Igor Baccini – ExperiencePlus! Bike Fleet Manager, and Tour Leader:
Such a simple question, so many answers.
It’s banal to say “I bike because I like it” but it’s the first thing that comes up when I think about it and I feel that’s a good reason, probably the best reason to do something!
I started biking when I was a teenager for necessity, I needed to go places (the skate park, a party, friend’s houses, the seaside) and the bike was my only means of transport, proud as I was of doing things without the help of my parents and free of going wherever I wanted. Some of these places happened to be pretty far from home so I realized that the bike is a pretty efficient machine.
I started expanding my horizon and at 16 I biked to the Puglia region in southern Italy with two friends. On this trip we were biking some pretty long distances and I fell in love with bicycle touring. Since then I’ve been traveling by bike in Europe and abroad and enjoyed the quiet and thoughtlessness of touring by bike.
I also take a quick ride when I need some time by myself, or I need to get away from the computer for some time, it’s refreshing and healthy.
It’s “green” and silent.
The bike itself it’s a prodigious invention and I like working on it, enjoy the mechanics and that makes me want to customize it, try different type of bikes….ride more.
There are still 3 spaces left to join Igor and ExperiencePlus! this fall and bicycle the Coast of Sicily Plus! Ancient Mediterranean Cities.
Jonathan Hancock – ExperiencePlus! Tour Leader and Country Coordinator for France:
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The bicycle is one of the most efficient machines that exist. I love getting places on my own steam and enjoy the autonomy that gives me. Although I appreciate the bicycle as a means of transportation I would never have discovered my current passion for cycling without being able to ride regularly out in the countryside. When people talk about freedom and the open road they often see the motorcycle as an icon. Many movies, books, and stories have been created around this image. For me the bicycle not only embodies this freedom, it adds a deeper connection with your surroundings. Instead of being a static, passive spectator my body is in movement and my senses heightened. I can feel my speed and the vibration of the road through the bike. I can smell the air and hear the passing sounds. I can feel the energy it takes me to move from one point to the next. Each new environment unfolds naturally, seamlessly and as I enter each new landscape I feel welcomed, not as an intruder who is disruptive but as an invited guest. This is the unique gift that biking gives me and it’s why I’ll be riding a bike for the rest of my life.
Of course, when I’m out on my bike I’m too busy feeling these sensations to think about all this. It just feels GOOD.
Jonathan will be leading the nearly sold out October 10 – 17, Bicycling through the Best of Provence tour.
Let us know why you bike – Email tours@experienceplus.com.