Family Friendly Bike Tour Reviews
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★★★★★ Richard Severson
Very dissatisfied
Danube Bike Path 8 Nights (Upscale Lodging)
Our trip was shortened due to previous rains which had damaged the trail and sections were closed. We were not informed of this issue until we had been biking for two days. We were unable to ride the final two days as the trail was closed.
We should have been notified of this situation prior to our leaving home. We would have cancelled the trip (we had trip insurance) and rebooked for next year. VERY disappointed in the way this information was withheld from us. It is a clear case of the bike touring company looking out for themselves and totally disregarding us, the customer.
Also, one member of our party had to cancel due to medical reasons. This information must not have reached the provider as 4 bikes were delivered and all hotels were expecting 4 people.
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★★★★★ Mama
Danube family bike tour???
Danube Family Tour 7 Nights
This trip did not turn out to be anything like we expected. Although the hotels and the scenery were beautiful the support from The Bike Company was useless. When a child with a temp of 104 needed a hospital they had no suggestions on where to go or how to get there. The maps they provided were useless and the directions given to us on the first night we're completed in about 20 minutes. The bikes were inconsistent some had water bottle holders some not. The day at the spa although nice contain total nudity. American children aren't used to that. The Farm Hotel turned out to be 3 goats. The bike ride into Venice was four miles of City biking. bike trails in Vienna are gorgeous but not particularly child friendly. The Danube bike paths all though lovely contained many areas where the speed limit was 70 kilometers an hour. We had seven and 10 year old children riding.The bike support was not given by the tour company but by another tour company. Support really meant they just transported our luggage. This would have been a beautiful ride for adults and teenagers. Not young children. the maps need to be completely redone.
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★★★★★ Sam Fleischacker
Denmark is great; BikeTours is not
Royal Zealand and Copenhagen
Are you looking for a tour company that will send you bike directions to the wrong hotels, follow that up with a condescending note when you complain rather than apologizing and correcting their mistake, book you in charmless corporate hotels way outside of the towns you're headed for, and delete your GPS tracks before your trip is finished? If so, this is the trip for you! If not, look elsewhere. My wife and I had some wonderful biking on this trip - but that's because of Denmark, which has beautiful and very well-marked bike trails everywhere (running through forests often), not because of BikeTours: indeed, we sometimes needed to correct the GPS tracks we were sent by the Danish markers, or by asking locals for help. Our previous experience on a self-guided bike tour, in France, was magical: with lovely, varied hotels in beautiful places at the end of each day, a well-crafted route accurately represented on the GPS tracks, and good help available by phone if we needed it (to be fair the Copenhagen representative of this local bike company, Sofia, was very friendly and helpful). This was a great disappointment after that. If you're looking for a tour that is geared towards your enjoyment, rather than the bottom line of the tour operator, I'd avoid BikeTours.com.
- What was the date of your tour?
- July 2024
- How many tours have you completed?
- 2
- Difficulty (actual vs. expected)?
- Somewhat harder
- Do you recommend this tour?
- No
- Countries included in this tour?
- Denmark
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★★★★★ John Zimmerman
Washout
Danube Bike Path 7 Nights (Classic)
So I picked the worst possible week to do this, the trip was canceled by the tour company after 2 days because of flooding. I'm still waiting to hear from them. The bike was very nice, it had fenders, which came in handy in the steady rain I biked in the 2 days I was on the tour. The path was well marked, almost all that I was on was paved. One downside was because of the rain, the restaurants along the trail were closed, so when I most needed a hot drink, none were to be found. I couldn't use the turn by turn app because of the rain, but the trail guide book was very nice, and the directions were easy to follow. Conclusion, September is not a good month to do this, it was around 50 degrees the entire time I was on the cycle path. I want to attempt this again, there is a 99 percent chance that the weather will be better.
- What was the date of your tour?
- September 2024
- How many tours have you completed?
- this was the first one
- Difficulty (actual vs. expected)?
- Much easier
- Who is this tour suitable for?
- First-time bike tourists, Solo travelers, Families with teens, Families with young kids
- Do you recommend this tour?
- Yes
- Countries included in this tour?
- Austria, Germany
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★★★★★ Michael Beiley
Mediocre bike trip
Nature, Villages & Castles of the Loire River Valley
This is our 6th bike trip in Europe as an older couple and our least favorite. The chateaux (chateaus) were the highlights with beautiful gardens and art work. The beginning town of Blois and last town of Ambroise were charming and the best part of the trip. The biking along the Loire the very first day and last day were the prettiest. Most of the biking was along dedicated bikepaths or very quiet roads. Otherwise, the bicycling though flat farmland, small towns with zero to very limited restaurants, and vineyards without opportunity to for tastings was very uninspiring. The tour operator booked us in a hotel for two nights when the restaurant was closed and the nearest town was 4km through a forest at night if we wanted to eat dinner. They also booked a canoe trip for 2:30 when we passed through it was 11:00 a.m and closed (we asked for a refund but they never replied.) The hotels other than the first and last day were very average. Overall, the 4 chateaux and the two 1/2 days biking along Loire river were the highlights, the rest was mediocre.
- What was the date of your tour?
- Sept-Oct 2023
- How many tours have you completed?
- 6
- Difficulty (actual vs. expected)?
- Much easier
- Who is this tour suitable for?
- First-time bike tourists
- Do you recommend this tour?
- No
- Countries included in this tour?
- France
-
★★★★★ Leslie Wilson
Very disappointing
Lake Garda (Based in One Hotel)
The bikes,local tour provider & maps where not an acceptable standard or adequately explained to our bike group. We all goind this to be very disappointing.
- What was the date of your tour?
- September 2024
- How many tours have you completed?
- 4
- Difficulty (actual vs. expected)?
- As expected
- Who is this tour suitable for?
- Solo travelers, Families with teens
- Do you recommend this tour?
- No
- Countries included in this tour?
- Italy
-
★★★★★ Christopher Blair
Strasbourg - Mainz
Strasbourg to Mainz: Imperial Cities and Charming Landscapes Along the Rhine
It was okay.
First day, bags were not picked up. Had to call. Delivered after dinner time. Expected some explanation or perhaps an apology. Nothing. -
★★★★★ Jim Brewer
Mainz to Cologne
Rhine Bike Path: Mainz to Cologne
The Rhine Valley was beautiful. The hybird bikes were very good. Maps and directions for the tour were very poor at best. Extremely difficult to find Hotels and the key sights mentioned by the tour. We experienced extremely high temperatures but had A/C most nights. The night without A/C resulted in very little sleep and NO biking the next day. The night that they shut off the A/C in the middle of the night resulted into a lot of lost sleep. Bottom line even with average high temperatures you need A/C every night and all night long.
Others on the same tour with the same maps etc also had difficulties finding the Hotels each evening.- What was the date of your tour?
- 22 Jul 18--28 Jul 18
- How many tours have you completed?
- 1
- Difficulty (actual vs. expected)?
- As expected
- Do you recommend this tour?
- No
- Countries included in this tour?
- Germany
-
★★★★★ Shirley Santucci
Disappointed
Danube Bike Path 8 Nights (Upscale Lodging)
Total lack of communication in not informing us that our biking would end 2 days early, which meant missing out biking through the Wachau valley . When I contacted Bike Tours that my husband was ill and could not make the trip. I should have been informed then that there were changes to the scheduled tour. The welcome meeting & bike fitting was a joke. There was absolutely no value in that 15 minute meeting. I had to adjust the handle bars myself and struggle through removing the battery for charging at the 1st two hotels that did not offer charging in the bike storage area. The electric bike itself was very good quality and comfortable to ride. The printed trip itinerary was easy to follow but did not offer much in the way of "do not miss" highlights along the way. In my opinion, only three of the hotels were worth the upscale category. I would not recommend this bike tour for anyone that has experienced quality bike tours previously.
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★★★★★ diane g
Salzburg to Salzburg has fantastic scenery but directions provided are unbelievably poorly developed
Tauern Bike Path (Salzburg-Salzburg)
Salzburg to Salzburg over 6 days is higher than a level 2. The terrain is hilly. I do not recommend this self guided tour because the german-speaking outfits they contract with provide totally inadequate self-guiding instructions. They do not know what a cue sheet is. They do not provide any directions as to north, south, east, west; they do not provide any street names. AND, the directions in English are very obviously translated very poorly from the German. In addition, there is no way to find your hotel once off the bike path. You have to depend upon good route finding skills for this hotel finding as well as the entire trip. We had this same experience with bike tours.com 7 years ago and thought they might have gotten better at directions. We gave bike tours feedback at that time, and our friends gave feedback on their german-speaking directions on their self-guided tour, and nothing changed. Hence I am writing this review without making a customer complaint becaue I do not believe bike tours will fix this problem. AND, THIS TOUR REQUIRES ONE TO CONSULT 3 SETS OF INSTRUCTIONS THROUGHOUT THE TRIP. 2 sets of friends had exactly the same experience. 2 stars are for getting our luggage to each hotel before we arrived; and the hotels were gracious and accommodating.
- What was the date of your tour?
- September 2016
- How many tours have you completed?
- 6
- Difficulty (actual vs. expected)?
- Somewhat harder
- Do you recommend this tour?
- No
- Countries included in this tour?
- Austria
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BikeTours.com staff reply from Jim Johnson
This is a tour with one of our most popular operators—we send hundreds of clients with them each year—and they get routinely positive reviews. The Tauern Bike Path is also one of our more popular and long-standing tours.However, this is a new routing of a long-standing tour (that had also received good reviews), and it’s obvious they cut some corners on the directions and tour materials. We apologize for this.
I’ve actually ridden the Tauern Bike Path three times since its opening about 20 years ago. In fact, my first tour on it was before I started BikeTours.com, and it was part of my inspiration for starting the company. So it saddens me when anyone has a negative experience on it.
We also apologize for the level of difficulty, which should have been a level 3. In its previous form (the tour actually went mostly in the opposite direction), the tour was a level 2.
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★★★★★ pmcmanamon
Tour instructions were outdated, and hard to follow
Strasbourg to Mainz: Imperial Cities and Charming Landscapes Along the Rhine
The cities we visited were great, and so were the hotels. I was warm, so air conditions would have been nice, but not a big deal. The tour instructions consisted of a generic book with instructions, and a generic set of maps. The maps were not that detailed. When the maps disagreed with the instructions the maps were right. The signage along the routes changed since they made the instructions . We were told to look for a large E along European bike paths, but it appears to have been replaced by a circle with 15 inside it, i guess for the # of countries in the EU. The bikes were great. The luggage was always delivered on time. I downloaded a Eurobike app to help with the directions, but it did not work well. In order to update my positions I had to quit the app, and restart it. The Biketours people did suggest a new app, RidewithGPS, that worked much better. Because they did not have cues the pass could not tell me ahead of a turn, but it did tell me if we go off course.
I think the local tour company, Eurobike, needs to update their instructions. I also would appreciate if they made unique instructions for each tour. The instructions start and end at a city center. When we got close I would use google maps to find the hotel directly, rather than going to the city center and then to the hotel. My ideal would be a unique set of instructions for a tour, with small maps above or below each instruction. We have had that with other tours, but different providers. On this tour I could not mount my instructions and maps so I could see both while riding, I picked the instructions. In some cases they recommend stopping at a certain place for lunch, but you cannot see if from the tour route, and there is no map to locate it.
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★★★★★ Carol Bly
Not what hoped for. Poor directions. Unsafe routes and not well marked.
Tauern Bike Path (Krimml-Passau)
Loved quiet rides in country and thru villages but dangerous conditions were not marked due to recent storms. We should have been notified and got onto dangerous routes.
- What was the date of your tour?
- September 2024
- How many tours have you completed?
- 1
- Difficulty (actual vs. expected)?
- Somewhat harder
- Do you recommend this tour?
- No
- Countries included in this tour?
- Austria, Germany
-
BikeTours.com staff reply from jan
Thank you for your feedback, and we sincerely apologize for the disruptions you experienced during your trip. The recent 100-year storm was an unprecedented event that affected thousands of travelers across the region, and we regret that it impacted your adventure.
We always strive to provide the best experience possible, and it is disheartening when factors beyond our control prevent us from doing so. Please know that our team worked tirelessly to ensure the safety and well-being of all our guests during this unexpected situation.
Thanks for your business and we hope you'll travel with us again.
Jan
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★★★★★ Aileen Gray
Tour was not 5 hour tour as stated
Bilbao Gold Coast E-Bike Tour
Excellent guide. We left bilboa at 10 am. Arrived in Getxo at 1220. Had option to return with guide or pay 7 each to return on our own. Return was 45 mins. Not worth 55 euro we paid.
- What was the date of your tour?
- September 17
- How many tours have you completed?
- 20 plus
- Difficulty (actual vs. expected)?
- Much easier
- Do you recommend this tour?
- No
-
★★★★★ May
First family cycling trip completed!
Danube Bike Path 8 Nights (Upscale Lodging)
Overall a satisfactory trip! The GPS is very useful for navigation. The hotels are great! Just on first day, we find that 2 of the 4 bikes are not fit. We have enter our age and height and has not been told specifically what kinds of bikes will be assigned. I found that they just give standard bikes for adult female and male disregard our height and age (Asians in average are shorter than Westerners.) The person, Robert, arrived for “bike fitting” was not helpful at all. He suggested my daughter to cycle 30km to their bike shop to change bike. When we asked him to call customer service, he said he didn’t have Wi-Fi. So, Eurobike send a staff without communication methods to help customers’ solve problems? Finally, Robert had to use my phone to call the CS number. And in the phone, he said we are “bla, bla, bla.” Is it the customers cannot voice their requests, even the bikes are not fit and customers have to take the risk of getting hurt or accident? and seems to Robert, customers’ requests are “bla, bla, bla..” And customers need to take the riding risk to go 30km to change bike? Later he mentioned it may need to charge EUR 50 per bike change if need to switch bikes in Passau. I have emailed biketour and I am grateful that next day the 2 bikes were changed without additional charges. In second day, Simon is much more helpful. Simon helps us do the testing & it works. Simon is v polite and helpful. Passau is the starting point of Danube cycle path. I feel strange that the outsource company does not have a bike rental centre there. This is our first family cycling trip and it did create stresses at the beginning. The outsource company probably need to have better communication with biketour.
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★★★★★ Elizabeth Anderson
Not ideal
Bolzano to Verona: Orchards, Mountains & Timeless Culture
Sorry, this tour was not great. We have used biketours.com for five different trips and this was our least favorite. The hotels were way out of the city centers making it difficult to get dinner or see sights after biking. The routes were not well planned.
- What was the date of your tour?
- September 2025
- How many tours have you completed?
- Lots and lots
- Difficulty (actual vs. expected)?
- As expected
- Do you recommend this tour?
- No
- Countries included in this tour?
- Italy
-
★★★★★ Debra Miller
A Bit Disappointing
Danube Bike Path 7 Nights (Classic)
Cycling along a paved path along the Danube was relaxing for our group of four. Day three was truly beautiful with cobblestone roads and colorful houses in the villages. Wish we had gone earlier in the year as many restaurants and shops were closed for the season.
-
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★★★★★ Janna R Poll
Needs a bit more sophistication
Prague to Dresden Along the Vltava & Elbe Rivers
1. There was no GPS. They insisted it was easy and we had maps, but they were in Czech and hard to read and the street were rarely marked.
2. I had two flats within the first mile ( two more to come). They need to put liners in their tires. Our pump was also so bad that after a lot of work it was still too low to ride. Usually other riders would stop and let us borrow their more superior pumps.
They delivered a new bike in Prague because my brakes were also broken. To get to their delivery car I had to go down a wet slope and across a divided highway. I fell on a wet grid and hurt my knee bad and ripped the entire butt out of my only pair of bike shorts for the whole trip ( remember the missing luggage). This. Detour meant we couldn’t ever seem to find the bike bath again and since we had a late start of 3:30, we rode hard for six straight hours. It was extremely dangerous after dark and we had no food out in the farmland. I was using my phone to try to find the towns with path.
I complained about the promise of a GPS and not having one. So they forwarded maps to use on a a special app on my phone, but that took a day to understand where we were on the map. I got a GPS the third day, but it didn’t have a charge and the charging unit didn’t go with the unit I had.
4. Not only did we have flats, but my kickstand didn’t work and more importantly, the fender supports in the front was missing some rubber tips. That meant when I put down my foot when stopping and the wheel was turned at all, the snipped off metal of the support would slash my inside knees badly. This happened a lot and was very painful and bloody.
5. Several of the hotels had some real problems with super warm rooms, (no A/C anywhere over there), loud streets, and no ice. Two at least had fans. the nice hotel in Bad Shandeau put us alone up on the 4th floor and said we were to leave the windows closed because of smoke from the fires, which was blowing the opposite direction. Our attic room was well over 90F w no ventilation. We opened the narrow attic windows anyhow
The best hotel was a little pensioner on the first night. That frog even gave us ice for our water bottles. It was a very hot week.6. The path ran right by a forest fire before Bad Schandau. Breathing was bad and stinky.
They guys were generally responsive, though the main guy was on vacation. We are fairly unde manding most of time, changed our own FOUR flat tires, tried to find our way, dealt w the bike faults, but feel they were tired of us the first day. In fact he said if we were ‘one of their clienta it would be different. If they took the money from you, we WERE their client!
Overall, it was a bit disappointing on the bike side, though the river is lovely and biking is still the best way to see a country! SHOW MORE
Janna Poll Olender
Pic of what the fender was doing. The bruise was from trying to get to their van w new bike in Prague.
SHOW LESS- What was the date of your tour?
- July2022
- How many tours have you completed?
- Five
- Difficulty (actual vs. expected)?
- As expected
- Who is this tour suitable for?
- First-time bike tourists, Solo travelers, Families with teens, Families with young kids
- Do you recommend this tour?
- No
- Countries included in this tour?
- Czech Republic, Germany
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★★★★★ Ginny50
A Challenging and Rainy Ride
Lake Constance Bicycle Path
This was a good tour and we enjoyed the adventure, but I can honestly say I would not recommend it to a beginner. Many of the reviews said this was a good ride for beginners. My husband and I started riding 2 years ago so we are slow but steady riders. We rode the Danube path (Passau to Vienna) last year with no problems so this one sounded like a good tour for us.
We booked this ride based on the level 2 status and the few reviews we saw. In my opinion it is more of a level 3-4. The gently rolling hills were very steep on the first 2 days. It would have been easier with an e-bike but for beginners it was almost impossible with a regular bike. Most of the time the paths were paved but several sections were packed “gravel.” These paths were well maintained and easy, but often a bumpy ride. The biggest problem was these paths were not much more than 2 feet wide so if you are a slow rider you tend to collect 30 faster bikers behind you with no way to pass.
The Lake Constance cycle route is one of the most popular bicycle routes in Europe.
This just about sums it up - the most popular path in Europe. It was over-crowed almost to the point of being dangerous in many sections. We wondered about the high level of bike traffic during the month of May, until we were enlightened that we were enjoying “Pentecost Holidays” with the throngs of locals.
The bikes provided by the company were wonderful. I highly recommend this tour company/bike shop and crew. My husband was not happy with his first bike and they quickly swapped it out with no question.
When we received our tour documents we noticed one day stated that the ride was 35miles/55km. Most of those miles were on a shared road with cars - Not a dedicated bike path. Cars whizzing past you on a busy road is not fun for us. That day our bikes took a train ride! FYI - When I asked one of the tour guides if many people ditched this ride mid-way he did say that quite a few riders just gave up. I can see why!
Each hotel was fabulous. The rooms were lovely and the food excellent.
We really did enjoy this trip and we pushed ourselves more than we ever thought we could. We had 2 good days of seeing the lake and views, but missed seeing the beautiful scenery because of the incessant rain and many detours. Better rain gear will be on our wish list before we ride again. It was a challenge that we were proud to complete.- What was the date of your tour?
- May, 2016
- How many tours have you completed?
- 3
- Difficulty (actual vs. expected)?
- Much harder
- Do you recommend this tour?
- Yes
- Countries included in this tour?
- Austria, Germany, Switzerland
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★★★★★ Joseph Tevaarwerk
Nice trip, but some issues.
Prague to Dresden Along the Vltava & Elbe Rivers
The trip overall was good. The hotels were from very nice to adequate, and the weather was good for biking. Luggage handling was perfect.
The issue we had was with the bikes. In our case the bikes we rented were delivered to our hotel. I had emailed specific instructions about my wife's bike set-up regarding saddle height and handle bar height. When the bikes arrived we noticed that the saddle could not be adjusted low enough for her comfort. We had to call the AVE rep and he had to bring a different saddle stem to fix that problem.
Another problem was with my bike. The frame size was too small for me, and the handle bars were too low for comfort. Since we had already lost time to get my wife's bike corrected, I decided that I could manage with the bike that was delivered. That was my mistake!
Half way into the trip the front telescopic forks collapsed and I had to ride nose down, which was very uncomfortable and outright dangerous. We managed to get it pumped up at a bike shop, but they lost pressure again while biking.Last year we had none of these problems. The big difference was that last year we had to collect our bikes at the rental shop the day before. This gave us the opportunity to have both bikes adjusted to the right settings, and to make sure that they were of the correct frame size.
I don't need to stress how important a reliable and well fitting bike is for these bike tours. I suggest that you make it essential that the bikes are collected at the rental site the day before the trips start. This will give the participants the opportunity to make essential corrections.
Myself, for our next trip I will insist that we will collect the bikes at the rental shop the day before the trip starts, and that they are reliable and well fitted bikes.
I think it is wise if you make this part of your overall policy as well.Joseph.
- What was the date of your tour?
- May 2024
- How many tours have you completed?
- 2
- Difficulty (actual vs. expected)?
- As expected
- Who is this tour suitable for?
- First-time bike tourists, Solo travelers, Families with teens
- Do you recommend this tour?
- Yes
- Countries included in this tour?
- Czech Republic, Germany
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★★★★★ Edward Baker
Could Have Been Amazing
Royal Zealand and Copenhagen
The routes took us through some very interesting landscapes and towns. It would have been so much better if our daily information included more specifics about the areas where we traveled. Knowing more about the trails would also have been helpful. At one point, the directions were extremely confusing and led us onto an impassable trail. We understood that in some towns where we stayed the accommodations would be limited and might not have all of the amenities to which we are accustomed. With that we were fine. However, it was disappointing to see better accommodations that were available. Even worse was when the directions sent us to the better hotels only to be told that our reservation was not there and when we arrived at the hotel that was reserved, it was of a much lesser quality. This happened to us twice. At the very least, the route directions should list the correct destination hotel. We should not have to consult two different documents to find our hotel for the night. In our case, we had specifically explained that we would pay more, but wanted to have the best accommodations in each location. This did not happen, although we did pay a higher rate. Fortunately the staff at all of the hotels were exceptionally helpful, friendly, and professional. We were given very limited orientation before beginning the ride and felt that this company was unresponsive and left a lot for the rider to figure out alone. No helmets were provided which wasn't significant for us because we brought our own, but there was no communication indicating that helmets would not be provided. Having notes in the daily plan that noted restaurants along the way and at the destination each day would have been most helpful. In addition, it would have been nice to have known that in serveral locations, the only dining option would be at the hotel. We had a very enjoyable experience, but feel that it could have been far better with more information provided by the organization.
- What was the date of your tour?
- August 2023
- How many tours have you completed?
- 6
- Difficulty (actual vs. expected)?
- As expected
- Do you recommend this tour?
- No
- Countries included in this tour?
- Denmark
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