An insurance company called Luko has looked at the most bike-friendly cities in the world, and Europe came out smelling like a rose. Nine of the top ten bike-friendly cities were in Europe, led by Utrecht, Holland. North American cities fared poorly, with Montreal the only entry in the top 20 (16th overall). Vancouver came 37th, while San Francisco was the top U.S. city in 39th position. Portland, Oregon was 41st and Seattle 50th. Cities were ranked on a variety of issues, including bike accident rates, theft rates, weather, bike usage and infrastructure. Holland had two cities in the top Read more
bikes
AMSTERDAM – Sometimes it’s good to listen to the tourism folks. Okay, it’s almost ALWAYS good to listen to the tourism folks. In this case, I have to give credit to the lovely Henny Groenendijk, who represents Visit Holland . I’d been promising to go for years, but somehow never got around to it. This time, I made Holland the focus of my trip to Europe. I’ve written in the past few days about surprising Rotterdam and about my great bike ride in Holland. But I want to give Henny a special shout-out for booking me a room at the Read more
BERMUDA – You probably know about the golf. But there’s lots more to do on this beautiful island, where the weather is about to get close to perfect. Here are a few. SLEEPING Southampton has some wonderful properties, including the Fairmont Southampton, a pink beauty on a hill overlooking the south shore. There’s a great beach and it’s adjacent to marvelous Horseshoe Bay. Rooms in October from about $330. I stayed at a casual but adorable spot in the village of St. George’s called the Crooked Elbow, close to a couple of very nice beaches and only a short walk Read more