The central London location of Hertz (35 Edgware Rd., London; phone 0843 309 3049) is offering rentals of electric bicycles, which increase pedalers’ speed. They are powered by rechargeable batteries that last for a day of riding. For multiday rentals, an ordinary wall outlet can recharge the battery.
A bike can be rented for £19.99 (near $28) per day, which is less than the full-day fee of £51 ($72) with the city’s bike-sharing program.
by Ann Abeles; Frederick, MD. Photos by Fred Abeles
Ride a four-wheel motorbike on bush tracks and dry riverbeds of the Outback at Undoolya Station, the Northern Territory’s oldest cattle ranch, 17 kilometers east of Alice Springs.
When in Riga or Jurmala, Latvia, you can rent one of 100 bikes from one of 11 BalticBike stands shown on a map on the website www.balticbike.lv.
Combine picturesque Dutch cities, luxuriant waterlands, acres of bulb farms and the famed Keukenhof garden in full splendor with a witty guide, skilled barge pilot, master chef and 16 compatible travelers and you have yourself a fine vacation. That is what my friends Bernadette, Karen, Marian and I came away feeling about our May 2-9, 2010, bike tour aboard the canal barge Elodie.
My husband, Fred, and I took a guided, two-week bicycle tour covering parts of Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia, July 21-Aug. 4, 2009.
I’m often asked to assist with travel plans in Switzerland because I grew up there, know the three languages and have been there at least once a year since 1981. Gene McPherson’s wonderful trip report, “Bicycling Switzerland and No. Italy” (March ’10, p. 32), brings to mind some points that I’d like to share.
A number of my friends and I, who are in good but not spectacular physical shape, decided to craft our own bicycling itinerary through Switzerland and northern Italy. The result was a wonderful 2½ weeks of biking among the spectacular Alps, June 17-July 3, 2008. Six of us biked and one nonbiker rode in taxis with our luggage.
Two of us had biked along the Danube in 2006, utilizing the services of a tour company that furnished bikes, daily shuttle and reserved lodging plus contingency services. With that experience “under our belts,” we decided we could plan this trip ourselves.
I read about biking down the Danube in the March ’04 issue, phoned the writers for more info and began a 2-year planning effort. A friend asked to join me, and the two of us ended up having a very pleasant time for 2½ weeks in September ’06 biking along the Danube River from Passau, Germany, through Austria and into Hungary as far as Budapest.
