Alexey Chizhik and "Sky": how the author's cycling tours are arranged and how much they bring

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Useful from the issue

1. Do not conduct a tour without a run-in

   Alexey does not put the route on sale until he has driven it himself. The run—in is part of the cost, it is included in the price of the tour.

2. Funnel: out of a hundred applications, only a few go

   According to the experience of "Sky", out of about 100 applications, 6-10 people go on a trip. Plan a set with this stock.

3. Hidden price gives feedback

   While the cost was found out in the personal account, Alexey saw how many people were interested and who was confused by the price. The open price list on the site removed this feedback.

4. Motivation is more important than iron

   The easiest route is often traveled by participants on simple bicycles. Expensive equipment without the moral readiness to give everything does not save.

5. A burner instead of a campfire

   It is impossible to burn bonfires in the Netherlands and on the Kaliningrad bike path, but it takes a long time in the rain and wind. The burner is faster and more convenient.

6. Contractors — through friends

   Alexey searches for drivers and guides based on recommendations, not on bulletin boards. And still keeps a backup plan in case of a human factor.

7. Limit the number of trips

   The limit of about ten weekly trips per year allows the guide to stay in the resource: a tired organizer spoils the trip for all participants.

8. Prepayment is closer to the date

   At an unspecified time, Alexey starts recruiting no earlier than two months in advance and takes prepayments closer to the tour.

Photographer, snowboarder, cyclist

Alexey's parents instilled a love of travel in him: as a child, the family traveled by car to most of Russia, especially Karelia. In high school, he became interested in photography and snowboarding at the same time, then went into freeride and skiing. The bike appeared after a meniscus injury at football: the doctor advised pedaling, and around 2012-2013, Alexey bought the first singlespeed, and then joined the fixed party.

As a photographer, he realized that traveling by car is too fast, walking is too slow, and a bicycle is optimal. The first bike trip with his wife and a friend in the Netherlands in 2018-2019 hooked him. Alexey himself admits that racing and numbers don't turn him on: there is no bike computer, only Strava writes.

How the "Sky" has grown

Alexey and his friends rolled off the first route along the Altai Mountains in 2020, at the height of the covid, when some of the districts were closed. In 2021, the first group went, then Altai began to ride two or three times a season, Dagestan appeared, and now there is a flat route through the Kaliningrad region for those who have a city bike, singlespeed or fix.

All tours come with an escort car: you can go light, and a tired participant can always get in the car. At the same time, Alexey does not like the word "extreme" — it scares people away, although he really travels with a sporting bent. He conducts the tour only by rolling back the route himself, and always keeps plan B and plan B.

Money: an honest calculation

Alexey considers it normal to talk about money. There is no queue of people willing, the group is recruited by word of mouth, he did not buy advertising because he does not understand how to make it effective. Out of hundreds of applications, 6-10 people go as a result. A tour to Altai in 2021 cost 45 thousand, in 2024 - 85: flights and crossings have risen in price.

The benchmark for earning is the rate of a mountain guide. On average, 80-120 thousand come out of a trip, often less; he does not plan to live on it, his photo feeds him. Even if the tour does not pay off, Alexey does not cancel it: a trip with a small train still gives experience. Ilya says that last year he got cheaper with the entry fee for the Tour de Selishchi, and then the slots were resold much more expensive.

Who goes and how to choose them

Alexey sends a questionnaire to each potential participant: how a person evaluates his training, how much he drives during the season, what he drives. A bicycle and equipment say a lot about experience, but you can't judge by the cover: the easiest route is often driven by people on simple bicycles, and carbon fiber owners who expect expensive equipment to do everything for them get tired.

An example is a participant who went to Altai on a bicycle that had been standing on a balcony for two years, and kept in a pack behind the guys on top gravel. After the tour, she bought herself a nice bike. Strong participants sometimes have to be put down: "Sky" is not a race, it is impossible to overtake the opening guide.

How the route is born and why you don't want more

The route begins with the desire of Alexei himself: if you do a tour just for the sake of commerce, it will be burdensome. Then a long work with maps, overnight stays, transfers and drivers, to whom he explains the format in detail, and a mandatory run-in. He is looking for contractors only through acquaintances — in one tour of Dagestan, even a proven driver behaved strangely.

In order not to burn out, Alexey limits himself to about a dozen weekly trips a year: he is both an organizer, a guide, a photographer and a presenter of social networks. He once learned the same lesson in photography, having shot 45 weddings in a season. If the recruitment to Altai goes badly because of the rise in price, he just rests. Recruitment of groups starts no earlier than two months in advance, he takes advance payments closer to the date.

Racing, Reverse and Plans

Alexey came to the gravel Reverse to support his friends and realized that he liked the atmosphere of such events. Ilya remembers that it was this race that inspired him, and after its closure he decided to make his own gravel — Tsar Grader. Alexey is going to Pokrov and helps a friend with a race in Sergiev Posad.

Ilya, in turn, talks about his travels — Latvia, Finland, Karelia — and about last year's solo tour of 200 km per day along the route around the Novgorod region. Alexey wants to further develop domestic tourism — to make routes accessible to the average participant both physically and financially.

Timestamps

1. 0:00Release Announcement
2. 3:40Plans for the season
3. 5:42Traveling with or without bags
4. 7:38Who is Alexey
5. 13:11The beginning of the "Sky"
6. 17:14Were there fakaps
7. 21:54How much does the organizer earn
8. 29:28The economy of cycling
9. 35:04How participants are selected
10. 43:27How to create a journey
11. 48:42A burner or a bonfire
12. 50:19Burnout
13. 54:50Plans for the future
14. 59:00Races and camps
15. 1:02:53Traditional section

Mentioned in this episode

Sky · Reverse · Tsar Grader · Tour de Selishchi · Pokrova · Strava · Gorny Altai · Kaliningrad