Where to travel on a bike Bucket List.

[enkei]

I really hope to enjoy a bike packing tour of Iceland one day.

[williscreg]

How was your trip? One country that’s been on my bucket list for a while is Benin, and I’m so excited to say that I’ll be going there next month! Everything is almost ready to go—I've booked my flights, planned a rough itinerary, and now all that’s left is to apply for my visa on https://evisabenin.com/. Once that’s sorted, I’ll just need to pack my bags and I’ll be all set for an incredible adventure. I can’t wait to explore the culture, history, and natural beauty of Benin. If you have any tips or recommendations, feel free to share

[GirishH]

I am lucky to have met some riders during my Colombia, Ecuador bikepacking trip.

I admire but also am jealous of their determination..:-)

(10-24-2022, 07:39 PM)TheYell0wDart Wrote:  I don't think it will actually happen, but I've always liked the idea of "riding the spine", biking from Alaska to Tierra del Fuego (apart from the gap of Darien).

[SPINMAN]

(10-09-2022, 08:31 PM)bluesbreaker Wrote:  My bucket list ride is along the beach in Florida!

On most of the Florida coastline roadway you can't even see the ocean. I would like to try the East Coast Greenway. Some of it tours the Florida coast and other parts of the eastern seaboard to the mountains. They are always opening new segments to join Maine to Florida.

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(10-13-2022, 08:54 AM)Zviedrs Wrote:  

(10-11-2022, 10:21 PM)Jesper Wrote:  I would like to ride a specific stage of each of the Gran Tours (Le Tour, Vuelta, and Giro; not during a race of course!), and the Paris-Roubaix course.

I have a similar desire - some of the grand climbs (eg. Mount Ventoux) and the cobbles of Paris-Roubaix, the Arenberg Forest. Also, would love having a multiple-day tour in Norway.

You might be able to do the cobbles on your Merida but I don't want to rattle my bones! I'd rather do 14% grade on smooth tarmac up Zoncolon!

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Although I've never had the ambition, or time, to train and accomplish this, one of my clients did the RAAM. RACE ACROSS AMERICA.

Started in 1982 as the Great American Bike Race, the Ride Across America (“RAAM”) is an ultra-distance road cycling race that crosses approximately 3,000 miles across the United States. It is perhaps the most demanding and grueling endurance race in the world. Like the Ironman triathlon championships held in Kona, Hawaii each year, RAAM participants must qualify by completing an approved course in a specified time-period.

The RAAM always begins on the west coast and ends on the east coast. There are no stages, like the Grand Tours of bike racing including the Tour de France. RAAM racers go non-stop from start to finish. Competitors manage their own schedules, stopping only to eat, sleep, and make gear changes when needed.

The RAAM clock runs continuously from start to finish, and the final overall finish time includes rest periods. Historically, the winner usually finishes in eight to nine days, after riding approximately 22-hours per day, every day across America. The severity of riding continuously for days with little to no sleep places RAAM in the category of ultra-distance cycling races. Approximately half of the race’s solo competitors drop out due to exhaustion or injury.

There is a team edition to this also.

[SPINMAN]

I guess the main consideration if can you find a good bike when traveling or bring your own?Both could be a pain

[GirishH]

I used to worry about things like that before I learned to go with the flow.

When I flew to Spain, I rented a hybrid Trek bike and rode to Lisbon for a marathon. The best part of the rental was that it was one-way. That bike was better than anything I’ve owned, then or now—I’ve never owned a Trek, unfortunately.

I had a similar experience when I rode parts of the Great Divide Mountain Trail in Wyoming and went road-packing in Denmark. Renting bikes turned out to be far more economical and logistically easier than shipping my own.

I have shipped my bike to South America and, more recently, to India. But I’m slowly realizing that being less picky allows me to achieve the same goals with locally available bikes.

In Medellín, Colombia, I even saw an S-Works showroom—something we didn’t have back in Boston. Here in India, you can also find a wide range of high-end bikes if that’s what you’re looking for.

(02-28-2025, 07:10 PM)SPINMAN Wrote:  I guess the main consideration if can you find a good bike when traveling or bring your own?Both could be a pain