We asked readers and staff to name their all-time favorite places to pedal. The result (in no particular order): classic destinations, must-do events, and two-wheeled adventures that should be on every cyclist's bucket list.
ByEvelyn Spence
1. The Cobbles of Belgium.
Cyclists like to suffer, and the mystical mecca for pain—in the form of jaw-rattling pave—has to be Flanders. Follow the narrow roads of the spring Classics, try to summit one of the countlesshellingen (short, sharp climbs) like the fabled, 20-percent Muur van Geraardsbergen, then take solace in the fact that Belgium is also home to 450 kinds of beer.
Cyclists like to suffer, and the mystical mecca for pain—in the form of jaw-rattling pave—has to be Flanders. Follow the narrow roads of the spring Classics, try to summit one of the countlesshellingen (short, sharp climbs) like the fabled, 20-percent Muur van Geraardsbergen, then take solace in the fact that Belgium is also home to 450 kinds of beer.
2. Vermont's Green Mountains.
Autumn leaves—bazillions of them—flashing red, orange, and gold.
Autumn leaves—bazillions of them—flashing red, orange, and gold.
3. Slickrock Trail, Moab.
4. Pacific Coast Highway, California.
Follow Highways 1 and 101 from the Oregon border to L.A. for 800 spectacular miles.
Follow Highways 1 and 101 from the Oregon border to L.A. for 800 spectacular miles.
5. Classic Climbs of the Tour de France.
Alpe d'Huez, Mont Ventoux, Col du Tourmalet.
Alpe d'Huez, Mont Ventoux, Col du Tourmalet.
Editor's Note: I have a few of these rides and they do qualify as "rides of a lifetime".
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