Anywhere in the world, once were rid of covid. Not necessarily bikes involved, somewhere me and the mrs can fly to, pick up a car and plod around for a few weeks.
I loved Iceland. I went around the coastal ring road which was picturesque enough, but heading into the interior would be great too. A nice balance of isolation and awe inspiring countryside.
Fly into Vienna. Get lost in Austria. Come a few tours with me (Governement approved Austria Guide)
I enjoyed upstate New York + New England last year, so that.
Fly into Vienna. Get lost in Austria. Come a few tours with me (Governement approved Austria Guide)
Austria is on the list, mother in law is from Austria and wants to go back to see family (Irschen)
and i want to bugger off mountain biking 🙂
Great Ocean Road in Australia was a nice drive.
If it's Irschen near Lienz then you're in for a treat.
The Lienz Dolomites are amazing and to the north you have the Hohe Tauern National Park. (The Dolomites are very close, as is Slovenia). One of my favourite places. You could probably live there forever and not do all of the walking, climbing, via ferrata and riding options.
Plus all the Carinthia Lakes for summer swimming and sailing
Canada .
Fly in to Vancouver ,up through BC ,back down through Alberta.
If it’s Irschen near Lienz then you’re in for a treat.
The Lienz Dolomites are amazing and to the north you have the Hohe Tauern National Park. (The Dolomites are very close, as is Slovenia). One of my favourite places. You could probably live there forever and not do all of the walking, climbing, via ferrata and riding options.Plus all the Carinthia Lakes for summer swimming and sailing
It is, sound awesome. Hopefully going next year.
Canada .
Fly in to Vancouver ,up through BC ,back down through Alberta.
This. Via Rogers Pass. Amazing, especially in winter or spring when there’s still a lot of snow around.
The part of America that's currently on fire is stunning. Or was. Northern California and Oregon. The coast, the forest, the mountains. Everything between Vancouver and San Fran is pretty eye popping.
I hope the area recovers I'd love to get back there some day.
Last year did ferry to Santander, stayed in San Sebastian, just outside Bordeaux and then in Amboise on the Loire, then home via Normandy. Did that in 10 days, was absolutely amazing. With a few extra days you could squeeze in the Pyrenees as well. Add a few more days, loop through the Alps 🙂 Driving on our was only 3-4 hours every few days so no drama really.
Did a circular trip around Tasmania, really enjoyed that, lots of contrasting geography, but not the cultural differences you get on a European tour.
Picos de Europa and then head West in 'Green Spain'
South Western USA. Fly to Denver/ Vegas/ LA/ San Diego/ San Fran. Rent car, drive for 3 weeks - with or without mountain bike or camping gear. Unforgettable stuff
New Zealand, South Island. Incredible variety of natural beauty in a small geographic area: mountains, lakes, glaciers, beaches, rainforest. All in the same day if you really wanted. I spent 10 days there, but could easily spend double that.
Go to Canada, but forget the West. Go to Nova Scotia, drive up to Cape Breton Island and do Cabot Trail. Then drive through New Brunswick into Quebec, cross the St Lawrence at Levi towards Quebec City, then come back on yourself so that you are heading to the Saguenay, before turning back to Montreal.
Cabot Trail
The Saguenay
Quebec City
Montreal
Of course, these are just snapshots. There is so, so much more to say about the virtues of such a route.
Be amazed and horrified for a couple of days in Las Vegas and then lap both sides of the grand canyon.
I highly recommend this book for some suggested USA trips:
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Road-Trip-USA-Cross-country-Cross-Country/dp/1566917662
Covers 11 routes that are North to South or coast to coast with all the crazy americana listed that you should be seeing. Worlds largest turtle made from tyres, that sort of thing.
Been lucky enough to do a few of these.
NZ. North island by car and South island by campervan. Mix of visiting friends and pure tourist. Loved the southern part of the South Island.
USA done San Fran to LA then inland to Las Vegas, Moab (Slickrock) and back via Yosemite. Various national parks (Zion,Bryce,Arches etc) were amazing.
Canada Vancouver up past whistler into bC to do some canoeing over to Mt Robson, Jasper down to Banff then back to Vancouver. Followed by a quick trip to the north of Vancouver island. ( never did get to go whale watching but cycling endless beaches and caught skinny dipping in the middle of nowhere by some Japanese tourists)
Brief one in Australia down from
Mackay ( platypus spotting) via the coast to Sydney was great ( finally got some whale watching in )
On the bucket list would be an Rv through Monument Valley and would love to see the Grand Canyon still.
Closer to home spend a lot of time in the north of Scotland without actually doing the loop.
Love the look of that road trip USA book.
Bud to Kristiansund along Norway’s west coast was nice
I did the Canada thing 3 years ago. Severely underwhelmed.
Yes nice scenery but Christ the roads are dull
Are you wanting nice driving roads or nice scenery or both ?
Loads of options with easy driving in the USA, Canada, Australia, NZ. All 'big'. Don't try and do / see too much with only 2 weeks, focus on what looks like a small area to really see it well.
I see Yellowstone-Grand Tetons haven't been mentioned - start at Salt Lake City which has surprisingly good beer, Jackson, GT, YS, then either Glacier NP, Spokane, Seattle or Sawtooth NF, Portland. I would want 3-4 weeks but we get out of the car and do activities (backcountry hiking, canoeing). In Aus, Tas should take at least 2 weeks to go around, lovely scenery. I love off-the-beaten path Aus but the wildfires will have decimated some areas. Same with the US west and central Rockies, needs a really good look at where exactly to go.
Not mentioned yet, Western Cape in South Africa. 'Africa-lite'. Good roads with vastly changing landscapes. Loop out and back to Cape Town, or drive from Cape Town to Port Elizabeth (if you want to see elephants) and fly back. The city deserves 3-4 nights then meander (avoid the highways) from the rugged coast through farmland and wineries across mountain passes into arid plains (the R62) then back across the mountain into lush forests and wind-swept beaches (cold water). Rock formations, vast emptiness, star-gazing, penguins, elephants, zebra and other interesting wildlife.
Yes nice scenery but Christ the roads are dull
+1 big distances and very slow driving, even if you’re not bothered about the driving enjoyment you have to factor in the amount of time you’ll be in the car. Great place though.
We did a couple of two day trips from cape town and Durban really enkjoyed it an would like to do more one day, maybe even get a proper 4x4 wagon and go a bit more off piste.
And if Covid doesn’t go anywhere The Wild Atlantic Way: easily accessible, great scenery, friendly people.
New Zealand is definitely on the list, Brother lives in Queenstown. Just need to save up a bit for that one!
Are you wanting nice driving roads or nice scenery or both ?
A bit of both but don't want to be driving for hours and hours everyday, so something a bit more compact would definitely be what we're looking to do.
New Zealand is good but a bit more compact and closer is:
https://www.discoverireland.ie/wild-atlantic-way
And if Covid doesn’t go anywhere The Wild Atlantic Way: easily accessible, great scenery, friendly people
Thanks for mentioning that I just Googled it. Looks nice and I've never been to Ireland. Good excuse to use our new car for a week away.
I wouldn't plan on doing the Wild Atlantic Way for a few weeks yet. Some of Ireland's counties (all?) are restricting travel at present. No cross-border traffic to Donegal for example.
A week would be a nice trip up that road though. If you picked a couple of nice spots at start & finish to stay you could easily make it 10 days, or extend it into Northern Ireland and continue round the Causeway Coastal Route, which is fairly stunning in parts