We sat down with two of our Thailand-based guides — Guide Aum and Guide Natt — and asked them to pull back the curtain on what their job actually looks like from the inside.
When many picture cycling guides, they think of semi pro cyclists. Someone who’s at the front of a pack — hyper-fit and super-fast. It’s a fair assumption but this isn’t necessarily the whole picture when it comes to what it’s like being a guide at SpiceRoads.
Fitness matters, but it's only the entry ticket to being a cycling guide, not the whole job. In fact many of our most experienced guides will tell you: they're not athletes.
Aum, who’s been guiding with SpiceRoads for years, puts it simply: "My job really isn't about being the strongest rider in the group. It's about making sure everyone else has the trip of their life."
LOCALS FIRST
Something that sets our guides apart from a lot of other cycling tour companies: they’re almost always from the countries they guide in. We love to scout guides on the ground, in the places where the tours actually happen.
Some come to guiding as cyclists first, who discovered along the way that they loved sharing the ride with others. Others were already experienced tour guides who fell in love with cycling travel, made the switch and never looked back. Aum grew up cycling the roads in and around Chiang Mai before guiding for SpiceRoads. Natt's path was different — he started in tourism first, then found his love of biking — but the result’s the same: an encyclopedic knowledge of the country that no amount of pre-trip research can replicate.
We also invest in our guides beyond the saddle. Each year, we bring them together for our annual guide and driver meeting hosted in Thailand — sharing knowledge, refreshing skills, running workshops, and making sure that signature SpiceRoads touch translates consistently across every country we ride in.
MORE THAN RIDING
A guide's morning starts well before the pedals turn —reviewing the break points, calling ahead for lunch, ensuring the support vehicle is stocked. Once the group’s moving, the job becomes reading the group's energy, anticipating when breaks are needed, and sharing insights about the land, people, and culture of the country we’re in.
Our guides are down-to-earth people who love showing you around their country by bicycle. They train to keep you safe and have an intuitive passion for keeping you engaged throughout the journey. They’re there when you need them, but also give you the space to do things at your own pace. Some days, you'll be swapping stories and jokes over meals. On others, you might just be content with a cold drink and time alone to catch up on your phone. Both are okay, and our guides get this.
CULTURAL AMBASSADORS
This is the part of the job that genuinely feels like a privilege: being the one to introduce a place to someone seeing it for the very first time. And because our guides are locals, this isn't performative — it's something they’re genuinely proud to do. When Aum points out a roadside spirit house and explains what it means, or when Natt leads a group through a temple festival that wasn't on the itinerary, those moments happen organically. They know which market opens early and which noodle stall is worth the detour.
And here's the thing that keeps the job fresh after guiding countless trips: watching people experience a place for the first time has a way of making it new again for the guide too. A road ridden forty times can still feel different through someone else's eyes.
SHARED BONDS
There's something unique to bicycle travel. Something that strips away social barriers between guide and guest unlike almost any other form of travel. It's the hours spent side by side on quiet backroads, or the shared relief of finishing the hard climbs together. It’s about the bonds made on a shared journey of discovery and physical achievement.
Natt fondly recounts his memories guiding a group of friends who cycled the length of the country so the groom could reach his own wedding by bike — and still remains close with them, a decade on. Memories and experiences like that aren't the exception. They're a big part of why being a cycling guide feels so rewarding.
SIGNATURE TOUCHES
Every guide brings their own character to each trip. Aum’s well known for almost always bringing his full coffee kit — an AeroPress, a grinder, and good local beans — so groups often enjoy a proper brew as part of each day’s pre-ride ritual. Natt really loves a good briefing, so much so that you’ll almost always see him stroll into the hotel lobby with an iPad in hand – the best tool in his opinion for going over the route at the start of each day.
Every guide is a little different and that’s what makes every one of our journeys unique.
WHY WE CYCLE
All this comes full circle when we reflect back to our core belief – that there's no better way to see the world than by bicycle. Why? Because bicycles move at the right pace: slow enough to take in the world around you, fast enough to explore a whole lot in a day. And when you've got a local guide like Aum or Natt, someone who grew up on these roads, speaks the language, knows the best foods, the history, and the people — that’s part of what makes our cycling journeys so special.
Come see what the world looks like from the saddle — guided by the people who love what they do.
