Cycle Tours Global Blog

As we all know tourism is one of the sectors worst hit by the fallout from the global Covid-19 crisis. It will also be slow to recover to what existed before March 2020, if indeed it does - or should.

To most people likely to see this article, me included, the answer will be a resounding yes. However NimbleFins have done some analysis to back this up and while it is somewhat subjective, the criteria used is logical.

This relatively short self-guided RandoVelo bike tour covers four of the key elements of France’s largest region, Aquitaine – city and beach, as well as forest and vineyards. All this in quite a compact area to the west of Bordeaux, in the Gironde department.

The Velodyssey is an official cycling route in Western France and forms part of EuroVelo 1, the Atlantic route from Norway to Portugal. The French portion is one of the better developed and best used sections. My Velodyssey started at Roscoff in Brittany and finished in Bordeaux.

Australia is the world’s fifth largest wine producer and 50% of that comes from South Australia (“SA”), the 5^th (or second smallest) state in terms of population. Some of the best regions are within easy reach of Adelaide, and what’s even better is they offer some of the best cycle paths and rail trails in Australia.

A gorgeous spring morning heralded an auspicious start to my e-bike experience.  I had heard amazing things about these uniquely Australian-built e-bikes and the upcoming soft launch of the AVE brand – exciting stuff.

E-bikes, electric bikes or pedelecs, are the fastest growing category of cycle tourism. Worldwide there are several operators that specialise in e-bike tours but each year, more and more cycle tour operators are offering e-bike options or upgrades on most, if not all, of their tours.

I don’t know about you but I get a huge amount of inspiration (and envy) from reading other people’s stories of bike tours  - short or long. However more often than not it is the long distance adventurers who have the most impact on me – particularly bikepackers who spend months or even years on the road crossing continents and the globe with seemingly apparent ease. They get to visit and become immersed in remote places that (at best) I’ve barely heard of.

When you're on a multi-day bike tour you probably don't want to cover the same ground each day - after all the main point of a tour is to see and experience new things. But having a home away from home means your focus can be totally on the cycling and the local area.

Lake Constance (or Bodensee in German) is the third largest lake in central Europe and second in Switzerland (after Geneva). It is the major hub of recreation and tourist activity in northern Switzerland, southern Germany and western Austria, having some of its shoreline in each country.

Australia is one of the largest and most sparsely populated countries on earth. As such the tyranny of distance moulds the cycle tourism industry. However there is also huge variety and if you focus on particular areas you can have many different experiences - or cross the continent and do it all!

More and more people realise that trying to see or do lots when on holiday is counterproductive so have embraced ‘slow travel’. It’s not really a new concept but is more relevant than ever, and now has a name so we can talk about it!

Did you know that the inventor of the bicycle, Karl Dreis, was born in Karlsruhe? Ok, it wasn’t quite the modern bike but his ‘laufmaschine’ (running machine) was a recognisable two-wheeler, albeit without pedals or chain. Also born here was Karl Benz, the inventor of an inferior vehicle...

It is perfectly possible to circumnavigate Lake Zurich by bike in one day. It’s about 90km around but you can cut about 25-30km by using the Seedam causeway rather than cycling around Obersee. The excellent Swiss railway runs down both sides of the lake which also gives lots of options, particularly if you want to spend time exploring.

Baden is about 25km north west of Zurich and is a return trip although there are several different routes available so we made it a loop to make it more interesting.

I travel a lot and ride my bike a lot, but up to now have never travelled by air with a bike. I know lots of people do plane travel with a full-size bicycle with the minimum of fuss and I’m sure it gets easier every time - but that's not for me or my stress levels...

The opportunity to take a group of my friends to Northeast Victoria's Murray to Mountains rail trail was too good to miss - I knew they'd love it too. We booked a self-guided trip with Tour de Vines who looked after everything for us so we could focus on the cycling, the food and the wine...

The scourge of spring in Australia and New Zealand, magpies are fiercely territorial and during nesting season will chase away anything they percieve as a threat. And although others are vulnerable, it is cyclists that seem to be the primary target.

Based in Albury there were a few good options; the trails and cycle paths in and around the city and the High Country Rail Trail that started from Wodonga. We decided on the latter and made an early start to allow for the 100 odd kilometre ride out to Old Tallangatta and back.

There are several trails in and around town, of varying levels of difficulty, length, terrain and scenery - urban and rural. Doing them all in one day would be a worthy challenge - more due to the variety of surfaces than the combined length – but is very achievable.