Provided that you take the right precautions for your clothing, your food and your tyres, you can still go cycling during Winter, when the days get colder and shorter and the roads more slippery and challenging. However, some people tire of going out for a ride when temperatures are low, or simply wish to enjoy cycle outings in fine weather. For this type of cyclist or bicycle lover, the solution is to pack up your bicycle (or to rent one locally) and take a trip to milder and more welcoming destinations during the Northern Hemisphere Winter. There are many of them, all enchanting and entertaining, to be discovered during a cycle ride.
The Canary Islands
The Mecca for Winter cyclists: many of the World Tour teams take a break every year in this archipelago, which is ideal not just in view of its temperature, but also because of its perfect natural surroundings for the first warm-ups of the season and the altitude profiles of the islands. From the 3,750 metres of the Teide volcano, the highest peak in Spain (it is on Tenerife), set in a national park packed with routes which you can climb on a bike, to the nearly 2,000m of the Pico de Las Nieves on Gran Canaria, which cannot match the heights of the summits on Tenerife but whose average altitude makes it the most mountainous of the Canaries, there are roads suitable for all levels. Reachable by air from almost all the cities of Europe, if necessary via a stop-off in continental Spain, the islands offer the additional possibility of a swim in the Ocean at the end of your cycle ride.
Bali
Better known for its beaches, surfing and trekking, this marvellous Indonesian island can also be explored on a bicycle, especially on a mountain bike. The temperatures are always pleasant there and you can climb up the slopes of its volcanoes or simply ride around its valleys between its temples and paddy fields. It is best to avoid the month of December, when the island is crowded with tourists, and to choose January or February instead.
Australia
Changing hemisphere is not the simplest solution either logistically or financially, but an immediate means of going from Winter to Summer. Australia, with its wide open spaces and wild nature, has a vast array of itineraries not just for racing bikes but above all for gravel and mountain bikes. You can cycle from the iconic Bondi Beach (in Sydney) to the over 2,000 metre-high Mount Kosciuszko, a journey of around 650 kilometres, or else ride, including via e-bike, along the Victorian Alps Cycle Trail, which is 425 kilometres long and includes a climb of over 6,000 metres. You just need to pay attention to the temperatures, which in certain areas can become too hot in Summer. A slightly less mainstream alternative but an equally valid one, chosen also by various professionals, is the neighbouring New Zealand.
Mount Etna
The most fearless among you can attempt to climb the highest and most extensive active volcano in Europe, as well as one which is among the most enchanting. On the site of the Mount Etna cycle park you can check out the characteristics of the six itineraries, all of them relatively challenging, which take you up to the maximum altitude of 1,900 metres. The temperatures at altitude in Winter can be rather low, but on a fine day you can cycle contentedly, immersed in an almost lunar landscape, on roads which have on several occasions also been chosen for the Giro d'Italia (or Tour of Italy). In general, whether for its temperatures, its landscapes or its welcome, the whole of Sicily is a destination worthy of consideration for a Winter cycling trip.
The Carretera Austral
More than just a cycle ride, the Carretera Austral is an inner voyage, a marvellous journey at the edge of our own limits and of the world. It unfurls for 1,200 kilometres along the whole of Chile, reaching its destination in Argentina, in Patagonia, at the southernmost tip. It is a challenging itinerary because it is very long, often on dirt tracks, and windswept; to do it all you need between 10 and 20 days; there are ferry crossings involved and logistical difficulties to be considered, but it rewards you with landscapes and emotions which are almost unparalleled.
