Best Places to Ride a Bike | Bicycling Magazine
1. The Cobbles of Belgium.
Cyclists like to suffer, and the mystical mecca for pain—in the form of jaw-rattling pave—has to be Flanders. Follow the narrow roads of the spring Classics, try to summit one of the countless hellingen (short, sharp climbs) like the fabled, 20-percent Muur van Geraardsbergen, then take solace in the fact that Belgium is also home to 450 kinds of beer.
2. Vermont's Green Mountains.
Autumn leaves—bazillions of them—flashing red, orange, and gold.
3. Slickrock Trail, Moab.
4. Pacific Coast Highway, California.
Follow Highways 1 and 101 from the Oregon border to L.A. for 800 spectacular miles.
5. Classic Climbs of the Tour de France.
Alpe d'Huez, Mont Ventoux, Col du Tourmalet.
6. Traverse the rocky coastline of Nova Scotia's Cape Breton Island.
7. Kingdom Trails, Vermont.
Red barns meet G-force berms on a 100-mile dirt network.
8. Ride a Bike to Work.
Wakes you up, winds you down, saves the planet.
9. Kyoto, Japan.
Preferably in early April, during cherry-blossom season. Preferably on the same mamachari ("granny bikes") locals use.
10. Switzerland's National Route System.
Take No. 4 for Alpen passes; No. 1 for a mellow Rhone-side pedal all the way to Geneva.
11. The BC Bike Race.
Seven days of racing on Vancouver Island, Sunshine Coast, Squamish, and Whistler singletrack. (Don't want to compete? Cover the same route on a tour with BC Bike Ride.)
12. Bordeaux, France.
Chateaux, Cru, churches.
13. A Charity Ride.
Every cyclist should pedal for a cause at least once.
14. Climb to the top of Cadillac Mountain in Maine's Acadia National Park.
15. Boulder, Colorado.
Take the Peak-to-Peak Highway.
16. L'Eroica.
Race 35 to 205km on Tuscany's strade bianche (white roads) in full-on retro gear—wool jersey, leather shoes, pre-1987 bike.
17. Inca Trail, Peru.
Ancient singletrack—and what may be the world's longest downhill (11,000 feet and 36 miles on the Olleros Trail).
18. Cape Argus Pick n Pay Cycle Tour, Cape Town, South Africa.
35,000 starters + 109km = (the best kind of) mayhem.
19. Blue Ridge Parkway.
20. Rent a Beach Cruiser.
Ride it on a boardwalk. Eat an ice cream.
21. Pedal up and down Maui's Haleakala.
22. Spin along singletrack on the Continental Divide on Colorado's Monarch Crest Trail.
23. Icefields Parkway, Alberta.
Lake Louise to Jasper through the most spectacular peaks on the continent.
24. Amsterdam on a City Bike.
25. Follow American frontier history through Tennessee, Alabama, and Mississippi on the Natchez Trace Parkway.
26. The Ripio of the Carretera Austral, Chile, where the Pan-American Highway hits Patagonia—and turns to gravel
27. Passo Dello Stelvio.
Forty-eight hairpin turns to Italy's highest mountain pass.
28. Ireland's impossibly green Ring of Kerry.
29. Oregon's North Umpqua River Trail.
Singletrack, old-growth forests, hot springs.
30. Napa Valley, California.
31. Try a Velodrome.
The oldest? Washington Park, in Kenosha, Wisconsin. The steepest? Portland, Oregon's Alpenrose.
32. Mt. Washington Auto Road Bicycle Hillclimb.
4,727 feet. 72 turns. Average grade of 12 percent, with the last 100 yards kicking up to 22-plus.
33. Barrel down singletrack through tunnels of July wildflowers on Trail 401 in Crested Butte, Colorado.
34. New York's Finger Lakes.
35. The Maah Daah Hey Trail, North Dakota.
"Underplayed. Amazing," says one staffer.
36. West Coast of Tasmania, Australia.
Quiet roads on the island's wildest corner.
37. Ragbrai.
38. Vietnam's National Highway 1.
39. Ramble the rolling, cypress-covered hills between San Gimignano and Volterra, Italy.
40. Going-To-The-Sun Road, Glacier National Park. There are 25 glaciers left. They might be gone by 2030.
41. Hit the purpose-built trails, cafes, and bike shops of Scotland's 7stanes Mountain Bike Parks.
42. California's Glendora Ridge and Mt. Baldy Roads.
43. Tour of the Moon.
The old Coors Classic stage is long gone, but the red-rock desert ride—in Colorado National Monument—is still there.
44. Follow the Danube River east past thousand-year-old villages into Vienna.
45. Paradise Royal, California.
The best new (legal) mountain-bike trail system in Humboldt County.
46. Thread through Basque Country And The Pyrenees on a Rioja-and pintxos-fueled excursion between the Bay of Biscay and the Mediterranean.
47. DC to Pittsburgh along The C&O Canal Trail and Great Allegheny Passage.
48. England's Lake District.
49. Namibia.
African bush, pink-orange dunes, shipwrecks. Oh, and elephants.
50. Dip your rear wheel into the Pacific and your front wheel into the Atlantic to bookend a Ride Across the United States—the ultimate American cycling pilgrimage.
1. The Cobbles of Belgium.
Cyclists like to suffer, and the mystical mecca for pain—in the form of jaw-rattling pave—has to be Flanders. Follow the narrow roads of the spring Classics, try to summit one of the countless hellingen (short, sharp climbs) like the fabled, 20-percent Muur van Geraardsbergen, then take solace in the fact that Belgium is also home to 450 kinds of beer.
2. Vermont's Green Mountains.
Autumn leaves—bazillions of them—flashing red, orange, and gold.
3. Slickrock Trail, Moab.
4. Pacific Coast Highway, California.
Follow Highways 1 and 101 from the Oregon border to L.A. for 800 spectacular miles.
5. Classic Climbs of the Tour de France.
Alpe d'Huez, Mont Ventoux, Col du Tourmalet.
6. Traverse the rocky coastline of Nova Scotia's Cape Breton Island.
7. Kingdom Trails, Vermont.
Red barns meet G-force berms on a 100-mile dirt network.
8. Ride a Bike to Work.
Wakes you up, winds you down, saves the planet.
9. Kyoto, Japan.
Preferably in early April, during cherry-blossom season. Preferably on the same mamachari ("granny bikes") locals use.
10. Switzerland's National Route System.
Take No. 4 for Alpen passes; No. 1 for a mellow Rhone-side pedal all the way to Geneva.
11. The BC Bike Race.
Seven days of racing on Vancouver Island, Sunshine Coast, Squamish, and Whistler singletrack. (Don't want to compete? Cover the same route on a tour with BC Bike Ride.)
12. Bordeaux, France.
Chateaux, Cru, churches.
13. A Charity Ride.
Every cyclist should pedal for a cause at least once.
14. Climb to the top of Cadillac Mountain in Maine's Acadia National Park.
15. Boulder, Colorado.
Take the Peak-to-Peak Highway.
16. L'Eroica.
Race 35 to 205km on Tuscany's strade bianche (white roads) in full-on retro gear—wool jersey, leather shoes, pre-1987 bike.
17. Inca Trail, Peru.
Ancient singletrack—and what may be the world's longest downhill (11,000 feet and 36 miles on the Olleros Trail).
18. Cape Argus Pick n Pay Cycle Tour, Cape Town, South Africa.
35,000 starters + 109km = (the best kind of) mayhem.
19. Blue Ridge Parkway.
20. Rent a Beach Cruiser.
Ride it on a boardwalk. Eat an ice cream.
21. Pedal up and down Maui's Haleakala.
22. Spin along singletrack on the Continental Divide on Colorado's Monarch Crest Trail.
23. Icefields Parkway, Alberta.
Lake Louise to Jasper through the most spectacular peaks on the continent.
24. Amsterdam on a City Bike.
25. Follow American frontier history through Tennessee, Alabama, and Mississippi on the Natchez Trace Parkway.
26. The Ripio of the Carretera Austral, Chile, where the Pan-American Highway hits Patagonia—and turns to gravel
27. Passo Dello Stelvio.
Forty-eight hairpin turns to Italy's highest mountain pass.
28. Ireland's impossibly green Ring of Kerry.
29. Oregon's North Umpqua River Trail.
Singletrack, old-growth forests, hot springs.
30. Napa Valley, California.
31. Try a Velodrome.
The oldest? Washington Park, in Kenosha, Wisconsin. The steepest? Portland, Oregon's Alpenrose.
32. Mt. Washington Auto Road Bicycle Hillclimb.
4,727 feet. 72 turns. Average grade of 12 percent, with the last 100 yards kicking up to 22-plus.
33. Barrel down singletrack through tunnels of July wildflowers on Trail 401 in Crested Butte, Colorado.
34. New York's Finger Lakes.
35. The Maah Daah Hey Trail, North Dakota.
"Underplayed. Amazing," says one staffer.
36. West Coast of Tasmania, Australia.
Quiet roads on the island's wildest corner.
37. Ragbrai.
38. Vietnam's National Highway 1.
39. Ramble the rolling, cypress-covered hills between San Gimignano and Volterra, Italy.
40. Going-To-The-Sun Road, Glacier National Park. There are 25 glaciers left. They might be gone by 2030.
41. Hit the purpose-built trails, cafes, and bike shops of Scotland's 7stanes Mountain Bike Parks.
42. California's Glendora Ridge and Mt. Baldy Roads.
43. Tour of the Moon.
The old Coors Classic stage is long gone, but the red-rock desert ride—in Colorado National Monument—is still there.
44. Follow the Danube River east past thousand-year-old villages into Vienna.
45. Paradise Royal, California.
The best new (legal) mountain-bike trail system in Humboldt County.
46. Thread through Basque Country And The Pyrenees on a Rioja-and pintxos-fueled excursion between the Bay of Biscay and the Mediterranean.
47. DC to Pittsburgh along The C&O Canal Trail and Great Allegheny Passage.
48. England's Lake District.
49. Namibia.
African bush, pink-orange dunes, shipwrecks. Oh, and elephants.
50. Dip your rear wheel into the Pacific and your front wheel into the Atlantic to bookend a Ride Across the United States—the ultimate American cycling pilgrimage.
