An early morning mountain bike ride on route 387, north of Casa Grande, Arizona. Photograph: Francisco Medina/AP
Quite a few of our celebrities have nominated relatively short routes near their homes for Bike Week rides, for example James Cracknell's jaunt along the Thames pathway in central London.
Quite a few of our celebrities today nominate relatively short routes near their homes for Bike Week rides, for example James Cracknell's jaunt along the Thames pathway in central London.
There's much to be said for this. Leafy, rural lanes are great but if you live in city and want a quick bike fix then juggling train timetables or loading up a car is often not worth the effort.
What, though, if you hope to go further afield and make a day of it - or longer, perhaps much longer?
Here are a few of my favourite and most memorable rides, taking in everything from a weekend to a month-long odyssey. They're clearly not going for everyone but might hopefully spark a few ideas. I'd also love to hear about your great bike routes.
The South Downs Way
Rolling hills, sweeping views and - best of all if you live in London - a start point little more than an hour away by train. Spanning 99 miles between Eastbourne and Winchester the route is mainly off road but you don't need a particularly flashy bike. If it's dry, anything with a reasonable spread of gears and non-skinny tyres will get you across the hard, chalky ground.
With train stations dotted throughout the route you can pick a ride of almost any length. Those wanting to do the whole thing have a similar choice of accommodation and can take it as slowly as they like. Speed freaks do it in two days or even - masochists only, please - one.
The Lake District
Yes, it is over-touristy but there's a lot of choice for both on and off road rides. My introduction to cycling here came just a month ago when I took part in a famous one-day road ride, including the infamous Hardknott Pass, reputedly England's steepest road open to cars. Did I push the bike up it? Of course - but then so did more or less everyone else...
Coast to coast in Costa Rica
This sounds far more daunting than it really is, as even the relatively circuitous route I took between the Central American nation's Atlantic and Caribbean coasts is little more than 150 miles.
It can be tough (especially if, as I did, you rather foolishly do it as part of an organised race) but your reward is some of the most beautiful scenery on earth, much of it unspoiled given that a around a quarter of Costa Rica is protected national parkland. The route includes rainforest, coffee plantations and even an extinct volcano before you arrive at the white sand and mangroves of the Caribbean.
Lhasa to Kathmandu
The daddy of them all. Forget the 600-mile length and basic facilities en route, one thing above all else makes this famously tough - the altitude.
Lhasa itself is 3,650m above sea level, enough to leave you gasping, so factor in time to acclimatise before setting off. The real test, though, comes later on a series of passes, the toughest of which hits 5,220m.
What do you get in return? Endless mountain vistas - including unforgettable views of Everest - and one of the world's most fascinating cultures, especially outside the increasingly Han Chinese-influenced cities. Oh yes: and the world's most spectacular downhill ride as you near the Nepalese border, the road plummeting from 5,200m to around 700m, rideable all in a single day if you wish.
A series of adventure travel companies offer supported rides but some people still undertake it independently, all depending, of course, on the political situation.
When I did the ride more than a decade ago cyclists were regularly turned back at a checkpoint near Everest base camp, more than two thirds of the way through. I only made it past because the police were too busy laughing at my passport photo to check if I had the correct permit. This is not a tactic guaranteed to work for everyone.
