World’s best airport bike paths

Peter Walker, for CNN
4 minute read
Updated 12:53 AM EDT, Tue October 21, 2014
Cycling is a way of life in Copenhagen. No surprise that it's got one of the smoothest bike-to-plane experiences anywhere. There are a range of traffic-free bike lanes from the city to airport terminals.
Kastrup Airport (Denmark) —
Cycling is a way of life in Copenhagen. No surprise that it's got one of the smoothest bike-to-plane experiences anywhere. There are a range of traffic-free bike lanes from the city to airport terminals.
Courtesy Sergey Kovalyov
One of the Canary Islands, Lanzarote has a beach-side bike route that skirts the airport near the city of Arrecife.
Lanzarote Airport (Canary Islands, Spain) —
One of the Canary Islands, Lanzarote has a beach-side bike route that skirts the airport near the city of Arrecife.
Courtesy Jules CJ/Lanzaroteinformation.com
Vancouver International Airport's official map has a range of cycling options including bike lanes and bike parking between terminals.
Vancouver International Airport —
Vancouver International Airport's official map has a range of cycling options including bike lanes and bike parking between terminals.
Courtesy VANCOUVER AIRPORT AUTHORITY
More than 15 miles long, the traffic-free, green tarmacked loop around Bangkok's Suvarnabhumi Airport is free. You only need to show ID to pedal in.
Suvarnabhumi Airport (Bangkok) —
More than 15 miles long, the traffic-free, green tarmacked loop around Bangkok's Suvarnabhumi Airport is free. You only need to show ID to pedal in.
Courtesy Richard Barrow
Manchester Airport has an eight-mile orbital cycleway so close to the aviation action the track features a pair of tunnels that pass beneath the twin runways.
Manchester Airport (UK) —
Manchester Airport has an eight-mile orbital cycleway so close to the aviation action the track features a pair of tunnels that pass beneath the twin runways.
courtesy Danleescycling.co.uk
World's best airport bike tracks

Story highlights

Manchester Airport has an orbital cycle path with a pair of tunnels passing beneath runways

Bikers experience planes flying overhead on the southwest side of the Lanzarote airport in the Canary Islands

Bangkok has a 15-mile bike path that loops around Suvarnabhumi Airport

CNN  — 

Bicycles and airplanes might not seem like the greatest travel partners.

Yet two wheels and two wings can co-exist in surprisingly beautiful ways.

Consider the airport bike path, an increasingly popular feature at airports around the world.

Some allow travelers to pedal right up to their plane, while others skirt airport perimeters, permitting cyclists a closeup view of the behemoths of the sky.

Here’s a selection of world favorites.