Lonely Planet Epic Bike Rides of the World: Explore the Planet's Most Thrilling Cycling Routes

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A pilgrim’s route since the middle ages, the 480 mile-long Way of St James meanders along the whole top of Spain and through the green mountains of Galicia on the way to Santiago de Compostela. There are multiple possible routes for so-called bicigrinos to follow, but the well-signposted Camino Frances is the most famous - beginning in Roncesvalles and pitstopping in Pamplona, Burgos and Leon on the way to the west. The mountains offer exhilarating downhill rides and the rolling green valleys of Galicia are a breezy joy on two wheels. Cyclists can camp or stay in traditional pilgrim’s hostels called albergues. New Zealand’s cycling revolution is seeing scores of new routes opening up, and the wild landscape of the islands becoming better setup up for cyclists of all types. The Southern Alps have always been great for mountain biking, and Rotorua is, of course, a global hotspot for the sport. But increasingly the infrastructure has been put in place for long distance cycle touring too. One of nine officially designated bike tours in Switzerland, National Route 4, also known as the Alpine Panorama Route, is itself nine stages long and covers 300 miles while gaining 30,000 feet in the mountains and the rolling hills of the Swiss foreland. You’ll ride past bucolic farmland, mountain passes and gorges, castles, and tidy chalets with self-pay apple-cider stands. The well-marked route is great for self-guided tours, and if you’re feeling fit, try the dramatic punch up to the ski station of Saas-Fee.

Lonely Planet Epic Bike Rides of the World: Explore the

An iconic road trip, South Africa’s much-loved Garden Route is even more rewarding when conquered on two wheels. It doesn’t wind through manicured gardens, if that’s what you’re thinking – the route is so named for the gorgeous indigenous forest surrounding it as well as the deep gorges, blue lagoons and secret coves it passes, a landscape that is constantly changing, even over just a few days of riding.RIDING HIGHS: Pedalling miles of relaxed beachside roads and stopping for fresh, locally-grown coffee in the mountains. If the very thought of a gruelling Lands’ End to John o’Groats down the length of Britain makes your thighs ache, try a shorter but no less epic bike tour across the width of England instead. The three-day, 140 mile Coast To Coast route (also called the Sea to Sea route) meanders through some of England’s wildest landscapes. There’s no landscape more lushly rewarding than Costa Rica, and if you can handle the heat, it’s best explored by bike. The Coast to Coast cycle path takes in rainforest, volcanoes and coastline on its way from San Jose, on the Pacific side to Tortuguero on the Caribbean. You'll cross over the 3,400 metre-high Cerro de la Muerte pass and meander through the coffee and banana plantations of the Orosi valley, making this simultaneously one of the best cycle paths on this list both in terms of diversity of landscape, and metres climbed.

Epic Bike Rides of the World - Booktopia Epic Bike Rides of the World - Booktopia

You'll pass through both the Lake District and Peak District National Parks, so you can expect some pretty serious climbs, but the views from the top of each mountain pass will more than make up for the leg-burn taken to get up there. You can ride this route as part of the Mount Tam Century or on your own whenever it suits you. But you must ride it. Our friends that are familiar with the route rave about both the ride quality of its beautiful California tarmac and the views as you emerge from the fog of the redwood forests. Loops in this area can run any length you like. We recommend the 94-mile option that includes the climb up 2,560-foot Mount Tamalpais, but whatever route you choose, you’ll likely gain 3,000 feet or more. Ride from Mossel Bay in the west to Storms River in the east for a relaxed 124 mile potter, or start in Port Elizabeth and head to Cape Town for a challenging, seven-day ride over 469 miles. There are so many beautiful places to stop off that it can be hard to know where to start, but make sure you plan on spending at least one night in Knysna, where wetlands and rainforest meet the ocean. This is long distance cycling at its absolute best. European rides include easy-going trips around Lake Constance, along the Danube and the Loire, and coast-to-coast routes; routes in Tuscany, Spain and Corsica; and professional journeys up Mt Ventoux and around the Tour of Flanders. Longtime Tour de France fans have heard about the great climbers of Basque Country for generations, but relatively few Americans ride there. Which is weird, because the western Pyrenees rival France with its mix of mountains, beaches, hamlets, and dining. Stage out of San Sebastian and ride the Alto de Arrate from both directions. The two-mile climb appears frequently in the Vuelta a España and annually in the Tour of the Basque Country. Think lush countryside and 10 percent grades—without the touristy T-shirt shops of France.RIDING HIGHS: Leaving the Castillan plains behind and climbing up to the famed cross on the Monte de la Cruz de Ferro. Epic Bike Rides of the World is a fitting title for this book. Rides are graded as Easy, Harder and Epic with pretty much a three-way split of content. But the grading, of course, depends on the fitness, motivation and endurance level of the reader. I liked how the trips, while they do show a total distance, do not give any estimate of time needed to complete them, leaving the reader to make their own decision on this. Being an older rider, who appreciates the stops, more than the cycling, this feature appealed to me. The stories of the rides themselves really lit a fire in me and all of them made me want to start planning an epic ride. Maybe it was due to reading this on my 44th birthday when, I most definitely felt my middle-age made me realize that I'm thirsting for a real adventure: something that will push me and challenge me. However, I think I need to work on my fitness and battery management before taking on an epic ebike ride! The Dolomites, in northern Italy, are worthy of the hype, but that’s not all the country has to offer cyclists. The Piemonte region, in the northwest, is also riddled with great climbs and is perhaps even more steeped in Italian cycling culture. Start from the town of Susa, in the Cottian Alps, find your way to the town of Fenestrelle, and if you have the legs, include the Giro d’Italia’s famed Colle de Finestre climb, an 11-mile haul that averages a 9 percent grade and gains some 5,558 feet. Lonely Planet seems to have decided to publish more specialized guides - although this isn't a take-it-with-you sort of guide but more of a this-may-inspire-you introduction to possibilities for longer distant cycling (generally at some non-trivial expense, by the way).