The top 10 list

Best and worst things in the world

Here is my ever-changing, ever-incomplete, subjective, very biased and slightly inappropriate, but hopefully in a fun way, top 10 list of the best and worst the world has to offer as seen from the seat of a bicycle.

Top 10 List of the best bike rides in the world

  • Pacific Coast from Vancouver to San Diego
  • Avenue of the Giants. California, USA.
  • The Friendship Highway. Tibet.
  • The Outer Banks, North Carolina.
  • Land’s End to John o’Groats. Great Britain.
  • Almost any bike trail in Europe.
  • Iron Mountain Highway. U.S. Route 16A. Black Hills, South Dakota.
  • The Great Ocean Road. Australia.
  • Ocean Road and Cape Point. South Africa.
  • South Island, New Zealand
  • Mikumi National Park, Tanzania (You can’t beat riding a bicycle next to wild elephants)
  • RAGBRAI (organized ride across Iowa, a circus on wheels)

Here is a list of another 159 must-see destinations compiled by world cyclists.

Top 10 List of the worst things about riding a bicycle

  • Cars
  • Cars
  • And more cars.
  • Pollution
  • Headwinds
  • Saddle sores
  • Sunburn
  • Malnutrition. (Eating more calories isn’t good enough.)
  • Rain
  • Endless hills

BEST COUNTRIES

  • South Africa
  • Ireland
  • Greece
  • USA
  • Mexico
  • Thailand
  • New Zealand
  • Kenya
  • Lesotho
  • Argentina
  • India

WORST COUNTRIES (at the time for bicycling)

  • India (India wins the award for the most paradoxical country and so gets the best and worst awards in the same categories.)
  • Zimbabwe
  • Egypt
  • North Vietnam
  • El Salvador

CITIES

  • San Francisco
  • Cape Town
  • Istanbul
  • Buenos Aires
  • London
  • Bangkok
  • Melbourne
  • Hanoi

BEST FOOD

  • Braais (South African barbecues)
  • Asados (Argentinian barbecues)
  • American food (of course)
  • Saltenas (Bolivian Cornish pasties)
  • Falafel sandwich (Egypt)
  • Thai food
  • India. Best aroma.
  • Rice and beans and Mexican food in general

WORST FOOD

  • And the award goes to Zimbabwe because there was no food.
  • Beef soup (East Africa. Here’s the popular recipe: Hack up ca ow with a machete. Boil in water. Add a cup of salt.)
  • Mealy Maize (East Africa)
  • Beans on toast (England)
  • Rice and beans (Nepal) (Due to an economic crisis, there was hardly any food.)
  • India (can be very dirty with few ingredients and lots of flies)
  • Ecuador salmonella sandwich
  • Intestine and tripe soup (Tanzania)
  • Chicken fetus (Vietnam)
  • Fried cockroaches and grasshoppers (Thailand)
  • Flies (Australia)

ARCHITECTURE

  • The Millennium Wheel and the Parliament Building (London)
  • The Great Pyramids of Giza (Egypt)
  • Machu Picchu (Peru)
  • The cathedrals and castles of Europe
  • New York City
  • Golden Gate Bridge, San Francisco

NATURAL WONDERS

  • Yellowstone National Park (Wyoming, USA)
  • Yosemite National Park (California, USA)
  • Redwood Forests (California, USA
  • Sedona (Arizona, USA)
  • Grand Canyon (Arizona, USA)
  • Table Mountain (South Africa)
  • Salar de Uyuni (Bolivia)
  • Victoria Falls (Zimbabwe)
  • Sani Pass (Lesotho)
  • Franz Josef Glacier (New Zealand)
  • Uluru (Ayers Rock, Australia)
  • The cacti forests of Baja California (Mexico)
  • The fynbos plant kingdom (South Africa)
  • Mount Everest (Nepal, Tibet)

And because you keep asking… BEAUTIFUL WOMEN

  • Mexico
  • USA (there’s no place like home)
  • Argentina
  • Czech Republic (also wins the award for men who apparently don’t need to try to look good to attract a beautiful woman)
  • Thailand
  • Vietnam
  • South Africa
  • France
  • Holland
  • Italy
  • Scandinavia
  • Every country in part

And to be fair… HANDSOME MEN

  • USA (me in particular ;)
  • Kenya
  • Italy
  • Australia
  • Argentina
  • Every country in part
Falling Uphill Anniversary Edition: One man's quest for happiness around the world on a bicycle. By Scott Stoll.

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Scott Stoll

My claim to fame is that I rode a bicycle around the world and wrote some books. More about me.

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