It’s the cycling destination that has it all: sweeping tarmac
paths, rugged mountain trails and everything in between. Make
either Port de Pollenca or Alcúdia your base for exploring the
island. Avoid visiting in July
and August
when the sun beats down relentlessly and the mountain villages are
teeming with tourists.

Please don’t tell anyone about this place, we implore you. It’s
tucked in a remote corner of the Epirus region of north-west

Greece, so you won’t encounter many folks during your ride but
you will find glistening rivers, ancient mule tracks and, if you
put in the legwork, cloud-kissed mountainside monasteries scattered
among the region’s 46 villages. We’re hitching a ride with The Slow Cyclist.

This sweet village in France’s Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region is
highly revered by gutsy road cyclists. It might be tucked in a
spiky cradle of mountains – the adventurous will enjoy their fair
share of downhill dirt tracks – but roads are broad and
well-maintained which makes it ideal for recreational riders, too.
Morzine has an Olympic-sized pool, massage centres and sandy
lakeside beaches: great options for après-cycling pampering.

Nope, not “New Zealand”, nor a typo. It’s also known as the
French Riviera of Denmark. Catch a 45-minute train out of
Copenhagen and you’ll arrive at the starting point of
Nordkyststien, a 68km path that sweeps along the region’s north
coast, taking in lighthouse-speckled beaches, forests and
pocket-sized Danish villages along the way. The trip will take
cyclists a leisurely three days.

Swaddle yourself in your thickest down, slip on a balaclava and
saddle up. This cycling experience is not for the faint of heart,
nor the weak of quad. With a pair of chunky, snow-adapted wheels
beneath you, cycle along frozen lakes and through untouched
woodlands. If you’re lucky, you might catch a glimpse of the
Northern Lights.

It’s not just a holiday destination for hen parties and
sun-seeking teens; this volcanic landscape is a real pull for
tourists on two wheels. It’s not unbearably hot in summer and
remains fairly temperate in winter which means you can stream over
its volcanoes and through lava flows year-round.

You can cycle the coastal perimeter of the Istrian peninsula in
eight days. A salty breeze rolling off the Adriatic will keep you
cool as you put foot to pedal on a tour of the region’s rippling
vineyards and olive groves. You won’t need to spend much to bed
down in luxury for the night as you go either, plus it’s truffle
country, so expect to refuel on many a bowl of truffle-topped
spaghetti.

Consider yourself a cycling pro? This one’s for you. In
November, a fleet of cyclists will spend six days pedalling a 500km
path from Amboseli National Park in Kenya
down to the beachside town of Mombasa in aid of child.org.
The sign-up fee might seem a little costly, but it covers luxury
accommodation, an on-call professional support team and police
escorts. Of course, a healthy wodge of the money goes straight to
charity, too.