Top Travel Days of 2022, Biking the Wachau Wine Region of Austria

Every day on our Backroads Danube River Cruise this September could have easily made it on this list, from biking high atop a ridge in Germany’s rural Bavaria region to riding from capital city to capital city, Vienna to Bratislava. But Day Four on the itinerary certainly stands out. It started with a short 13-mile warm up along the river on bike trails. Then it was off to see the impressive Melk Abbey perched on a hill atop the small town, looking more like a palace with its large courtyards, countless rooms, and vast book collection in the library.

The 23-mile afternoon ride was arguably the best of the trip, along the Danube in the heart of the Wachau wine region of Austria. Leaving Melk, terraces started to rise along the river, soon joined by the stone ramparts of forgotten castles. The ridges only got higher and soon small towns dotted the shoreline with their ubiquitous steeples piercing the clouds above. It was hard to bike because you wanted to stop repeatedly to take another photo better than the last.

It started to drizzle when taking a short ferry across the river. Soon we were biking straight through the vineyards, looking at the vines overflowing with fat grapes. We arrived in the small Medieval town of Durnstein, where we relaxed outdoors overlooking the vineyards at Alter Kloster Keller. We wisely chose to grab a bottle of their local Gruner Veltliner and an oversized charcuterie plate packed with local pates, sausages, hams, and cheeses. Perhaps we lingered a bit too long because when we got back on our bikes, the clouds were ominous and it started to pour. Five miles later, we arrived back at the boat drenched, only to find our fearless trip leader, Malcolm, hosting a party under a tent in a torrential downpour for all of us wet bikers. We drank shots of schnaps and glasses of Riesling while listening to a soundtrack that featured, “It’s Raining Men.” Memorable!

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Biking Niagara on the Lake

A mere hour outside of Toronto, just past Hamilton on the QEW, you spot a sign that reads, “Entering the Greenbelt.” Vineyards pop up on either side of the road, and just beyond those vineyards on the left, is mighty Lake Ontario. Welcome to the Niagara on the Lake region. Yesterday, Butterfield & Robinson’s Kathy Stewart designed and led us on a wonderful 35-mile ride through this fertile breadbasket. We started in the small village of Jordan, grabbed our bikes and were soon riding up the 300-foot Niagara Escarpment that makes this place so special (I’ll delve into this further when discussing the distinctive Niagara wine and terroir later this week). Soon we were riding on relatively level backcountry roads past vineyard after vineyard, lilacs and azaleas in full bloom, peach trees, and signs for rhubarb and asparagus for sale. 

 
Smack dab between the escarpment and the lake, this area of the region is known as The Bench. Not nearly as flashy and well-known as the Niagara on the Lake wineries, these boutique wineries create a feeling of Sonoma to big brother Napa. We had tastings at Hidden Bench, Cave Spring Cellars, and Flat Rock Cellars, run by the passionate owner, Ed Madronich. The region is best known for their Riesling, Pinot Noir, and Chardonnay. Many of the Rieslings had a pleasing lemon/lime or grapefruit aftertaste, stemming from the limestone in the escarpment. It had a nice dry finish, not cloying in the least. At lunch at Inn on the Twenty, where we’re spending the night, we tried the Cave Spring Cellars Estate Riesling, perfectly paired with a just-picked fiddlehead and asparagus salad, and a main dish of scallops. I learned quickly that this wine tastes best when coupled with excellent food. 
 
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VBT Bicycling Vacations Debuts Self-Guided Itineraries

VBT just announced that they will debut self-guided bike vacations to five destinations in 2020. The locales include British Columbia’s Vancouver Island; the UK’s Oxford and the Cotswolds; Puglia, Italy; Porto and Lisbon, Portugal; and Barcelona and Costa Brava, Spain. All tours include a welcome orientation meeting and bike fitting; a custom VBT bike (road bike, hybrid bike or E-bike), helmet and bike bag; 24/7 support system including a local host and travel assistance hotline; a VBT Road Book with insider destination information such as restaurant recommendations and points of interest ranging from off-the-beaten-path attractions to secret beaches and spots with the best views; boutique accommodations in town centers for easy exploring and resupplying; daily breakfast; luggage transfers between hotels; GPS voice navigation and printed daily route notes; flat kit and multi-tool; and round-trip international air, if desired. Pricing is more affordable than a guided trip. For example, the BC trip costs $1695 per person for the land portion. The guided trip costs $3,095 per person. If interested in a self-guided or guided bike trip with VBT, please let ActiveTravels know and we’ll check availability. We can also help design pre- and post-trip itineraries and assist with flights. 

 
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Memorable Spring Bike Rides, Biking the Shores of Keuka Lake

Known for its award-winning Rieslings, the Finger Lakes deserve its reputation as one of the best spots in America to go wine tasting. Yet, its resplendent beauty also lends itself well to adventure. At the southern end of Seneca Lake, we hiked alongside a handful of waterfalls in the famous gorge of Watkins Glen. The next morning, my wife and I kayaked through a cattail-laden marsh and saw countless herons, turtles, and a beaver. Talk about adventure—a 40-pound carp jumped out of the marsh and slammed against my arm as I shrieked. But my favorite part of the weeklong trip was a quiet bike ride along a peninsula that juts into Keuka Lake. Start your ride from Keuka College and follow East and West Bluff Roads as they pass the small waterfront cottages with cute names like Hide N’ Seek. There’s one killer hill on the 20-mile ride that takes you atop a bluff, before cruising downhill back to the college. Afterwards, we rewarded ourselves with a lobster roll and glass of semi-dry Riesling at Heron Hill’s outdoor café. We were fortunate to book the next two nights at the Black Sheep Inn in Hammondsport, on the northern tip of Keuka Lake. Owners Debbie Meritsky and Marc Rotman spent over 6 years refurbishing the rare octagonal-shaped house, which turns 157 this year.

 
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Biking the Shoreline of Lac-Saint-Jean

Three hours north of Quebec City, the mountainous ridges and anonymous lakes give way to a sylvan valley surrounding the massive inland sea they call Lac-Saint-Jean. Bright yellow fields of canola mix with the rolling green hillside, tall silos, and rolled hay that gives this terrain the unmistakable French countryside feel. Everywhere you look are cyclists biking on the celebrated Véloroute des Bleuets, a 256-kilometer bike trail that circumnavigates Lac-Saint-Jean, or fat-wheeling on mountain bike trails, even biking through sand on one of the 15 public beaches found around the lake. 

 
We chose to spend the first day and night at Parc national de la Pointe-Taillon, a peninsula that juts into the lake and offers its own 45 km circuit. We parked in the lot, grabbed sheets, blankets, bikes, and a small mini-trailer to carry all our belongings and off we went on a short ride to our lodging for the night, a Huttopia tent. Available in 17 of Quebec’s 24 national parks, these canvas tents are equipped with four beds, heating, and everything you need to cook a meal. We dropped our belongings and continued to bike along the peninsula looking at desolate beaches, large beaver dams, and a thicket of tall birch trees. This is prime moose country but we wouldn’t find the big fella this first night. After our ride, we dined on picnic tables overlooking the water, washed down with a local Riverbend pale ale. A perfect start to our week of adventure in the Lac-Saint-Jean, Saguenay, and Charlevoix sections of Quebec. 
 
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Bike the Texas Hill Country with Sojourn

Many of the people I meet who founded their active travel company have a genuine passion for the sport. Tom Hale spent over 5,000 miles on a bike the summer of 1979 prior to opening Backroads. When Susan Rand was in college, she would load her panniers witch camping gear and clothes and hit the road. Then she became athletic director at Champlain College in Burlington, Vermont, and worked for four years at Vermont Bicycle Tours prior to starting her own company, Sojourn, in 1995. Her fall foliage trips along the shores of Lake Champlain in her native Vermont are still the most popular weeklong jaunts. Yet, it’s the itineraries I don’t normally see in a catalog that I find most intriguing. In the summer, Sojourn heads to the Columbia River Gorge to bike between glorious Mount Hood and Mount Adams. In late fall and mid-winter, Rand takes riders to the Sonoran Desert outside Tucson to bike, hike in Saguaro National Park, and horseback ride in John Wayne country at the Rancho De La Osa Guest Ranch. New this spring is a trip to Texas Hill Country, an overlooked biking region outside of San Antonio that I’ve written about for National Geographic Adventure. Rand personally tries all of the trips she designs and this has quickly become one of her favorites. You’ll be biking under tall cypress trees on lonely backcountry roads past large cattle ranches and fields of bluebonnets that are in bloom in early spring. You’ll also visit the Alamo and LBJ Ranch. So saddle up and get out there on your next sojourn.
 

DuVine’s Long Weekend to the Smoky Mountains

Biking Smoky Mountains with DuVineDuVine, the Massachusetts-based biking tour operator who brought Lisa and I on a fantastic trip to Puglia, Italy, introduced shorter 4-day trips around America last year, including itineraries to Santa Barbara and Tucson. But it’s hard to top their newly revealed trip to Tennessee’s Smoky Mountains, where you can bike to your heart’s content on the rolling backcountry roads and then dine and lodge each night at one of the most decorated restaurants in the country, the Relais & Chateaux property, Blackberry Farm. You’ll squeeze in 4 day of riding, averaging 25 to 30 miles per day, before rewarding yourself with a feast of southern specialties like barbecued ribs and catfish, washed down with local microbrews and Tennessee whiskey. First trip out is May 24-27, 2021. Please let ActiveTravels know which itinerary looks the best and we’ll check availability. Also be on the lookout for the next The World Is Your Oyster segment, where we interview DuVine founder, Andy Levine, and discuss his new partnership with Lindblad.

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