Your Favorite Continent For Bicycle Touring, and WHY - CycleBlaze

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Your Favorite Continent For Bicycle Touring, and WHY

Gregory Garceau

I see a lot of opinions on this subject.  Sometimes I feel a little uninformed because I have only toured in North America.  That's mostly because of the wide variety of landscapes, wildlife and accents.  In the interest of broadening my horizons, convince me there is a better continent to explore by bike.

On a related topic, how do I avoid the tourists.  Sometimes I plan out routes that avoid tourism, yet somehow I run into them anyway.  Then I realize that I'm a tourist too.  Even so, as a bike tourist I still feel superior to other tourists.  Explain that.

 

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2 years ago
Andrea BrownTo Gregory Garceau

Think of yourself as one who travels by bike, not a tourist, even though this is called 'bike touring'. Continents are big, maybe people can narrow it down? We have only toured in SE Asia because that is the area we had already traveled extensively in and we know how much we love it and continue to learn from. There are tourist hotspots in these countries and occasionally we stop into one for a night so we can change up our food or find a post office or bike shop but it's pretty easy on a bike to set your own route and go through areas untouched by tourism. But you already know that.

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2 years ago
Graham SmithTo Gregory Garceau

Greg I hesitate to choose a favourite as I only have Australia and Europe to compare. Plus a bit of cycle touring in north-east  Asia (Japan & Taiwan). And they are all wonderful continents to tour because they are so different. 

Australia stands out for true remoteness, vastness, long distances between populations and services. Our ancient Aboriginal  culture is unique.  A sense of freedom and isolation are available here on the only continent with a very low population density …  assuming you aren’t thinking of Antarctica as an option.

Europe stands out for home comforts, benign, easy conditions, contemporary culture and acceptance of cyclists. 

Japan and Taiwan are also brilliantly easy to cycle tour in. Great food, affordable, interesting, welcoming and intriguingly Asian without the chaos of SE Asia. 

So they are all my favourites. North America would also probably be my favourite if I ever get there with a touring bike.

In Australia, with only a few hours of cycling, you can escape tourism completely and feel as if you are the only person for hundred of kms. 

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2 years ago
Gregory GarceauTo Andrea Brown

Thanks for the reply, Andrea.  I like your "one who travels by bike" thought.  When we're off the bike visiting historic or cultural sites, eating at restaurants, lazing around the hotel or campground, etc., then we are tourists.  But how we get to those places is what distinguishes us from other tourists.  The bike involves a little work, a little sweat, and a little pain.  That makes us ADVENTURERS, not tourists.    

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2 years ago
Gregory GarceauTo Graham Smith

Thanks Graham.  After reading your reply I started thinking my question was kind of meaningless.  OBVIOUSLY, every region of every continent has its own features, and every cyclist has his or her individual goals and ideals.  And it really doesn't matter to me all that much where I tour because I've found that wherever I'm riding my bike, that's my favorite place.  So, like you say about North America, Australia would probably be my favorite if I ever get there with a touring bike.

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2 years ago
Jacquie GaudetTo Gregory Garceau

In North America, I've toured in southwestern BC, the San Juan Islands and an adjacent bits of Washington state, and the Oregon coast.  Although I'm a proud Canadian, BC loses here due to its busy narrow roads with no alternative routes, lack of services, etc.

But I've also toured in France plus a bit in Germany and in Spain.  For me, Europe wins!  Mostly because there are lots of quiet scenic roads to choose from, actual long distance bike routes, good food, and distances between services aren't massive.  Plus there are trains you can take with your bike, another thing sorely lacking in western Canada.

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2 years ago
Gregory GarceauTo Jacquie Gaudet

Hi Jacquie.  I have to admit that it was one of your recent comments somewhere here on Cycleblaze that gave me the idea for this topic.  I remember you pretty clearly stated Europe was the place for you.   And you make a pretty good case for Europe -- especially the "good food" part. 

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2 years ago
Jacquie GaudetTo Gregory Garceau

There are, however, a lot of continents I haven't visited, never mind cycle toured in. South America and Africa come to mind, but these are places I don't think I'd want to travel on my own, though I'd love to see them.

I've been to parts of Asia:  Thailand, Burma (as it was called then), Nepal, and India, but given my difficulties with heat now that I'm getting older, I don't think I'd attempt cycle touring there.  Trekking in the Himalaya I'd do again...though the food sometimes left something to be desired.  Ever had a dinner of just boiled potatoes?

And of course, there are huge parts of Canada I've never seen.  I've always wanted to ride all the way across, but the lack of shoulders on the highways and rarity of quiet alternative routes puts me off more than the distances between services.

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2 years ago
Karen CookTo Gregory Garceau

Hi,

I have only toured in the U.S. and Europe so it’s a small sample size.  Between the two I would give a edge to Europe because I usually like the smaller distances between different cultures, foods, experiences, etc.   Also I think that (overall) it is more bike friendly with more options for public transit.

That said I find it hard to really compare head to head.  I have found that I have a different mindset when I tour in the U.S. now, where I think, “I’m going to get out and just ride a lot of miles, from dawn to dusk, and see the landscape” sort of thing but in Europe it’s more of an “experience the culture” thing; stop at castles or museums, or even sit in a café and people watch.

Both are perfectly fine, and there is something comforting in knowing exactly how to order breakfast in a restaurant in a language I understand (2 eggs over-medium, with bacon, French toast, and coffee with cream no sugar) even if it is ordinary.

What stops me from spending more time in Europe is logistics and cost.  Especially since, because of my job, I can really only go there in summer when it’s more expensive.  I hope to retire in a couple of years and would like to spend more time riding there in the off season (spring and fall), and when flights are less expensive.   I would love to pop over for shorter trips more often but that’s not practical at the moment.

When I retire I can also travel to other continents and contribute more to this conversation ;-).  I have had my eye on New Zealand, South America and Japan for a long time.  The southern hemisphere will have to wait until retirement when I can travel in winter…

Karen

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2 years ago
Gregory GarceauTo Karen Cook

Hello Karen,

Language is also a problem for me. (But I like to order two eggs over easy, bacon, pancakes and black coffee, but only after a rare night of partying with the locals.  Otherwise, aside from the coffee, I don't eat breakfast.)

I know most Europeans speak English, but as you said, there is also the cost.  Europe seems to be pretty expensive.  And I don't get their style of camping.

And I'm just plain afraid to go to Africa and South America.

Asia and Australia have the landscapes I'm most interested in.

While I am an experienced winter time bike rider here in Minnesota, I don't think I could handle Antarctica.

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2 years ago