Touring - new to biking need info on trails

we are just starting biking and enjoy the road trails like katy trail but want to know how to get vehicle from one end to the other with out having to double back on the trail each time are there people that swap out with others to move the vehicle or what

??

Nope you gotta ride both ways....don't worry about it, soon you will be able to do the loop with no problem. For now just ride half as far as you feel like you can ride. If your riding 5 miles total now by summer you will be riding 20, 30 or more.

P.S. WELCOME!!!!!

Welcome to Bike Forums!

You can all drive to one end of the trail....Let's say 4 cars. Leave two cars there, and everyone squeeze into the other two cars. Go to the other end of the trail...leave two cars there and ride the trail on your bikes. Once you reach the end, squeeze into the other two cars and drive back to where you left the other two cars.

1oldroadie is right; in no time at all, you will be going the distance and able to go up and back. However, there are some trails and circumstances that are beyond this, even for elite riders. For example, let's say you're visiting out of state and want to see as much of the Lewis and Clark trail or the C & O trail. You don't have the time to do the round trip but you want to see as much of the trail as possible. Aside from leaving your cars at different ends as I described above, you can often make arrangements with a local outfitter for shuttle services. In PA,MD, WV, and VA for example, there are several outfitters who will do this for the Youghigheny River Trail and at various points on the C & O canal. There are several on-line and text resources to coordinate these kind of jaunts. For the C & O and the YRT, consult Shaw and Weil; they have several publications and an on line website with this kind of information.

You didn't say where you are from in your profile. Let us know! Myself and others may be able to provide more specific information.

Once again, welcome to Bike Forums. I've found lots of great information here in the months since I've been lurking around

Mary Ann

That's the advantage of riding on roads: there usually is a better selection of them. Specifically, if you want to ride a trail, you can ride the trail one way and use a nearby highway to come back (or to do a triangle). You'll get to see a different scenery. Major highways have a better surface, less hills and are more direct, but some might be bad on your nerves (trust me, they can be trained). Rural roads, lanes, etc. will have more hills, but much less traffic, local people, etc.

I travelled once on the "Petit train du Nord" trail (a rail-to-trail) between Saint-Jérôme and Mont-Laurier, and came back mostly via the highway and local roads. Apart from much steeper hills on the higway and local roads, it's striking to see the difference between tourist-oriented accomodations along the trail, vs the "real-folks" stores seen on the highway and roads. On the trail, it seems that the only way to eat a cheap meal or to buy ingredients is to make a 15-km detour, because everything along the trail is beds and breakfasts, quality restaurants, or cafés.

That's funny, I did 'Le petit train du nord' last year and I didn't get that impression, except in and around Mont-Tremblant (it stinks tourism!). But then, I was off-season and everything was closed. Did you stay at 'Le camping à Yvon'?