TravellingTwo: Bike Touring Inspiration
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THAILAND: The water buffalo will keep you laughing as you pedal past the rice paddies.GERMANY: An excellent choice for your first bike tour in Europe, with its bike paths, castles and many rivers.GET INSPIRED: Some simple things to keep in mind and encourage you to try bike touring for yourself.
 

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Bike Tour Of Denmark: Our Photos

Posted August 31st, 2010
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Cycling The Moors Near SkagenWe’re back from a bike tour of Denmark, fully convinced that it’s one of the best countries in the world to see on two wheels (as long as the weather is in cooperative mood).

We have so many tips, stories and reviews to share with you from our 1,000km circuit of Jutland, but it will take us a few days to get everything together. In the meantime, maybe you’ll enjoy these photos from our tour.

The two slideshows below are of our favourite pictures, and then the whole set of nearly 250 photos. Enjoy! (And yes, we’ve joined Flickr, so you can keep track of all our future photos there).

The full set of photos from Denmark.

10 Questions: Bike Touring The U.S. Southern Tier

Posted August 19th, 2010
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california_desert.JPGStephane and Sheri Marchiori, a French-American couple, recently finished a 5-year journey around the world by bicycle by biking the well known Southern Tier route, across the United States.

It took them through some of the most beautiful landscapes of their trip, including the stunning Grand Canyon and the Mojave Desert.

Despite the gorgeous views, the conditions were sometimes trying. They included scorching temperatures, the risk of tornadoes and tons of mosquitoes.

Read Stephane and Sheri’s tips and experiences of cycling the classic Southern Tier route across America.

Planning For A Bike Tour In Denmark

Posted August 16th, 2010
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As you read this, we’ll be cycling Denmark from the German border in the south to Skagen, at the northernmost tip of the country.

We’ll have plenty of tips for cycling in Denmark when we return. In the meantime, here are some links that helped us plan this trip:

  • Danish Tourist Board – All kinds of information, including maps, ideas for sightseeing. UK residents can order brochures, and a free map!
  • CycleTourer – Jon & Frank have put together a very informative page on the practical side of cycling in Denmark, including tips on cycling routes, campsites and which maps to take
  • Ud I Naturen – A map of all the primitive or official wild camping sites in Denmark. Like the paal camping sites in the Netherlands, there’s nothing fancy here (expect a clearing for your tent, water and a pit toilet) but they are very low cost and tranquil.
  • Overnating I Det Fri – In a similar vein, the book published by this organisation includes nature campsites and free camping spots across Denmark. You can buy it in bookshops, tourist bureaus or online.
  • CycleSeven – This site, run by a group of bike tourists, has two great articles on touring in Denmark: A Spring Tour and Fine Cycle Touring Around Denmark. The author of these articles, also answered 10 Questions for TravellingTwo on bike touring in Denmark.
  • Woolly Pigs – These bike tourists have Danish roots, and they have several posts dedicated to cycling in Denmark.

Getting There

In terms of how to get there and where to start, that was mostly decided by where the train would take us. We live in Holland, and wanted to travel overland to Denmark.

As a train goes direct to Flensburg on the German / Danish border (and it’s a night train, meaning we don’t have a spend an expensive night in a hotel or lose a day of touring), that seemed like a good starting point. We certainly preferred it over the more expensive option of flying to Copenhagen. We paid €150 each for a return ticket, including the fee to carry our bikes.

If we’d been starting from the UK, we’d probably have taken the ferry to Esbjerg.

Where To Go

Deciding where to go was tough. In the end, although we’d heard many wonderful things about Copenhagen, we decided to stick to western Denmark and the Jutland region. Why?

  • We didn’t want to spend too much time on ferries between islands. After all, we only have 2 weeks and we want to cycle, not wait around in parking lots for the boat to arrive.
  • We aren’t big city people when we’re cycling. We want to get out in nature, and pitch our tent in secluded spots.
  • We’d heard beautiful things about the Danish coastline, particularly the eastern coast of Jutland.

Could This Plan Backfire?

Weather is a risk for us. We’re taking rain gear and warm clothes. If the weather turns wet, we’ll be pretty miserable out in the middle of nowhere in the Danish countryside. We’re unlikely to be near big towns most of the time, so we’re hoping for lots of sun, and not too much wind going up the coastline.

10 Questions: Bike Touring In France

Posted August 1st, 2010
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france1In the summer of 2009, friends Richard & Kevin set out on a 40-day bike tour around France.

Now they’re answering 10 Questions about the trip that took them in a U-shaped pattern around the edge of France, first past the surfing beaches and vineyards of Western France, then along the Pyrenees mountains, along the Mediterranean coastline and back north towards Grenoble and Strasbourg.

“The trip was life changing, we’ve vowed to cycle the world in the next few years, it’s the best thing we’ve ever done,” Richard wrote.

Read 10 Questions: Cycling In France to see what advice, tips and experiences Richard & Kevin have to share.

Picking A Bike Touring Route Through Denmark

Posted July 31st, 2010
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We’re in the midst of planning a bike tour through Denmark, and in our research we came across this video of one couple’s cycle trip there.

It’s always interesting to hear someone else’s experience – where the good campsites were, the scenery was beautiful or the roads were crowded. Thanks Michèle and Benoît for sharing your route!