I love a good bike ride. It’s what I do when I’m feeling stressed or anxious or if I am just in need of a little fresh air. There is something so utterly visceral about exploring an unfamiliar area, especially on a bike. It heightens your senses, deepens your awareness and of course it offers up a caloric burn so that you don’t have to fret the wine and cheese you’ll have afterward.
If you haven’t ever done it, you must. If you’re a fellow two-wheel traveler, I’d love to hear your stories. I’m always in search of new adventures!
Here are a few of my favorite cycling experiences.
French Countryside & Giverny
While in France a few years ago, I found a company that offered cycling tours to Monet’s Gardens in Giverny. Wow. The thought of cycling through the French countryside to visit the home and gardens of one of the world’s greatest painters. Sure to be an epic journey. It was a cool drizzly day in September, but I didn’t care. I packed a light rain pancho and threw on a hat. We met as a group, boarded the train and before long we were in the tiny town of Vernon, where we picked up the bikes. We biked along the Seine, breathing in all of the splendor of the countryside. Before long, we arrived at a farmer’s market and told we were free for shop for some goodies that we’d enjoy during our picnic lunch.
Wait, what?
A picnic lunch in the French countryside? Melt my heart.
We filled our bags until they could hold no more.
*Quick travel tip: Foldable recycle bags and a small bungee cord come in very handy when you’re out and about.
We cycled another mile and then set up our lunch at one of the most scenic points of the river, overlooking the old mill of Vernon. Here we were in the remote countryside of France, eating stinky cheese and sipping crisp white wine.
C’est la bonne vie.
With our bellies full, we headed on to Giverny to visit the house and gardens Claude Monet once called home. I was giddy with excitement. Once we arrived, it was all that and more. The drizzle picked up to a steady rain, but it didn’t matter.
C’est magnifique!
Cycling in Rome.
We’ve done a few cycling tours in and around Rome. One was the seven hills of Rome. The concept sounded so intriguing. And it was. It was also miserable. It was August, and 110 degrees Fahrenheit. Not to mention, have you seen how people drive in Rome?
Then we cycled the ancient Appian Way and the countryside around Rome. It was incredible. The Appian Way is the oldest of Roman roads, once connecting Rome to Brindisi. Centuries ago, it was a highly traveled route and was constructed out of hand cobbled stones. To this day, you can still see chariot marks in the stones. It was a rough ride, but one where you get a true sense of destination and are transported through history. Modern day time travel. We cycled to an ancient catacomb for a visit and then along dirt roads where we passed ruins of old farmhouses and crumbling aqueducts.
We rode a few more miles before passing a large flock of sheep, a few hundred of them. I remember getting off my bike to take a few snapshots and our guide told me not to take too long because we’d soon be making a stop. We hopped back on the bikes and rode another mile or so to a stately farmhouse ruin. It was something out of a Hollywood movie set. A rustic estate that had stood the test of time. It dripped with history, each stone lovingly hand placed. The farmhouse had a sprawling garden full of sunflowers taller than me and rows upon rows of deep magenta heirloom tomatoes. We sat at weather worn picnic tables and were greeted by the property’s owner. She served us wine and we feasted on sheep’s milk cheese. She shared the history of the property and the story of the family who owned it.
Then, the ground started to rumble and it was loud. I turned toward the noise and saw an enormous dust cloud that seemed to be moving ever closer towards us. What happened next was magnificent. The sheep we’d passed just a mile back were being herded into their pen for the evening and we had a front row seat. They passed within 15 feet of of us.
What an incredible Italian adventure.
Pedaling in Portugal
If you read my travel diaries regularly, you will quickly learn that I talk a lot about Portugal. I adore Portugal, its people, its culture. It’s a country that I can’t ever seem to get enough of. I’ve done a number of bike tours around Portugal, but I had a particularly memorable ride this summer. I was heading home from a meeting in London and made a pitstop in Lisbon for a girl’s weekend with my sweet friend Tita. We headed to Alentejo, a 2.5 hour drive from Lisbon. It’s a region known for its wine, forests of cork oak trees and rolling honey colored hills sprinkled with white washed villages. We stayed at a remote farmhouse in the countryside for the weekend. It was hot. Really hot. Midday temperatures reached 115 degrees Fahrenheit. It wasn’t a worry for us though, we were there to lounge and catch up. The property had a refreshing natural spring pool and they served a house rosé blended and bottled from their onsite vineyards.
The sun rose each day at 7am and set at 7pm. We woke each morning to the sound of hundreds of tiny swallows just outside our door, our alarm clock for the weekend. We rode each morning and then again in the evening. The property offered free bikes to use and a sprawling estate to explore. We rode for miles and miles, past vineyards and gardens, all without seeing a single person.
And we rode past enormous megaliths that randomly dotted the countryside. Alentejo is home to many of these ancient stone structures.
On our last day, we crossed paths with a few dozen bullish friends. We decided to give them the right of way. You could tell that they didn’t see many humans on a daily basis. They were inherently curious and a couple of times got a little closer than we were comfortable with.
I could go on and on about my amazing travels on two wheels. In Croatia and Austria. In Spain, Cuba and Greece…but I’ll save these adventures for another day.
In the meantime, promise me that if you haven’t ever cycled in a foreign land, you’ll make an effort to do it on your next holiday.
Happy cycling! Until next time..