Cycle Island

When Lonely Planet recognised the Isle of Wight as number one in the world for cycling it was some accolade, but one which is well deserved: “The Isle of Wight is a cycling paradise that is home to some of the UK’s most varied terrain: lush velvet hills rolling into the sea, narrow lanes through tidy hedgerows, deep and mysterious green gullies, and the island’s most striking feature, the ridge of white chalk cliffs stretching across its breadth.” There are more than 500 miles of bridleways and cycle paths to enjoy as well as many hundreds more of quiet lanes, so the Isle of Wight is  year-round cycling haven. There are also plenty of businesses on the isle of Wight that will help you to enjoy your cycling by hiring you a bike, providing some free maps and inspiration or juts welcoming you and your bike to sit and enjoy some well earned rest and a cup of tea.

 Miles and miles of lanes with very few cars

Cycling weekly know a bit about bikes and it recently published an article called “Eight reasons why cycling on the Isle of Wight is simply brilliant”. here’s a small excerpt: “If you’ve ever got stuck in a traffic jam on Putney High Street en route to Richmond Park or found yourself dreaming of reaching the Dales whilst stuck in the labyrinth of a one-way system in Leeds then you’ll definitely appreciate the lanes of the Isle of Wight.”

Cycle Hire

There are plenty of  opportunities t hire bicycles on the Isle of Wight. here are just a few to choose from:

Red Squirrel Electric Bikes (Newport)

Wight Cycle Hire (Yarmouth)

TAV Cycles (Ryde)

Top Gear (Cowes)

Route Fifty7 (Shanklin)

Maps and advice and cycling inspiration

There’s also plenty of free advice and information about where you can enjoy your cycling with recommendation for circulate tours, long trails or shorter family-orientated routes. Try some of these links:

Isle of Wight Taste Trail

Wightlink Cycle Trails

Red Funnel Cycle Trails

Cycle Route

Thanks to Visit Isle of Wight for the header image that shows cyclists heading down into Freshwater bay on the Military Road which runs along the Island’s west coast.