Posts Tagged ‘bike touring’

Cycling the Camino de Santiago, June 2011

Posted on: June 24th, 2011

The Camino de Santiago, or Way of Saint James is a Christian pilgrimage that goes back over 1000 years. It can be walked or cycled, so we thought it would be an interesting cycling trip and a way to discover Spain.

We traveled 805 km in 2 weeks on fully loaded mountain bikes, which were converted to semi-trekking bikes. The roads and trails were much more difficult (hilly and rough) than we expected, so this was definitely a pilgrimage. But well worth it.

Aside from the beautiful scenery, villages, and the friendly locals, I think the best thing about this trip was the many people we met from all over the world. Our paths kept crossing, sometimes 3 or 4 times, which made for great friendships along the way.

Many people have personal reasons for doing the Camino, but we didn’t seem to have any, except maybe for the cycling trip. So, I asked people we met what were their reasons. Some had deep personal reasons, but most seemed to be there for the adventure. So that’s it! Adventure!

I’ve set the photo album up as a chronological ride across northern Spain, so please enjoy, and please read the captions, as that’s where the story lies.

play_button View Gallery

Teaching my 1st CAN-BIKE 2 Course

Posted on: May 11th, 2010 No Comments

I just finished teaching my 1st CAN-BIKE course at Lamport Stadium on May1, 2 and 8.

Of course, they threw me in head first!

CAN-BIKE 2 happens to be the most advanced, and as assistant instructor, helping Herb, I certainly got my feet wet quick. There were 8 students, and they were a real bunch of troopers. As you can see from the photos, on the last day, we had very heavy rain, and up to 100 km wind gusts. Everyone passed the course, and they all certainly deserved it.

Trying to get out of the rain.

Trying to get out of the rain.

Getting ready to go (in the rain)

Getting ready to go, but we didn't get very dry!

Hurry up and take that photo! I'm getting wet.

Hurry up and take that photo! I'm getting wet.

Wet, slippery, and lots of traffic on Bathhurst

Wet, slippery, and lots of traffic on Bathhurst.

CAN-BIKE Instructor

Posted on: November 19th, 2009 No Comments

Yes, this year, I completed the CAN-BIKE 2 course, and went on to get my instructor certification. I’m now qualified to teach all CAN-BIKE level courses. For 2010, I’ll be teaching possibly in Toronto and Oakville. I took this training with my good friend Bent Fink-Jensen, who is in the process of setting up programs for Oakville. Visit him at tailwindtouring.com.

I got involved with this because commuter cycling is becoming more and more widespread in the GTA and there is a huge vacuum in education, both for cyclists and motorists. There are, increasingly, a lot of very nasty things happening on the roads.

I think that in-traffic cycling education should start at an early age, which is already happening in Toronto, and hopefully very soon in Oakville and Mississauga. I believe that this training for children will eventually make them better motorists, as well. Wouldn’t it be nice if motorists were more cyclist friendly and cyclists were more motorist friendly? Well, it’s happened in Europe, so why not here?

CAN-BIKE has courses to cover everyone starting at the age of 9. I want to be part of this, where I can perhaps “make a difference“.

For more information on CAN-BIKE visit canbike.net and toronto.ca.

Cycling the Donauradweg, Sept 2008

Posted on: June 30th, 2009

After getting addicted to cycling in Europe on our German trip in 2005, we returned this year to cycle the Donauradweg (Danube cycle way). This is a system of trails and marked cycle routes that extend along the entire Danube River.

We completed about half (750 km) of the route, from Passau, Germany to Budapest, Hungary on a 3 week trip, with several day stops in Vienna, Bratislava, Budapest, and Munich. 650 km was completed by bike, and the rest by hydrofoil and train.

We flew from Toronto to Munich, rented the “trekkingbikes” and hopped directly on a train to Passau, where we spent the first night in Europe. Next morning we were off on the adventure of our lifetimes! When we finished our stay in Budapest, we took the train back to Munich, where we rested for a couple of days, and “re-hydrated”!

We hope you enjoy this photo album.

play_button View Gallery

Cycling in Germany, Sept 2005

Posted on: June 30th, 2009

This was a 2 week trip to Germany and the Czech Republic, with a 4 day cycling trip included. We spent a couple of days in Munich, then took a train to Heidelberg. Here we rented trekkingbikes from a bicycle courier business, called PerBike. The bikes were good quality, but needed tuneups, and one needed a cable for the front derailleur, which I had to install myself. But these things just make travelling more interesting…..right?

We cycled east along the Neckar, Jagst, and Tauber Rivers, about 210 km to a walled town, called Rothenburg. This was an amazing route, with medieval villages, castles, rolling hills and river valleys, and great food and beer at the end of the day. It was mostly easy rolling, and mostly paved bike trails with no cars.

From Rothenburg, we took a train back to Heidelberg, got rid of the bikes, then another train to Berlin, where we stayed for a couple of days. Then we travelled, again, by train to Prague, where we spent 3 days, before heading back to Munich.

This was a great introduction to cycling in Europe, and I’m already thinking about the next trip, ……… to ……………

play_button View Gallery