If you are travelling to Taiwan's capital, Taipei, then consider exploring the city by bike - both the planet and your wallet will love you.

In a push to make Taipei more environmentally friendly, the city has introduced a system called YouBike that allows visitors to rent one of 500 bicycles from 11 locations across the city.

Once travellers have registered for a YouBike card (short-term and long-term cards are available), rental costs NT$40 (US$1 / £0.70) per day or NT$150 (US$4.50 / £2.70) for 5 days; the first 30 minutes of each session is free and then it costs NT$10 for each additional 15 minutes. A NT$3000 deposit is required.

Bicycle rental is completely automated through the YouBike card.

For more information visit www.youbike.com.tw/upage/english.htm.

Photo by Lin1000.tw via Flickr (Creative Commons).

Brits have always been bonkers about bikes, and no-where is better suited to biking than Cambridge. It's the city with the highest level of cycle use in the UK, where spokes and students go hand-in-hand and locals prefer two wheels to four.

The ancient, tightly packed city is perfect for exploring by bike and it's a very easy ride out to the quiet river "backs" and water meadows of the River Cam.

One of the top cycling routes is Cambridge to Grantchester, a village immortalized by Rupert Brooke in his 1912 poem The Old Vicarage, Grantchester. It's a leisurely 30 minute cycle ride from Cambridge to Grantchester across meadows and along river banks. There are dozens of picnic spots en route, but make sure you save room for the famous cream tea at the Orchard Tea Garden or, for those in need of stronger stuff, a pint in the beer gardens of The Rupert Brooke or The Red Lion pubs.

With British "Bike Week", the biggest nationwide cycling event in the UK, coming up from 13 – 21 June, now is the perfect time to explore Cambridge by bike. And what better excuse than Bike Week to treat yourself to a cycle-themed break at the boutiquey Hotel du Vin Cambridge, right in the heart of the city's famous cobbled streets and college enclosures?

A two-night Summer Cycling Break at the Hotel du Vin Cambridge costs from £349 for two people (sharing) including 2 nights bed & breakfast accommodation, with supper in the Bistro on one evening, and a full days’ bike hire. Valid throughout summer 2009, subject to availability. To book, contact Hotel du Vin Cambridge on +44 (0)1223 227 330.

Photo Credits: Clare HDR by .mushi_king; grantchester by murasakinotori via Flickr (Creative Commons). HdV Cambridge Suite ©Hotel du Vin.