Meadow near Hamner Springs on New Zealand's south island
Queenstown in the Otago region of New Zealand's south island.
Typical view of countryside in the Otago region.
Lighthouse beach near Haast, New Zealand
Some of the best scenery in Colorado is in the alpine meadows above the tree line. To see much of this country, you need to get off the paved roads and onto the mining roads or trails. This bike tour spent one week riding over some of the highest mining roads and passes in the San Juan Mountains in Southwest Colorado, near Durango.
Mountain wildflowers in Imogene Basin at about 11000 feet elevation
Lago Pehoe and the Hosteria Pehoe
Wild herd of Guanacos (South American Camels)
Torres del Paine National Park, Puerto Natales, Chile
Bernardo O'Higgins National Park, Puerto Natales, Chile
Lago Traful, San Martin de Los Andes, Argentina
La Boca district, Buenos Aires, Argentina
Iguazu Falls on the border between Brazil and Argentina
Moraine Lake near Lake Louise in Alberta, Canada
Col del Angelo in the Italian Alps
Geiranger Fjord, Norway
Andalsnes, Norway
Fjaerland, Norway
Glencoe, Scotland
In January of 2001 I did a bike tour in the Australian state of Tasmania. Tasmania is an island on the southeastern side of the mainland of Australia and is about the size of Ireland. The poplulation is less than 500K for the whole island, so it is a relatively quite place. Unlike much of the rest of Australia, it has a temperate climate with more rain. It is located south of 40 degrees south giving it a climate much like Oregon. The relatively reliable rain makes it a valuable farming area with crops ranging from potatoes and grains to apples and even some cool season grapes like Pinot Noir and Sauvignon Blanc. There is a nice network of paved roadways which carry only light traffic making it nearly ideal for bike touring.
Like most islands, the weather varries from one side to the other. As is true with most temperate climate zones around the globe, the wind and weather systems tend to move from west to east, making the west side of the island the wet side, leaving the east fairly sunny and dry. There are enough mountains to give the place nice variations in climate, but none of the ranges are tall enough to hold year around snow. The higher terrian does receive regular snow in the winter and can even experince some snow in the summer months. There isn't any land mass south of Tasmania until you get to Antarctica, so weather systems can hit the island that lower the temperatures rapidly. Most of the time the weather is pleasant during the summer months of December, January and February.
My bike tour was a ride around the island, starting and ending in Hobart which is along the southern coast. I rode counter clockwise around the island heading up the east coast and returning through the beautiful and wild rainforests of the western side. There are a number of national parks which contain world class wilderness areas and strange wildlife like Wombats, Tasmanian Devils, Platypus and Echidnas. The plants are equally strange and wonderful.
Wineglass Bay, Freycinet National Park, Tasmania, Australia
Freycinet National Park is on the east coast of Tasmania. The park is located
on a penisula that extends out into the Tasman Sea. Wineglass Bay is a white
sand beach more than a mile long on the eastern side facing out towards the
Tasman Sea. The beach is located in the heart of the National Park and is
only reached by boat or hike of more than 1 hour. This helps keep it
almost deserted. The few people who are there spread out over the huge
expanse of sand and you end up having the place almost to yourself.
In July of 2002, the Santa Rosa Cycling Club went on a group tour of the Northern Sierra Neava Mountains in California. The Northern Peaks Tour was one week long and traveled from near Burney Falls in the North to Carson Pass in the South.
View from top of Carson Pass
The pictures with the dark blue borders can be double clicked to open a larger view.