Bike Tour Vacations: Tips for Bike Travel - 3

5 Great Cycling Destinations

1. France

With its storybook châteaux, vineyards and gentle terrain, France’s Loire Valley is the perfect starter destination for newer bikers and families. “It’s classic France,” says Butterfield & Robinson’s Kathy Stewart. On the opposite end of the skill spectrum, Ride Strong leads groups up into the legendary mountain passes of the Pyrenees.

2. Pacific Coast, United States

Stretching 1,855 miles from Vancouver to the southern tip of California, the Pacific Coast Route (PCR) is an epic American journey. The PCR is the most popular route mapped by the ACA, and it’s no wonder given that views from it include rugged coastal cliffs, redwood forests and sandy beaches. For a shorter course, the section between Olympia, Wash., and Santa Monica, Calif., is reported to have the least traffic.

3. Italy

With an abundance of food, wine, culture and scenery, Italy by bike is the epitome of la dolce vita—and you won’t need to worry about the carbs. Pick your region with care, however. “A lot of people think they want to go to Tuscany, but Tuscany’s really hilly,” warns Butterfield & Robinson’s Stewart. For easier riding with the same Italian hospitality, she recommends Puglia as an ideal area, especially for families.

 

• A biker looks out on the San Francisco Bay from the cliffs of the Marin Headlands.

Shayne Kaye

4. Vietnam

Pedaling through Vietnam allows visitors to grasp at eye-level the lush, expansive countryside that’s completely missed by visitors who travel by plane or bus between the country’s cramped urban centers. VeloAsia’s tour of the Mekong Delta offers a serene ride through parts of Vietnam little visited by tourists.

5. Underground Railroad Route

A unique partnership between the ACA and the Center for Minority Health in Pittsburgh created the Underground Railroad Route, a 2,000-mile corridor between Mobile, Ala., and Ontario, Canada, that remembers the difficult route to freedom taken by slaves in the American South prior to the Civil War.

 

• A group of bikers stops at the John Rankin House, a safehouse along the Underground Railroad.

Adventure Cycling Association/Dennis Coello

5 Great Mountain Biking Destinations

1. Utah

With colorful desert scenery and miles of perfect trails, Moab, Utah, is the undisputed center of the mountain-biking community in the United States, and there’s something here for riders of all skill levels to enjoy. Rim Tours has been introducing riders to the joys of Moab for more than 20 years.

2. Oregon

“It’s a cool town with great beer and great biking,” is how Melanie Fisher of Cog Wild Tours describes Bend, the center of the Oregon outdoors community. Trails leading out of Bend take the Cascade Mountains, Umpqua River and high desert terrain in stride. For a great introduction to the area’s best spot, attend a Bike & Brew Weekend.

 

• A mountain biker rides the Black Route in the Highlands of Scotland.

Courtesy of VisitScotland/ScottishViewpoint

3. Scotland

You take the high road, I’ll take the low road, but they’re both good for mountain biking in Scotland, which instituted an open access law in 2005 that ensures this singularly beautiful countryside can be enjoyed by everyone.

4. Argentina

For a breathtaking backroads journey, Patagonia offers an unbeatable escape and some of the sweetest mountain biking routes south of the equator. But to enjoy these sweeping vistas of glacial lakes and craggy mountains, you’ll have to be keeping up in advanced spin class.

5. West Virginia

Many people think mountain biking requires a big mountain, but experienced riders know the best routes have terrain that’s varied and challenging—that’s the draw in West Virginia where miles of singletrack wind through the rolling Monongahela National Forest and Canaan Valley.