Top Ten Epic Bike Rides

Looking back at Spain's Costa Brava (ALZ)

Comment On This Article

Add to My Favorites

As the word "Mediterranean" suggests, the people of this inner sea saw themselves as living at the center ("medi") of the world ("terra"). And not without reason. This simple tideless sea that links three continents has seen everything: the rise and fall of civilizations; the making and breaking of religions; the creation and decline of cities; the learning and loss of alphabets, of culture, of lifestyles; and an ongoing history of political turmoil. What could be more magical than a full circumnavigation of this source of Western culture? A cycle east along the Spanish coast and southern France to Italy, into eastern Europe and Asia Minor in the footsteps of the Crusaders and eastern Silk Road traders, south through the Middle East where Alexander the Great galloped as far as Egypt, and then west across North Africa following the path of the spread of Islam, this is a trip with history past, present, and future. And, as always, done at a pedaler's pace and with an eye open toward human interaction that brings it all home with oomph.