lmgoldberg

Would appreciate the wisdom of the crowd in helping to plan my first effort at an overnight multi-day bike trip, tentatively scheduled for memorial day weekend! I have done lots of miles under my belt (bike commuter, many weekend day rides, several centuries) but haven't done multi-day trips. My criteria:

1) start within a couple of hours of DC
2) should be a loop
3) looking for 3 days biking, around 180 miles
4) minimal traffic, rural countryside or parkland is great. But doesn't have to be rails to trails. Will be riding a Surly LHT with 32mm's so can do crushed gravel. '
5) places to camp for each of the 2 nights. Have panniers and will be bringing tent, sleeping bag and equipment.

I know the GAP is the obvious suggestion, but it is a little longer than I have time for and the Amtrack train to Pittsburgh is sold out that weekend for bikes and I am trying to keep costs down so I am hesitant to hire a shuttle.

Other ideas? heard central Pennsylvania has nice rural areas to bike in, sure there are other places too. Help greatly appreciated.

kaos joe

Park your car in Delaware City, DE. Last time I did it, the police let me leave it in their parking lot. Head south over the big bridge over the canal and then west toward Galena, Chestertown, Wye Mills, that general area. It's hard to go wrong. MD RT 213 isn't bad but the rural roads are much nicer. Check out the Baltimore Bicycle Club website, see if they have cue sheets available. They run a big get together every Memorial Day weekend, the Kent County Spring Fling, based in Chestertown. If you like, I have cue sheets on real old timey paper I can copy and send you. K.C.S.F. has got to be sold out for this year, but it's a great event.

Correction- Originally, I erroneously cited Chesapeake City as my starting point. Sorry.

kaos joe

If you know about the GAP, I assume you also know the C&O Canal? That fits your 180 mile target distance almost perfectly.

1nterceptor

Visited Assateague Island last year. Didn't camp there but used their facilities a bit;
toilet, washed my face in the sink, charged my phone, filled up my water bottle in the
outdoor sinks, etc. Roads from Ocean City had wide clean shoulders and drivers seemed
respectful when I did took the lane. More mileage than you listed from DC; maybe take
the bus, car, train partway?


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SQUr...aIoDLA&index=5

lmgoldberg

thanks. I have done a lot of hiking and biking in the DC to Harper's Ferry area and wanted to do something new. but a logical suggestion and a possibility.

indyfabz

Not to be a Debbie Downer, but touring during such a major holiday weekend can be a PITA. Many normally quieter roads can have more traffic. Campgrounds are likely to be very busy, with some filling up. Showing up without a reservation could leave you in a bind. As an example, I just looked up availability at French Creek State Park in PA. The place is big--200 campsites. As of today, there are only 41 available sites for the Saturday of Memorial Day weekend and that's still seven weeks away. Cowans Gap State Park has 212 sites. Only 29 remain available for that day. On top of that, many (if not most) private campgrounds require a multi-day stay during a major holiday weekend.

maxine

A few years ago I did a bike camping trip that started in Trap Pond State Park, Delaware (I made arrangements with the rangers to leave my car in an overflow lot there while I was gone.) That's about a 2 1/2 hour drive from D.C. I spent the night there, then rode the first day to Janes Island State Park in Crisfield, Maryland -- 50-ish miles. Rode back to Trap Pond the next day, via Pittsville, about 70 miles.

You could probably make a 3-biking-day/2-night trip out of that fairly easily -- in addition to Jane's Island, check out Pocomoke River State Park and Assateague State Park/National Seashore for other possible camping options from which to create a loop.

The Eastern Shore is a nice location for a first-time overnighter, I think -- very quiet roads, flat as a pancake (which has its good and bad points . . . ) Agree with an earlier poster, though, that you might want to get cracking on reservations, just in case.

(Well, to clarify: the lower Eastern Shore is flat as a pancake. There is some minor hilliness in the upper Maryland Eastern Shore area, north of Chestertown.)

lmgoldberg

Nice idea, like it. Mileage sounds right for two days.

indyfabz

Janes Island is booked for Memorial Day weekend. Plenty of sites (114 out of 187) at Pocomoke.

Forget Assateague N.P. that weekend. It's also all booked. In fact, the N.P.S. gives this warning about camping reservations:

"Reservations are required from March 15 through November 15. Campsite reservations are available six months in advance. Be aware that nearly all reservations for weekends are filled the first day that they become available."

It's like Cape Henlopen State Park in Lewes, DE. I wanted to camp there late last summer/early fall as part of a four-day trip. I looked at weekends and they were booked solid months in advance--even through October.

I finally got to go this past Easter weekend. On the Tuesday before Good Friday I booked a site for Good Friday and the day after. Even then the places was nearly half-booked. It's didn't end up at capacity, but it was pretty darn close. I'd guestimate about 80%-85% full.

For the future, the park is a neat place, although very crowded with campers and day visitors, at least during nice weekends. One of the trails in the park meanders south and ends within 1.5 miles of Rhehoboth, DE. And you can circle back to Lewes via the Junction & Breakwater Trail, which passes through a salt marsh area that's great for bird watching.

maxine

Yeah, holiday weekends are tough. I think I did that trip in late September.

(There's also a State Park -- Maryland -- at Assateague, but I expect that it's probably booked up by now, too.)

lmgoldberg

Thanks for all the good ideas everyone. Decided to do the Allegheny Passage and move the trip to fourth of July weekend, which is far enough out that I can get reservations for trains, campsites, etc....