Touring - 25 best countries in the world for bike touring?

I came across an interesting website put together by an American couple who have toured in 60+ countries around the world. They have compiled a list of what they believe are the 25 best countries for bike touring. They tried to be fairly methodical about it, and have assigned a rating for each of several factors they consider important for bike touring. While I don't always agree with their individual or composite ratings, I think they do a good job at explaining what's generally good or bad about a particular country insofar as bike touring is concerned. It has also further piqued my interest in a couple of countries I was already interested in visiting, as well as made me aware of a couple I hadn't thought about at all. You can find the website at:
http://www.ridetheroad.com/best.aspx

Interesting site. Thanks for posting it.

How could they leave out the United States!!! perposterous!

A lot of the info is probably quite old.
I noticed quite a few major things that are no longer true regarding Norway.

Pizzas, for instance, are incredibly expensive today. You'll find many places where you have to pay up to (the equivalent of) US$15-17 for a normal pizza.
Compared to maybe US$4-7 here in Sweden.

They also said they had to struggle to stay below $100 a day!!! :eek:
Well, if you stay in hotels every night, I suppose it's difficult, but on a self-supported tour, with tents and cooking gear, you could easily tour for less than $15 a day, and that's today, when you get comparatively less for your money than back in the 80s when they were there!

I also found it strange that they didn't include all their toured countries in their list.
Why not just list all 60+ of them?

I would have liked to see their entire 60+ country list, as well, but nonetheless found their website helpful. They do have a fair amount of updated information included in the individual country notes. For example, they describe Sulawesi, Indonesia, as having near-perfect biking. However, they explain that they don't know if they would return today because of a deteriorated security situation on that island. I'm not sure it makes sense to talk about entire countries versus regions. Their notes state that they'd rank Bali & Sulawesi much higher individually, but that Java brings Indonesia's ranking down.

They also have a list of top touring destinations in the US, but they haven't included the details yet. I was quite surprised by their #1 US choice--Death Valley.

Lists like this are going to always be highly personal, but these folks clearly know a thing or two.

Good to see NZ features right up there at No 3.

A lot of the info is probably quite old.
I noticed quite a few major things that are no longer true regarding Norway.

Pizzas, for instance, are incredibly expensive today. You'll find many places where you have to pay up to (the equivalent of) US$15-17 for a normal pizza.
Compared to maybe US$4-7 here in Sweden.

They also said they had to struggle to stay below $100 a day!!! :eek:
Well, if you stay in hotels every night, I suppose it's difficult, but on a self-supported tour, with tents and cooking gear, you could easily tour for less than $15 a day, and that's today, when you get comparatively less for your money than back in the 80s when they were there!

I also found it strange that they didn't include all their toured countries in their list.
Why not just list all 60+ of them?

Wow, the route they rode out of Bergen is right smack where I grew up. I left 13 years ago, but I'd love to go back and tour that route. Staying in motel rooms seems silly. In Norway you can camp on pretty much any public land for free, but if you really don't want to do that, there is a pletfora of camping grounds that offer tiny "cabins" that contain nothing but a bed or two. You need your own bedding (sleeping bag), and you clean the room yourself before you leave.

Food is expensive, especially if you insist on fast food or restaurant meals. Cooking yourself is reasonably affordable.

Are the Norwegians really as unfriendly as they describe them? I have heard quite the opposite.

Are the Norwegians really as unfriendly as they describe them? I have heard quite the opposite.

Unfriendly? That's not how I read their comments. They were actually rather on target, I thought. Norwegians in general are friendly when approached, but probably can probably be seen as somewhat distant and "cold" to some.

When I moved to the US (Houston) from Norway, I was very surprised at how polite and friendly people, including teens, were. You'll never, ever, ever, hear a teenager greet you with anything like "How are you, sir" in Norway..... They'll probably just see right through you, unless you approach them yourself, but if you do, they'll be friendly and helpful enough.

That goes for people here in Sweden as well.

I see two problems with their numerical rating system. The first is that all of their 15 categories are given equal status. While I think they came up with a good overall list of factors, I would contend that some are far more important than others for bike touring ratings. Specifically, "General Safety" and "Weather" strike me as each being worth much more than 1/15 of the overall score. In fact, either can be a deal breaker for me.

Secondly, some of the individual category scores seem simply wrong, and often at odds with their own text descriptions. Takes roads, for example. They rate Thailand & France at an 8 for roads, and Great Britain & NZ at 9. I've biked in all of these countries and France's roads are easily superior to the other three. In France, the roads are consistently smooth, wide, in good repair, superbly graded, and the secondary network of near-empty rural roads is simply the best in the world.

Nevertheless, I really like their site, and their descriptions have added several places to the list of countries I'd like to visit.

axolotl, couldn't it be that much of the info is quite old?
Much could happen in 20 years time...

CdCf, it's possible that age affects some of their findings, but that wouldn't affect the first point I was making. Namely, that some of their 15 categories deserve greater consideration than others. There also seems to be some inconsistency in how different countries are reviewed. Should a country with a couple of superb biking regions and some abysmal regions just average their scores, or should the lousy areas where no sane person would want to tour simply be ignored. I'd suggest the latter.

samundsen
Okay, they said "taciturn" and "We really never connected with anyone during our stay."
So my question is ..how do I meet some locals and get over their inherent "taciturness" or should I go to Ireland where the people are rated 10/10, despite their weird youth hostels.

A lot of the info is probably quite old.
I noticed quite a few major things that are no longer true regarding Norway.

Pizzas, for instance, are incredibly expensive today. You'll find many places where you have to pay up to (the equivalent of) US$15-17 for a normal pizza.
Compared to maybe US$4-7 here in Sweden.

They also said they had to struggle to stay below $100 a day!!! :eek:
Well, if you stay in hotels every night, I suppose it's difficult, but on a self-supported tour, with tents and cooking gear, you could easily tour for less than $15 a day, and that's today, when you get comparatively less for your money than back in the 80s when they were there!

I also found it strange that they didn't include all their toured countries in their list.
Why not just list all 60+ of them?

The info on New Zealand is dated as well.
The traffic has at least doubled in the North Island, so you won't find any of the roads they rode quite or relaxing. Now days if you are on a State highway of any kind be prepared for traffic, tyre noise and vehicles giving you 12 inches clearence. That said there are lovely alternative country roads where you will see one car an hour. Just don't follow Lonley planet or Pedlars Paradise.
Cheers