Cycle your way to a great holiday - and improved fitness

Every year the Tour de France inspires a host of people to rediscover their bikes. And what a great choice of transportation and fitness cycling offers!

Cycling at even leisurely speeds will burn off an average of 150 calories every 30 minutes. Riding at a moderate pace of 12 to 14mph burns double the calories.

There are a wealth of other positive health facts associated with cycling:

* One study found that regular cycling reduces the risk of premature death from ill-health by 39%.

* Research found that by cycling for half an hour most days of the week, you'll lose as much weight as doing three aerobics classes a week.

Go off-road on countryside trails or to one of Scotland’s many mountain biking centres and the health benefits increase. Riding uphill, going fast downhill and cycling on uneven surfaces will increase fat-burn and offer greater all-over-body toning.

Cycling is also a fantastic way to get around Scotland. Thanks to a wealth of off-road trails, purpose-built mountain bike centres and a network of quiet roads and traffic-free routes, there are many, many miles of countryside to cycle - and explore.

Most people are capable of cycling for an hour or so at a time and you’ll be surprised how far you travel in that time. And once you build up your strength and fitness, you’ll find that a bike offers a great way to get about.

Many more people are also discovering the delights of cycle tour holidays. Whether guided or self-guided, there are plenty of options and companies keen to organise routes, accommodation, bike hire and luggage transfer for you.

The advantage of following a route and schedule is that you are more likely to visit recommended places and benefit from the knowledge of local guides and cyclists.

Companies such as Glentrek know all the best routes in their area and can tailor a cycling tour to suit your aspirations and fitness. The cycling holiday could be a couple of days or a week or two. It might be off-road, on a long-distance cross country route or on quiet roads. It could be self-guided or part of a guided cycling weekend.

The choice is yours. But whatever you decide you’ll most likely lose weight, improve your fitness, meet new people and discover a host of attractions all in one holiday.

Fab Coast and castles cycle route

Gourdon, Montrose

Arbroath Harbour

Montrose beach

Sustrans have been a huge bonus in the UK helping to develop a massive network of cycle-friendly routes for all kinds of cyclists. One of my favourites in Scotland is the Coasts and Castles route. This route, also called National Route 1, actually starts in Newcastle and heads to Aberdeen, via Edinburgh. There's a neat guide book to the Coasts and Castles route produced by Pocket Mountain Guides.

The Coasts and Castles route is an epic cycle stretching almost 600km along the North Sea coast from Newcastle to the granite city of Aberdeen via Northumbria's clifftop castles and smugglers' havens, Edinburgh's medieval Old Town and iconic bridges and Aberdeenshire's fishing villages and sandy beaches.

The route could be completed in one go and over a week or so (for fit cyclists) or it can be split into day-long outings. Last month I assisted a group of cyclists heading from Edinburgh to Aberdeen on this route. I had a lot of fun helping to transfer their baggage between accommodations. The group of 12 cyclists were keen to simply cycle and enjoy the trip, but without having to worry about the extra weight of their luggage. Baggage transfer for walkers and cyclists is a growing part of the Glentrek business.

The group of cyclists rode for four days:

Day 1: Edinburgh to Freuchies, Fife

Day 2: Freuchies to Carnoustie

Day 3: Carnoustie to Inverbervie

Day 4: Inverbervie to Aberdeen.

They had a ball and I was able to take some great pictures along the route. If these don't inspire you to head off for this long-distance cycle then I've no idea what will!

Glentrek now plans to offer the Coasts and Castles cycle as a holiday option for our customers. We can help you to arrange accommodation along the route, baggage transfer and bike hire. We can also pick you up from Edinburgh station and set you on your way with your hired bikes, and then collect you at Aberdeen.

This summer is the ideal time to head to Scotland for a cycling holiday.