Bikes and river boats make for the perfect marriage. That’s the reason so many river cruise ships carry fleets of bicycles for guided excursions and independent exploring ashore. Bikes on board allow guests to disembark and straddle a saddle for often-easy (think flat) rides along the rivers. It’s hard to imagine a better way to get to know a destination. And almost anyone can do it. I pedaled with an 89-year-old on the Burgundy canal last year. This past May, I rode for seven days through Normandy with folks in their 60s, 70s and 80s. You never forget how to ride a bike, so they say.
For me, the mix of bikes and river boats is a personal story. In my 20s, my bike, a 27-inch Fuji, helped me escape from a small Southern town and a dangerous profession. The profession was logging, which I began at the age of nine. Yes. I was a nine-year-old when my father took me to the woods to fell trees, skid them out of the forests and load them on trucks destined for sawmills.
At 18, I was sure that logging was not for me. I not only disliked the hot and grimy work, but also mourned the deaths of several loggers who were killed by trees. Clearly this was not the future I wanted, and so I left home the only way I could afford to do so, on a $450 bicycle that took me across the country – from North Carolina to California – and eventually around the world.
More than four decades later, I still cycle with the same enthusiasm as I did when I set off across America. I pedal almost everyday from my home in Asheville, North Carolina. I am quick to grab a bike when I am on river cruises, often skipping cultural excursions to explore by bike. On ships operated by the likes of AmaWaterways and Avalon, shore programs include guided cycling tours. I nearly always join those.
The cream of the crop is a river cruise combined with a Backroads cycling program. Backroads, as you’ve read in this space before, is the world’s number one active adventure company. Those who have traveled with Backroads rave about their experiences. And for good reason. I’m one of those people. I’ve pedaled with Backroads on the Danube, in Croatia and this past May, in France. All three have gone down as trips of a lifetime, experiences that were so enriching that I will never forget them.
This past spring, I was a guest of Backroads as we explored Normandy on two wheels. Our home base was AmaLyra, which operates on the Seine for AmaWaterways. Each morning, we’d leave the ship to set out on our bikes for pedaling through gorgeous countryside, most days having lunch at Backroads-curated restaurants.
There was so much more than riding and eating, however. Though I’d cruised the Seine several times, I’d never seen Normandy the way that Backroads presented it to 21 of us during one fun-filled and enriching week in May. See Normandy On Two Wheels: Cycling With Backroads Along The Seine
Another of my favorite Backroads trips was in 2016, while traveling with my son Alex as we cruised the Danube on AmaSonata with Backroads delivering each day’s cycling adventure. See En Route To AmaSonata, By Bicycle With Backroads Along The Danube.
In 2019, Tamera and I explored Croatia with Backroads. See Backroads Active Adventures On The Oceans & Rivers. All three of my Backroads’ trips have been equally as rewarding and enjoyable.
Boats and bikes provide the perfect mix of time afloat and time ashore. If you’re able, or perhaps just willing, straddle a saddle and pedal when in port.
