, a little Spanish and very basic Chinese
- Favorite bike item: my helmet, because you only have one head!!
- Favorite place to ride: rolling hills going through beautiful villages and sceneries like the vineyards of Burgundy for example
- Next dream vacation: anywhere, everywhere!
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Stéphane Brochemin
Tour Leader
Stéphane Brochemin was born and grew up in Lyon where he also studied and earned his degree in French literature. He has worked as a flight attendant, hiking guide, and tour leader, starting bike trips in 1996. He has adventured all over the world, breaking a leg in Kyrgyzstan on a climbing expedition, teaching skiing in California, and living in Iceland for a year. He splits his time between the beautiful village of Villard Notre Dame in Oisans home to only 12 hearty souls in winter, and his house in Chasselay between Lyon and the Beaujolais. His other passions include wine, chess, and perfecting his rose growing skills.
- With ExperiencePlus! since: 2012
- Languages: I speak French and English, and a bit of German, Spanish and Icelandic
- Favorite bike item: Shorts
- Favorite place to ride: Anything that goes uphill. The French Alps, for example.
- Next dream vacation: I would like to go to the Andes
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Enrico Dal Monte
Expedition Tour Leader / Tour Leader
Italian native Enrico dal Monte grew up in Vicenza and Venice. After graduating in Oriental Studies and International Politics at the University of Venice, he worked as translator and teacher in Australia, Italy, and Israel. He speaks six languages. Apart from his cultural passions, he loves snowboarding, trekking, volleyball, and biking. Enrico leads tours in Belgium, Italy, Spain, and France.
- With ExperiencePlus! since: 2010
- Languages: Italian, English, French, Spanish, German, and Hebrew
- Favorite bike item: The vintage newspaper holder on my commuting bike
- Favorite place to ride: Everywhere!
- Next dream vacation: Sardinia, Sicily, and Andalusia over and over and for the first time Croatia, Greece, Catalunya, Argentina, and Chile
“Enrico is exceptionally outgoing and cheerful. He sees and works on the solution to problems before they become an issue. A great guy with a can-do attitude.”
“Enrico and Cristina are the perfect team. I learned an amazing amount about Italian history, culture from them and they handled the logistics and group marvelously. They were amazing 11 on a scale of 10!”
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Roberto Laghi
Tour Leader
Roberto grew up in Faenza, Italy and lives in Avignon, France. After getting a Middle East Studies B.A. and a Master’s degree in Public and political communication, he worked for about ten years as a free-lance editor, journalist and consultant. He then moved to France – by bike – with his girlfriend, he wrote a novel, found a publisher but… something went wrong (and that’s why some of his friends call him écrivan maudit). He has also been a bartender, a drummer, a photography student, and a radio show host. He is a wine and tea lover and connoisseur. In his spare time he reads and cooks a lot, he grows chili peppers and he, sometimes, creates crossword puzzles for his friends. He is seriously caring for his natural leaven which he uses to bake a fragrant whole flour bread.
- With ExperiencePlus! since: 2014
- Languages: Italian, English, French, Spanish. In 2016 he started Russian lessons.
- Favorite bike item: panniers (and the freedom that goes with them).
- Favorite place to ride: he learned how to ride in the Appennini hills in Romagna so he will always love those places. But he says that the best feeling is whenever he rides a road for the first time.
- Next dream vacation: planning a one year around the world bike trip!
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Anaïs Palomar
Tour Leader
Anaïs was born in Valencia, Spain. She lived there until she finished her degree in Oceanography. Her passion for travelling moved her far away and became a scubadive instructor to be able to join together her two main passions: the ocean and travelling. Since 2010, she has been travelling around the world in almost every possible way; walking, biking, sailing, hitchhiking, flying, driving… her backpack has become her home.
- With ExperiencePlus! Since: 2017
- Languages: Spanish, Catalán, English, German
- Favorite bike item: Saddlebags
- Favorite place to ride: Natural Park of Serra de la Calderona, Valencia
- Next dream vacation: Horseback riding through Mongolia
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Andrea Garreffa
Staff / Tour Leader / Tour Leader Manager
Andrea was born near the Cinque Terre in Savona, Italy, and raised in Bologna. He earned a Master’s Degree in Communication Studies with a focus on environmental issues and has studied in Italy, Spain, California, and Washington, D.C. Since 2007 Andrea has been exploring new European cycling routes with friends. In 2015 he cycled across Central America, from Cancùn to Panama, and in 2016 he cycled across Cuba. Andrea knows how to bake a mean loaf of authentic Italian bread and loves working in his vegetable garden. Very much involved into Italian politics at a national level between 2019 and 2021, Andrea still leads tours but since 2023 works also as Tour Leader Manager taking care of training events, end of season events and many other details in between those two key moments in the season of Tour Leaders. In short, if Tour Leaders have questions about their job, Andrea’s phone will be ringing!
- With ExperiencePlus! since: 2013, leading tours & expeditions
- Languages: Italian, English, and Spanish. French… work in progress!
- Favorite bike item: I love the “saltafossi” an ancient bicycle part that allowed cyclists to easily grab the bicycle and jump over obstacles, or to carry the beloved two wheels up to the apartment.
- Favorite place to ride: Sardinia, The Alps, hills over Bologna, Tuscany, and the Balkans. Let’s say anywhere there are hills and room for adventure.
- Next dream vacation: New Zealand, Australia and South East Asia, then back to the magical island of Sardinia.
“Enrico and Andrea were superb! They work really well together. They were the most attentive and seamless guides we have ever had. We really appreciated that they made an extra effort to offer interesting experiences. It was clear that their contacts in Sardinia look forward to seeing them and welcome them. That made it extra special. They are by far the best guides that I have ever had. My husband and I would like to go on tour with them again. I simply can’t say enough about them!!!!” (Bicycling Sardinia – Algero to Cagliari, 2014)
“Andrea and Michela were both great. The three of them made a great team complementing each other in a superb manner. They always seemed energetic and enthusiastic. They were constantly looking to see what they could do for you. Fluent in English they were all a great source of information. Could not imagine a better team of tour leaders.” (Bike Across Italy – Venice to Pisa, 2014)
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Jo Kent
Tour Leader
Jo had a transatlantic upbringing moving between Canada, the US and the UK. She studied and worked in the fields of geology and database programming but eventually traded office life for a move to France to work in a vineyard. She now lives near Toulouse in the sunny southwest, and when not cycling enjoys trips to the nearby Pyrénées to hike, climb, and backcountry ski. By the happy coincidence of being the only female and the youngest member by about 20 years, she is also the unofficial mascot of her local cycling club.
- With ExperiencePlus! since: 2013
- Languages: English and French
- Favorite bike item: Sugoi bike shorts and Icebreaker merino wool T-shirt
- Favorite place to ride: Patagonia
- Next dream vacation: Travel the Pamir Highway in Tajikistan
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Loïc Tyberghein
Tour Leader
Loïc was born in the city of Liège and spent most of his life in Lincé, a small village near the Belgian Ardennes, just three kilometers from La Redoute, the most famous climb in Liège-Bastogne-Liège. He studied at the Université de Mons in Belgium, went to Soria, Spain, for an Erasmus exchange and earned a Master’s degree in interpreting Spanish and English. He learned Portuguese as an exchange student in São Paulo, Brazil. Biking is his first passion; his second is beer.
- With ExperiencePlus! since: 2012
- Languages: French, English, Spanish, Portuguese, Dutch, and working on Italian
- Favorite bike item: GPS
- Favorite place to ride: The Belgian Ardennes and the Dolomites
- Next dream vacation: The Azores, but I go back to the Dolomites every time I can
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Luis Pegado
Tour Leader
A native of Evora, Portugal, Luis owned a bike shop for more than 15 years in his hometown, which is located in central Portugal. He recently started guiding and loves working with people and has a new found passion for sharing his country with travelers. He enjoys cooking and baking at home and if you are lucky you will be able to try one his family’s pastries when you go on tour in Portugal.
- With ExperiencePlus! since: 2015
- Languages: Portuguese, Spanish, French, and English
- Favorite bike item: GPS and bike shorts
- Favorite place to ride: The Alentejo plains at the end of the day
- Next dream vacation: Tierra del Fuego
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Yorgos Paraskevopoulos
Expedition Tour Leader / Tour Leader
Yorgos moved with his family from New York to his current home in Kalamata, Greece, at the ripe age of eight. He studied sociology at the American College of Greece. Yorgos met Rick and Paola (ExperiencePlus! co-founders) on the Greek Isles while working as a cruise director. You’ll find him on tours in Greece, Scotland, Italy and Turkey. When not guiding, he spends the winter months caring for his family’s olive trees and producing exceptional olive oil and Kalamata olives.
- With ExperiencePlus! since: 1999
- Languages: English, Greek, and Italian
- Favorite bike item: My “Fat Tire” jersey that a guest from Colorado sent me after a tour in the Czech Republic.
- Favorite place to ride: Ireland
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Jonas Blasques
Tour Leader
He was born and raised in Portugal and in the Sultanate of Oman, Jonas has always travelled and lived abroad throughout his life. However, his home country of Portugal holds a special place in his heart. He is all about sports with Yoga, Rock Climbing and Surfing being a big triad in his life. He loves to talk about the World, the Mind and anything in between … He is pretty sure he will love you once he meets you.
- With ExperiencePlus! since: 2016
- Languages: English, Portuguese, French and Italian
- Favorite place to ride: Catalonia’s Costa Brava
- Next dream vacation: I’m living it …
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Montse Bosch Olives
Tour Leader
Montse was born and bred in Minorca, a beautiful, unspoiled Balearic Island in the Mediterranean.
Sports have had a great influence on Montse’s life since she was a teenager. She loves cycling, climbing, hiking, and sailing, along with other adventure activities. She has been able to make a career out of her passion for the outdoors and has guided group kayaking, mountain biking, hiking, and horse riding tours along Minorca’s coastline.
Montse also has a passion for learning and moved to Granada in southern Spain a few years ago to study English. She moved to the Basque country of northern Spain in April 2014 to get to know the area and discover new playgrounds.
Join Montse and share her love of traveling, discovering new places, and cultures at the pace she truly believes is best – cycling.
- With ExperiencePlus! since: 2014
- Languages: Spanish, English, and some Italian, Portuguese, and French
- Favorite bike item: Bike packing bags
- Favorite place to ride: In the mountains and along the coast of Asturias
- Next dream vacation: India
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Cristina Taioli
Tour Leader
Cristina Taioli was born in Cesena, Italy (not too far from the “Farm”) where she also currently lives. She studied environmental sciences at the University of Bologna and is currently working on her Master’s degree in environmental cooperation and sustainable development at a university in Ravenna. Cristina has worked in marine biology research and education, with projects in Greece, Costa Rica, the Bahamas, Egypt, the Maldives, England, and Italy. She has also worked as an underwater diving guide in Thailand.
- With ExperiencePlus! since: 1999
- Languages: Italian, English, French, and Spanish
- Favorite bike item: My bike jerseys and shorts
- Favorite place to ride: France
- Next dream vacation: Return to Indonesia to dive
“You have the best tour guides I have ever experienced. Cristina, Sara & Damiano are awesome!!”
“She’s funny, willing, terrific, helpful, competent, dedicated, hard working, very very good in handling people and in working with the restaurateurs, hotel employees, etc. This is a born leader!”
“Cristina was the perfect tour manager. She was always on top of the plan, the schedule and our concerns. Very approachable, friendly, accommodating. She always told us what to expect in terms of biking difficulty, food, all of it!”
“Her humor and wit is great as a guide and I would only hope to tour again with her in the future!”
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Michela Bresciani
Tour Leader
Michela was born, grew up and still lives close to one of the most beautiful lakes in Italy, Lake Garda. She has a background in languages, studied History of Art for three years, and graduated from the American University in Business Administration. Michela’s done raft trips on the Tatshenshini-Alsek River in Canada, cruised the Queen Charlotte Islands, sailed through the Grenadine, and walked the Camino to Santiago. She loves getting to know people, learning about new cultures, foods and wine, and sharing her enthusiasm to help people get the most from their holidays.
- With ExperiencePlus! since: 2012
- Languages: I speak Italian, Brescia dialect, German and French
- Favorite bike item: Shorts, shoes, safety items (lights, vest, etc.)
- Favorite place to ride: Everywhere in the world, but it has to be a little challenging
- Next dream vacation: I would like to go around the world
“Michela is a pleasure to have as our guide. We were so pleased to have her as our guide on our 2nd tour of this trip.” (Bike Across Italy – Venice to Pisa, 2014)
“Andrea and Michela were both great. The three of them made a great team complementing each other in a superb manner. They always seemed energetic and enthusiastic. They were constantly looking to see what they could do for you. Fluent in English they were all a great source of information. Could not imagine a better team of tour leaders.” (Bike Across Italy – Venice to Pisa, 2014)
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Tika Walde
Tour Leader
Tika was born in Germany and moved to little town in the province of Chubut, Patagonia, Argentina, with his family when he was three. He studied to become a tourist guide in the Primo Capraro University of Bariloche and has worked as a traditional tourist guide of the Nahuel Huapi National Park. He is as passionate about cyclocross racing as he is about Argentina and sharing his love for his “home” country with our travelers.
- With ExperiencePlus! since: 2009
- Languages: Spanish, German, Portuguese and English
- Favorite bike item: shoes
- Favorite place to ride: I love to ride in mountain regions (up and downhill)
- Next dream vacation: I would like to go to France, explore the area around Mont Blanc
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Michele Quaresimin
Tour Leader
He was born in Vicenza where he still lives with his family: the super energetic Mattia , the lovely princess Aurora, and his wife Marta. He studied sport sciences at Verona University. When he’s not leading tours he is a physical fitness instructor. Michele also roller blades and enjoys climbing, swimming, and alpine and cross country skiing. Sports are his life. One of his mottos is “mens sana in corpore sano,” which means “a healthy mind and a sound body.” So, he doesn’t waste time on bad food or wine.
- With ExperiencePlus! since: 2008
- Languages: Italian and English
- Favorite bike item: Jersey
- Favorite place to ride: Everywhere in Italy
- Next dream vacation: I would return to Cuba
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Joan Escosura Manzano
Tour Leader / Tour Manager
Joan was born in sunny Barcelona. Life in the big city fed his passion for escaping into nature with his mountain bike. He currently lives in Spain’s Pyrenees. He got his undergraduate degree in tourism at the University of Barcelona, and has been working in different jobs all over the world ever since. He loves mountain biking, snowboarding, skateboarding, hiking, climbing, basketball and many other sports.
- With ExperiencePlus! since: 2006
- Languages: Catalan, Spanish, English, German, and French and some Italian
- Favorite bike item: Handlebar
- Favorite place to ride: The Pyrenees
- Next dream vacation: Back country skiing trip to Japan
“Our guides…Loreto, Joan, and Phillip…met the excellent high standards of ExperiencePlus! Fun loving and funny, knowledgeable, and extremely low key, they were a wonderful trio and marvelous traveling companions. They answered every question, attended to every request, and were extremely detail oriented. So hats off to the entire organization.”
“Joan was very organized and in control. Extremely friendly and willing to do what was needed to make the tour go smoothly and enjoyably.” -
Andrea Strappa
Tour Leader
Started working for ExperiencepPlus in 2013 as a logistics assistant and IT manager before leading tours both in Italy and in France. In his free time he loves to lead boy scouts, meet friends, travel, hike and ride in the countryside, and find nice places to share chats and a good beer. He has lived for 8 years in Romagna, working at EP’s Italian headquarter before returning to his hometown of Jesi – near Ancona –to work for a software company as a customer trainer.
- With ExperiencePlus! Since: 2013
- Languages: Italian, English, and Spanish
- Favorite bike item: an accurate and smooth shifting system
- Favorite place to ride: Dordogne
- Next dream vacation: Ireland
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Anibal Marasi
Tour Leader / Tour Manager
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Juan Pablo Mansilla
Tour Leader / Tour Manager
Juan Pablo, or “Jata”, was born and grew up in Santiago, Chile. He studied at the German high school of Santiago and later in Concepción, when his family moved there for work. Juan Pablo worked for many years in Chile’s central valley as an Agronomist engineer in the fruit exportation industry. He then moved to the place he’d fallen in love with long ago: the magical Chiloé Island in Chile’s Lakes District. He founded CHILOËTNICO, his own tourism company in 2000 and led his first tour with ExperiencePlus! in 2005 — Bicycling Patagonia’s Lakes District Plus! the Island of Chiloé. His years of experience in Chile’s Central Valley were key to designing and developing the ExperiencePlus! Bicycling Chile´s Wine Country routes. With a deep knowledge of history, flora & fauna, Juan Pablo brings a richness and depth to travelers’ experiences in Chile and Argentina. One of his goals is that when guests leave they will have at least one new piece of information about Chilean culture.
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Sabrina Moriconi
Tour Manager
Sabrina describes herself as “one of those trilingual European-Americans” who doesn’t really know where to call home. She grew up in Washington D.C., and spent summer months in Italy and Belgium. She studied history at Columbia University. She currently lives in Italy, close to Naples, with her children Marco and Giada. Sabrina began leading ExperiencePlus! tours in 1998.
- With ExperiencePlus! since: 1998
- Languages you speak? English, French, Italian and some Spanish.
- Favorite bike item? My back rack pannier.
- Favorite place to ride? Near the sea or in rolling terrain.
- Next dream vacation? I’d love to go to Japan, Cuba, Chile, Argentina.
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Philipp Schmitt
Tour Leader
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Sara Verlicchi
Tour Leader / Tour Manager
Sara, a native of Italy, started leading tours with ExperiencePlus! in 2004. Sara graduated from the architecture department at the University of Venice in 2006 and kept leading tours as well as working as architect until 2013 when her family grew and with a little baby she had to quit leading tours and started working in the Italy office as Italy Tour manager! She lives in the countryside near Ravenna and enjoys vacationing by bike whenever possible. She has toured on self-supported rides in Tuscany, Sicily, Croatia, Corsica, Costa Rica, Mexico and Vietnam. As a high school student, she was an exchange student in Cincinnati, Ohio and she still loves spending time with mid westerners! Her first tour has been Bike Across Italy – Venice to Pisa, one of our classic and most popular tour, on July 2004 and It also happened to be her 30th birthday … what a great way to celebrate!! Nowdays she spend most of the time managing most of the Italian tours and looking for coming back leading tours once in a while.
“Our tour guides Cristina, Damiano, and Sara were just excellent. They each brought their own strengths and qualities to the tour, but also worked so well together to make everything flawless. They were very well “trained”, very professional and extremely personable. They are a huge asset to your organization.”
“Unbelievably went above and beyond any job description of tour leader. She was unfailingly willing to look outside the box to solve problems and she did it gracefully under pressure. Sara was just fantastic.”“One rainy day, Sara was able to organize several different itineraries (those who wanted to bike, some who wanted to tour Fiesole, some who wanted to go onto Florence). Her ability to do this so well marks her in our minds as a terrific leader.”
“Sara is wonderful!! Knowledgeable, always in good humor, tactful, charming, and totally unflappable. She also indulged my desire to speak Italian from time to time!”
“I was so encouraged by Sara as she cheered us on!”
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Daria Bondavalli
Italy Staff / Staff / Tour Leader Manager
I was an exchange student in Brazil for six months at age 16. It changed my life by sparking the desire to know more about other places and cultures. At university I studied social work, with an emphasis on working with diverse populations. After earning my degree, I worked for several years in the social service and education sector, both abroad and in Italy. Ultimately, life had other plans for me. I returned to school and studied to become a hiking guide and a certified tour leader. My passion is being in nature and relating with people from different backgrounds. I worked as a tour leader, mostly with clients from the USA, and as a hiking guide, mostly with children. I now teach customer care in the Tour Leader Certification program of the Emilia Romagna Region and in January 2023 I began my new adventure in the tour management team with ExperiencePlus! I love photography and dancing.
- With ExperiencePlus! since: January 2023
- Languages you speak: Italian native, English, Portuguese and intermediate level of Spanish
- Favorite bike item: handlebar and bike travel bags
- Favorite place to ride: Portugal
- Next dream vacation: Japan and Bhutan
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Stefania Casedei
Italy Staff / Staff
Stefania is an Italy native. She previously worked as a computer programmer and systems analyst, but left that life behind to spend more time on a bike.
She has lead tours in Italy and has been with ExperiencePlus! since 2000. Working in the office since 2011, she still likes traveling, loves meeting people, experiencing different cultures, and exploring countries at the speed of a bike. She’s now Departure Manager of all ExperiencePlus’s guided bicycle tours.
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Betta Sazzini
Italy Staff / Staff
In 1996, Betta was the first ExperiencePlus! Guide to be hired outside of the Malpezzi-Price family. In between guiding tours and her current position as tour leader manager, Betta spent 15 years working as an export manager for a multinational company. Happy to return “home” to ExperiencePlus!, Betta now oversees our (notably larger) team of tour leaders.
When she is not making sure all of our tour leaders are taken care of, Betta can be found mountain biking, hiking, camping, and traveling as much as possible!
- With ExperiencePlus! Since: 1996 and 2014
- Languages you speak: Italian, German, French, Spanish, and English
- Favorite bike item: Vintage jerseys
- Favorite place to bike: She likes to ride anyqehere immersed in beautiful nature
- Next dream vacation: New Zealand
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Massimo Malpezzi
Italy Staff / Staff
Massimo a.k.a. “Max” is Paola’s nephew and Monica and Maria Elena’s cousin. He has worked with ExperiencePlus! longer than any other full time employees or tour leaders. Between 2007 and 2013, Max retired from ExperiencePlus! to work as a general manager for his family’s restaurant on the Eastern Coast of Italy. 2013 marked his return to ExperiencePlus! as the Italian office Business Manager. If you are lucky, you may even see him out on tour every now and then. Max enjoys photography, sailing, deep sea diving, and cycling. Most of all, he enjoys spending time with his beautiful daughter, Eleonora. Massimo says what he enjoys most about his job is meeting great people and sharing his love of Italy with others.
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Michele Boglioni
Italy Staff / Staff
Michele grew up in a village at the base of the Alps, in Lombardy, He studied Environmental Science in Milan and tried working in the environmental law field, but the call to adventure was too great. He headed to Australia for six-months of backpacking, then returned to Italy and started teaching at an environmental education school. He has also worrked as a guide in a natural reserve and as a tour leader for other companies. Michele has a long history leading ExperiencePlus! tours and now takes care of route logistics and quality control on European tours.
- With ExperiencePlus! Since: 2004
- Languages you speak: Italian, English, and some Spanish
- Favorite bike item: Front Bike Light
- Favorite place to ride: Romagna hills
- Next dream vacation: He would go over and over again to Northern Argentina
“Michele goes out of his way to make the tour great. He worked with the locals well, and was well liked by me and my fellow travelers.”
“Excellent; he is smart, personable, friendly. He always added a ray of sunshine to the day!”
“Michele is outstanding. We have traveled with him before and continue to find his leadership and organizational skills exemplary. He is sensitive to safety and yet encourages and adapts to individual riders’ interests and abilities. He is always helpful and has a great sense of humor.”
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Igor Baccini
Italy Staff / Staff
Igor Baccini is our “Bike Fleet and Logistics Manager” at our headquarters in Italy. He takes care of our bike fleet in Europe and during the summer season he has two bike mechanics working full time for him as he assigns bikes to all European tours and supervises the movement of all vans and bikes that leave our main headquarters in Italy. He also is one of our star tour leaders in Europe. In his spare time, he can’t get away from biking as he spends his vacation bicycle touring with friends. Ask him about his summer bike tours with his friends as he works on converting more of them to bicycle maniacs like him. He has been skateboarding since he was thirteen and loves to ride and help friends build parks and ramps. Although he does not drink coffee, does not follow soccer, and has a Russian name, do not be fooled, he is 100% Italian.
“Igor was very knowledgable about the route and always ready to help when needed.”
“Igor was just amazing. He constantly went out of his way to make sure everyone was happy. This guy seemed tireless as he worked on our bikes even after riding with us on some of the more daunting days. He was well organized, knew his stuff, but most importantly, he was someone that was fun to travel with. The best way to described Igor is that he took care of us like we were family.”
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John Giebler
Italy Staff / Staff
John Giebler has led tours in France and Italy and has been with ExperiencePlus! since 2000. When he’s not leading bicycle or culinary tours, he enjoys putting his sommelier skills to practice. In 2013, he became ExperiencePlus’s Director of Tours where he oversees the quality and development of all of ExperiencePlus’s guided bicycle tours. John loves music, cooking, and traveling with his friends/colleagues in Italy. John was Head Produce Buyer for Whole Foods Market in the Boston area until — having always had an intense passion for food, wine, and travel– the travel bug became too strong in 1996. John got a great price on a round-the-world ticket that eventually led him to Europe. Getting back to his love of food and wine, he delved into the French culture working on small farms and harvesting grapes in Burgundy. After relishing several years living in France, John moved near our Italian headquarters in 2006. In the past few years, John’s European roots have grown deeper; in October 2011, he married in the charming medieval town of Brisighella.
“I was very impressed with John and Jonathan. They went out of their way to make our trip a wonderful experience. Their knowledge of the area helped to make this trip truly memorable.”
“John was very knowledgeable about French history and provided us with additional experiences that made the trip very special like the olive plant visit and private dinner the last night. His interest in food and wine adds to the experience.”
“John’s training as a sommelier added another dimension to our already wonderful dining experiences. He accompanied us to a wine shop to make sure we could obtain the wines we wanted to take home with us!”
“One of the best — calm, reassuring, totally in control, thoughtful, excellent communicator.”
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Jules Horton
Staff / US Staff
Jules Horton is the Purveyor of Cycling Adventures at ExperiencePlus! Bicycle Tours. She bicycled in more than 20 countries on a year long, self-supported bicycle tour around the world, which covered more than 14,000 miles. Her career in the adventure travel industry began back in 1994 when she started leading hiking tours in the USA, Europe, and far flung locations like Nepal and Thailand. After 10 years on the trail, her desire to get back on the road led her to ExperiencePlus! in 2004. Her passion for traveling by bicycle and sharing the possibilities and plans with our travelers makes her “work” at ExperiencePlus! fun and gratifying. She looks forward to sharing her enthusiasm for traveling by bike with each of you and hearing of your adventures.
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Eileen McCluskey
Staff / US Staff
Eileen grew up in New Jersey and moved around with her military spouse before settling down in Colorado to raise her family. She first started at ExperiencePlus! As a customer on the Lakes District tour in 2018 and started scheming and dreaming of getting more of THAT in her life. After a long and fulfilling career as a librarian, she returned to ExperiencePlus! To work part-time in a position that combines her love of traveling and cycling. Most of Eileen’s travel has revolved around visiting her large, extended family who luckily live in awesome places like Alaska, California, Ireland, Maine, Michigan, Florida, England, and too many other placees for her to meet them all. When not at work, Eileen is cycling, knitting, weaving, camping, and perfecting the mournful art of gluten-free baking.
Eileen splits her time supporting Jules and Andrea with sales, marketing, and reservations. Email Eileen at eileen@experienceplus.com
- With ExperiencePlus! Since: 2022
- Languages you speak: Englush, some Spanish and Dewey Decimal. At any library you will see her browsing in the 641’2, 746’s, 811’s, and 914’s.
- Favorite bike item: Smartwool neck buffs or anything that keeps her warm
- Favorite place to ride: Anywhere with great trees and her husband. One of her favorite rides was the Avenue of the Giants in Humboldt County, California
- Next dream vacation: Anyplace in Italy
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Seth Jansen
Staff / US Staff
Seth grew up in Colorado enjoying the outdoors through backcountry snowboarding, biking, and backpacking. But he comes to ExperiencePlus! more through his background in technology and project management than in travel or adventure. Seth has a degree in mechanical engineering and brings those skills to bear on information technology, accounting, or other projects for ExperiencePlus!. When he’s not at work, he prefers to be out of the trail (in any season and by any means).
- With ExperiencePlus! since: Side projects since 2008, most of the time since 2015
- Languages you speak: English and a few computer programming languages that are more useful to getting work done than traveling
- Favorite place to ride: I can’t pick. Single track through a shaded forest, on Belgium’s wonderful touring network or through a vineyard anywhere in Southern Europe
- Next dream vacation: Backcountry snowboarding trip in British Columbia
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Andrea Segura
Staff / US Staff
We prefer to call her indispensable Andrea, as she helps the Fort Collins office to stay afloat. She started with ExperiencePlus! as an intern from Colorado State University, and now works full time after graduating in May 2016 with a degree in Natural Resource Recreation and Tourism. If you book a trip with us, you are likely to see a few emails from her as she sends you helpful information about your trip. Email andrea.segura@experienceplus.com
- With ExperiencePlus! since: 2014
- Languages you speak: English and some rusty Spanish—but I keep practicing!
- Favorite bike item: Rapha’s Merino Arm warmers. These arm warmers are so versatile, I can wear them in all conditions.
- Favorite place to ride: I love to be near water, so any bike ride with bodies of water in my view makes me happy.
- Next dream vacation: I will keep going back to Costa Rica – I never feel more relaxed than I do there. My father’s side of the family lives there so I try to make time to see them at least once a year.
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Nadine Dirksen
Staff / US Staff
A German native, Nadine is a happy Colorado transplant who moved from lush Bavaria to be with her American husband. She left the land of pretzels in 2012 and has been enjoying a fun life full of cycling, CrossFit, hiking, and Colorado lifestyle. When not having fun outside or at work, she’s an avid knitter. Before joining the ExperiencePlus! Family, her international professional journey ranged from paralegal to project manager. At ExperiencePlus! she runs the Traveler Service Department, manages a handful of tours and supports operations by trying to fit the puzzle pieces of day-to-day processes into an effortless pattern. She is as excited as you are to bring your dream trip to reality! You can get in touch with her at Nadine@experienceplus.com.
- With ExperiencePlus since: December 2014
- Languages you speak: German (including Bavarian!), English, and un peu de French
- Favorite bike item: A good pair of cycling leggings.
- Favorite place to bike: Flowy single track, or any ExperiencePlus! tour!
- Next dream vacation: I would love to explore more of the northern parts of Europe and can’t wait to get a chance to visit Scotland.
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Carol Busch
Staff / US Staff
Carol had the great fortune to develop her passion for bicycle travel in the late 1990s when she first worked for ExperiencePlus! as a marking associate, tour guide, and tour developer. Convinced as needed to find ‘more purposeful’ work, she went back to graduate school and spent the next two decades working in non-profit and higher education marketing and communications. When the opportunity to combine her love for traveling by bike with her professional expertise came knocking, she answered with great joy. Carol returned to ExperiencePlus! in 2021 as Sales and Marketing Manager. Today she can think nothing better suited to her professional skills and interests than helping connect our customers to the joys of exploring new places by bicycle. Whether mountain biking, backcountry skiing, trail running, fly fishing, or exploring gravel roads, Carol is continually in pursuit of new adventure.
“I’ve never been more at peace than when I’m bicycle touring. I love the simplicity. Just get to your next destination. The food, my companions, surprise stops for a quick dip in the sea, the landscape and scenery, the unfolding route: these elements just make the experience that much more rewarding.”
- With ExperiencePlus since: 2021; and 1997-2000
- Languages you speak: English and Spanish (conversational)
- Favorite Cycling Item: Sun sleeves! It’s a whole new world of cycling with little shade. I love getting them wet to cool me off. The hardest part about wearing them is deciding what color to wear.
- Favorite place to ride: On dirt. I love single track and gravel roads, but I’m quite happy pedaling pavement up canyons, over mountain passes, through river valleys, or wherever the landscape is diverse and inspiring. Croatia, Colorado, Canada, and Costa Rica are all highlights.
- Favorite ExperiencePlus tours: Explorer: Cycling Istria; Cycling Italy’s Dolomites Plus! The Sella Ronda; The Lakes of Austria and Slovenia Plus! Ljubljana
- Next dream vacation: Expedition: Patagonia Coast to Coast
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Andrea Garreffa
Staff / Tour Leader / Tour Leader Manager
Andrea was born near the Cinque Terre in Savona, Italy, and raised in Bologna. He earned a Master’s Degree in Communication Studies with a focus on environmental issues and has studied in Italy, Spain, California, and Washington, D.C. Since 2007 Andrea has been exploring new European cycling routes with friends. In 2015 he cycled across Central America, from Cancùn to Panama, and in 2016 he cycled across Cuba. Andrea knows how to bake a mean loaf of authentic Italian bread and loves working in his vegetable garden. Very much involved into Italian politics at a national level between 2019 and 2021, Andrea still leads tours but since 2023 works also as Tour Leader Manager taking care of training events, end of season events and many other details in between those two key moments in the season of Tour Leaders. In short, if Tour Leaders have questions about their job, Andrea’s phone will be ringing!
- With ExperiencePlus! since: 2013, leading tours & expeditions
- Languages: Italian, English, and Spanish. French… work in progress!
- Favorite bike item: I love the “saltafossi” an ancient bicycle part that allowed cyclists to easily grab the bicycle and jump over obstacles, or to carry the beloved two wheels up to the apartment.
- Favorite place to ride: Sardinia, The Alps, hills over Bologna, Tuscany, and the Balkans. Let’s say anywhere there are hills and room for adventure.
- Next dream vacation: New Zealand, Australia and South East Asia, then back to the magical island of Sardinia.
“Enrico and Andrea were superb! They work really well together. They were the most attentive and seamless guides we have ever had. We really appreciated that they made an extra effort to offer interesting experiences. It was clear that their contacts in Sardinia look forward to seeing them and welcome them. That made it extra special. They are by far the best guides that I have ever had. My husband and I would like to go on tour with them again. I simply can’t say enough about them!!!!” (Bicycling Sardinia – Algero to Cagliari, 2014)
“Andrea and Michela were both great. The three of them made a great team complementing each other in a superb manner. They always seemed energetic and enthusiastic. They were constantly looking to see what they could do for you. Fluent in English they were all a great source of information. Could not imagine a better team of tour leaders.” (Bike Across Italy – Venice to Pisa, 2014)