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World's top 10 best cycling adventures

COAST-TO-COAST, USA
The TransAmerica trail is a cycle-touring classic. Try all or parts of the 6835km from Astoria, Oregon, on the Pacific Ocean, to Yorktown, Virginia, on the Atlantic. Like the great American dream, it spans the continent - its mountains (including the 3518m Hoosier Pass in the Rockies), its prairies, its greatest river (the Mississippi) and the forests of its national parks (Yellowstone, Grand Teton). Better yet are the farms, people and home cooking of rural America. Ground winds will catch you eastbound and westward; the pedalling is best between May and September.


EUROPEAN VINEYARDS
There's magic in those hills. Squeeze it from the grapes growing in precisely planted rows and the result is the world's greatest wines. Ride it on two wheels and the days pass in sweet wonder. Most of Europe's peerless vineyards are accessible via public roads, often part of designated wine routes. In France, plunge into the fields of Champagne, Burgundy and Bordeaux. In Italy, Tuscany's hills help burn off culinary dalliances. You won't lose your way in Germany's steep-sided Mosel River valley. Summer's best, but harvests are in autumn.

TOUR D'AFRIQUE

Think you've cycled it all? Looking for a challenge? How about a mountainbike tour of Africa? Start in northern Egypt with your handlebars pointed south; the Cape of Good Hope is only 12,000km and 10 countries away. Not up to organising the odyssey? Join the Tour d'Afrique, the world's longest (120 days) and most gruelling bicycle event. It next sets out in January 2009 and it's a fully supported charity ride. Go self-propelled from Cairo to Cape Town through villages, deserts, mountains, fertile valleys and wildlife-rich savanna. Beware of elephants!

EUROPEAN ALPS

Europe's spine of snow-capped Alpine peaks draws the national borders of Italy, France, Switzerland, Austria and Slovenia. Human engineering has defiantly incised zigzag surfaced roads - some of Europe's highest - up and over dividing mountain passes, dozens thrusting up above 2000m. Here, dedicated cyclists test their mettle, and champions in Europe's greatest two-wheel road races are acclaimed and shamed. The mountain passes'

names alone are inspirational: Croix de Fer, Galibier, Izoard, Iseron, Simplon, Grand-Saint-Bernard, Furka, Umbrail, Stelvio, Gavia, Grossglockner, Otztaler. They'll take your breath away. Literally.

AMERICA'S GREAT DIVIDE MOUNTAIN BIKE ROUTE

This behemoth of a pedal, with more than 60,000m of elevation gain, isn't for the faint-hearted. It's a ride of staggering remoteness and beauty, covering areas replete with wildlife and arresting vistas. Declared the longest off-pavement route on the planet, the full Great Divide Mountain Bike Route criss-crosses (up and down every day!) the continental divide for 4363km from Banff, Alberta, in the Canadian Rockies to Antelope Wells, New Mexico, on the Mexican-American border. Limited services mean planning, endurance, mechanical proficiency and some backcountry skills are indispensable. Travel in summer, but prepare for harsh weather.

PAN-AMERICAN HIGHWAY, CENTRAL & SOUTH AMERICA

It's epic - about 14,000km through 12 countries. Although it begins in Alaska, the Pan-American Highway from Mexico City claws through every kind of geography and climate imaginable - from lush jungles to frigid Andean mountain passes - on its way to Ushuaia at the Tierra del Fuegan tip of South America. But for the impassable Darien Gap between Panama and Colombia, the highway makes it possible to keep two wheels to the ground on an extraordinary intercontinental trek. Expect fierce Patagonian winds, drenching rains and tar-bubbling heat, as well as the open-armed welcome of people along the way
more visit:http://www.theage.com.au/travel/worlds-top-10-best-cycling-adventures-20081210-6vmz.html

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