r/travel Topic of the Week: 'Cycling'

13

My only experience was in Washington DC. Rented a bike from one of those roadside rack things and cycled it around at 3am. (had just arrived from LA and had slept all day!)

It was fun! Felt safe riding it on the roads as they were all so quiet. Rode it past the white house which was cool! Nobody around except some guards. Im sure If I listened closely I could have heard Trump snoring.

I actually bought a bike after I got home and i've only rode it once. Riding a bike on the road is scary..

2

u/Mr_Fkn_Helpful May 24 '19

LA is a great place to cycle.

There's a reasonable network of bike lanes and bike paths that are starting to connect up. Plus you can take your bike on the subway or the buses.

There's some awesome bike paths, like the one up the beach that runs all the way from the South Bay to Santa Monica, or the one along the river from south of DTLA to Long Beach.

Plus there's great bike events like ciclavia.

And the weather is always perfect.

8

u/annavolfman May 23 '19

I have several such travelling. Two in Denmark - Bornholm is perfect and very good for travelling by bike and second one on the south of Odence. And I have several marvelous trips in Austria which is my favorite. Danube trip ( Passau - Vein) is very easy and even children or elderly people could make it and then several trips in Styria, Corinthia and trip around Salzburg are perfect. All of the were for 4-6 days with BB accomodation and rented bikes

5

u/cirena May 23 '19

I biked around Bornholm as well! It was lovely. Great way to get around, see things, and enjoy nature all at once. Such a great island.

7

u/mathiasfe Norway May 23 '19

One of the best place that I've biked in was in Taitung in Taiwan. The city is small and perfect for biking and also has a relatively large park that you can bike around in. My guesthouse had free bike rental, so it was really easy to do.

Munich is also great for biking. The infrastructure is near perfect. Did a spur of the moment bike ride to Starnberger See one summer day which was beautiful. All you really need is a single speed bike. I bought one for 200 Euros while I lived there and sold it to a friend for 180 when I moved. Oh how I loved that bike.

Denmark is also nice to bike in. Have done it in Copenhagen a few times and now as I live in Odense, it's pretty much the only mean of transportation I use in the city.

6

u/[deleted] May 23 '19

I'm relatively new to "discovering" bike tours but from now on I'll absolutely be adding them to my trips whenever they're available. A few years ago in Colombia I did two city tours and a downhill mountain biking tour and they were all awesome.

http://www.bogotabiketours.com/

http://medellinbiketour.com/

https://www.kumanday.com/adventures/

Unfortunately, my bike tour in Guatemala was cancelled last summer because the guide got sick the day before but I've got a big bike adventure planned for this summer from Nantes to Santiago de Compostela.

3

u/AllegedAlliteration May 23 '19

I did that Bogota bike tour and you’re right it was awesome. Biked through some parts of the city that I never would have gone to alone (probably for good reason)

4

u/Duckhunt United States May 23 '19

On my travel to do list is biking the Shimanami Kaido bridge in Japan that connects the Honshu Island to Shikoku. Its 60 km long and takes you through six small islands. Seems like a fun way to take in Japan.

3

u/billynotreally1996 May 25 '19

Hey I just did this! We split it over three days and stayed on Innoshima island and Omishima island, it was a great adventure. Soaked in onsens at the end of each day, we truly needed it because I’ve got no experience biking so it was pretty hard. The views from the bridges were amazing though, highly recommend, just bring sunscreen and make sure to keep applying it, I got super burnt the first day.

3

u/cloudprince May 28 '19

There was a guy in this subreddit who would always post about it a few years ago. Sounds amazing but I've just never been back to Japan again with enough spare time. Good luck!

4

u/sharkbeans United States May 23 '19

A couple years ago, I went to Vancouver and rented some bikes with my family that we rode around Stanley Park. The park is beautiful and full of history from the Navy and the indigenous people. The bike trail goes along the coast, so you get to ride while feeling the ocean breeze. If you have a free half-day in Vancouver, I would highly recommend doing this (:

3

u/[deleted] May 25 '19

Stanley Park bike ride was easily the highlight of my first visit for Vancouver. That park is super beautiful in the late Spring with plenty of places to stop and sightsee along the way.

3

u/tarek619 May 23 '19

When I went to Gili T island in Bali, I was shocked to see that there are no cars at all or motorbikes. I had no idea before getting there. Although the roads are not super smooth, it was still such a joy to rent a bicycle and ride around the island, which can be done in 30 minutes or less. Getting up in the middle of the night and taking a stroll out by bicycle, on this tiny island, it's a strange enjoyable feeling.

Also did a night bike tour of Medellin once over christmas, its like a walking tour with a larger horizon. got to see the city, their famous alumbrados, and to some extent you ride around some of the more real parts of Medellin with a local.

3

u/cirena May 23 '19

Do trips to do a bike race count? My husband and I have traveled to different cities just to go on an organized ride.

The best so far was Rosarito-Ensenada in Mexico (50 miles). They close down the rural road, so you bike through a bunch of towns with locals cheering you on. Some great ocean views before you head up into the mountains and wine country, then back down to the cruise ship town of Ensenada. If you like to bike, this ride is really fun.

We also did one called "Ride the Gap" in Parowan, UT. We liked it so much, we're doing it again this year. Your choice of distance, biking along the red hills in southern Utah, to the Parowan Gap, a treasure trove of petroglyphs. There's an ice cream social the night before and a BBQ at the finish line to make it a community event.

3

u/crackanape Amsterdam May 24 '19

In the old days, when you could bring a bike free on the plane, I brought mine everywhere. I’d always assemble it in the baggage claim area and then ride into town.

Then they started charging $100 and later more, and I gave up.

Now that so many cites have bikeshare systems I’ve been able to enjoy exploring on two wheels again. But it felt like so much more of adventure back in those days.

2

u/markvauxhall 50 countries May 24 '19

Depends entirely on your airline - BA still just count a checked bike as part of your regular checked baggage allowance

1

u/Mr_Fkn_Helpful May 25 '19

Bike share systems are great. I've really enjoyed using Citibikes in NYC, Boris Bikes in London and the ones in a few other cities, like Taipei. All of which are nice cities to cycle around.

In a few places I've found a cycling city tour to join, one that's just a short bike ride (10-20km) with a bunch of interesting stops. IMO the best way to get around a city is a bicycle.

I've taken my own bike a few times, but it's a little bit of a hassle and I'm not invested enough to get a Brompton.

3

u/8lbs6ozBebeJesus Canada May 25 '19

When I was staying in Yangshuo, China, I rented a bike from my hostel for around $2CAD for the day. I spent the whole day riding around the karst stacks and along one of the rivers which is near the city. The sun was shining and the temperature was perfect, it was one of my favourite days of my time traveling in China.

1

u/ag_sci14 United States May 29 '19

Highly recommend this. Another fun ride in China is around Lake Erhai in Yunnan. Bikes can be rented in Dali.

2

u/CheeseWheels38 CAN --> FRA/KAZ May 23 '19

I've rented a few times while travelling. Five euros to ride a really shitty bike around Aegina was a fun day a couple of years ago. Although some of the other tourists were unpleasantly suprised about the not-insignificant climb across the island. I've also use the bikeshare programs to get around Paris and Astana as a tourist. I think it was like 1.80 EUR for the day when I did it, certainly beats a metro day-pass in terms of fun and cheapness. Somewhere around Amsterdam that was also a really cool park/nature area that included the use of white bicycles in the entry fee. If you're not super comfortable on a bike, then something like that would be much better than a day-rental to get around Amsterdam.

Ideally, I'd just travel with one of my own bikes. This is obviously much easier on road trips like the one we took to Corsica; cycling in the morning before it gets hot and then spending the afternoon on a beach relaxing with beer and ice cream is pretty much my ideal vacation. When I was in shape and my friends from Canada came to visit, then some purely-cycling trips were the way to go. We've done a week in Alps (something like 450 km with 14,000 m climbing), a week in the Pyrénées and a few days in the Dolomites. I wasn't in shape for the last one and it was pretty rough.

Cycling can also be the most round-about and shitty way to save money, for example cycling Grenoble to Turin for instead of taking the train, Financially, it's almost as bad as getting into ski touring so that you can save money on lift tickets ;).

2

u/[deleted] May 23 '19

I've done a few bike tours in the U.S, most major cities in the U.S.A have bike share programs. Always bring your own helmet because it's hard to rent one. Vancouver B.C is the most bike friendly city I've ever been to in North America, and yes I've been Portland.

2

u/SuperCooper12 May 25 '19

Traveling to Italy in a few days, really hoping I'm able to explore some of the Lake Garda mountain biking (not sure if that counts here?). The region looks really fun and ideal for downhill and really any outdoor sports but the elevation in particular drew my mind to bicycles.

For an experience traveling with bicycles, we visited Crested Butte, Colorado last September and had a blast riding all around the small town. We stayed on the mountain which is maybe a 10 minute ride downhill, then a solid workout back up (:

Anyhow, if you enjoy riding of any sort it's the place to go. Nestled right in the heart of mountainous terrain. Picturesque mountain town with only local vendors, no Starbucks/McDs/etc. We had a blast getting away from commercial food for a few days. The weather was excellent, a little chilly and rainy towards the end. They've got great track for XC, DH/Enduro, and we even spotted a few road cyclists heading out in the early morning hours. Obviously a very bike oriented place, just a nice little haven. Anyone who's never been to Colorado or thought about CB should absolutely pay them a visit.

2

u/somegummybears May 26 '19

I’ve biked the length of Vietnam, Hanoi to Ho Chi Minh City (2000km), the circumference of Taiwan (1100km), and from Montreal to Boston (650km), as well as some other smaller trips. Enjoyed them all, would recommend.

2

u/travelforadrenaline May 28 '19

In Geneva, Switzerland, we can rent a bicycle for free for duration of 4 hours, after which we will be charged 2 CHF per hour. It was a good experience in Geneva and the countryside rides are awesome to explore on a bicycle.

1

u/gmhs May 23 '19

Has any one experience cycling in the Black Forrest? Heading there later this summer and would like to.

1

u/rvdthunder May 24 '19

I have rented bikes and been on biking tours in a few cities.

San Francisco Vancouver Edam Munich

They were all completely different experiences, and highly enjoyable. It's such a different way of seeing a city and I highly recommend it.

1

u/SAR_S May 24 '19

I went to a team building event in Zaanse Schans a few years ago and one of the activities was an hour-long bike tour around the town. I hadn't biked in many years, so I was a little wobbly to start. When people say you never forget how to ride a bike, they are lying. My takeaway from the event was that if you are not a skilled bicyclist, roads where locals are actively commuting by bike are not an ideal place to relearn. A large chunk of our group biked off ahead, which was fine, but those of us toddling at the back of the pack were kicked and shoved aside by locals trying to get where they wanted to go. We were obviously an inconvenience to them so the frustration was understandable, but one of the people in our group was jabbed with a stiletto by a woman who didn't appreciate our presence before a man biking past shove two people clear off their bikes.

Moral of they story: If you want to do a biking tour in a place that is serious about bicycles, make sure you brush up your rusty skills before you get in the bike lane.

To be clear, I do truly understand their frustration. They were just trying to get to work and we were hogging the road...but...maybe they took their frustration slightly too far. Maybe both of them were having really bad days?

1

u/cupcakephantom May 25 '19

Back when I had summer breaks, my aunt and I would go on weekend trips to Put-In-Bay/Kelley's Islands (Islands in Ohio). We'd take her car with us to carry our kayaks and camping stuff but we would always rent bikes. Most islands have at least 2 places to rent bikes for fair prices (I think hourly) and there's plenty of space on all islands for hiking, exploring, and other fun stuff. I don't remember if you they gave you a lock and keys but I do remember that most of the busy areas or restaurants had bike racks to accommodate. The ferry rates don't hurt either, as it's pretty cheap when you're island hopping by bike versus by car. (I should mention there's one island, Rattlesnake, that can only be accessed if you're a "member" or an employee.) Overall PIB has a very friendly culture and has one of the lowest crime rates in Ohio. I highly suggest going as a weekend getaway or a shorter vacation! There's something for everyone and it's also a 20-minute drive from Cedar Point.

1

u/SwingNinja Indonesia May 25 '19

It's not too late. Portland, Oregon's World Naked Bike Ride is June 29. Around 10k bicyclists every year. Join the fun. It's free. No need to register. No bicycle? You can rent an "orange bike" from the rental station. Or you can run/walk/skate, whatever. Checkout the website for more info: https://pdxwnbr.org/

1

u/[deleted] May 26 '19

renting bikes in valencia was allright. it kinda just works. no problems. biking there is slightly more difficult than back home in holland, because you are on roads (not bike paths) half the time, also busy ones. the recommendation there is to block the car lane with your bike, something we dont do back home (we hug the side of the road instead).

1

u/ontwofour92 May 27 '19

I really like the bike share systems they have in the UK. I think it's sponsored by Santander in London (and different banks for different cities). It's only 2 GBP per rental, and you get back your deposit if you return it within 1 hr iirc.

1

u/AllettWallets May 27 '19

Rode bikes around Marrakesh and it was wonderful. Our bike tour was led by a local and we booked through airbnb. It was pretty cool to learn about daily life there as we rode around. It was super busy but a really fun way to explore the sprawling city and see a lot in a short period of time.

1

u/broccoli_12 May 28 '19

Rented bicycles in Barcelona. Got to ride around the city and up and down the beach. Great time.

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u/TheRealPizza May 28 '19

A bit different from some of the other comments, but what do you guys think about bicycle touring? I know of /r/bicycletouring and frequent it, but I was thinking of maybe a second opinion. I really want to spend a week or two touring Europe on a bike, but the language barrier is sort of off-putting, which is why I'm thinking of maybe doing northern UK first, since that looks really scenic. Also, any opinions on hostels vs camping? I've no problems with camping while touring in the States, but I'm not sure how easy it would be to find a spot in the UK. Hostels/airbnbs are looking like the better option right now.

1

u/pg_ May 28 '19

I love traveling by bike. I've done most of my touring in Scotland, but have also done multi-day tours in Canada, India, England and the US. While I've rented bikes for some trips, I have had much better experiences when bringing my own bike - it's always more comfortable, it's easier to repair a bike you're familiar with, and in some places it can be hard to find a good lightweight bike with gears.

When I did my first tour in India, we brought road bikes on the plan and rode around Karnataka and Kerala. It was amazing, and it would have been very difficult to find a road bike, let alone a bike with gears in the area. Now it's a bit easier to rent decent bikes there (I have friends who rent out decent bikes in Mysore).

For my last tour, my friend and I rented bikes in Nova Scotia (they were decent but not the best) and rode around, stopping with lovely hosts we found through warmshowers. We often ride with a hand-cranked ice cream machine so we can share something special with the people we meet.

Discussion r/travel Topic of the Week: 'Cycling'

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