The Joys of Cycling When You’re a Nomad
by Ricardo
I want to ride my bicycle, bicycle, bicycle…
I want to ride my bicycle
I want to ride my bike
I want to ride my bicycle
I want to ride it where I like.
—Queen
Last week I shared with our readers my enthusiasm for shopping the marketplaces—preparing a nomadic kitchen which enables me to cook the foods of the community(See The Joys of Cooking as a Nomad – Even Without a Kitchen) I’m now enjoying (part of a pseudo-series of articles on fusing the components and joys of “home” life into your nomadic one). As I had stated then, there’s no better way to immerse oneself into a new destination, a strange new culture, than to experiment on your own with the local cuisine. Well—I’m going to back-peddle a bit here and amend my previous declaration.
I love nothing more than the whole marketplace/food thing than to arrive there, at the market, or explore every nook and cranny of a new place (while gobbling-up as much territory as possible) via bicycle. That’s why my very first love (sorry food) is my bicycle. Okay…whatever bicycle that may be legally mine at the moment. (With apologies to my faithful Gary Fisher bike stored in America.) You might be saying to yourself, “Who can travel with a bike?” And, “What about the car? Cars are cool. You can see a lot with a car! Didn’t you see Thelma & Louise?” I say, phooey. Cars are macro transport vehicles that offer only a blurred vision of the exciting new place you might be in. And let’s not forget the inherent concerns with the motorized means of transport, such as:
- Rental cost and fuel
- Parking and vehicle responsibility
- License to drive and insurance
- Road conditions and new driving environment
- The restrictions on driving under the influence of wine!
Who needs all of this? That’s why I left California for christ sakes. Okay, perhaps I’m a little jaded today after have returned last night from a road trip to Los Angeles (My annual migration to the motherland to do face time with clients.) from my current temporary base of Prescott, Arizona. But, I digress.
I will relent and say that the car is hard to beat when it comes to exploring vast deserts, mountains (choose your scenic landscape), which I availed myself to when I did the Route 66 road-trip last year (see Laptophobo for a great slide show of pictures of this trip), or when having to conduct business. And, the motorcycle/motorbike is a superb option when you need to go further than what a bike will comfortably permit (of course the Vogel family who are biking from Alaska to Argentina may differ on this point!). But! if you’re not driving the wide expanse of a country or having to do business—in other words, you’re just ambling through town like a nomad—it’s the bicycle that rules! The bike is:
- Cheap, easy to obtain and unload afterwards
- Requires no specific parking space
- Relatively safe
- You need no license and little knowledge of local traffic customs
- And, you’ll probably not be pulled-over by the police should you be coming home from a pub or wine tasting.
Here’s what I do. When I expect to remain in a place for more than a few weeks I immediately go searching for a bicycle (traditional cruiser style or mountain. 21 speed or greater is preferred). And just like my quest for kitchen accoutrements, I make sure that it is:
A: Inexpensive, and
B: of good quality.
But instead of buying new, I scout-out second-hand markets (preferably where tourists have swapped their high-quality mountain bikes for a return airplane ticket home). Once I’ve scored my bicycle, the first thing I buy for it, even before safety lights, is a really cool—and loud—bell! Because when I’m zipping through streets and passageways, there’s little time to scream, “Run for cover—I can’t stop myself!” And when it’s time to part with my beloved bike-of-the-moment I simply sell it to the next cycling enthusiast (one that I have most likely converted over)—often for the price I had paid originally or at a profit.
There are some really great cycling opportunities for you to try outside of the traditional excursions through towns or the countryside. Although I tend to do all of my tours by myself or after recruiting a cycling partner, many prefer to ride with a few others.
Here are my suggestions:
In (manic) Bangkok – you could do the night (far less manic) bicycle tour of the old kingdom and old sections (actually, they’ll go just about anywhere. The ride to Phra Pradaeng can’t be beat.) in Banglampoo (at Samsean, Soi 2)- with Velo Bikes. It’s a rush.
In Amsterdam – why not try the Beer Bike Tour.
In England – check out BikeEvents.com.
Of course, there’s Lonely Planet Forum’s On Your Bike branch.
I could sit here and offer up other bike experiences, but you get the picture. Also, I’m hoping to hear about your bike resources and stories. Do share!
