The month of May is National Bike Month here in the United States and we don't know what better way to celebrate than with a good old bike trip. This month raises awareness about stretching those legs and ditching the car with events such as bike to work week to offer an alternative to commuters and leads into other countries' Bike Months such as the UK's in June. Some of the best bicycle trips we have read about are right here from our members; from the ruins of Angkor Wat to the Italian countryside and everywhere a bike can take you, our members have maneuvered miles and miles of roads.
Relaxing on the church wall
In a travel journal that sounds more like a fairy tale, "
Bike Riding in Rural Slovakia", member
Wildcat Dianne recounts traveling with her friend Ivan by bike:
Most of our adventures were on sugar beet lined dirt roads
that lead to little village that were off the beaten path. Here is an excerpt
of some of our adventures.
Ivan and I would go mushrooming in
the woods near the village of Sterusy (shtair-oosee). These had to be
the best mushrooms in the world, and Ivan and I would take the mushrooms home
to his mother, where she would dry them for later use or cook them fresh with
eggs for a quick meal for us.
After mushrooming,
Ivan and I would take our bikes and go up many steep hills to the village of Lancar
(lan-char), a tiny village whose claim to fame is its little hilltop church and
cemetery. After a wild bike ride climbing up hills, Ivan and I would stop at
the church, and I would lay down on the church's stone walls to catch my breath
and admire the scenery of the valley below that reminded me of Bear Basin
outside of McCall."
Sboourns toured the Italian countryside in "
Florence, Lucca, and cycling through Tuscany":
We cycled through Sta Lucia down to Quartaia then east to
Mensanello, to Strove onto Monteriggioni. All stunning countryside, and we
stayed off the main roads. From Monteriggioni we pushed on to Castellina in
Chianti (about 14km, of which the last 10 were uphill, but beautiful scenery to
take your mind off the pain). Then onward to Panzano where we stayed the night.
The ride from Castellina in Chianti to Greve is almost all downhill and is
breathtaking. I cannot recommend this route enough. For our accommodation and
restaurant reviews see the relevant journal entries.
Cycled from Greve to Florence via some very small towns and
ended up pushing our bikes up hills alongside vines. You just need a phrasebook
to ask the friendly people on the street how to get to Florence. There are many
roads, but my strong advice is to take the least busy roads and just ask people
to point you in the right direction because these small towns may not always be
on the map. It’s much more peaceful and scenic if you do it this way."
Young boy who followed me on his bike
Backpacking through Southeast Asia is a popular vacation, but
GaryWolff decided to take it further and biked around in
"Cambodia Bike Tour":
In early 2003, I departed for a two-week bicycle trip from
Bangkok, Thailand to Phnom Penh, Cambodia. Riding alone, I discovered the
warmth and friendliness of Cambodia. Try to get away from
the tourist areas at least for an afternoon. You will get a whole other view of
Cambodia and its people. Bottled water is cheap and available everywhere. You
must try the sugar cane juice; it is very refreshing on a hot afternoon.
All my travel was by bike with the exception of two short moto (motor scooter)
rides. Cycling allows you to travel a reasonable distance each day without
insulating you from the local people. Riding Cambodian roads can be challenging
due to their poor condition but almost anyone with determination and some
training would have no problem. Riding in Phnom Penh can be a bit hair-raising
for the timid."
See more
things to do in Slovakia
See more
things to do in Italy
See more
things to do in Cambodia
Posted by jhartmann13 (JJ Hartmann)