E-Biking the Ponale Road, Riva del Garda Italy

Riva del Garda is a little town and resort haven on the north end of Lake Garda in northern Italy. I dare you to visit and not fall madly in love with this European lake town that is a haven to bike culture. For starters, I had never even heard of Lake Garda (Lago di Garda), Italy's largest lake. It's relatively long and "sliver shaped" and boasts 25 famous picturesque villages like Riva del Garda and Limone to the north and Sirmione to the south.

The town itself is worth the visit, walking around the shops and restaurants with the sweeping views of Lake Garda, but it feels criminal to not take part in the bike culture. The entire drive in to the town is a relay race with speedy cyclists and the atmosphere downtown is no exception. The restaurants all have bike racks and cyclists are often enjoying a beer or gelato out in the sunshine. 

Ferry Crossing New York to Vermont - Biking Burlington

Ferry entering Port Kent, NY 

When you spend four days in northern New York, you have some time to cross state lines and explore beyond the Empire State.  Up in Ausable Chasm, you can do this quite easily (and affordably) in neighboring Port Kent.  You can leave New York behind and take an hour cruise across Lake Champlain over to Burlington, Vermont.  One scenic boat ride is all it takes and you can swap quiet Ausable for bustling Burlington, home to amazing breweries, great food, and amazing bike paths.

Biking the Venice/Santa Monica Bike Paths

If you are heading to the Venice/Santa Monica area of California, there is one thing you absolutely have to do.  Okay, maybe two if you count eating at Cha Cha Chicken but really, you have to do this one thing:  Rent bicycles and bike the Santa Monica and Venice Beach Bike Paths.  A nice breeze, a beautiful bike path, some fantastic sights and people watching for slow-flat-easy-biking-miles.  It is everything you expect as you cruise along the beach stopping at some of the famous sites along the way.

Biking the Boardwalk - Pinones, Puerto Rico

Continuing on from my "travel like a local" post, I wanted to share another story of how following the less traveled path to somewhere awesome is always the best option. And also a story of a stroke of bad bad luck. Sometimes I feel like the luckiest person. And then there are those instances that remind you that you still have your stroke of bad luck from time to time. Its really interesting when these moments happen within ten minutes of each other.   

Read along as we venture over to the Pinones boardwalk
the area of cheap beer, good food, and a lack of English speaking locals. 

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Bike on the Pinones Path

Quick story:  

(in case you are only here for the pictures, I get it)

We biked to this amazing local spot about 8 miles away full of awesome food and cheap beer.  The bikes had several issues leaving us stranded 8 miles away from our hotel.  The views, food and beer was worth the frustrations.  Lots of stray dogs and garbage everywhere.
More "need-to-know"  info in the NOTES section at the end.