Need ideas for Northeast tour
 

I'm looking for an approximately 3-5 day tour in Vermont, New Hampshire, Maine, or Quebec. My criteria:

• Big fan of relatively flat terrain :)
• Peaceful country roads
• Scenic
• Good opportunities for stealth or cheap camping

Thanks for your ideas!

I'd say Route Verte in Quebec or the western edge of Vermont. You're not going to find flat terrain in any of the other areas. Even the Route Verte has some hilly sections.

www.lakechamplainbikeways.org

or

check out mapmyride.com and search for Burlington, Vergennes or Middlebury. Even if you don't have a GPS, you can get ideas on roads that make good riding by reviewing the maps that are displayed along with the GPS info.

what he / she said.

eastern side of lake champlain can be fairly flat, depending on where you are riding...

Happily, there in fact is flat terrain in all 3 states---in the river and mountain valleys and along the coast. Even in the White Mountains there are flat places. I'm hoping some local folks will have some ideas.

I recommend Le P'tit Train du Nord, a 230 km (144 miles) rail/trail in Quebec. Being an old railroad bed, it has gentle gradients even though you cut right thru the Laurentians. Very pretty scenery. When I rode it, there were shuttle services which would ferry you and your bike from one end to another so you could ride it one-way. I'm guessing these shuttles still exist. The shuttle was pretty cheap. The south end of the trail was extended from when I did it and now starts from just north of Montreal in Blainville.
http://www.laurentians.com/parclineaire/

+1 Le P'tit Train du Nord
Here is my trip report from 2 years ago:
http://www.crazyguyonabike.com/doc/?...c_id=3746&v=2r

Also, there is great riding on the Route Verte in Quebec, especially just over the border from Vermont in Quebec's Eastern Townships.

www.easterntownships.org

[QUOTE=axolotl;11141394]I recommend Le P'tit Train du Nord, a 230 km (144 miles) rail/trail in Quebec. Being an old railroad bed, QUOTE]


What is this trail made of? I'm finding on my local rail trails that my speed is reduced by about 30% compared to paved roads, and after a while the noise of the path gets a bit irritating. Another thing I noticed on Cape Cod is the monotony of the trails that go straight ahead for miles with nothing to see on either side.

I am interested in the Eastern Townships if anyone can recommend a specific route.

[QUOTE=
What is this trail made of? I'm finding on my local rail trails that my speed is reduced by about 30% compared to paved roads, and after a while the noise of the path gets a bit irritating. Another thing I noticed on Cape Cod is the monotony of the trails that go straight ahead for miles with nothing to see on either side.

I am interested in the Eastern Townships if anyone can recommend a specific route.[/QUOTE]

The Petit Train Trail is 50% paved/50% pack gravel. The northern half is the paved section. I guess since just about any ride I take here in Vermont ends up having some dirt road riding, a pack gravel trail is much easier riding then the dirt road. My speed doesn't vary much from paved to gravel since I'm never going that fast anyway.

Some of the Route Verte is on road, other times it uses trails. The WEB sites provide information on the trail/route, any what type of base they are on.

If you go to the link I provided and click on the maps on the left and then click on the "+" sign to blow the map segments up, you can see the surface type. Some trail portions closer to Montreal also appear to be paved.

As for noise from a path being "irritating", I find that noise from motor vehicles on roads is a lot more irritating. But that's just me.

HA! Good point! Still bugs me though. I prefer paved or very fine gravel.

The unpaved portions of Le P'tit Train du Nord were very fine gravel. I hate riding on coarse gravel, too, though not specifically because of the noise. The whole P'tit Train was unpaved when I rode it several years back, but it was still a pleasure to ride on. Now it should be even better.

I helped these folks with the route planning... but if you don't like gravel, you might not like the dirt roads on this route (can be had paved, too...)

http://www.crazyguyonabike.com/doc/?...c_id=7361&v=2r

10 of us recently did a great 5-day tour in the Northeast Kingdom area of Vermont. The Google map is here.

[QUOTE=adgadg2;11162675]10 of us recently did a great 5-day tour in the Northeast Kingdom area of Vermont. QUOTE]

THANK YOU, adgadg2 (guitarist, I see). That's exactly what I was looking for! I will certainly take this route under consideration.

Do you know of a safe place to park in Littleton?