Of the Tour de France’s most famous climbs, the Col du Galibier is sketchy with too many tunnels, Mont Ventoux is windy and isolated, and the famed Alpe d’Huez is totally overrated (the top looks like a kitschy tourist shop). But the steady climb up the pass of Croix de Fer (the Iron Cross) runs some 20 miles and gains some 5,000 feet in the French Alps near Le Bourg-d’Oisans and is, in my estimation, the most scenic in France. European rides include easy-going trips around Lake Constance, along the Danube and the Loire, and coast-to-coast routes; routes in Tuscany, Spain and Corsica; and professional journeys up Mt Ventoux and around the Tour of Flanders. If the very thought of a gruelling Lands’ End to John o’Groats down the length of Britain makes your thighs ache, try a shorter but no less epic bike tour across the width of England instead. The three-day, 140 mile Coast To Coast route (also called the Sea to Sea route) meanders through some of England’s wildest landscapes.

Epic Bike Rides of the World - Booktopia Epic Bike Rides of the World - Booktopia

Imagine 800 epic, car-free miles stretching across the state of Arizona, reaching from Mexico in the south west to Utah in the north. That’s the AZT, one of the greatest long-distance cycle trails anywhere in the world. I fully admit to gravitating towards this because of the cute illustrated cover and a vague desire to be encouraged to pedal around some picturesque riverside trail, while riding one of those bikes with a basket on the front containing, say, cheese and chocolate. However.... while there are maybe one or two rides like that in here, the majority seem to deal with grinding things out over mountaintops and along windswept and barren looking North Atlantic coastlines, not to mention some hard core mountain biking. I guess I knew this might not be pitched at my level when the first ride is 12,000 km from Egypt to South Africa. A pilgrim’s route since the middle ages, the 480 mile-long Way of St James meanders along the whole top of Spain and through the green mountains of Galicia on the way to Santiago de Compostela. There are multiple possible routes for so-called bicigrinos to follow, but the well-signposted Camino Frances is the most famous - beginning in Roncesvalles and pitstopping in Pamplona, Burgos and Leon on the way to the west. Let’s be clear: this is a subjective list, and you’re going to curse us on social media before you even read it. But just know that this roundup of the best rides on the planet—culled from my own personal experience of riding bikes for the past 30-plus years, as well as the advice of passionate cycling friends—is just gravy. My favorite rides have always been the ones that leave from my garage. But even though bikes are a great form of environmentally friendly recreation and transportation doesn’t mean we all don’t daydream about century-distance rides through the European countryside and fat-tire epics across the Mountain West.

Lonely Planet Epic Bike Rides of the World- Paperback

Riding to Everest Base Camp itself is a major cycling challenge - the road climbs almost fifty hairpin bends over the Pang La Pass, but up at 5,150 metres you’ll be rewarded with jaw-dropping views of Everest itself, before a marathon downhill cycle to Nepal.

Epic Bike Rides of the World (1st Ed) Lonely Planet: Epic Bike Rides of the World (1st Ed)

If you're new to cycling, we're probably recommend starting elsewhere however. This is a tropical treat of a trail, but a tough ride if you take on the Cerro de la Muerte (literally, the ‘Summit of Death’), so it's one for cyclists with a decentlevel of fitness. RIDING HIGHS: Pedalling miles of relaxed beachside roads and stopping for fresh, locally-grown coffee in the mountains.You'll pass through both the Lake District and Peak District National Parks, so you can expect some pretty serious climbs, but the views from the top of each mountain pass will more than make up for the leg-burn taken to get up there. In my ongoing effort to get through some of my "coffee table" books, I have finally gotten around to reading this Lonely Planet book of "Epic Rides".

Epic Bike Rides of the World - Planet Lonely

The rewards however make all the the lung-busting climbs worth it a million times over. You'll pass monasteries and temples where prayer flags flap in the wind, ride through steep-sided valleys, and stare up at impossibly beautiful mountain vistas. You really are on top of the world, and when you've caught your breath, you'll feel like it too. Cycle the fabled Silk Road and discover the magic of Central Asia on this mountain biking holiday through the south-eastern corner of Kazakhstan with KE Adventure Travels.The organizers of the Barry-Roubaix call it the largest gravel race in the world, and with 3,500 contestants, who are we to doubt them? There’s tons of prize money and whatnot, but really, the Barry is more of a celebration of cycling and a spring throwdown than it is a race. The huge peloton is filled with people excited to cast off the winter blanket and embrace a new riding season, and we love everything about it, especially the fact that the 100-mile route is called Psycho Killer. Want to ride it another weekend? The race organizers put together a comprehensive course map that you can tweak to choose your own adventure. I think you could easily subtitle this book "All the places you're never going to ride your bike in this world."

Lonely Planet Epic Bike Rides of the World: explore the

I tend to enjoy the Lonely Planet books. They are often coffee table type books, as is true with this one, and they are often good or discovering new places to visit, new adventures, or simply to fantasize about living a life with enough money to travel to places the Lonely Planet writers seemingly go on a daily basis. Ride from Mossel Bay in the west to Storms River in the east for a relaxed 124 mile potter, or start in Port Elizabeth and head to Cape Town for a challenging, seven-day ride over 469 miles. There are so many beautiful places to stop off that it can be hard to know where to start, but make sure you plan on spending at least one night in Knysna, where wetlands and rainforest meet the ocean. This is long distance cycling at its absolute best. In a nod at how such information would be presented on a web side, each of the fifty routes ends with brief "more like this" section with another three routes covered in a paragraph. Some of these rides were more interesting to me than the ones covered in details - oh well. Lonely Planet seems to have decided to publish more specialized guides - although this isn't a take-it-with-you sort of guide but more of a this-may-inspire-you introduction to possibilities for longer distant cycling (generally at some non-trivial expense, by the way). The Dolomites, in northern Italy, are worthy of the hype, but that’s not all the country has to offer cyclists. The Piemonte region, in the northwest, is also riddled with great climbs and is perhaps even more steeped in Italian cycling culture. Start from the town of Susa, in the Cottian Alps, find your way to the town of Fenestrelle, and if you have the legs, include the Giro d’Italia’s famed Colle de Finestre climb, an 11-mile haul that averages a 9 percent grade and gains some 5,558 feet.Brent Soderberg/ Creative Commons) Vermont Gran Fondo, a.k.a. the Gaps Waitsfield and Warren, Vermont The format is puzzling. It isn't a coffee table book, but is large-ish format. Physically it reminds me of a high school text book.