Touring - someplace to ride in mid december?

I am located in Baltimore area and would like to find someplace to do some training/riding between Dec 19th and 23rd? I would prefer someplace relatively warm, but also relatively accessible..(perhaps with in a few hours drive south of here.) Might anyone have a viable suggestion?

Thanks

SR

Funny I was thinking about going to Washington DC to ride because it is warmer there than Northern NY :)

The Outer Banks of North Carolina are a good ride. You can start in Nags Head and ride down to Ocracoke (80miles) take the Swan Quarter ferry back to the mainland and ride 80 miles back up to Nags Head along the sound( US 264). a good weekend trip with about 4 1/2 hour drive from DC
To make it a 3 1/2 day trip take the ferry from Ocracoke to Atlantic NC and cut through Morehead city, take US 70 west to NC 101 to NC 306 north to the Cherry Branch Ferry. After crossing on the ferry continue on NC 306 through Aurora NC to the Aurora/Bayview Ferry after that ferry crossing you will meet up with US 264 go north back to Nags Head. I rode this loop on a tandem a few years ago and we moteled the 3 nights. we didn't do this loop in the winter so I don't know if the campgrounds we passed would be open this time of the year

Thanks for the Outerbanks suggestion....my wife just returned from a fall bike trip down there and had also suggested it. I just wasnt sure what the temp/wx might be like in December... Thanks again..have a great holiday...

Steve

I am originally a native of eastern North Carolina, so let me suggest keeping a keen eye on the weather reports. Eastern NC is famous for fast weather changes. I have experienced cold Thanksgivings followed by Christmas Day in the 70'sF. In general, you should be able to count on daytime temps in the 50's, with evening temps in the low to mid 30's. Be prepared for rain, though. Also, the outer banks area is famous for its fickle winds. The Wright Brothers chose the Banks for their flight experiments for a reason, you know. I have had several tours similar to the one you are contemplating. On one occasion, I had very strong tailwinds push me from Engelhard to Manteo, so strong I was barely able to ride against it on a short against-the-wind detour into Stumpy Point. I dreaded knowing that the next day I would be riding in the opposite direction 65-70 miles to Hatteras. Incredibly, the wind shifted 180 degrees that night and literally blew me all the way to Hatteras.
Traffic should not be much of a problem, as it is off season on the islands and the mainland portion rarely has significant traffic even in the summer.