Tag: adventure

Cycle Through Zanzibar With HIPZ

cycle through Zanzibar with HIPZ
Beach near Nnugwi, Zanzibar

Imagine an amazing cycling trip, a life-changing experience, all whilst helping an incredible charity. Here’s how you can cycle through Zanzibar and support HIPZ in their life-saving work:

What comes to mind when you think of Zanzibar? White sandy beaches, clear blue seas, Freddie Mercury…? Zanzibar is a holiday-maker’s dream but it is also home to 1.3 million people who are living with an under-resourced health care system. This idyllic island has just one doctor to every 20,000 people. To put this into context, the UK has one doctor to every 400 people.

In 2007, the charity Health Improvement Project Zanzibar (HIPZ) started working in Makunduchi Hospital. At the time there were no doctors, non-existent management and extremely run down, dilapidated facilities. There were high levels of infant and maternal mortality, malnutrition, and disease. HIPZ’s involvement has led to a reduction in child and maternal mortality, a significant improvement in facilities, and an increase in trained staff. This success led to HIPZ supporting a second hospital, Kivunge, in 2012. HIPZ is unique in the way that it works, ensuring that it never replaces the statutory responsibilities of the government. You can read more here. (more…)

Best Cycling Blog 2016! Winner of the Trespass Blog Awards…Again!

Best Cycling Blog 2016 - Trespass Blog Award winnerWinner! Trespass Blog Awards – Best Cycling Blog 2016

Well, 2017 has got off to a brilliant start for Ordinary Cycling Girl. I’ve won the best cycling blog 2016 in the Trespass Blog Awards for the second year running! How exciting!

When I first started writing Ordinary Cycling Girl I had no idea whether anyone would bother to read it. Never did I think that any of the content would make my blog considered worthy of being nominated for any kind of award. So thank you to everyone who considered Ordinary Cycling Girl worthy of being nominated in the Trespass Blog Awards in the category of best cycling blog. And for the second year running too! (more…)

Cycling in Tenerife

Cycling in Tenerife
Image courtesy of Thomas Cook Airlines

My recent trip to explore Tenerife with Thomas Cook Airlines changed my perception of what this Mediterranean island has to offer. It’s not just sunloungers, cocktails and all inclusive stays. It’s actually a great destination for action and adventure on holiday.

Thomas Cook Airlines kindly invited me and a team of adventure travel bloggers to join them for a four day trip to Playa de Las Americas to see just exactly what Tenerife has to offer in terms of outdoor adventure. Now my knowledge and perception of Playa de Las Americas prior to this trip was limited! I’ll be honest, I had succumbed to the reports that it’s the party capital of Tenerife so I was keen to experience and learn more about the other side of the region. (more…)

Cycling Lake Constance: a fairytale cycling holiday

Cycling Lake ConstanceTake beautiful landscapes surrounding a magnificent Lake, romantic architecture, vineyards, waterfalls, cuckoos and rainbows and you have the fairytale that is cycling Lake Constance.

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again. For me, there is no better way to explore a new country than on two wheels. A cycling holiday provides a wonderful adventure, an opportunity to visit new countries and to see aspects of them you wouldn’t ordinarily get to witness by car. There’s a true sense of freedom, of independence, a feeling of travelling like a local and really getting to know somewhere. Lake Constance offers mainly flat cycling with the occasional incline; it’s the perfect option for couples with a non cycling partner, and families with older children. (more…)

The Magic of Cycling in Rio 2016

Cycling in RioSometimes life throws amazing opportunities at you. Sometimes, things come along that you never imagined you would get to experience. Cycling in Rio de Janeiro is one of those things and if you ever get the opportunity, grab it with both hands! I never in my wildest dreams imagined I would get the opportunity to go cycling in Rio. But April saw us visit Brazil’s carnival city where we had chance to do just that, and here’s why you should go cycling in Rio too! (more…)