Touring - Come come...time to reveal plans for summer tours!!!!!

Hey folks...the days are already noticeably longer...it can't be too far off when we northern hemisphere twowheelerboys head out and hit the road for the summer. Anyone made plans yet?? Lets here 'em!!!

By the way I have a great idea. Lance Armstrong is worried that anti-american sentiment in Europe this summer might physically endanger him on the tour de france this year. I say a couple of hundred riders from Bikeforums should surround his peloton with a huge human mass of domestiques! . So if you wanna tour Europe this summer it can be for a worthy cause!


roughstuff

Tour of the Gaspé peninsula un Québec.

I have two routes, a long and a shorter one. I have yet to decide which one I will do. It depends on how much vacation I will get, if any, :( or how much photography I plan to do on the trip.

Other than that, some 3-4 day tour here and there. I don't plan those. Sometimes, I get up in the morning, wonder what to do, pack and go! :)

I don't know about 2-wheelers LOL but I'm heading up the Atlantic coast.
Florida to Richmond VA. 1200 miles......2 weeks.

As beowulfe suggests, three wheelers ride, too :).

I have a few 2-3 day jaunts planned--not sure where yet--and will ride from my home to Duluth, MN (about 300 miles), from whence I will spend a 500 mile week riding for Habitat for Humanity, and ride home. Also plan for a weeklong trip in September.

I have a few kayak ventures in the wind, too, and will run a few 5 and 10k runs.

I was in Duluth a couple of years ago. We launched a Lake Superior bike tour....6 of us. We wimped out and did motels though. Got there in August and summer was OVER. lol

Also did it on a wedgie.

My cousin and I plan on bumming around the Black Hills in SD.

We are planing on a few 3 or four day trips, maybe a week in VT around the lake. My SO just started a new job and has little vacation time saved up :(

OK Freewheel in June (my first ever tour). Then, if my knees survive that, perhaps some self-contained short tours.

Two weeks of touring this coming July - first week getting about 500 miles into my Lewis and Clark (St. Louis to Council Bluffs) Second week hooking up w/ riders for Ragbrai XXXI and seeing much of southern Iowa

My wife and I are planning 10-14 days touring in early September, either Belgium/Holland, or (as we are interested in buying a place in France) a tour in France.

ideally, a ferry to Zeebrugge leaves from a port about 2 miles from our house.

My wife and I are planning are first tour this summer. So far, it looks like we'll probably head to San Juan islands and bike around there.

Did the BTC last summer and it was great. Going off road this summer. Meeting a friend in Hot Springs and riding the Womble. Then some road work in the Ozarks for a few days. Not an organized tour this time. Then a Loire Valley/TDF tour to watch Lance win his record setting 6th in a row the summer of '04.

sounds good guys.

I'm hoping to do lands end to john o'groats (britain's most southerly tip to its most northerly one (I think)) over 2 weeks, some time in june or july. looking forward to getting to know my country - I've never really toured it

was not sure. Had thought about Adventure Cycling's tour of Southern Utah. Decided to repeat my tour across central Nevada, that I did last September.. The Oatbran..
. Great tour and they really take care of you .Plus all the tour I was sick. Want to do it this time, hopefully when I feel better. Got old, sniffling across the whole state of Nevada..
Can't do any extended bike tour this year. My wife wants to go to Peru/Bolivia at the end of the year...

Oh yeah Roughstuff, I love these posts, just hearing about the day's getting longer and weather warmer and heading out on the open road, get's my blood running...So here's what I've got planned for this year..

Going to Ft. Meyers Florida at the end of March for Tandem riding around that area, to get the tandem season started for me, and to warm up!!.

Then second weekend in May is TOSRV, Columbus to portsmith and back in ohio, 100 miles each day..The next weekend we have a local ride that our club puts on called Wolverine 200, the following weekend it's down to Kentucky for the Horsey hundred over memorial day weekend on the tandem, and then in June a rally near chicago during the 3rd weekend of the month..

A couple of one day tours in august and at the end it's the Midwest tandem rally in Dayton, then a couple of one day tours in september, and the southern rally in Tallahassee at the end of october, I really love the rallies and look forward to doing them each year...Oh yeah forgot CFC at the begining of October, always a great hilly ride in the Ohio hills between Columbus and Marietta..

That's it for now, hope all you guys have a great riding season also!!


Benjamin

my TransAlp tour that i will lead is set for August 1-10 - 450km, (only) 12,500m vertical, 8 days of riding... from Germany through Austria and the Dolomites, the Hohe Tauern (near Grossglockner) and down to Lake Garda Italy. my co-cuide and i had to drop it down from an extreme tour to a moderate b/c our "boss" wanted an easier tour... but whatever it'll be a blast anyhow.

otherwise, i've got a trip to Lake Garda planned already... probably no really long (>week) tour this year as my 30 days of vacation (gotta love Germany there!) are already committed... 2 weeks Russia last Jan, 1wk Chamonix end of this month, etc.

p.s. ours or other guided tours or self-guided - i really recommend the TransAlp tour - lots of riding and a great system of mountain huts so you only have to carry 6-7kg of gear for the week. beautiful scenery and good trails if you're up for it...

Weekend camping trips mostly.

About 70-80 miles from my home a Dark Sky Preserve (http://pages.prodigy.net/bfrybarger/lakehudson.htm). I thought this would make a great weekend get-out-of-town. It has been a while since I have had a really good look at a the sky outside a city.

I was thinking about a trip to Pelee Island in Canada as well, but the border crossing via bicycle is a little more difficult than I thought it would be. I can cross in Port Huron, Marine City, or Algonac, but not in Detroit. This is a fair bit out of the way for me, so I'll look for a 3-day weekend for this. The other option is to have the wife drop me off and pick me up in Windsor.

regards,
Dan

New Zealand, starting in Christchurch then down south, Stewart Island, Southern Alps and then the Northern Island.

I will point out that here in Queensland we are in our sixth month of summer right now (it started a month earlier than usual this year, probably due to the drought). I got a two week tour of Western Victoria a few months ago, and later this year I'm planning to visit Tasmania. I haven't yet decided on the route for that one.

Summer Plans? Ahhh... thats what dreams are made of... for us bikers anyway. I am going to make a week long solo tour from western Ky to the middle of Alabama, a week long loop around W. Ky (called WKBT, sounds like a radio station, doesn't it!) that several of us get together and are starting to do on a yearly basis. We will change the route every year. And of course, several 2-3 days rides. If you would like to know more about our WKBT, look the site up.

http://www.thedos.org/trips/2002wkbt.htm


Have fun reading, if it interests you, drop me a line. We'll have a good ride this year.


Rick

Dan.. I am a former Michiganian.. Seems the Detroit Windsor Bridge had sidewalks for pedesterians.. ? Is there not some kind of mass transit bus between Detroit and Windsor..? Your plans caught my eye. I used to love to go down to Point Peelee.. Was that not Ontario route 3.. Seems it was pretty rural.. Like your idea.. Would not mind that trip myself, but probably riding about Leelanau or Keewenaw peninsula, would win out;if I were to ride about Michigan.
Guess, also the idea intrigues me because I have Cousins who live in London, Ontario. That ride I would not mind doing.. Maybe even ride into Stratford and take in some theater..

I rescue unwanted parrots and other birds, which makes it really hard for me to spend more than one night away from home. Since bird rescue is my passion and not my wife's, she hasn't been real excited about letting me even think about touring.

I may get to do the Cycle North Carolina ride in the fall. In the meantime, I'll be happy doing one night trips. I can still get a few back to back centuries in that way.

Peace,
Lou

At -14 Celsius, snowing all day, with graders plowing the road in front of my house it's all I can do to dream of biking. To stimulate my dreaming today I purchased a BOB Yak Trailer - Yeah!

I'm looking forward to heading south to Moab the first week of April with a bunch of guys: Driving (26 hrs) then biking for 4 glorious days. In Sept. my wife and I will bike the Kettle Valley Railway Trail in Southern BC - round trip from Midway to Midway for 5 nights - six days.

John

I plan to do a overnight trip north to Jupiter Fl. tomorrow and get in some camping and maybe some hiking as well .I did a warm up ride today my first half way long ride in a while in to Ft. Lauderdale Bch. and the weather was fantastic especially tonight on the return with light/moderate ocean breezes.I just got back and knew it was nice but it is still 73 degrees.If anyone can't wait till summer the tourings perfect in So. Fl. right now.

upcoming tour in may

fly to krakow [poland]
fingers crossed the tandem makes it

circular tour via zakopane into slovakia the back to krakow#

12 days in all



:D

just one tandem and 11 solo's :p

all hardy cyclists from ayrshire

Originally posted by cyclezealot
Dan.. I am a former Michiganian.. Seems the Detroit Windsor Bridge had sidewalks for pedesterians.. ? Is there not some kind of mass transit bus between Detroit and Windsor..?

...



Transit Windsor has bike racks on most buses, but not on the Tunnel bus.

The Ambassador Bridge has a sidewalk, but regular pedestrian traffic is banned. Once a year they use it for pedestrians, during the Free Press Marathon. I ran that last October, it was very cool.

I can take a ferry across at Marine City or Algonac. I can walk the bike across the Blue Water bridge in Port Huron.

A sort of odd route to Pelee Island would be to cycle to Sandusky Ohio, and then take the ferry to Pelee Island from Sandusky. That is bit far for a weekend trip and I don't think the trip to Ohio would be that scenic.

regards
Dan

Cycle Zydeco come April in Louisiana for the first multi-day event. Just got a new tent for a yet-to-be planned ride along the Mississippi river via Wisconsin, Minnesota, & Iowa.

Warm weather can't come soon enough. These windy freezing rides wear on my sinus'.

Six weeks in Europe, mostly France. Starting with a few days in Belgium with friends to recover from jet lag from Alaska, we'll travel by train to Brittany where we'll spend a week to ten days touring. Then we head south to the Pyrénées. We'll wander on our own for a few days and then connect up with the Cycle Lodge to chase part of the Tour de France.
http://www.geocities.com/bikepyrenees/tour2003.htm

Heading by train back to Belgium for a week of tourist wandering and home again.

Three of us, me, wife and just college-graduated daughter (celebration for a job well done).

i am thinking of flying to alaska and riding home to arizona, or leaving from here and seeing how far i can get before i have to fly home to teach this fall. or maybe bag it all and ride off into the south american sunset to a permanent expat biking vacation. i guess i will just wait and see. i definitely want to begin or end at my doorstep.

Myself and a friend who did the OATBRAN across Nevada are doing it again.. They have many repeat cycle tourists.. Highly recommend it. they treat you well.
Anyone checking out that tour.. Couple last year on this forum had thought about it..

Mid June GITAP 2003. 7 days 445 miles around Northern Illinois. This is the first oragnized GITAP ride and my first ever. I'm thinking about adding 2 or 3 days, before and after, riding the 120 miles to get to the start and then back home.

Hey cyclezealot, is there a website for that OATBRAN ride?? I'd like to find more info on it..

Thanks,
Benjamin

Heah, Caadman. I am a native Michiganian too.. Yes, there is a site for Oatbran. Search for it under Bike the West. Specializes in Nevada rides.. Scroll down to Oatbran.. hope to see you there. I am gonna do it again.. It was great... Ride is limited to fifty...

Caadman. Been on Biek the West web site yet...? This is real the outback. Can ride double, triple abreast( well, not legally, the organizers will tell you) because with a mirror you can see behind you 4-6 miles and there is no traffic, so why not.
These cities are gems from 120 years ago when Silver was king and prospectors where everywhere... I want to stop more and discover ruins of the Pony Express and get off the main road a little more..
Also, at Ely there was a strange business called "Girls, Girls, Girls," Thought it was a dance club? Can't be too curious for I married, but dance clubs are ok? Thinking about staying each night at motels. get in after 90 mile ride, putting up a tent seems a lot.. Motels are always within 1/4 mile of camp site and fairly cheap.. The organizers do give you two nights at motels. So only three would be on rider.. Just easier...

Denmark, in august.
although it is not as flat as holland, it must be possible even for me:)

My husband and I are planning on our first tour. We are thinking about Vancouver insland or San Juan islands..

Cheers,
Raji.

Originally posted by raji
My husband and I are planning on our first tour. We are thinking about Vancouver insland or San Juan islands..

Cheers,
Raji.

Hey! Don't forget the Gulf Islands. :)

Narayan.

Howdy;
In August/03 our cycling club has a tour from Halifax, Nova Scotia to Prince Edward Island, thence to Magadalen Islands for a few days, back to PEI and across it to the "fixed link" over to New Brunswick and for some of the energetic ones unto Cape Breton Island, N.S. and the Cabot Trail and thence back to Halifax.

We call it "Smiles on the Isles".

Can you ride on the Confederation bridge?

Hey! Nice to see this forum.

Wife and I are beginning to plan a visit out west first three weeks of July, to follow parts of the Lewis and Clark Trail, but also to do loops or stretches from which we can ferry back to our car and tent.

We drive from South Carolina, stopping probably in Louisville, then as far as we can get -- maybe to Onawa, Iowa.

We're looking at Palisades Park/Sioux Falls area, Badlands, Black Hills, then into Montana and are open to suggestions.

Meanwhile, you guys have a great summer!

I'm looking at doing Missouri in early fall. I will probably start in Willard (for genealogical reasons, i.e. all my dad's people are buried there), cut across to Hwy 13 and follow it up to Clinton, where I'll get on the the Katy trail to it's eastern end near St. Louis. From there it will depend on how much time I can get off work and whether I can find a decent southern route back to Willard. That's the northern edge of the Ozarks so finding a reasonably flat route that isn't I44 may take some doing.

1) If I can't get enough time off I'll Amtrack back to Sedalia, then backtrack to Willard on the bike.

2) If I can get plenty of time off but can't find a decent southern route, I'll backtrack the entire route, hey, maybe the Katy will look different facing west :).

3) If I can get plenty of time off and can find a southern route I'll take that back to Willard.

Meantime, this summer I plan a couple of two- and three-day shakedown trips from my house to local lakes.

Someday, probably not before 2005, though, I want to ride from Alder Branch (near Knoxville) in TN to Willard, MO, following as closely as possible what I can figure out of the likely route my g-grandfather and his brothers and their families took when they migrated shortly after the civil war (yeah, I come from good ole' hillbilly stock :) ). Finding a good southern return route for this fall's trip is part of the planning for the big "migration" later.

BTW, any of you Missourians know how highway 13 between Bolivar and Clinton is for biking? I've driven the stretch from Springfield to Bolivar and if I remember right it had nice wide shoulders and not much traffic. Also, anybody know if they ever finished the rails-to-trails project between Willard and Bolivar? I've only seen one mention of it on the web and it was spoken of in future tense, but I know the section in Willard itself is complete because I've seen it.

John

I will be ORGANIZING several tours again this year including:

The SECOND Annual (ya baby) Tour de Lac Michigan

The SECOND ANNUAL Fall Colors Tour

The FIRST ANNUAL Bike and Camp at a stinky farm with a swimming pool tour

The FIRST ANNUAL Fox River Explorers Tour

The FIRST ANNUAL Mississippi Headwaters Bicycle Adventure.

If you are interested in any, let me know.

Mike,

Number three sounds, uh, hmmm, errr, different, yeah, different, that's the word I'm looking for ;)

I guess it could be worse, though, it could be a "bike and camp at a farm with a stinky swimming pool" tour. Wait, that's not a pool! That's a septic tank!

John

Originally posted by HalfHearted
Mike,

Number three sounds, uh, hmmm, errr, different, yeah, different, that's the word I'm looking for ;)

I guess it could be worse, though, it could be a "bike and camp at a farm with a stinky swimming pool" tour. Wait, that's not a pool! That's a septic tank!

John

John, hee hee, ya I am still trying to think of a better name for the tour. I also thought of "Tour/camp to farm with one-eyed cat and swimming pool". You see, it is the swimming pool which is the draw. If we have more than about fifteen riders, it could be "Bike nad camp at farm with a stinky swimming pool".

Originally posted by Erick L
Can you ride on the Confederation bridge?

Unfortunately one can not ride the "link" as we call it by bicycle. They offer a multi-passenger van with bike trailer to haul pedestrians and cyclists back and forth. You wouldn't be able to see anything from bike anyhow as they have 5 foot high barriers the whole length of the bridge, to save cars the effect of cross winds.

I'm planning to ride from Portland, OR, to Ft. Madison, IA, this June/July. The last week (across Iowa) will be with the RAGBRAI crowd. Bought my plane ticket last week... hey, I'm getting excited!

My only plans so far include trying to get someone to drop me at the far end of the Mountain Bay State Trail, and ride it home, camping once or twice along the way. :)

Though I may look into Mike's tours!

I can vouch for Mike's Tour De Lac Michigan and the Fall Colors - both were top of the line, grade A rides. I look forward to doing both again. It would be great to have you along Inkwolf.

As for the stinky farm tour - I don't know. There are so many to choose from I don't know how we will ever know if we are at the right stinky farm. I'm sure it will be an adventure.

My SO and I are planning to ride from Steamboat to Salida (Colorado). I keep saying that if I tell enough people we're doing it we (I) will have to just to save face! So, there I just told 5000 people!

...better start training...

Mid summer, depart-Windsor, Ontario, Canada, along the north Shore of Lake Erie to Niagara Falls, 300+ i think, 4-5 days, already have one other person going with me, others are welcome. This is loaded, unsupported touring. Camping with maybe 1 hotel stay. late June/early July.