9 best long-distance bike rides around the world for 2022
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Loading... - Gregory Jones
- 02 May 2022
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In fact, it’s hard to envisage a better way to explore a country than on two wheels, slowly meandering along as the landscape unfurls before you. Cycling gives you time to admire your surroundings, draws you away from the tourist crowds and, perhaps best of all, it’s sustainable – causing no harm to the environment you’ve traveled to see.
If you have a deep-rooted or burgeoning passion for pedaling, be inspired to take on one of these epic bike rides around the world; life-affirming, unforgettable trips that’ll have you freewheeling across the salt flats of Bolivia or wobbling up the hills of the Moroccan High Atlas.
1. Southern Namibia
Start: Windhoek
End: Felix Unite
Distance: 621 miles (1000km)
Namibia has the second lowest population density in the world. Most of its people are in the north, so the south is empty indeed. Not surprisingly, it’s dry and unforgiving land. Towns and amenities are few and far between. Roads are mostly loose gravel. But it’s also unutterably gorgeous.
A seven-day, 621-mile (1000km) unsupported pedal through this astonishing landscape, from Namibia’s capital of Windhoek to the South African border, requires planning, packing, perseverance and profound self-reliance. Factoring in the vast distances between towns, roadhouses, campgrounds and great attractions, an ideal itinerary is to head south-west to Sesriem for a visit to Sossusvlei’s red dunes and salt pans, then turn south via Helmeringhausen and Seeheim to pause in Hobas and view Fish River Canyon (rivalling the Grand Canyon), and then point south again to Felix Unite, near the Noordoewer international crossing to South Africa.
2. La Farola, Cuba
Start: Cajobabo
End: Baracoa
Distance: 34 miles (55km)
Hailed as one of the seven modern engineering marvels of Cuba, La Farola (the lighthouse road) links the beach hamlet of Cajobabo on the arid Caribbean coast with the nation’s beguiling oldest city, Baracoa.
Measuring 34 miles (55km) in length, the road traverses the steep-sided Sierra del Puril, snaking its way precipitously through a landscape of granite cliffs and pine-scented cloud forest before falling, with eerie suddenness, upon the lush tropical paradise of the Atlantic coastline.
For cyclists, it offers a classic Tour de France-style challenge with tough climbs, invigorating descents and relatively smooth roads. La Farola starts 124 miles (200km) east of Santiago de Cuba and is thus best incorporated into a wider Cuban cycling excursion. You could also charter a taxi to drop you off at the start point.
3. Salar De Uyuni, Bolivia
Start: Uyuni
End: Sabaya
Distance: 186 miles (300km)
Cycling atop the salt crust of Bolivia’s Salar de Uyuni – and the more petite but perfectly-formed Salar de Coipasa – is an undisputed highlight of many a South America journey. It’s a high-altitude ride that takes five or six days, segmented by an opportunity to resupply with water and food at the midway settlement of Llica.
As the largest salt flat in the world, cycling here provides an other-worldly experience. There’s nothing quite like pitching your tent on a bleached white canvas, seasoning your dinner with the salty ground on which you’re sitting, and awakening in the morning to a glow of ethereal, lavender light.
This journey can only be undertaken in Bolivia’s winter, as during summer the salt lakes are inundated by seasonal rain.
4. Blue Ridge Parkway, USA
Start: Shenandoah National Park near Waynesboro, Virginia
End: Great Smoky Mountains National Park near Cherokee, North Carolina
Distance: 469 miles (755km)
The iconic Blue Ridge Parkway rises and falls like a roller-coaster track running from Virginia’s Shenandoah National Park to North Carolina’s Great Smoky Mountains National Park. Most bikers budget about ten days to complete the 469-mile (755km) route, which crosses four national forests and features 176 bridges, more than two dozen tunnels and hundreds of historic sites.
Riders will experience the America that inspires patriotic songs: uninterrupted forests, burbling rivers, splashy waterfalls, vibrant wildflowers or foliage (depending on the season), and mountains haloed in clouds.
Roadside diversions abound, such as the Blue Ridge Music Center, Julian Price Memorial Park and Craggy Gardens. Time your visit to Waterrock Knob with the sun’s sky spectacle. Read More…
