E P I C B I K E R I D E S of the WOR L D Explore the planet’s most thrilling cycling routes Easy Harder Epic CO N T E N T S INTRODUCTION 04 EUROPE 164 Bavarian Beer Ride (Germany) 166 AFRICA 06 Down The Danube (Austria) 172 Tour d’Afrique 08 Monte Amiata (Italy) 178 Riding the Rif (Morocco) 14 The Bryan Chapman Memorial (Wales) 184 Pedalling the Spanish Picos 190 AMERICAS 20 Climbing Mt Ventoux (France) 196 Cuba’s Southern Rollercoaster 22 Beating the Birkebeinerrittet (Norway) 202 To the Tip of Patagonia (Argentina) 28 West Cork’s Wild Coast, (Ireland) 208 The Natchez Trace Parkway (USA) 36 A Corsican Challenge (France) 214 A Circuit of San Juan Island (USA) 42 Circling Lake Constance (Switzerland/Germany/Austria) 220 Family Bikepacking in Ecuador 48 Sierra Nevada Traverse (Spain) 226 Colorado Beer Bike Tour (USA) 56 The South Downs Way (England) 232 North America’s Pacific Coast (USA) 62 Arty Copenhagen Cruise (Denmark) 238 Mountain Biking in Moab (USA) 68 Around the Île de Ré (France) 244 Ride the Whitehorse Trails (Canada) 74 The Tour of Flanders (Belgium) 250 Courtesy Bridge Road Brewers TBTVMhhauaeenen cnMChooaousin tvvAuteeatirrrene eam dsCn’ a BdiBnrr ci WikBudemighk Peeinsaswatt lavoheiysfrg V((a(CUAetirraoSmgnnAeo a)n(n dUttia nS()aUA )S) A ) 118009880642 FTIAnrhlotle omA Ctl hoSéenev gaeO nttuhnotee eS srLe: o HaRir eie(dbE i(nrnFigdgra elatnshn ce(deS R))c i odtelar n(Fdr)a nce) 222265676842 © Julian Love; ASIA 112 BOeCaEcAhNesIA a n d Bicycles in Adelaide (Australia) 228802 Munro, Mai Chau Cycle Ride (Vietnam) 114 The Old Ghost Road (New Zealand) 288 Matt Bikepacking in Mongolia 120 Australia’s Atherton Tablelands 294 Gilbert, © CHyigchli ning tthhee HSeimtoa Ilanlyaan (dI nSdeiaa) ( Japan) 112384 TThhee AMcuhnedroan B Widadyi T(rAauils (trAaulisatr)a lia) 330006 © Cass Bhutanese Dragon Ride 140 Alps 2 Ocean Cycle Trail (New Zealand) 312 m top: Mae Hong Son Circuit (Thailand) 146 Tasmania’s Wild West (Australia) 318 Clockwise fro SCrhi iLnaan’sk aWni lSdi gWhetsset e ing 115582 INDEX 324 - EPIC BIKE RIDES OF THE WORLD - I N T RO D U C T I O N Ask a dozen cycling writers for their most memorable bike hours, others a day or two, a week, or more than a month. We’ve rides and you get many more than a dozen answers. usually not tried to specify times the rides might take beyond the For some, biking was purely about escapism and distance involved – everybody is different; take as long as required. involved nothing more complicated than packing some Instead, we’ve given a general indication of whether a ride is sandwiches and meandering into the distance with the wind at easy (in terms of terrain, distance, conditions or climate) or more their backs. One or two went a little further and, GPS unit in hand, challenging (bigger hills, longer distances, fewer cake shops). The ventured into the wilds of Patagonia and the Himalaya, powered most important point of these stories is to inspire you to get your by nothing more than their legs and a desire to see what was bike out (dusting it off and pumping up the tyres first if need be) around the next corner. and explore somewhere new with the wind in your hair. Those writers with families recommended flat and accessible Cycling is the perfect mode of transport for the travel-lover, loops around traffic-free islands or along river paths. A few allowing us to cover more ground than if we were on foot, but contributors preferred to case themselves in skin-tight Lycra and without the barriers that a car imposes. We are immersed in our seek out heart-pounding ascents, making ardent pilgrimages to the surroundings, self-powered, independent, and forever pondering sites of classic races to pay their respects. Mountain-biking writers the question ‘I wonder what’s over there?’. The bike rider is free to wrote of thrills and spills on rugged trails on every continent. And follow a whim, discover the limits of their endurance, or stop and more than a few authors agreed that a good ride wasn’t complete settle for while. Hopefully, this book will prove that there’s no better without a beer or two afterwards with old friends or new. way of simply experiencing a place, a culture and its people than What was clear, though, is that everybody has their personal by bicycle. And as some of these tales tell, arriving on a bicycle interpretation of ‘epic’. You can have an epic adventure straight opens doors, literally and figuratively. from your front door and be back in time for tea. Or you can follow in the tyre tracks of adventurer Alastair Humphreys and pedal HOW TO USE THIS BOOK around the world, through 60 countries, for four years. The main stories in each regional chapter feature first-hand This book attempts to reflect that diversity and those varying accounts of fantastic bike rides in that continent. Each includes levels of commitment. We can’t all take a sabbatical for cycling! a toolkit to enable the planning of a trip – when is the best time Wcwaietnh’ v haea svstoeau boglneh ato ofb ucicta ysrcoblmoe,ne -w foihbfe rtethh eme rma ycoohsuitn’ reeens t.a eT rchtaaesi nusieantlgt ir niedgxespr e oorfir e tahn eccseyesc lyisotu osthtfoe yr ei‘emasro ,s rhheoo lwuikl edt o tsh pgisae’tr kst ehocetthrieoe,nr w ifdoheellaoresw .t inWog se te’avayec. hsBt uasttro tberyed,y twohnhaditc htph roaoftcf,ee trshsse owsteiht he r Marcus Enno (top) eMxopnegrioenliace, sB hrauntagne afrnodm t shoem Oeu otfe rt hHee wborirdlde’ss –m otos ti trse mhioptpee pstla cciteies s– iMdeaansy aolfo tnhge sae siidmeialasr athree mwee,ll neostt anbelcisehsesadr riloyu otens t hoer tsraamilse. Tchoen tiinndeenxt. Gilbert; © and dreamiest islands. Some of these rides take just a couple of collects different types of ride for a variety of interests. © Cass 4 - EPIC BIKE RIDES OF THE WORLD - T H E TO U R D’A FR I Q U E Tour d’Afrique lives up to its name: a ride across the entire continent of Africa. It’s tough on the bike and gruelling on the body. Through stinging beads of sweat I looked ahead and the road shimmered into the distance – a thin grey line with START endless plains of sand on either side. We’d cycled 50 miles EGYPT (80km) so far and had the same distance to go. The sun was beating down, and the desert wind was relentless. It was like riding into a hairdryer. With added grit. What a crazy place to go cycling. This was my first day on the Tour d’Afrique, a long-distance SUDAN race from Cairo to Cape Town, Africa’s traditional northern and southern extremities. This annual test of endurance covers around 7500 miles (around 12,000km) divided into eight stages of 14 days, ETHIOPIA giving four months to ride the continent end-to-end. And while some pedal the whole distance, those with less time can ride just a stage – which is no mean feat in itself. There’s also a team relay KENYA option, and in 2009 I was part of a Lonely Planet team, with two riders completing each stage then handing on the baton. TANZANIA The Tour d’Afrique starts at one of Africa’s best-known landmarks, the Pyramids of Giza, on the edge of Cairo. After obligatory photos in front of the giant monuments, and one for luck in front of the Sphinx, the peloton heads south to begin its epic ZAMBIA MALAWI journey. Route details change each year, as new roads are built or borders close, or when countries become too volatile to visit, but NAMIBIA ZIMBABWE the Tour d’Afrique follows pretty much the same overall pattern. BOTSWANA From the Egyptian capital, riders head to the Red Sea then follow the coast road before tracking inland to reach the Nile Valley and mages cycle through a landscape of palm trees and crop fields that have Getty I bcoauAren fltyer yrc,r hyS aruinddgeae nad,l oasninngdc e La aP dkheea mNraaaonsndsicein rtg ibm freienwsg. sd athyes roidn esrasn tdoy t hroeaird sse cond FINISH ASOFRUICTHA © Martyn Colbeck | AFRICA 8 - EPIC BIKE RIDES OF THE WORLD - - EPIC BIKE RIDES OF THE WORLD - through the Nubian Desert, an eastern extension of the Sahara. In this remote part of Africa, where travel is hard at the best of times, cycling adds an extra level of endurance and excitement. CAIRO TO CAPE In Khartoum my own adventure began, as I joined a Lonely TOWN RECORD Planet teammate on that heat-soaked highway through the endless BREAKERS desert landscape. Distances between towns were long, so we often stopped for a drink and a rest at basic roadhouses, some The first Tour d’Afrique little more than a lonely shack surrounded by sand. We enjoyed in 2003 set a new small glasses of sweet black tea, and an unexpected bonus was benchmark in long- the availability of glucose biscuits. Together they kept us fuelled for distance cycling another hour or two of tough cycling. events, and also set From Sudan we crossed the border into Ethiopia. Almost a new world record, immediately, the flat desert changed to a fertile landscape of with nine riders green rolling hills, and dead-straight roads gave way to frequent cycling from Cairo bends as we climbed into the Ethiopian Highlands, a range of to Cape Town in mountains sometimes dubbed the Roof of Africa. 120 days. Over the From the vantage points of the bikes, we were able to see following decade, the local people working in the fields, kids going to school, everyone record was reduced just getting on with daily life. We were also joined by a group of by several solo Ethiopian cyclists, and a highlight of the trip was riding alongside riders. In 2015 the them as the dramatic scenery rolled past, chatting about life in record was broken by Ethiopia and the finer points of the local bike-racing scene. British cyclist Mark Clockwise from top: Mt Kilimanjaro it’s an easy ride to Nairobi and on to Tanzania through a classic “On a bike it’s easier to see monkeys, After Ethiopia, the Tour d’Afrique goes to Kenya. The route may Beaumont, covering in Tanzania; carrying cargo by African landscape of savanna grasslands dotted with flat-topped giraffes, zebras and other wild animals be out of the mountains, but the cycling gets even harder with a around 6718 mile bike; feluccas on the Nile; flowering acacia trees. On a bike it’s easier to see monkeys, giraffes, zebras traverse of the arid Dida Galgalu Desert. When the Lonely Planet (around 10,812km) landscapes. Previous page: the Simien and other wild animals that car-drivers might miss, and the vista is that car-drivers might miss” team were here in 2009, a freak rainstorm turned dirt roads into in a brisk 41 days, 10 mountains in Ethiopia further enhanced by the snow-covered peak of Kilimanjaro serving mud. One of the riders later reported: ‘It was much more than just hours and 22 minutes. as a backdrop. cycling. It was a matter of survival.’ The next port of call is Malawi. In this poor country bikes are A day of climbing into the lush foothills of Mt Kenya comes as everywhere, metal beasts of burden carrying vast bundles of a welcome relief, enhanced by crossing the Equator, from where firewood, piles of bricks, giant gas canisters, rolls of corrugated iron, even beds. With locals and Tour d’Afrique riders having two wheels in common, it’s the perfect opportunity to share a friendly TOOLKIT wave or a few words of greeting. In Zambia, long straight roads cut through a vast empty country Start // Cairo, Egypt to reach yet another classic African landmark, Victoria Falls, where End // Cape Town, South Africa the Zambezi River plummets into a gorge, sending up a cloud of Distance // Approx 7500 miles (approx. 12,000km). The spray that can be seen from far away; a very welcome sight at the route varies but usually goes via Sudan, Ethiopia, Kenya, end of a hard day’s cycling. Tanzania, Malawi, Zambia, Botswana and Namibia. Riders Beyond the Zambezi are the relatively developed countries of can opt to do the race (with competitive sections most days) Botswana and Namibia, but easy conditions are offset by long or the ‘expedition’ (which means just taking part). days in the saddle, including the approx. 129-mile (approx. 208km) Duration // Covering the entire distance requires Galibert | 500px ‘agq uusawereeanan tts,e teraiddg eetro’s a gmleoatn ygt ha telhs heoe Tearnartcn opsu uKnmateplari nhegale.rip Hhawnyt.s I fo tnh athte d rooeasdn ’–t raise Wahroeunn dto 1 2r0id dea /y/s ,T hdeiv siTidgoeuhdrt s dien’eAtoifnr ig9q 0ud eari dyissin .ogr gdaanyiss eadn de v3e0ry r eyseta/r, © Aberson | Getty Images, © Mark Read © Wolfgang Kaehler | Getty Images, © Patrick afowMinrgeaoTaTaanuhhlir gnneeyo etn ftbaTf h -orucireonuoot c rambtek oddilseka ’ reAsotfee osffatr drhbitcaqh ehrcyue is ynleCa cgCt slhae itesrr npitodsdsdeeuee s pcgrTr btsoaahi oewss cNsnr lngio tta t shahbmmeenrerooa d gfutulq oaatnguh ntthsa-ea,tt lu oiSaaennpotnns npu.additen hfaodga fn A m sldaafuor nmittuchrduamses l, cyli satw a cenophupdfeel ipmTcrsaet ,aur biworrdlkeenie:td c h. e D E gMuesaourr.a eSll y(oi wnmmfweoidw r-/.iJ/d a ttSedonrua uscpg aumplrotyoa b drtyatoa alt iclmrlyusy iocccdlk yi-tnscMa glckina.eacgy roa,r ydmbd isyv/su tatToapnDunptraAcl-iegd eGseas. flaoroinfqb daua elct )rCau. mycckpl-iirnnidgge AFRICA 10 11 The Tour D’Afrique - EPIC BIKE RIDES OF THE WORLD - Opposite: the switchback turns of the Sani Pass in Lesotho M O R E L I K E T H I S AFRIC AN RIDES KILIMANJARO CIRCUIT, TANZANIA SANI PASS, SOUTH MASSAWA TO ASMARA, ERITREA AFRICA TO LESOTHO If you’ve got more time to spare after Of all Africa’s countries, Eritrea has the tackling the Tour d’Afrique, a challenging The Drakensberg range forms a line of richest cycling heritage, thanks to Italian option is the loop around the base of jagged peaks and steep valleys stretching colonial influence, and today it’s the Africa’s best-known mountain, Kilimanjaro, in an arc though the eastern part of South national sport, with a thriving race calendar a distance of 146 miles (235km). A good Africa. Sitting at the top of this mountain that includes the Tour of Eritrea. Get a start point is Moshi, a popular base for chain is Lesotho, a separate country, taste of it by tackling the spectacular trekkers, and the route goes via Sanyaa Juu sometimes called the ‘Kingdom in the climb from the port city of Massawa and Tarakea. It’s well off tourist itineraries, Sky’ thanks to its lofty location. Forcing a up to Asmara, the capital. Sometimes so you’ll need a tent. Roads are a mix of route up this precipice is the Sani Pass, billed as ‘Eritrea’s Mortirolo’, a nod to terrible dirt and perfect tar, with everything a tortuous gravel track linking the two the infamously rugged Alpine pass, it’s in between, while numerous rivers mean countries, and a cycling challenge. You a winding snake of a road with steep plenty of valleys to cross, so this is not a start at the small town of Himeville and gradients and hairpin bends, plus dizzying trip for the faint-hearted. follow the road (tar at first, then dirt), drops and great views over the sandy Start/End // Moshi gradually climbing to the South African plains below. The first 26 miles (42km) is Distance // 146 miles (235km) border post. Then it’s dirt all the way, a fairly flat (but very hot) then the bulk of the constant grind, with ramps increasingly ascent, over 2000m, is in the next 41 miles sheer, and turns increasingly tight, to (66km). Currently, Eritrea’s government is finally reach the Lesotho border post at cited by human rights organisations as one the summit. Temperatures can be baking of the most oppressive in the world, which hot, or freezing cold. Either way, thirst can may deter travellers, but when the tide be quenched at the nearby Sani Mountain turns, add the Massawa–Asmara road to Lodge, which claims to be the highest pub your bucket list. mages in Africa. Start // Massawa Getty I Start // Himeville, South Africa End // Asmara msberg | EDnisdt a//n Lcees /o/t 2h3o mboilredse (r37km) Distance // 67 miles (108km) © Edwin Re AFRICA 12 - EPIC BIKE RIDES OF THE WORLD - R I D I N G T H E R I F Northern Morocco’s Rif Mountains aren’t on most cyclists’ bucket lists. The riding and culture can be taxing, but epic isn’t meant to be easy! Ihave a love-hate relationship with hills. I’m big on the Mountains, which parallel the Mediterranean coast of northern cycling challenge, mostly in principle, and I love the reward, Morocco and include several significant climbs. I pondered how the especially in practice. As I make long ascents, though, I lose Rif isn’t particularly sought out for cycling or, really, any standard enthusiasm and tend to abandon the two-wheeler’s don’t- form of tourism; but as I was on the first leg of a nine-month, stop dictum. And while I lament the added burden of gear-filled counterclockwise bicycle circumnavigation of the Mediterranean panniers — a necessity for self-supported, multi-day pedals into Sea, from Morocco to Gibraltar, geography had dictated my path. mountainous places with limited food availability, poor-quality Also top of mind was how the Rif, home to large kif (aka amenities, meagre mechanical backup and unreliable alternative cannabis) plantations, is perhaps best known for its primary export: transportation — I depend on it as an excuse when I slow down hashish. Over the decades, this has been both a magnet for and and, yes, even stop. source of friction with tourists. Young backpackers and hippies have This was in my thoughts on my first days of riding in the Rif long trooped here to avail themselves of the product, even though START TANGIER TETOUAN AL-HOCEIMA CHEFCHAOUEN KENTAAATML-IOHAONACLE IPMAARK KASSITA NADOR FISNAISÏDHIA © David Santiago Garcia | Getty Images AFRICA 14 - EPIC BIKE RIDES OF THE WORLD - - EPIC BIKE RIDES OF THE WORLD - MOROCCAN FOOD TIPS Roadside stalls have slim pickings, but tourism-ready towns promise Morocco’s best foods: couscous, tagines, such grilled meats as méchoui (lamb), fried sardines, harira (soup), salads including zaalouk, shakshouka and more. Tagines and couscous are often only served at home for special occasions, so accept any invitations. And try street foods, such as ksra (anise flatbread), Left to right: Chefchaouen; sfenj (deep-fried a Berber family; the Straits of doughnuts) and kefta Gibraltar; stocking up in the smoking it is illegal. Unfortunately, that means anyone visiting the “We glided on usually good pavement mouths wasn’t ‘as-salamu alaykum’ (a standard greeting in (meat seasoned with medina of Tetouan. Previous page: Rif Mountains today is assumed to be interested in buying hashish. Arabic) or ‘makh dith?’ (‘how are you?’ in northern Berber dialect), ras el-hanout spices). the blue town of Chefchaouen through valleys of cedar trees, sweated up Sellers and touts are constantly pressing their case, sometimes to it was ‘hashish?’ Few would accept a single ‘no’. One young the point of harassment. Drugs trigger other criminal behavior too, hillsides and swept thrillingly down” tout jogged alongside us – up a tough hill – for several miles, especially smuggling, so police checkpoints are common. determined to make a sale. Another proffered a grapefruit-size ball These are important reality checks when pondering a ride in the of congealed hash oil. A Mercedes even followed slowly behind us region. But while it may not seem all that conducive to cycling, the when it stayed within view of the sea through hot and arid undulating for a while; it eventually turned back without a word or a wave. gorgeous mountain scenery, challenging and changeable terrain lands flanked by the Beni-Snassen Mountains. In fact, besides road But those quirky moments of awkwardness and suspicion TOOLKIT on fairly good-quality and uncrowded roads, and glimpses of construction, pass-clinging clouds, lowland midday heat and police were far less common than the locals’ displays of generosity typical Moroccan life away from the touristy commercial hubs make checkpoints, the external obstacles were few. We glided on usually and befuddled curiosity. At roadside stands, where we guzzled Start // Tangier for something genuinely different and extremely appealing. The Rif good pavement through valleys of cedar trees, sweated along rolling cold Orange Crush soda or sipped mint tea, our round-the- End // Saïdia is worth the journey as long as you’re steeled and ready for polite deforested hillsides, slogged up to and then thrillingly down from high Mediterranean project elicited amazed reactions. While we were Distance // approx. 373 miles (600km) and purposeful self-sufficiency, not to mention some discomfort, as elevations, and sliced through coastal headwinds, all while marveling snacking, another Mercedes discharged some official-looking Getting there // Tangier-Ibn Battouta Airport, located 7½ the food and lodging along the way can be basic. at sweeping vistas and seeking the unseen sources of lamb bleats, gents (who we thereafter nicknamed ‘the diplomats’) who simply miles (12km) southwest of Tangier, is used by Royal Air Maroc, Our path took us east from world-famous Tangier to relaxed, cow bells and echoing calls to prayer. wanted to know where we were from and how the biking was. easyJet, Ryanair, Air Nostrum (Iberia Regional) and more. seaside Saïdia on the Algerian border, via Tétouan and blue- That isn’t to say the roads were empty. While motorised traffic mages And at our overnight stops, someone usually took us under Where to stay // A mix of accommodation is available in painted Chefchaouen, both known for their bustling medinas, wasn’t frequent, it was hardly absent. There was also almost Getty I his wing and made us feel welcome. 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AFRICA 16 17 Riding the Rif
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