Copenhagen is a city that runs on bicycles, and a motorcyclist arriving here should take the hint and ride softly. Cycle lanes carry thousands of commuters at rush hour, and a car door or a turning van can ruin everybody's day, so patience and constant mirror checks are the rule. In return, the city is compact, handsome and unhurried, with copper-green spires, canals and handsome old warehouses along the harbour, where the bright houses of Nyhavn, once home to Hans Christian Andersen, are crowded with tourists on summer evenings. A short stroll away, Tivoli Gardens, opened in 1843, remains one of the oldest amusement parks in the world and glows with lights after dark.
The Little Mermaid sits on her rock on the waterfront, smaller than most people expect, while across the harbour Christianshavn, a quarter of canals and leaning houses, leads to Christiania, a self-governing alternative community founded in 1971. Frederiksberg has a garden and a hill with views. Eating is a pleasure: smørrebrød, open sandwiches of rye bread with herring, roast beef or egg and shrimp, are the classic lunch, while the New Nordic cooking movement has made the city a destination for serious food.
The riding beyond is a different sort of pleasure. Denmark is low and gentle, and the best roads are quiet back lanes through beech woods and fields, with the sea always close. North of the city the coast road, Strandvejen, runs past elegant villas, small harbours and the deer park of Dyrehaven, where wild fallow deer roam among ancient oaks. Further west, Roskilde, about thirty kilometres away, was the capital of the Danes in the Viking age, and its cathedral, built mainly in brick from the twelfth century, holds the tombs of Danish monarchs and is a World Heritage site. The nearby Viking Ship Museum displays five ships sunk in the fjord around the eleventh century.
Fuel is no problem anywhere, and in Denmark there are many automated stations, which usually accept cards. The weather can be wet and windy in any season, and a good rain suit is worth more than any clever gadget. Speed cameras are widespread and fines are steep, so stay within the limits. Use bike racks and secure parking, since theft is a risk, and give extra space to cyclists in the cycle-lane crossings.