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Canoe the Upper Iowa River, Cresco, Iowa

Don’t worry about crowds on this forgotten run in the glacial-carved valley of northeast Iowa. The Upper Iowa can be paddled for 110 miles from Lime Springs to the Mississippi, but a good 31-mile jaunt from Kendalville to Decorah snakes through cliff-lined gorges below 200-foot-high chimney rocks. Bald eagles frequently soar over the limestone outcrops and deer, mink, raccoon and beaver call the area home. Chimney Rock rents canoes, offers trip planning, and provides a free shuttle. 
 

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Top 5 Wine Regions for Bicyclists, Stellenbosch, South Africa

Sitting at the southernmost tip of South Africa, Capetown can certainly match Sydney and San Francisco as the most beautiful city in the world. Table Mountain, often draped in its tablecloth of clouds, forms a spectacular backdrop. A nice little warm up ride will bring you from the city to the exquisite beach of Camps Bay and the mountains rising behind Hout Bay. Serious bikers can then continue on to the Cape Peninsula and the Cape of Good Hope, where the Indian Ocean meets the Atlantic Ocean. Just be on the lookout for baboons that often cross the road. Once you’ve properly explored Capetown, drive one hour to the west and start your tour of Stellenbosch and its award-winning wineries. Bikes N’ Wines offers a 2-day guided bike ride through the region, where you learn about the rich heritage of the area and most importantly, taste the wares. The two day tour includes breakfast, a light braai lunch on one of the days and accommodation at on one of the wine estates. Cost of the 2-day jaunt is $1950 Rand or $127 US. By all means, continue your tour of the region on the famous Garden Route, a drive amidst forest, lagoons, and coastal towns, including the surfing mecca of Plettenberg Bay, another stunning locale to bike along the Western Cape or mountain bike the forests of Knysna. 

 
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Memorable Spring Bike Rides, Vancouver’s Stanley Park

The 9 km ride around the Seawall of Stanley Park can be done in less than an hour. Yet, by the time you stop at the world-class aquarium, see the selection of totem poles, and dine on sablefish (a tender and rich Northwestern whitefish) at the classic Teahouse for lunch, the day is over. Riding under towering Douglas firs and along the rocky shoreline, you’ll also stop numerous times to take pictures of the bay. On our last ride around Stanley Park, my family spent a good chunk of time being entertained by the sea otters at the Vancouver Aquarium. Less than 15 minutes later, we were watching river otters in the wild dining on crabs along the Seawall. Another unexpected find in a city of unexpected finds, the reason why I return to Vancouver as often as I can. 

 
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A Perfect Fall Foliage Ride with DuVine Cycling

Saturday morning was a bit nippy when we met Andy Levine, founder of DuVine Cycling, along with the marketing department of Deena Giancotti and Gwen Kidera at the clock tower in Wellesley Hills. A table was laden with fresh croissants and coffee from a South End bakery, along with printouts of the 30-mile route Andy had designed for a dozen members of ActiveTravels. We soon warmed up on the hills out of Wellesley into Weston under sunny skies. Andy was zipping back and forth between the faster riders in the front and slower riders to make sure we didn’t get lost. Soon he was called into action when one member of the group had a flat. The foliage was abundant as we cruised by DeCordova Museum in Lincoln and turned left on Baker Bridge Road past the minimalist Gropius House. At the edge of a vast field, tall maples were ablaze in crimson and orange colors. We turned right past Walden Pond and stopped for a snack at the Old Manse in Concord, best known as the house where Ralph Waldo Emerson wrote the book, “Nature.” We were treated to the history of the house, where Hawthorne also lived, by a docent who worked there as we dined on another spread complements of DuVine that consisted of shrimp, an assortment of local cheeses, freshly made blueberry pie and other goodies. Then we made the return trip back, invigorated by the route, scenery, and conversation. 
 
Lisa and I want to thank Andy, Deena, and Gwen for throwing this together for our clientele, a small taste of what DuVine does on their trips to Tuscany, Bordeaux, Napa, and many other locales. Celebrating their 20th anniversary in 2016, they continue to be one of the best in the business. Just ask the father and son we sent to the French Alps this summer who did stages of the Tour de France before watching the best bikers in the world cycle the exact same route. An exhilarating vacation they won’t soon forget. 
 
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How to Keep Your Money Safe While Traveling Abroad

Writer Carolyn Gatto asked me and other travel experts to offer tips on keeping your cash and credit cards safe while traveling overseas. The result is her latest story for US News & World Report, “20 Ways to Keep Your Money Safe While Traveling.” The article couldn’t have come out at a better time for me, since I’ll be implementing many of these suggestions before I leave for Tanzania on Friday. You’d be wise to do the same before your next trip. 

 
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Bike Denver




Kudos to the Mile High City for implementing the first bike-sharing program in the United States. Comparable to Paris, Amsterdam, and Montreal, you can pick up a shiny new red 3-speed Trek bike at any of the 40 stations around town and drop them off at another station. A 24-hour membership is $5 while a yearly membership will set you back $65. Simply pick up the bike at say the Colorado Convention Center and drop it off near the Denver Art Museum. From the Denver Art Museum, grab another bike and cruise to your hotel. Starting in June, the bikes will be equipped with RFID chips and computers to track mileage, calories burned, and carbon offsets. So you can monitor your fi


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Camel Trekking Across the Moroccan Desert

In the 90s, active travel outfitters like Backroads gained popularity by offering inn-to-inn biking and hiking trips. Other sports like rafting and sea kayaking started to appear in itineraries in the first decade of the new millennium. The latest trend is family adventures, taking the whole clan down to say, Costa Rice for a week and trying as many sports as possible. Also growing in popularity are more historical adventures, like this trip I just received from Baobab Expeditions. From February 20-March 1, 2010, you can join the outfitter on a 50-mile camel trek across the Moroccan desert on an old caravanserai route. The trip begins and ends in Marrakech, before heading out with Berber Guides to the oases of Lawina and Saf’Sef. You’ll sleep under the palms while enjoying traditional Berber food and listening to the music, drums, tambourines and singing of the locals. Then it’s on to Erg Chebbi to see the sand dunes rising to over 500 feet. Pricing begins at $3533 and includes lodging, food, guides, and all the drinking water you can swallow.

 

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