Rivers have been trade routes since ancient times and they flow downhill! Upon retiring and with no previous cycling experience, this realisation prompted me to set out to pedal from Rotterdam to Vienna, following the rivers Rhine, Main, Tauber, Altmühl and Danube.
Nearly all the journey was on dedicated cycle tracks or quiet country lanes.
Wayside B&Bs and hotels were plentiful so I enjoyed the freedom of pootling along on my sit-up-and-beg Dutch bike, allowing each day’s destination to emerge from my situation.
Most towns and villages along the route have old half-timbered centres as well as some historic castle/palace or sumptuous baroque monastery to admire. Highlights were the boat from Kelheim through the Danube Gorge to Weltenburg and back (no track on this stretch), the view from Passau castle of the confluence of the Danube, the Ilz and the Inn and the baroque monastery at Melk. Above all though, I came to enjoy the simple pleasure of passing through fairytale landscapes under my own steam.
Life changing? Oh yes: this year I’m setting out to dawdle the entire length of the Danube on the same bike, on a new saddle, on a smaller budget but taking more time.

For superb ‘Bikeline’ maps with tourist info visit www.esterbauer.com

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It has to be the Cote d’Azur, for my activity break of choice – idealy centred on Nice. And with budget flights accessible from most UK centres, it could hardly be simpler. Once you’ve settled into your accommodation and unpacked all your gear, you’re set – and winter is definitely the best time to go! After an early breakfast, drive north to Valberg, Isola or Auron for a morning on the ski slopes, followed by a lunch, before returning to the shores of the Mediterranean. Then you have the choice of cycle routes – leisurely along the corniche, or challenging and into the Alpes Maritime (Gourdon or Sospel, perhaps). And in the evening, what could be better than SCUBA diving with your buddies at Saint-Jean-Cap-Ferrat.

www.cyclecotedazur.com
Google map: bit.ly/yHVEj2

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Gammel Ry is a small but thriving village in central Jutland, who's inhabitants are some of the most active in all of Denmark (they enjoy a huge variety of clubs considering the village's size).

If meeting some of these incredibly friendly and enthusiastic people wasn't inspiration alone to visit, there's the beautiful landscape and the activities it enables; all in the range of a few minute's walk you have the choice to:

- Trek through the region's giant scandinavian forests
- View the countryside by cycling around the (hedgeless!) bike friendly roads that lace the rolling hills
- Kayak on one of the many nearby lakes or rivers
- Or even, if you're a winter lover, go cross country skiing when the area is blanketed in it's deep annual snowfall.

Combined, this makes Gammel Ry a fantastic place to visit if you're looking to get healthy, inspired and injected with life!

The village lies a few kilometers from the much larger town that sprang up later on, Ry.
Ry is located in the Skanderborg municipality in Jutland, Denmark's most western major island, and is easy to get to by road or train (look for Ry train station!).

There are two small roads that lead towards Gammel Ry from Ry, the journey of which can be cycled at a steady pace in around 20 minutes.

What with Denmark being the extremely bike-friendly nation it is, Ry has cycle shops that provide bikes for rent.
'Ry Cykler' is one such shop
www.rycykler.dk/
Parallelvej 9B, 8680 Ry
and it's phone number:
(+45) 86 89 14 91

The best place to stay in Gammel Ry is the 'Gl Rye Kro', a lovely old Public house and restaurant which has had one of it's wings turned into guest house.
It even boasts an indoor swimming pool and health club for guests!
www.glryekro.dk/
Ryesgade 8 Gammel Rye Ry, 8680 Denmark
and it's phone number:
(+45) 86 89 80 42

Google map: bit.ly/yPy93i

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When my family relocated to Ely I helped them move in. New in the town, I asked a passerby where to find lightbulbs. 'Ely Cycle Centre'
was the Fenlander's confident response. Sure enough, after all the bikes, I spied the lightbulbs along with everything else you could possibly need. Now whenever we visit Ely we head to the cycle centre.
I'll discuss sewing patterns in the little haberdashery section at the back, while my daughter looks at board games and my husband heads to the DIY department. As yet we've bought everything except the bikes at Ely Cycle Centre. But Christmas is coming!

www.citycyclecentre.com/
7 Market Street Ely, Cambridgeshire CB7 4PB
+44(0)1353 663 131
Google map: bit.ly/sumrG0

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A great way to get your bearings in specific areas. We did the La Boca and Puerto Madero route. Great fun afternoon out.

www.labicicletanaranja.com.ar/english/index_english.html
+(54) 11 4362 1104

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Taking it back to nature in the most peaceful and rawest forms, we hired bikes and started a six day cycle and bivvy between the two great lakes Vänern and Vättern, and along the Göta Canal. With the Swedish camping laws allowing you to camp anywhere, the Lantmäteriet (O.S. map) becomes your ‘Best of BnBs’ guide. Look out for the patches of land marked ‘Open Land’ next to the lakes (avoiding Sankmark [Marsh]!), and surrounded by forests and you’ve found Eden. Your home for the night looks out onto lakes feeling as endless as the sea, you’ll fall asleep to the gentle slosh-slosh of the waves with no fear of rising tides, and the sun slowly setting, and in the morning you can take a wonderful swim in your own private ocean. Don’t expect anyone to bring you a cocktail at the side of the pool, this holiday is not for the faint-hearted, but for those looking for the true beauty of Scandinavia, this is the way to find it. And the best time of year is as close to June 21st as you can get, finding your camp spot at 10pm, cooking at 11pm, and eating as the sun (almost) sets at midnight. Bliss.

Cykelkungen:
www.cykelkungen.se/
Chalmersgatan 19, 411 35 Göteborg
+(0)31 18 43 00
Google map: bit.ly/qxi34R

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I highly recommend the Rio Original Bike tour. The bicycle is definitely the best way to get a feel of the city and its parks. The tour is 100% on cycle paths so you don't have to fight the insane Rio traffic. It runs through the Aterro do Flamengo park with views of the Sugarloaf and the Christ as well as the heavenly Guanabara Bay. Thais and Mark are excellent guides and really know the city and its culture inside out. It was the best thing I did on my trip to Rio by far. At R$70 it was a steal given that is roughly the same price as renting a bike on your own.

Tour leaves from Flamengo metro station.
www.biketourriodejaneiro.com
+55(0)21 9810 2187
Google map: bit.ly/nJMe0Y

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One of the highlights of my travels in South America has to be cycling Death Road. After leaving La Paz, the ride begins at 4,700m above sea level and the first 25km is downhill on tarmac so you can really build some speed up. After that the road is a narrow, windy, dirt track clinging to the cliff side with massive sheer drops but fantastic views. As you descend the vegetation becomes greener and more jungle-like and you rapidly begin to lose layers as it gets hotter. It is the world’s most dangerous road, but luckily it is mainly only bikes that use it now, and it is so much fun.

Downhill Madness, La Paz: www.madness-bolivia.com/downhill

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A kitsch copy of a Lourdes shrine, a modernist housing development influenced by Le Corbusier, historic lampposts, a memorial to homing pigeon trainers, a hidden passageway Leopold II used to visit a mistress ... Nothing really really juicy, but I still revelled in a few oddities on my “Secret and Unusual Brussels” guided cycle tour. It was run by Pro Velo: a non-profit organisation set up to encourage cycling in a city prone to traffic problems. They offer a regular programme of themed public tours in French and Dutch, featuring cafés and bandes dessinées, beers and brasseries, the green belt around Brussels, Art Nouveau, Art Deco, Modernism ... And yes, intrepid explorer, you’ll see the city from a different perspective and cover more ground that on a walking or bus tour. I am particularly looking forward to learning about the mysterious history of freemasons in Brussels come October. For tours in English (or Spanish, Italian, German), ask for a quote for a 3-4 hour private tour at least five working days in advance. Choose from a good selection of themes “à la carte”; including “Brussels for Beginners”, “Magritte and the Surrealists”, “Art Deco and Modernism” and “Castles and Abbeys”. As with the public tours, don’t forget that you can hire bikes if necessary.

www.provelo.org
Rue de Londres 15, B-1050 Ixelles
+32 (0)2 502 73 55
Google map: bit.ly/p2yExp

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Pop your bike on the ferry from Newhaven to Dieppe, head east onto the 35km Avenue Verte for awesome tracks, villages, local food and cider, stay in a chateau, canoe chalk streams past watermills under trees full of mistletoe, an ultimate weekend get away.

Info: bit.ly/pErUVu

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We had an excellent cycling holiday in Finistere, the western part of Brittany, last year. It’s easy to take your bikes on the overnight ferry from Plymouth and within minutes of arriving in Roscoff you can be eating breakfast in a seafront café before setting off along quiet country lanes through rolling farmland and tiny hamlets. The terrain is just right with enough change in gradient to make it interesting without being too strenuous, the roads are generally not too busy and there is plenty to explore along the way including ruined churches, standing stones and lighthouses as well as miles and miles of spectacular coastline. We stayed mainly in chambres d’hotes (the equivalent of B&Bs) which offer good value accommodation and we ate some wonderful meals, the most memorable of which was at La Corniche, a seafood restaurant right on the water’s edge in Brignogan-Plage. Our favourite stretches of coastline were the windswept Pointe de Penhir on the Crozon peninsula and the Côte Sauvage (the Wild Coast) further north where waves crashed on to the rocks below us and we visited the tiny chapel of St Samson.

www.brittanyferries.com/

www.restaurant-la-corniche.fr/
Le Garo, 29890 Bignogan Plages
+33(0)2 98 85 81 99
Google map: bit.ly/pQULIq

www.gites-brittany.com/brittany_chambre_d%27hote.asp

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A lovely Breton town based on La Rance. Some wonderful restaurants on the riverfront and a fantastic sprawling hill road with a selection of nice small shops. Plus boat rentals/canoes and a picturesque biking route leading up the river to the village of La Vicomté.

Google map: bit.ly/poAxY1

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A Tuscan town surrounded by a 16th century wall which is now a tree lined avenue on the walls' ramparts. 4km long, flat, safe and perfect for walking or cycling - loads of cycle rental businesses next to the walls, hiring cycles for all ages. We rented bikes for two adults and two kids (about 20 Euro all in, with free use of helmets) for a couple of hours and whizzed around the walls and town (even in the heat of August this was comfortable.) There are cafes and plenty of picnic spots along the route, as well as a handful of children's parks where the grown-ups can rest while the kids burn off more energy. The town itself offers the usual Tuscan narrow streets to enjoy cafe life, shopping or simply exploring on foot or bike. To really wear the kids out, take them up the Torre Guinigi - the tower with ancient oaks on top. It's 230 steps, much cheaper than the Tower of Pisa and our four and seven-year-olds loved it.

Torre Guinigi, Via Sant'Andrea, 45 55100 Lucca, Italy
+39(0)583 48524
Google map: bit.ly/iHykHm
Adults Euro 3.50, children 2.50

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Rutland Water is home to the first ospreys to breed in England for 150 years, and the oldest birds are now 11 years old. They return from Africa in late March and migrate in Autumn. You can walk to hides on the nature reserve to watch ospreys on the nest. There are regular osprey watching cruises on Rutland Water (the largest lowland man-made lake in western Europe) during the summer, and also special events suitable for all ages. Activity in the nest is shown on a large screen in the Lyndon Visitor Centre. There are lots of other fantastic birds to watch from the 27 hides, and there are regular dawn chorus and midnight nightingale walks.
To combine birdwatching with exercise and a really enjoyable activity, hire a tandem or bike and do the 25 mile (40Km) circuit, stopping off at one or more of the birdwatching centres or nature reserves on the way.

www.osprey.org.uk
+44(0)1572 770651

www.rutlandwater.org.uk/
Oakham, Leicestershire LE15 8BL
+44(0)1572 653 026
Google map: bit.ly/m89lRI

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During the trip in Italy we decided to stop in a nice town in Liguria called San Remo for a couple of days.
We found Residence dei Due Porti, and let me say something, this is the most relaxing place in which you could ever spend your holiday in San Remo: quiet and comfortable room and a staff who kindly fulfills all of your needs and requests. But what makes Residence dei Due Porti particularly special is its location: it's near the town center and allows you to reach by foot the majority of San Remo's places of interest.
My family and I have a particular passion for bike rides and we had a lot of fun and entertainment doing our rides on the so-called pista ciclabile della Riviera dei Fiori: the path is straight and flat, easy to go; various bars and restaurants lying alongside the track makes the ride very enjoyable and relaxing, with some little help from the mild climate of the Riviera di Ponente, often offering warm and sunny days.
We also found many benches and little fountains suitable for having a little rest.

Corso Trento Trieste 21/23 San Remo (IM) Italy
www.dueporti.it
+39 0184 506506
Google map: bit.ly/jUoH76

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We joined a cycle tour last summer to ride from Munich to Venice, through the south of Germany, Austria, the Sud Tirol and down to Lake Garda, Verona and Venice. I can honestly and wholeheartedly say this is an absolutely incredible journey - which surely must rank as one of the best cycle journeys available in Europe. Every day has incredible scenery. Every day experiences something new. Every day moved us into new and exciting terrain and from one country to another. Our leader was fun and extremely experienced - and all in all it was a bit of a lifechanger!

www.adventure-cafe.com/Content/ForeignAdventure/ForeignAdDetail.asp?aid=1232560634

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We paid 1400 Baht each (£28) for the full day countryside tour. Our tour guide Piu was sweet and friendly with good English but a bit shy and we would have liked her to talk and explain more along the way without waiting for us to ask questions. We boarded the train in Bangkok after a quick look round a local market to kill time and picked up our bikes at the other end which were in need of a good service but did the job. No helmets are provided. We were never cycling for more than 20 minutes at a time with frequent stops to look at local herbs and plants, try fried bananas from a foodstall and look at a temple. There were bottles of cold water provided and refreshing chilled wet wipes. We didn’t see another tourist all day which made a nice change but we didn’t have much chance to interact with the villagers we came across and expect they are very used to seeing Westerners on bikes as the same route is used every day. We had a lovely home-cooked lunch in a Thai house but ate separately from the family. We went on a Saturday so missed out on visiting a local school which was a shame but some local kids still came up to talk to us. It is a long day but if you tot it up, 3-4 hours in total is spent waiting at the station and then on the train which does feel a bit of a waste of time. In hindsight having travelled to other parts of Thailand and Cambodia this now seems on the expensive side for a day trip bearing in mind what you get for your money but you are helping the local economy and also paying for the privilege of an experience you would be hard pushed to do independently. If you are on a city break for a few days and want to do something different and get out into rural Thailand it is ideal but if you are travelling further afield for example to Chiang Mai then you will find far more lush countryside as around Bangkok the landscape is flat and full of paddy fields.

www.absoluteexplorer.com/

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The vast Bodensee in south-east Germany is an undiscovered gem to us Brits. Base yourself in the popular island town of Lindau and stroll around the old quarter before heading out to explore the lakeside. You can cycle or walk southwards along the lake to Bregenz in Austria (having a dip in the 'See' along the way), or take one of the many boats or catamarans across to Konstanz or Rorschach in Switzerland. Venture inland from Lindau and hike up to the top of the Pfander for breath-taking views. Lindau is on the main Zurich-Munich train route, or fly to nearby Friedrichshafen with Ryanair. Try out the hip International Hostel situated on the lakeside in Lindau.

www.jugendherberge.de/jh/bayern/lindau/
www.pfaender.at/engl.htmhttp://www.fly-away.de/
Google map: bit.ly/g3RB75

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Reykjavik Bike Tours were started by experienced tour guide Stefan Valsson, a native Reykjavikian and his German wife, Ursula. A bike ride is the best way to discover the city.
Cycling around this bike-friendly city a great way to see Reykjavik, get your bearings and hear history and anecdotes from a local.
The 'Classic Reykjavik' tour covers a distance of 7km, lasts 2.5hours and sets off from the Old Harbour including all major sights in Reykjavik and some hidden treasures.
Or try the 'Coast of Reykjavik' tour which takes in 18km of wonderful coastal paths.
It's a magical way to experience Iceland's evening sun from a bicycle saddle. A bike ride along Reykjavik's coast is the perfect way to spend a midsummer's night in town. The route usually includes the Perlan area, Nautholsvík thermal beach, Seltjarnarnes peninsula and bird sanctuary, Grotta tidal island and lighthouse.
It is a magical experience, feeling and smelling nature on a bicycle instead of rushing by in a coach

Reykjavik Bike Tours
+354 6948956
www.icelandbike.com

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It is not immediately obvious how to find it, but once you do, the new View Tube; café, classroom, fledgling art space and bike hire, located on the Greenway adjacent to the stadium offers something alternative. A structure made from recycled shipping containers, this low-key green building solution puts into focus the monumental building project just feet away in the Olympic Park.

The Greenway, Marshgate Lane, Stratford, Greater London E15 2PJ
+44(0)845 262 0846
www.theviewtube.co.uk/
Google map: bit.ly/geFq0c

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