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Smile, you’re on a bike

smile-youre-on-a-bike2Just as Dubliners and its visitors are now discovering, with the arrival of Dublin Bikes, cycling definitely makes us smile. Is it that ‘get back in touch with nature’ vibe (albeit not really a feature of Dublin), feeling like a child again, or just slowing down to take in the world, that makes us feel good about ourselves? If you are enjoying the new Dublin Bike scheme, then start thinking further afield.  Cycling holidays are about as green as it gets, not only by their carbon neutrality, but because bikes often take you to places you wouldn’t otherwise explore, bringing much needed tourist income to those areas.

 

I am not talking yellow jersey 200k a day cycling holidays either. You can find those in any cycling magazine. But the sort of cycling holidays where you just pack a couple of panniers, put your bike on a boat or train, get off at the other end, and discover the powerful peace to be found in pedalling your way into unknown territory.

My most recent experience of this was in Scotland, (as featured in The Irish Times, 16.05.09), when I travelled with Scottish cycle holiday company, Velodays (www.velodays.com) and spent an amazing few days exploring Perthshire.  I was met off the train with a Veldodays bike and GPS, transferred backpack to panniers, and took on 50k-ish a day adventure, full of the highs only the Highlands can provide.

 

If you want to treat yourself to a bracing break in the saddle before the clocks change another option is to put your bike on the Rosslare ferry and head for Fishguard, which is the start of Wales’ Celtic (West) Cycling Trail (see www.sustrans.org.uk for maps). A great eco-location to stay is Preseli Venture Eco Lodge, located 10k from Fishguard, with pickups arranged if necessary. You could just stay there, but as they are activity specialists, you could get your bikes there and combine cycling with coasteering, for example, for really getting down, dirty and drenched (www.preseliventure.co.uk).

 

Closer to home, if you haven’t discovered Strangford Lough in County Down yet, then get those panniers packed. The Strangford Lough Trail leads you around the back roads of this exquisitely tranquil, and utterly underrated part of Northern Ireland. Starting in Comber, County Down, the trail (132kms circular) is made even more accessible now by the Comber Greenway, an 11kms cycle track along a disused railway, from Belfast city centre to Comber. Spend a weekend doing this trail to really enjoy the Loughscape – I recommend one night at top notch eco-B&B Anna’s House (www.annashouse.com), just outside Comber, with the best breakfast ever to put you on the road (the only danger is you might not want to leave), and the second at the Portaferry Hotel (www.portaferryhotel.com), a family-run institution right on the Lough’s shores, where you can see the eponymous ferry arrive to take you across the Lough for more exploring. See www.cycleni.com and order their excellent book on all NI cycling routes.

 

For the more adventurous, put your bike on the ferry at Rosslare (Irish Ferries carry bikes, €5 each way), and head to Cherbourg. One hitch is that you can’t put your bike on the Rosslare train at the moment. Go figure. So try Bus Eireann instead, who, depending on space, will stick it in the boot for €11. It’s a great buzz cycling down the ramp ahead of all the cars, navigating your way through Cherbourg, and onto the Cherbourg Cycling Trail, or La Manche à Vélo – 230kms of off-road cycle trails (Voies Vertes) on disused railways or towpaths, 35 cycle loops, each around 20kms long. The first Voie Verte starts at Rocheville, 20kms outside Cherbourg. For details see www.mancherandonnee.com, but there is also great English language info on this trail on www.brittany-ferries.co.uk website, (but note that they do not actually sail from Ireland to Cherbourg, only to Roscoff in Brittany).

 

The list of Euro-cycling opportunities is endless, and I confess I have a bit of a habit of collecting cycle maps just to escape in my dreams, if not always from my desk. If you want to do the same, a great starting point is Eurovelo, the European Cycle Network. You can get more info on their work at www.ecf.com, but their website is a bit heavy going, so I recommend buying their maps from UK’s cycling organisation, www.sustrans.org and start planning your next expedition.

 

 

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Don’t be a stranger with Tripbod

tripbod-for-blog-2_optI headed to Paris for a three year stint in the early eighties, knowing noone and feeling very much the stranger in town. Someone recommended that I post an ad for digs at The American church there, as that is where most English-speaking expats congregated to exchange information. It worked – I found a flat, some cool flatmates, a bike, a futon, and a few party invites to boot. Social rather than spiritual guidance, it has to be said.

Times have changed, however, and as my travels take me further afield I, like many others, use the internet as my starting point for international guidance. And Tripbod (www.tripbod.com) is my newly chosen, and invaluable, first port of call, when heading off to new frontiers.

Tripbod, is a web-based service, where independent travellers register, so that they can be introduced online to a vetted local expert who will offer real insight to their home country, as well as inspiration to discover an authentic rather than tourist-driven destination. These experts, or Tripbods, equip visitors with the most up to date information and on-the-spot knowledge, for a nominal fee ranging from £10.99-£150 sterling (the company is based in UK). The basic package, called Trip Planner Light, allows you to ask your Tripbod five questions, and receive advice and recommendations along with a Google map of recommended places to visit or stay. The full Tripbod package provides a private online space for real time communication between the traveller and Tripbod, starting from £35 sterling, and going up in price, depending on the period of time you want to maintain contact with your Tripbod. So, if you are planning a six month trip to Australia, for example, you might want to invest in a longer period of time, during which you can pick your Tripbod’s brains. Whatever the length of time, you’ll have all the travel tips you could hope for, through a variety of live chat and messaging, an online planning page, and maps.
Sally Broom, the founder of Tripbod, is one of the most dynamic, passionate and committed proponents of responsible tourism I have met. She has organised international conferences on responsible tourism, created an inspiring network of businesses working in this field, and has rightly gained high praise from Rough Guides this year for Tripbod’s contribution to ethical travel.
Sally chooses her friends carefully, with each Tripbod going through a unique and thorough vetting process which ensures that they really are the best, trusted, local travel experts. Tripbods can be found in thirty countries at the moment. They range in age and profession such as Albert, the son of a Tenerifian farmer, who is keen to show visitors the island he grew up on and loves, hidden well behind the bars and binge drinkers; Allan, in Mexico, an ecotourism consultant for Mexican nature tourism businesses, or Lee from Laos who, between working as a tourism consultant and Tripbod, has won ten international caps playing rugby for Laos.

There is, however, one gaping hole in Tripbod’s service, and that is in Ireland. The search is on for a new Irish Tripbod, someone who is committed to a responsible form of travel, and knows how to guide a visitor well beyond the Book of Kells and the Blarney Stone. Anyone interested should contact Tripbod via their website.

Meanwhile, back in Paris, there is something comforting about the fact that The American Church is still going strong and, not to be left behind, also has a website (www.acparis.org). It describes itself as A Beacon on The Seine, and way back in my youth it certainly helped me find my way. Tripbod is, however, shining its light across many continents now, sharing information, goodwill, and a much needed first point of contact for people who are going to be new in town. So there really is no need to feel like a stranger any more.

For more information see www.tripbod.com
(This article was first published in The Irish Times, 19 September 2009)

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Dublin’s new bike rental scheme launches this week

logo_db_visuel_cityDublin is getting greener, with the launch of its new city-wide bike rental scheme 13 August 2009. Dublin Bikes, or DB’s, are particularly aimed at the city’s gas guzzling commuters, who have brought Dublin’s streets to a virtual standstill. There will now be 450 bikes available at 40 locations around the city, which will be free to rent for the first half hour, and then minimal charge after that. You can collect and deposit your bike at any station of your choice, and with no more than 400 metres between stations, you won’t be stuck for choice. Visitors to the city are welcome to use the bikes too, of course. All you need to do is register to use the system (you have to pay a deposit in order to get your access PIN for bike usage) at www.dublinbikes.ie and join Dubliners on the banks of the River Liffey, down to the shores of DublinBay, and along the city’s canal. This is another great eco-initiative in Ireland, with Dublin joining the cities of Paris, Lyon, Vienna and Montreal in providing cheap, accessible bikes for residents and visitors.

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Paddle for the planet

If you are refusing to hang up your wetsuit for another year, and squeeze just one more weekend of frivolity out of these rapidly shortening days, Lough Erne in Fermanagh is calling. Regular readers will know that I am a Fermanaghphile. The cluster of exemplary responsible tourism businesses in this area is inspiring, to say the least. At their core is The Share Holiday Village in Lisnaskea, Ireland’s largest residential adventure centre, and host of the second annual Erne Canoe Rally, 26 and 27 September.

 

This year it aims to spread the word through the most peaceful of watersports, canoeing, that we all need to act against global warming. No better place than Share Holiday Village to promote this message. The first thing you see on arrival is their impressive array of three giant windmills, towering over Upper Lough Erne, where Share nestles into the shoreline. The wind turbines supply electricity to the holiday village, but even more impressive, are the three wood pellet boilers which heat the chalets, swimming pool and arts arena. Combined with the reed bed system and four solar water heating systems, it is not surprising that Share is often the focus of educational visits. Like the Erne Canoe Rally against global warming, its general ethos is to ‘share’ their green message in a fun, inspiring and accessible way. By joining hundreds of other canoeists in school, work, friends or family teams, you too can help spread the green word, and have a great weekend away at the same time.

 

Not surprisingly of Share, this rally is a not-for-profit, canoeing/kayaking event open to all abilities, most ages (minimum age 8), and income groups. The idea is that paddlers must choose and compete in the same boat across all disciplines, which include a long-distance paddle, slalom, sprint and obstacle race. There is even a competitive fancy dress element in the theme of ‘Comic Book Characters’. Teams must comprise of three members, three kayaks or one open canoe and two kayaks. Open canoes must have two team members in each boat and individuals can compete on their own or as part of a team.

 

This weekend is a bargain, with Share offering participants camping facilities, an evening meal, rescue cover, changing facilities, event entry, prizes and party for £35 sterling per adult and £20 for Under 18’s, students and the unemployed. You will need to bring your own camping gear, safety equipment such as helmets and buoyancy aids, and canoes or kayaks if possible, or groups can book one of their chalets.  There is a limited number of canoes available to hire, reserved on a first come first served basis, but best to bring your own. For more details see www.sharevillage.org, or give them a ring as soon as possible on 44-(0)-28 6772 2122. There will also be a number of activities available for visitors who want to stay dry and just cheer from the shoreline, including Leave No Trace environmental awareness sessions, renewable energy demonstrations and introductory bushcraft skills on Share’s own island of Trannish.

 

If you want to get away from the canoeing crowds at night, you could register for the event, but stay at one of my other favourite Fermanagh hideouts which also offer canoes to visitors, such as at the tipi on Orchard Acre Farm at Irvinestown, (www.orchardacrefarm.com), or at one of the holiday cottages at Corralea Activity Centre on nearby Lough Macnean in Belcoo, County Fermanagh (www.activityireland.com). They don’t have canoes, but they do have a shore, so you could put your own boat straight into the water at Little Crom Cottages, located on the shores of Upper Lough Erne at Newtownbutler, www.littlecromcottages.com), or at Rushin Caravan Park at nearby Lough Macnean, which links into the Erne Canoe Trail via the faster flowing River Arney (a Grade 1 Canoe Trail). You could also hire a canoe from my favourite Fermanagh farmer, turned ecotourism manager,  Paddy Jones who runs Boho Eco Hire, at Boho, County Fermanagh (Tel: 00-44- (0)7525-163213). Like I said you are spoilt for choice in this Northwest haven, and if you aren’t a ‘Fermanaghphile’ already, you are guaranteed to come back from this weekend a fervent fan. For more information on canoeing in Fermanagh and its award-winning Lough Erne Canoe Trail, see www.canoeni.com.