another dreamy trip
 

Here's a good Friday "I'd rather be biking than working" distraction:

I am starting to plan a short, (7-10 day) trip next year with a friend. I am looking for ideas, preferably trips you have done yourself (in part, so I can bug you later for the nitty-gritty details).

The parameters are:
1. Relatively inexpensive to get to...meaning...probably stay in the USA
2. preferably mid-way between Vermont and Washington state (Colorado?). But, Vermont and Washington are also possibilities.
3. No humidity. Not too hot. Not too cold. Thus, spring in the southern USA, summer in some places, fall are optional timings of the trip.
4. We haven't decided on the level of self-sufficiency yet, so we are keeping open-minds on this detail.

Where would you go/have you been that meet these parameters? A brief description (or link to your trip report) would be great, too.

Thanks in advance!

You could do the Logan, UT to Jackson WY ride. Then do it in reverse. You could also tour southeast utah. The so called canyon country. Arches, Zion's, Canyonlands, capitol reef, and several other national parks, within a 100 mile radius.

There's a good loop in SW Utah. Las Vegas is the nearest place to fly to, and there is probably still an inexpensive shuttle running which takes people (and bikes) from the Las Vegas airport to St. George, Utah. You ride through Zion & Bryce Canyon National Parks, plus Cedar Breaks Nat. Monument, and Snow Canyon State Park. The riding is all on good paved roads. Lots of elevation gain to get to Cedar Breaks, followed by a fabulous descent into Panguitch (or the reverse). I did it in late May one year. Hot in St. George, cool at Cedar Breaks, very nice at most places in between. It works well for a 7-10 day period. We did it with motels, though camping would be possible.

Great idea! I have a friend in LV we could ask to help us with the LV stay. Did you use the Adventure Cycling maps for this trip?

Ride east of I-15, north to Jackson/YNP?

I was considering touring in/around YNP, but, getting there (esp for my friend, getting from Vermont requires two planes) would be a major pain. I like the Logan to Jackson idea. I've also always wanted to do a a mtn biking tour on the FS roads around the Henry's Fork, YNP, Jackson area. We could just camp anywhere.

How 'bout the Katy Trail in Missourah.

Humidy. Mosquitos. edit (sp? mosquitoes?)

Since you are in Washington state, my vote would be Glacier National Park.

Amtrak runs overnight from Seattle - give yourself a little leeway since the Empire Builder runs late, but nothing like as late as the Coast Starlight. Whitefish and East Glacier are baggage stops. The nice thing about Whitefish is that it has hostels and a bike shop so it makes a good starting point. Glacier NP is the creme de la creme of U.S. riding. The park has hiker/bike camping in most of its campgrounds. There are campstores and restaurants nearby so you are never far from supplies - even if they are a bit pricey. Treat yourselves to lunch at one of the spectacular lodges - dinners are a little more expensive.

You can do a loop stargin off on Highway 2 over Marias Pass which is very gradual and then save Going to the Sun Road over Logan Pass for last. Definitely include Many Glacier on your route - maybe even take a side trip into Canada to the very lovely Waterton Lakes N.P. Make it an international escapade.

There are two larger loops - depending on how many miles you are comfortable doing - one from Whitefish into BC and over Crowsnest Pass then down to Waterton and Glacier. The other is south from Whitefish thru Seeley Lake over Rogers Pass and back north thru Choteau and the Blackfeet Reservation. There are even lovelier options if you can do a few miles of dirt.

http://www.crazyguyonabike.com/doc/p...id=26437&v=154

I wanna go now!!!!

No. I bought a very nice road map of SW Utah. A regular road map for the whole state would be sufficient, too.

Sorry -

But I think that Going to the Sun Road is closed with snow right now.
Unless you want to x-country ski it.

I'll be glad to share info. I've toured the park a half dozen times.
I took my sister there - she of the first time -
And she loved it - couldn't understand why she had never been there before.

Don't let springtime fool you. Logan Pass doesn't open until June.
Early July has the very best wildflowers. Still a few snow patches in the high country.
If you do Glacier - plan to do some hiking - at least some nice day hikes.
That way you can bike, hike, rent a canoe and paddle across a lake.
Then have a nice dinner in the lodge with the sun setting.

I should have stated my cry "I want to go" more specifically; it was more of a tantrum than anything. I've road tripped to Glacier solo over 15 yrs ago, in my youth, and it's incredibly lovely. My first thought while driving through was that I should do this on a bike someday. Since that trip, I lived in the intermountain west and worked in YNP, and come to think of it, winter-camped in YNP. I understand winter in the mountains. Biking there, in the summer of course, would be fab. Although, the idea of a combo bike+cross country ski trip does sound fun! Just promise me there'd be no avalanches, and, I'll be there. :)

P.S. Ever ridden in the Missions? Any roads that work their way through a valley...I was thinking Flathead Lake to Missoula?

I've been on nearly every paved road from Glacier heading south.
There are highway on either side of Flathead Lake - US 93 and MT 35.
Both have a lot of traffic - MT 35 has little to no shoulder.
They merge south of the lake and the traffic volume is nasty even though there is a shoulder.
There are a few reservation roads - but they always come back to US 93.
MT 83 thru the Swan Valley to Seeley Lake is O.K. - but narrow, no shoulder, and more traffic than ideal.
US 89 on the east side of the Continental Divide is sweet.
Combined with US 287 from Wolf Creek to Choteau - it's a dream ride.
The east side has open views of the Front Range - gorgeous ranches - cottonwood-lined creeks.
The one drawback to open landscapes is wind - it can get windy.
But the traffic levels on US 89 are also low. And all the towns have camping or moderate motels.