騎車漫游

A casual bike ride can show you sides of a city not seen on foot and can transport you to distant attractions in no time. But not all bike lanes are created equal. Here are some cities that are particularly hospitable to two-wheeled tours.

一次放松的自行車騎行能讓你領(lǐng)略一個城市在你步行時見不到的很多方面，還能快捷地把你帶到遠(yuǎn)處的景點(diǎn)。不過，不是所有的自行車車道生來皆平等。以下是尤其適宜用這種兩輪工具來觀光的幾個城市。

Amsterdam

Amsterdam is bike-friendly to a fault1）. With more bikes than people， the city is structured with cyclists in mind. Low speed limits in the centre restrain the impact of the four-wheeled menace2）， while bike racks3） on public transport make it easy to take a load off if the saddle gets to be too much. Rental shops are ubiquitous4）， the terrain5） is famously flat， and an online bike-specific route planner makes it especially easy for non-locals to get around. Further afield6）， a countryside of tulip fields and windmills lies within a 30-minute ride from the city centre. It's no wonder almost half of Amsterdammers commute7） on two wheels.

Copenhagen

Not riding a bike in Copenhagen is like not riding the trains in India—you're missing out on a quintessential8） part of the experience. It's just a nice bonus that riding a bike is the most convenient way to wander around Copenhagen's best attractions. Bike lanes abound， as do bike lane-specific traffic signaling. Though Copenhagen's famous free city bike share closed down， a new system is expected soon. The new \"gobike\" system should prove to be even better than before， promising to incorporate tablet PC's into the bikes for a 21st century spin on 19th century technology.

Montreal

If there's one city in North America pre-built for bicycles， it's Montreal. However， it's only been in the past decade that the city has exploited its compact size for the benefit of the cyclist， installing hundreds of kilometers of bike lanes around the city， many separated from traffic. Coupled with a thriving bike culture and scenic routes around and to its most famous parks， the city makes hopping on a bike an easy decision. And Montreal is home to Bixi， the public bike share company that has exported its bike share system technology around the world， from Melbourne to Minneapolis.

阿姆斯特丹

阿姆斯特丹對自行車青睞得無以復(fù)加。由于自行車比人還多，該市在規(guī)劃時考慮到了那些騎自行車的人。市中心的低速限制讓煩人的四輪車輛無法帶來太大的影響，而各類公共交通工具上都安裝有自行車停放架，十分方便騎車人騎累時搭乘公交休息一下。在這個城市，自行車租賃店無處不在，地形出了名的平坦，網(wǎng)上還有專為自行車出行定制路線的在線工具，特別方便來此的外地游客地四處游玩。更遠(yuǎn)一點(diǎn)的地方像擁有郁金香園和風(fēng)車的鄉(xiāng)村也只需從市中心騎行不到30分鐘便可到達(dá)。難怪差不多有一半的阿姆斯特丹人都騎著自行車上下班。

哥本哈根

在哥本哈根沒騎自行車就如同在印度沒乘火車一樣，意味著你會錯過這場旅行的精華部分。去哥本哈根最有名的旅游勝地游玩，騎自行車是最便利的方式，這也算是一個不錯的額外收獲。這里自行車車道縱橫，自行車車道專用交通信號燈也比比皆是。盡管哥本哈根聞名的市內(nèi)免費(fèi)都市自行車租賃系統(tǒng)關(guān)閉了，但一個新的系統(tǒng)預(yù)計不久就會開放。全新的“自行車騎行”系統(tǒng)將證明比之前的系統(tǒng)更加完善，其自行車上有望安裝平板電腦，讓人們乘著19世紀(jì)的發(fā)明來一個21世紀(jì)的兜風(fēng)。

蒙特利爾

假使北美洲有座城市是預(yù)先為自行車建造的，那它就是蒙特利爾了。不過，也只是在過去的十年，這座城市才利用其緊密的結(jié)構(gòu)特征為騎自行車的人謀了點(diǎn)福利，在全市建造了一些數(shù)百公里長的自行車車道，其中很多還與機(jī)動車道分隔。這座城市不僅有繁榮的自行車文化，還有環(huán)繞和通往其最負(fù)盛名的那些公園的觀光路線，使得跳上自行車出行成為一個很容易做的決定。而且蒙特利爾還是“必可喜（Bixi）”公司的所在地，該公共自行車租賃公司已經(jīng)將其自行車租賃系統(tǒng)技術(shù)輸往全球，從墨爾本到明尼阿波利斯都引進(jìn)了該項(xiàng)技術(shù)。

Berlin

With over 1000 kilometers of bike paths， the vast majority of which are protected lanes separated from traffic， it's no wonder that Berliners love to get around by bike. For the traveler， the major sights are within easy reach on a bicycle. Berlin's Call a Bike sharing system takes bike rentals into unique territory， allowing you to simply lock the bike to any fixed object and call in a code to \"return\" it. For a true taste of the Berlin bike lifestyle， it's best to take in a sunny afternoon at the vacant Tempelhof airport， where locals cycle up and down the abandoned runways.

柏林

柏林有1000公里以上的自行車車道，且這些車道中的絕大多數(shù)都是與機(jī)動車道隔開的受保護(hù)區(qū)域，難怪柏林人都愛騎自行車四處轉(zhuǎn)悠。對于游客來說，騎自行車就能輕松抵達(dá)柏林的那些主要景點(diǎn)。柏林的“叫輛自行車（Call a Bike）”租賃系統(tǒng)將自行車出租帶入了一個獨(dú)一無二的領(lǐng)域，它允許你隨意將車子鎖在任何一個固定物體上，然后打個電話，將（車子鎖上后自動生成的）還車密碼告知租賃中心即可“還”車。要在柏林體驗(yàn)真正的自行車生活方式，最好在一個陽光明媚的午后去廢棄的滕佩爾霍夫機(jī)場，當(dāng)?shù)鼐用駮谀抢锏膹U棄跑道上騎來騎去。

Barcelona

Cycling has been a part of Barcelona's infrastructure9） for ages. Any visit to tourist districts of the city will uncover a dozen or more bike tour operators competing for his business. Of course， this enthusiasm for cycling implies that it's just as easy to tour the sights of the city on your own. In a few hours of riding you can see the iconic Gaudi sculptures in Parc Guell， the Sagrada Familia， the massive Nou Camp soccer stadium and the famous cityside sand of Barcelona beach. The city's protected cycle lanes and well-signed navigational aids will ensure that you won't get lost.

巴塞羅那

騎自行車出行作為巴塞羅那基礎(chǔ)設(shè)施的一部分已經(jīng)有很長時間了。到該市旅游區(qū)隨意一游，你都會發(fā)現(xiàn)有十多個或更多的自行車旅行社在互相搶生意。當(dāng)然，這種對騎自行車出行的熱衷也意味著自助游覽這個城市的各處名勝有多么輕而易舉。騎行幾個小時你便能看到桂爾公園標(biāo)志性的高迪雕塑，你還能看到圣家族大教堂、宏偉的諾坎普體育場以及巴塞羅那海岸著名的城市沙灘。巴塞羅那受保護(hù)的自行車車道和眾多標(biāo)記到位的導(dǎo)航設(shè)施將確保你不會迷路。

Paris

Paris' Velib' public bike sharing system is second only to Hangzhou's10） in size of fleet and extent. Some 20，000 Velib' bikes prowl11） the almost 500 kilometers of bike paths around the French capital. And with so much to see， it's nice to know that a healthy chunk of12） those bike paths are protected from enthusiastic Parisian motorists. The greatest feature of Paris' bike system， however， is its ubiquity13）. A Velib' station is almost always within sight， or just around the next corner. So after a moonlight cruise past the Eiffel Tower or a sunny ride down the Seine， you need not worry about being left in the lurch14）.

巴黎

巴黎的“維力波”公共自行車租賃系統(tǒng)在車隊(duì)規(guī)模和范圍上僅次于杭州。大約有兩萬輛維力波自行車已經(jīng)繞法國首都在自行車車道上走過了近500公里。要看的景致那么多，所以了解到很多自行車車道還將那些狂熱的巴黎汽車司機(jī)攔在了外面，這可真令人高興。然而，巴黎自行車系統(tǒng)最大的特色是其普遍性。維力波站點(diǎn)幾乎總是在視線范圍內(nèi)，或者就在下個街角附近。所以，當(dāng)你在月光下騎車漫游過埃菲爾鐵塔或沐浴著陽光沿塞納河騎行后，你不必?fù)?dān)心沒處停放自行車。

Portland

American cities are historically notoriously anti-bike. The road networks and suburbs were built for automobiles， long commutes and few pedestrians. But Portland， America's favourite oddball15） and progressive city， is decidedly at the forefront of the American bicycle revolution. More than its ubiquitous bike lanes and popular bike share program， the thing that sets Portland apart is the rabid16） bike culture. The city boasts more cyclists per capita17） than anywhere else in America， and many restaurants and cafes maintain bicycle parking racks. However， the biggest upshot18） of all this for the visitor whose chain has fallen off is that seemingly every second person is also a bike mechanic.

波特蘭

眾所周知，美國的許多城市在歷史上是抵制自行車的。公路網(wǎng)和郊區(qū)都是為汽車建造的，漫漫上班路，寥寥行路人。不過，美國最古怪、最激進(jìn)的城市波特蘭毫無疑問地引領(lǐng)了美國的自行車革命。除了無處不在的自行車車道和人們喜愛的自行車租賃系統(tǒng)之外，讓波特蘭與眾不同的還有它狂熱的自行車文化。這個城市以其人均自行車騎行者多過美國其他任何城市而感到自豪，許多餐廳和咖啡館還設(shè)有自行車停放架。不過，波特蘭自行車文化中最讓那些車鏈掉了的游客意想不到的是，似乎每兩個波特蘭人中就有一個會修自行車。

1.to a fault： 過分地，過度地

2.menace [?men?s] n. <口>討厭的人（或東西）

3.rack [r?k] n. 擱物架

4.ubiquitous [ju??b?kw?t?s] adj. 無所不在的；普遍存在的

5.terrain [t??re?n] n. 地形

6.further afield： 在更遠(yuǎn)處

7.commute [k??mju?t] vt. （尤指遠(yuǎn)距離）上下班，通勤

8.quintessential [?kw?nt??sen?l] adj. 精髓的

9.infrastructure [??nfr?str?kt??（r）] n. （社會、國家或一個地區(qū)居民賴以生存的）基礎(chǔ)結(jié)構(gòu)（如運(yùn)輸、動力、通訊、教育等設(shè)施）

10.Hangzhou： 杭州。該市在2008年成為中國第一個推行公共自行車服務(wù)系統(tǒng)的城市，曾被英國廣播公司BBC評為全球自行車服務(wù)最佳的八個城市之一。

11.prowl [pra?l] vi. 【俗】徘徊；閑逛

12.a healthy chunk of： 很多；大量

13.ubiquity [ju??b?kw?ti] n. 普遍存在

14.leave ... in the lurch： 【俗】棄……于困境（或危難）之中而不顧

15.oddball [??db??l] adj. <美口>古怪的

16.rabid [?r?b?d] adj. 狂熱的

17.per capita： 【統(tǒng)計】人均

18.upshot [??p??t] n. （通常指出乎意料的）結(jié)局；結(jié)果