Category Archives: Biking Vacations

The True Ancient Chinese Secret – Biking the Great Wall of China

Posted on by
Reply

Biking vacations are a great way to spend your holidays and summer vacations. Whether it is close to home or far away, a bike vacation can be fun for the whole family or for a professional bicyclist. If you truly love biking or just want something different from the ordinary a biking trip in a far away country or city might be what you are looking for. How about biking the Great Wall of China. There are many local as well as bigger traveling companies that offer biking trips on and around the Chinese wall. Besides easy to moderate level trips and tours some agencies also offer difficult tours for the skilled and trained bicyclist.

This is the true way to experience the Great Wall of China and other close to the wall located historic sites and sights. In general a good mountain bike is recommended to do these tours and can either be rented there or brought with you. Biking the Great Wall and surrounding areas gives you a fascinating ride through time. From a fast-evolving country to ancient and historic Asian architecture and beautiful scenery, a bike ride through china can offer the ultimate Chinese and Asian experience. The Great Wall of China is the symbol for the historic and rich past as well as a monument of labor and art. Sites close to the wall offer quiet villages, bustling cities, ornate temples as well as tombs.

When riding along the Wall as well a s on top of it, you will see a work of architecture that took 200 years to build, Bicycle tours at the Great Wall of China of course are not able to cover the entire stretch, but specific places and stretches that are of importance to the visitor. Most tours offered include a guide who will not only lead the way but also give information and stories about the Wall and other important places that are visited along the tour.

Travel Agencies and companies that offer these trips along the Great Wall of China usually offer the trip as a complete package, including the bicycles for rent, hotel over night bookings, a guide, in general a support vehicle, where the visitor can have his or her baggage transported to the next site and sometimes even the flights. Traveling foreign countries such as China on a bicycle gives you first hand impressions about the land and its people. From rural areas to big cities, sound, pictures and smells enter the visitors system directly and the whole picture can be taken in slowly. When visiting the Great Wall of China on a bicycle you have the opportunity to easily and fast get to sections of the wall that are not as crowded as the sites people drive up with their cars. The beauty and tranquility of the Wall is preserved for you and the other tour group members and a undistracted picture can be experienced.

Besides being a healthier vacation for you, taking a bicycle vacation is also good for the environment and a very responsible way to see a new country. For families this can be a better vacation than a cruise ship trip, where to much food, alcohol and TV as well as not moving a finger can make you unhappy and longing for more.

When looking for a bicycle vacation for you and your family, make sure bfore booking to check out the level of skill needed. Sometimes the higher the skill level, the more off-road terrain is covered and for younger family members as well as for older ones this can be a problem.

Reblog this post [with Zemanta]

Soothing your Saddle Soreness During Biking Vacations

Posted on by
Reply

Cycling is an excellent form of exercise–not to mention tons of fun. However, cycling can also lead to a host of aches and pains. Soreness in the seat can be one of the worst pains for a cyclist to have.

The key to treating soreness in the seat is to understand where it comes from. Sitting on the saddle the wrong way can cause soreness in the seat. When a cyclist leans forward to ride they put pressure on the perineal area. The perineal is a super sensitive area of the body. It is not hard to cause pain in this spot. You can also cause pain in the shoulders and neck bun leaning forward. So how could you ride on your bike? Well, the sit points of the bottom should be close to the back of the saddle. The sit points or ishial tubunosites will take a few rides to get used to this position so expect a bit of soreness initially.

This of course is not the only cause of seat soreness. There are several reasons that may cause soreness in the seat. However, many cyclists maintain the idea that the actual addle does not matter. Instead, it is the way that you sit on it. Most saddles are designed to give the perineal area a break. SO most saddles are going to be designed for the optimum comfort.

Check the seat of your cycle to be sure that it is comfortable. Once you have ruled out the saddle as the problem, there are several other things that could be wrong.

Another major reason for soreness in the seat is wearing the wrong type of clothing. Be sure that when you are cycling you have the right clothing on. GO to a sporting store or a bike shop and purchase the proper equipment and clothing for biking. Anyone that is riding their bike for a significant amount of time will need biking clothes. Wearing jeans will never do for a cyclist.

Lack of proper conditioning is also a cause of seat soreness. If some of the muscles in your groin or bottom are not as strong as others, soreness will ensue. Whenever some muscles have to overcompensate for other muscles, there will be pain.

Extremely dry air will cause the skin to crack. The groin is one of the first areas to chap. That means that cyclist must be prepared for such weather. Keeping the skin moist with moisturizer or lotions should provide some relief.

Soreness in the bottom can also be a sign of fatigue. Often the signs of exhaustion are masked by pain. Having soreness in the seat can be a sign that it is time to take a break or end the ride.

No matter what the cause of seat soreness is, there are certain steps you can take to help relieve yourself. Take a break and get off of the bike. Try some minor stretches of simply walk around a bit. Grab a drink and try to relax for some time before getting back on the bike.

Once you are back on the bike, try to ride in a different position. Adjust the seat or handlebars before continuing to ride. If after some rest and adjustments things do not improve, perhaps the ride should end there–at least for a little while.

Take some time to practice sitting properly on the saddle before embarking on a long journey. Cycling is so much more fun if it is not painful. A few short rides around the neighborhood should get your bottom used to the saddle. Don’t give up on mastering your seat positioning. Remember professional cyclists cover great distances. Surely they have mastered the proper sitting position. You can, too!

Smell of the Salty Sea with a Family Bike Tour Through Martha’s Vineyard

Posted on by
Reply

One of the many things that Martha’s Vineyard has to offer is family biking tours. Many travel pages and articles call it a bicycle rider’s paradise. Biking paths are leading directly from an Oceanside resort to the Island beyond the resort. From beautiful green vineyards in summer to the smells of the ocean, it is all available.

Martha’s vineyard is located off the coast of Massachusetts close to Cape Cod and close to the island of Nantucket. The island is approximately 64,000 acres. Vines growing on Martha’s island include Cabernet Sauvignon, Chardonnay, Gewürztraminer, Merlot, Riesling and Pinot Noir. The Island was originally inhabited by Wampanoag Indians who named the island “Noepe”, which means, “land amid the streams”. The island got its name from English explorers in the early 1600s. Martha’s vineyard has been in the news a few times over history. When you plan a family bike tour through Martha’s Vineyard you might hear some of these historic events and see the sites. For example a small bridge that leads to the island was the cause of a death in 1969. The car of U.S. Senator Edward Kennedy used the bridge only designed for foot and bicycle traffic. In the course of history at least two presidents have visited Martha’s Vineyard, the one being Clinton and the other one being Grant.

When you visit Martha’s Vineyard, you might find it also interesting, that Steven Spielberg filmed Jaws there in 1974. Certain scenes in the following Jaws were also filmed on the island. In 2005 a 30-year anniversary festival of the making of Jaws was celebrated on Martha’s Vineyard. Sites where the movie scenes were filmed can be visited by bike and are mentioned and marked in many travel guides.

Together, the islands Martha’s Vineyard and Nantucket tried to become the 51st state in 1977, which as we know has not happened.

Another very famous site to visit on the island is the grave of John Belushi. He was buried there in 1982 after his death from a drug overdose. Because of the many visitors, the body does not actually lie in the grave but was moved. The threat of vandalism was so real, that the body was moved to a different grave within the same graveyard.

The Island of Martha’s Vineyard offers bicycling trails of different lengths; from just under one hour to seven and more hour trails are available for beginners as well as trained bicyclists. In general, many trails on Martha’s Vineyard are very well equipped with signs an maps and a self guided tour should not be a problem even for the beginner. But if you rather want to be completely relaxed and not have to worry about finding the right direction and staying on the trail, Martha’s Vineyard and several travel companies offer guided tours. These tours are exclusively put together for the visitors and will show the best sites and most beautiful sceneries the island has to offer.

For families with younger kids, the Flying horses might be a fun attraction. The Flying Horses is the countries oldest carousel.

If it is relaxation you are seeking, the beaches of Martha’s island can offer you a beautiful quit background for some recreation. This is the perfect way to escape the busy vacation that some people have by seeing any and all sights possible. Also, Martha’s Vineyards Island has to offer great galleries, glass works and an arboretum for a more sophisticated quite trip to the island. Many of these places are connected with bike paths and are described on maps and in travel guides.