Pages most recently added

There was a moment when an idea popped up in my head: I should go to the North Cape. Or actually, I acquired the strong inner conviction that I had to go to the North Cape. I could hardly think of something else.

So in spring of 2009 I left my house in Holland, followed the coasts of North sea, Wadden sea and Norwegian sea until that magical northernmost point.

4625 km through amazing landscapes with extreme variation: from the flat countries where it is sometimes hard to tell where land ends and sea begins, to the fjords where granite rises vertically out of the water.

I've cycled in Indonesia numerous times on the islands of Raiu, Java, Bali, and Lombok. I love Bali and have been there a half dozen times. Bali is a small island so cycling is somewhat limited, but I still find myself going back again and again. I stumbled upon a magazine article about an Australian who did a bicycle tour on Sulawesi, and that peeked my interest. I did some research and decided to travel there and take a look. Sulawesi is considered an exotic destination and therefore attracts a number of foreign tourists.

The climate is warm there, much warmer than the usual winter temperatures in Northern California. The winter of '08/'09 through January anyway, has been very dry and not near as cold as past winters. My bike ride in Sulawesi will take 23 days, a couple of which I will spend in wonderful Bali before flying on to that island. I invite you to come along with me as I visit the sights to be seen in Sulawesi.

Summer has almost arrived here in California. The weather in May is nice and I should be happy to be comfortable at home and to cyle around the area where I live, but I get restless and bored with the same scenery and that is my problem. I haven't been on a multi-day bike tour since I cycled in Sulawesi, Indonesia, in March and I've had no additional tour plans until July, when I've penciled out a ride in Europe. What to do during the three month intern is the question. I love cycling and especially riding in my favorite county, Thailand, so why not return for one more ride. I've never cycled there in May though, and with good reason, as it rains a lot. The 'wet season' extends from April thru early November. The weather in May and June, when I will be there will be hot, 90 to 100+ degrees, and wet. I just hope it doesn't rain all day every day. My experience cycling there at other times of the year is that it rains mostly in the afternoons and at night. If that is the case, I will have done the day's ride and be settled in a nice hotel room by late afternoon and the rains would not be so much of a bother. That is my hope.

For the last many summers, we have visited the islands of the Eastern Atlantic seabord: Lofoten in Norway, the Outer Hebrides, Orkney and Shetland in Scotland, Ireland, Wales which is not an island, but might as well be one, and Gotland in Sweden which is an island, but in the Baltic, not in the Atlantic. The time had now come, we thought, to cross the Atlantic and see what it looks like on the other side. As islands seem to be our preferred locations, we chose Prince Edward Island (PEI in the local vocabulary) in Canada which has the advantage of being fairly small and not too hilly.

Twenty years after the wall has come down, a few cyclists took part in the Grenzsteintrophy (aka Boundary Stone Trophy) and I've been one of them.

En la mayor parte de este viaje seguimos el trazado de la ruta ''Eurovelo 6``, que aunque con tramos todavia en proyecto, es una via ciclista que une la desembocadura del Loira en el Atlantico con el delta del Danubio en el Mar Negro recorriendo toda Europa de Oeste a Este.

Pero como las vacaciones no son eternas, este a�o nos tuvimos que conformar con el tramo que cruza Francia. Empezamos en Nantes remontando el Loira hasta Digoin, luego por el Canal du Centre y el Saone, y despues por el canal del Rin y el Doubs hasta llegar a la frontera con Alemania. Alli abandonamos el trazado de la EuroVelo-6 para girar al Norte y siguiendo la cuenca del Rin visitar Colmar y Estrasburgo. En total fueron 1250 km de pedaleo con algun corto trayecto en tren que nos llevaron 16 dias, 13 de ellos viajando en bicicleta.

Meine erste grosse Radtour begann zu Hause und f�hrte mich in Richtung Asien. Ich bin aber nicht der Typ, der f�r alles einen Plan hat. Ich lasse mich einfach dahintreiben, und finde Unterwegs immer wieder Ideen, wo ich gerade hin k�nnte. H�ufig durch Jemanden, der gerade unterwegs ist, und mir von seinen Erlebnissen oder Pl�nen erz�hlt.

J'ai fait le tour de l'Europe � v�lo en solo durant l'�t� 2009. J'ai parcouru 12 000km � travers 11 pays. J'ai v�cu une exp�rience magnifique! Venez lire mon blog!

We don't just have our house on our bikes, we also have our two dogs, Jack and Paco, along for the ride. That's 60kg of furry luggage and another 50-60kg of non-furry luggage between the two of us! Needless to say we don't go fast but we do go everywhere, refusing to let our extra load stop us from tackling hills with grades of up to 18%. We have been on the road with our two dogs since July 2008. So far we have covered 17,000 kms and 18 countries in continental Europe.

Round trip in Andalucia. Starting in Seville, fist crosses the Aracena Mountains, to later on turn South and follow the coastline until Do�ana and San Lucar de Barrameda. A very nice trip that can be done even in wintertime (we did in X-mass).

Ruta que parte de Sevilla y que discurre en su mayor parte por la provincia de Huelva. Pirmero por la Sierra de Aracena para despues bajar y bordeando la costa llegar hasta la desembocadura del Guadalquivir cruzando Do�ana por la playa y en Barcaza a San Lucar.

Nach der Ankunft und einer ausgedehnten Stadtbesichtigung in Catania radelten war nach S�den um anschlie�end in das 1000 m hoch gelegene Gebirge bei Ferla in Richtung Westen. Nach einer Erkundung des Valle del Anapo f�hrten kleinere Stra�en durch urt�mliche D�rfern nach Norden. Den �tna in Sicht erwischte uns ein Regenschauer. Es sollte nicht der letzte bleiben, denn wir hatten auf dieser Tour leider etwas Pech mit dem Wetter gehabt. Auf 1200 m H�he waren wir �ber der Wolkenschicht uns zelteten am S�dhang des Vulkans. Mit -8�C Au�entemperatur wurde es in der anschlie�enden Nacht recht frisch. Am n�chsten Tag fuhren wir bis zur Seilstation auf 1900 m H�he und wanderten den Rest bis auf eine H�he von 3000m. Nebel und der nahende Sonnenuntergang zwangen uns zur Umkehr. Auf einer Eigenkonstruktion aus Plastikflaschen rutschten wir den vereisten Hang ins Tal und zelten erneut im Gebirge (- 2�C im Zelt). Das Bergmassiv fast einmal umrundet arbeiteten wir uns �ber den Portella Femmina Morta Miraglia - mit 1524 m der h�chste Pass der Insel. Wir sehnten uns nach dem Meer, denn w�hrend der Abfahrt war z�her Nebel und nur drei Grad. An der Nordk�ste erlebten wir sonnige Etappen und abschlie�end entspannende Tage in der quirligen Hauptstadt Palermo.

A six day ride across Switzerland from Basel to Zernez in the Lower Engadine, taking in some of the easier passes including the Glaubenbielen Pass, the Pragel Pass, the Wolfgang Pass and the Fluela Pass.

A tandem tour of the Alps, starting from Munich, then riding through Austria, Switzerland, and Italy.

Trans Asia on a single speed bicycle with just a small backpack as luggage. The ultimate light weight experience. On Januari 10th we will start our Fixed & Free Challenge from Singapore. Cycling through Malaysia, Thailand, Cambodia, Laos, Vietnam and China we are aiming to arrive in Shanghai in May 2010.

Already on our fully loaded expeditions we have been constantly minimising our gear and now we even go without gears. Although limited by our 25 litre backpacks we will carry more than enough for a journey like this including a Macbook and camera each.

We will cover this journey on www.osmosno.wordpress.com

Another tour of the Alps for this Summer was being planned, but nearly had to be cancelled due to an accident in early June, when I fractured my collar bone and hurt my head and right leg. I had the goal of completing climbing all asphalted pass roads in the Alps from 1700m and higher (which I have detailed in a list at the cycloclimbing.com site).

A Magdeburg il ponte che attraversa Elba e Alte Elbe dà inizio alla seconda parte della ciclabile denominata Elberadweg che porta da Praga fino a Cuxhaven.

Inizia con un percorso bellissimo nel verde della sponda destra fino ad Alt Lostau, paesino che merita una sosta con adeguata, se pur breve, visita. Pochi tratti di fiume ancora e l'attenzione cade successivamente sull'imponente realizzazione del Elbe-Havel-Kanal, prima visibile da sotto, quasi una autostrada che attraversa il fiume, poi che accompagna per 3 chilometri.

La Elberadweg inizia con la scoperta del fiume Moldau (Vltava) che attraversando Praga fa di essa una delle più belle capitali Europee.

Seguendo la corrente del fiume, dopo il centro storico, si attraversa il Cechuv Most e il percorso ciclabile inizia proprio all'interno di un vasto parco. Nella breve salita si dà l'addio alla città osservandone ancora una volta l'architettura classica e moderna.

One friend mired in med school, the other about to begin the rest of his life. Both wanted to go on an adventure. Both wanted to bike. Many arguments later, The Greatest Schlep was born. Keep track of us as we schlep from Prague to Athens.

My memoir of riding the Paris-Brest-Paris 1200 km Randonnee in 1995 - a day-to-day dairy, plus a bit of history and an equipment list.

Great Divide Mountain Bike Route from Banff Springs, Alberta Canada to the Mexico border at Antelope Wells, New Mexico. This ``off road'' route parallels the Rocky mountains for 2715 miles and with approximately 200,000 feet of elevation gain. National Geographic magazine calls it the #1 Trip of America's top 50 Adventures

Great vacation!

Our bike tour from Florence to Rome.

At the end of August in 2008, Mike Samuel, Roberto Peon and I toured across France, starting in Hendaye on the Spanish border, and then riding across the Pyrenees to the Mediterranean coast. There, we took a train transfer to Montpellier, and then rode North through Languedoc, Provence, and the Rhone Alps to Bourg-en-Bresse and then Geneva. The journey totaled 1047 miles with 92949 feet of elevation gain.

Looking for the real Iceland: a 23-day bicycle tour around the land of fire, ice and puffins. We rode through the West Fjords and clockwise around Route 1 (the Ring Road). We did not traverse the interior, but the journey was hard enough.

A three week solo and unsupported ride from Vancouver, Canada to Tijuana, Mexico. I followed the Pacific Coast most of the way south using the American Cycling Association maps.

The weather forecast for the next week looks promising, so I decide to take the train to Geneva, and start a cycle tour crossing Switzerland diagonally till St. Margrethen (at the Austrian border).

Rika (my sister) bought an e-bike, so we want to test it. I hope that after 4000 kilometres ride, I will get to know the pros and cons of electrically assisted bicycles. In the morning we cycle to Waldshut, our starting point for our trip around Germany.

I take a photo of the bridge over the Rhine in Waldshut and hope to be back here in 6-7 beautiful and exciting weeks. From Waldshut to Schluchsee we have to climb approximately 600 meters. As long as the ground is flat, I can keep up with the e-bike but if it gets steep, I cannot keep the pace. We decide that both of us cycle our own speed. If Rika arrives at the top of a hill, she will have to wait until I reach the top of the mountain. Until now it was vice versa.

An account of a 6 day bike/tandem tour based in Arabba at the foot of the Passo Pordoi in September 2009. Includes daily ride reports, route maps, lots of photos and details on how we got there - and how we got on! The rides include ascents of the following passes... Passo Giau, Falzarego, Pordoi, Sella, Gardena, Campolongo, Valparola, Tre Croci, Tre Cime di Lavaredo, Duran and Staulanza.

''the last stretches to the top were crazy. I was basically pedalling through thick snow. After reaching the top we hurriedly got our photos taken by the summit sign and got ready for the descent

And this descent was going to be an education. Very few times in my life have I actually feared for my mortality, but believe me, this was going to be an extreme experience in cold, terror and emotion''

A 12 day unsupported ride from the most south westerly to most north easterly point of Britain. I also passed through the most southern point, Lizard Point, and the most northern point, Dunnet Head. I covered 1074 miles passing through some of the most beautiful parts of Britain.

4 of us toured Hokkaido, starting from Chitose, over to the North East Section and return. We visited several National Parks along the way, and many hot springs. But the main attraction was the Japanese people and their friendliness.

A six-day tour from Thessaloniki to Athens in Greece. 637km cycled, stopping in Thessaloniki, Katerini-Paralia, Larissa, Lamia, Delphi and Thiva.

The highlight was definitely the hills and archaeological sites around Delphi, but we loved dodging the wild dogs, chatting with priests and lapping up Greek Salad every day.

Greece doesn't seem used to recreational cyclists, but it offers many spectacular views and challenging hills, and we encountered a warm welcome and considerate driving everywhere (even in Athens!).

Organizzare un viaggio in bici in Olanda predispone a perdere la testa nel confrontare 260 itinerari per 15.000 km. - avete letto bene - tanti sono quelli proposti che vengono inviati su richiesta dall'ente turismo olandese.

Gli itinerari corrono tutti su vere e proprie piste preferenziali ciclabili a tutti gli effetti. Queste sono ovunque: nelle citt� nelle periferie, nei villaggi, nelle campagne. Dove c'� una strada, ai suoi lati esiste una corsia preferenziale per il traffico in bicicletta. Le biciclette sono migliaia. Le piste come tavole di biliardo.

A short and relaxed biketour from Nauders to Brescia in Fall 2008 thru beautifull Vinschgau.

Travel By Bike is a website about a group of enthusiastic bikers with more than 10 years of travel experience. From Belgium through The Netherlands, Luxembourg, France, Germany, Switzerland, Italy, Spain, Portugal, Czech Republic, Denmark, Norway, Sweden, United Kingdom. Do not forget look at to the page 'pregnant on bike', reading our travel stories and watching the beautiful pictures!

A solo cycling journey from Shanghai, China to Padang, West Sumatra During the spring/summer of 2009 I determined to cycle departing from my pre-war apartment in Shanghai and to continue as far as I could in the three months time I had from April 11th until July 11th. 8000 eventful Kilometers later I finally reached Padang, West Sumatra.

Aside from only one ferry ride connecting Penang, Malaysia to the Port of Belawan, North Sumatra the whole trip was by bicycle. During the trip I encountered fierce rains and winds, steep climbs and endless mountains, roads that went from pavement to mud and rocks, monkeys jumping down from the trees, snakes the length of baseball bats, lizards the size of big cats, Hmong Guerillas with AK47's on a misty mountain pass. I experienced the kindness of strangers as well as the indecency of others. I pushed my middle-aged body to the limit and achieved a personal record in northern Thailand by cycling 263 kilometers non-stop in one truly eventful day of fast and hard riding.

It is difficult for the pictures I shot of myself (with my outdated 5 mega-pixel camera's auto shoot feature) to capture the true essence of this journey. They can't capture the nearly 2000 kilometers of continuous climbs from western Guangxi through North/Central Laos and the often steep ascents, fierce winds and heavy rains encountered there. The lonely days of riding up and up and the anguish felt after reaching a pass and realizing there are only more mountains to cross in the horizon. Nor can they capture the lighting fast descents on winding mountain roads with hair pin turns, where I have mastered the act of riding without my hands, singing and strumming along to the thumping tunes on my ipod. Pictures can't capture the restless nights sleeping alone in the jungle, in a bamboo hut open to all the elements, the night creatures taunting and wailing out load as if in mocking and the loud claps of thunder that drown out the sound of the jungle creatures. Pictures can't capture the struggle of lifting a fully loaded touring bike and hand carrying it over mud and rock slides which persist kilometer after kilometer during the rainy seasons in China's western regions. Pictures cant capture the taunting calls of 'hello mister' or 'tourist' by the locals in all of Sumatra or the endearing smiles on faces of Laotian children as I ride by, they can't capture the maddening and often dangerous traffic in parts of China and Sumatra and the disregard of truck drivers and other motor vehicles for the lone cyclist on the rode and they can't capture the army of bugs at dusk flying into my face, eyes and clothes, pelting me as if hail from the skies above. [...]

This was a five-day bicycle trip to various Chateaus in the Loire Valley, using Tours as a base. Following that, a few days sightseeing in Paris, sans bicycle.

I'd never seen so many cycle tourists before in one place. It was like the Ortlieb Panniers Owners' Club annual get together. Every colour of pannier on display, plus canoe bags, bar bags and whatever else you can buy from your local bike shop in waterproof PVC. We took our place in amongst the masses and headed off down the Rhine. The cycle lane was immaculate and wide and the countryside very easy on the eye. We'd arrived in Germany on Day 1 of a 7 day cycle tour of the Rhine, Mosel and Eifel and were already feeling very much a part of the scenery.....

A five day cycle trip across Switzerland starting at Geneva following Swiss bike route 1 up the Rhone valley to the Furka pass, then joining route 3 over the Gotthard pass with a super long descent to Bellnzona, and finishing up on the western shore of Lake Como in Italy. With a bus lift over the Furka this was an easy way to cycle in the heart of the Alps and time was taken along the way to stop and meet people and visit some of the castles on the route. With nearly 100 photos this is a day by day account of the journey, the people I met and places I visited along the way.