Europe's Five Best Bicycle Routes

Bicycling, one of my favorite means of traveling, isn't just a mode of transportation. More importantly, it's a way to get in touch with the land and its people. It's the ultimate way to stop and smell the roses, to use a cliche. I recently wrote about five great bicycle routes in Europe for National Geographic Traveler - Intelligent Travel.

These are just a few of my endearing and surprising finds along those routes: 

• In Norway's Lofoten Islands, guests can overnight in the sometimes Spartan rorbuer or fishermans' cottages, and even cast a line through a hole punctured in the floor.

• A shock of pink may sweep across the Sinis Peninsula on Sardinia's West Coast as flocks of flamingos congregate.

• Those who island hop with their bicycle along the Dalmatian Coast in Croatia will find that a large expanse of bucolic Mljet Island is taken up by a national park with a unique feature: a pair of saltwater lakes encircled by pines (a 12th century Benedictine monastery sits on an islet in the larger of the two.)

• When cycling in the northern Peloponnese peninsula in Greece, it's not unusual to zip down steep sections where a symphony of bells herald herds of goats and sheep crossing the road.

• Even novice cyclists can happily ride through the fairy-tale world of Germany's Black Forest because the southern route eliminates the heart-pounding ascents this sylvan landscape -- it includes some Ice Age-remnants and verdant nature reserves --  is noted for.

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Radio Show: Why I Love Sardinia + More

When I travel slowly, whether its peddling on old farm roads in northern Spain or walking on cliff top paths mostly used by fishermen in Portugal's Alentejo region, I have the time to sense minute changes in the landscape.  The different species of wildflowers or nesting birds. The changes in geologic formations. The shifting sands along the dunes where the sands mingle with wild roses or lavender. I truly believe that this mode of travel is the way to connect with the land and its people.

I bring this up because Anthony Capozzoli recently interviewed me for his show: How To Tour Italy.  We discussed how I chose to bicycle the entire West Coast of Sardinia, an more unexpected way to traverse this country where many vacations seek the overdeveloped East Coast.

Listen to the spot and you'll also find out:

1. how I went from scientist to travel writer
2. my favorite dish in Sardinia
3. how I manage to never check luggage
4. my top security tip when staying at a hotel
5. how to find hidden treasures in your own backyard

Listen to internet radio with How to Tour Italy on Blog Talk Radio

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An Idyllic Italian Isle

Sardinia's Costa Smeralda on the east coast may get all the celebrity attention, but I found that bicycling the island's west coast with locally based Dolcevita Bike Tours is the way to experience the real Sardinia. For one week, I pedaled alongside Italians and native English speakers sharing mandatory and frequent espresso stops and picnicking on sheep's milk cheese, prosciutto and cantaloupe, or brochette bread with olive paste. We ventured through some of the most remote and wildest parts of Sardinia, sampling eucalyptus honey, wild boar sausage and wines made from indigenous grapes. Rolling past olive groves, vineyards and Genoese watchtowers perched on promontories, we rested on strikingly white sand beaches and parked our bikes near ancient Roman ruins. Instead of simply visiting one beachside resort after another, traveling with a local company brought us myriad intimate surprises. For example, while biking the Costa Verde with its rocky gorges and uncrowded beaches, we found giant foliage-draped sand dunes that are the highest in all of Europe.

Another day in the hamlet of San Salvatore, once a site of many a spaghetti western, the locals offered us wine that they produced for a much-celebrated religious feast where villagers race barefoot from town to town carrying the saint's statue. In the town of Arbus that's snuggled on a hillside, we met Paolo Pusceddu, the infamous knife maker who presides over the town's Knife Museum. (There we examined his 650-pound folding knife that's considered the world's heaviest.) And, given that Sardinia is dotted with thousands of nuraghi, we had plenty of opportunities to inspect these curious truncated cone-shaped stone structures dating to the Bronze Age.

I always prefer traveling with local groups rather than a U.S.-based company as a way to get a real perspective of the land and its people. And Dolcevita was everything I had hoped for and more. The guides were attentive, always available to answer questions on everything from history to cuisine. The other cyclists, particularly the Italians, were a delight. Not only were they amazing cyclists -- there were more than a few steep hills to climb on this journey that they navigated with aplomb; considering one had raced professionally and three others did regularly high-speed, heavy-duty cycling, I picked up plenty of biking tips -- but they were personable, funny and ever so stylish. In fact, I joked with them that they were the most fashionable cyclists I'd ever traveled with. As one might expect from the Italians, for our seven-day trek, many wore a different bike outfit every day. And, amazingly, everything matched, from the jersey to the tights to the gloves and socks. Overall, an unforgettable adventure with people that will remain my friends.

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