The Six Essential Rules of Holiday Cycling.

As travellers who cycle or cyclists who travel, I am really not sure which, I have drawn up the following guide to help anyone contemplating a cycling holiday. First, I need to explain that David and I are in our autumn years. We are not especially athletic or fit. We cycle for pleasure and because cycling is a great way to appreciate any travel destination. The fact that we often return from travel fitter and trimmer than when we depart is an added benefit. We don't cycle on busy roads, nor do we cycle long distances, or up and down hills if we can possibly avoid it, and we always have a car with us as well as our bikes. If cycling is the new golf, we are definitely at the amateur end of the spectrum.

Alaska - Wrangell, Petersburg and the Wrangell Narrows

Travel Photo Tuesday

The Wrangell Narrows are a 22 mile stretch of water between Wrangell and Petersburg in south-east Alaska. Navigating the narrows has been likened to playing nautical ping pong with a twist of Russian Roulette. Each turn of the ship must be lined up precisely with one of 60 navigational lights and buoys and the history of the narrows is littered with stories of vessels which failed to make it through.

Most cruise ships are too large for the passage and must head out to deeper water, missing the most exciting part of our journey on the Alaska Marine Highway.

Murray to Mountains Rail Trail - Australia's Premier Rail Trail

Location - North-east Victoria. From Bright to Wangaratta and Milawa
Side Trails - Everton Station to Beechworth (16km one way) and Bright to Wandiligong (11 kms one way)
Ride - The Murray to Mountains Rail Trail
Distance - More than 100 km (one way)
Terrain - Sealed and separate from the road for the whole way
Difficulty - Easy
Highlights - Cycling past the gardens in and around Bright.
Website and map - Click here
My tip - Visit in Spring, during the Bright Spring Festival and combine your cycling with visits to some of the beautiful open gardens.

Ketchikan, Alaska

Travel Photo Tuesday

Ketchikan, the southeasternmost city in Alaska is likely to be the first Alaskan port you will call into if you take an Alaskan Cruise or, as we did, drive the Alaska Marine Highway. Like so much of south-eastern Alaska, Ketchikan is not accessible by road. It has a population of 9,000 but if you expect to find the 'real Alaska' here, whatever that is, you will be disappointed.

Ketchikan has embraced tourism in the way that Walt Disney embraced entertainment, with loads of razzle-dazzle. That is not to say you won't have a ball in Ketchikan as long as you know what you are in for and enjoy the show.  If you do visit Ketchikan, don't say you weren't warned. Oh, and remember to take a raincoat - we got lucky and had a beautiful sunny day but Ketchikan is known for its high rainfall (150" a year).

Alaskan Cruises - Do Australians pay more than Americans?

Open the travel section of any weekend newspaper in Australia and you might be forgiven for thinking that Alaska is the only travel destination on earth. Page after page, story after story, advertisement after advertisement - it is all about Alaskan tours and cruises.  I appreciate that travel is our 'national hobby' but it seems you can't call yourself a true Australian until you have been on a cruise to America's 49th state. After Americans and Canadians, Australians make up the largest tourism group by nationality in Alaska - quite an impressive statistic for a country with only 24 million people.

The East Gippsland Rail Trail

Location -  Bairnsdale to Orbost, East Gippsland, Victoria, Australia
Distance - 95.5 km (one way)
Terrain - Sealed between Bairnsdale and Nicholson then gravel and compacted earth to Orbost.
Difficulty - Easy to moderate.
Highlights - The views across undulating farmland along the Nicholson to Bruthen section.
Website - East Gippsland Rail Trail

The Truth about the Icefields Parkway

The Icefields Parkway in Alberta, Canada must be one of the most blogged about destinations in Nth America, if not the world. When I was researching our recent trip it seemed like every second Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and blog post I came across was about the parkway. There is a reason for this - the scenery is stunning, it is a great place for wildlife spotting, it is easy to get to and almost everything can be seen right beside the roadway. It is hard to imagine anywhere in the world where there are so many glaciers, alpine lakes and spectacular views so easily accessible.

The Fernleigh Track Rail Trail

Location - Newcastle, Australia
Ride - The Fernleigh Track Rail Trail.
Distance - 30 km (return).
Terrain - Sealed for the full distance.
Difficulty - Easy - a perfect family cycle. The track slopes gently uphill from both ends with the high point at Whitebridge.
Highlights - Hearing the bell-birds sing.
Website and map - Click here.

Cycling in Canberra: Lake Burley Griffin Circuit

Location - Canberra, Australia
Distance - 32 km or three separate rides of 5km, 11km and 16km
Terrain - Flat and sealed the entire way.
Difficulty - Really easy - this is a great family ride.
Highlights - Lake Burley Griffin and all the iconic public buildings on its shores.
Map and Info - For a 'Lake Cycling Loops' map and info click here. 

Helicopter Flightseeing - Sydney, Australia

There are some things you have to do just once in a lifetime. Helicopter flightseeing above Sydney Harbour has been top of my wishlist for quite a while and a few days ago I got the chance to tick it off. Thanks to Adrenalin, David and I took a half-hour private helicopter tour over Sydney with Helicopter Transport and Training (HTT). Did the tour live up to our expectations? Yes!! - and exceeded them, by about 1000%. The only problem is, I want to do it again, and again and again. I think I'm hooked.