People looked at me as if I’d lost the plot when I said I was travelling through Jordan on a bike. “That doesn’t sound like much fun,” was the stock standard response.

People looked at me as if I’d lost the plot when I said I was travelling through Jordan on a bike. “That doesn’t sound like much fun,” was the stock standard response.
The Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia is topping the pols as Europe’s rising star in adventure travel. On a mountain biking and foodie trip there, I discovered its special kind of magic.
“There are only two directions in Tuscany – up and down,” laughs local mountain bike guide Bruno Baldini.Bruno is giving me the heads up on Italy’s longest signposted cycling trail, The Via Francigena – a common Italian name of the ancient pilgrim route, which starts in Canterbury and (like all roads) leads to Rome.
Never in 16 years operating here have I seen the snow so low down and so deep at this time of the year,” explained Alps guide Jamie Carr. We’ll have to adjust the route.”