2014 - Your Short Tours
 

Short tours are great for those of us who can only spare a few days from our busy schedules to spend on a cycling tour ... or for those of us who want to do a quick exploration of the area where we live or an area we want to learn more about ... and for those who want to test equipment, bicycle setup, etc.

When you go on a short hub-and-spoke tour, overnight tour, weekend tour, long weekend tour, maybe even a week-long tour, or something similar, tell us about it here. :)

Where did you go? What did you see along the way? Would you recommend the area? What sort of accommodation did you use? What kind of bicycle did you ride? Did you learn anything new?

What short tours do you have planned for 2014?


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A reminder of last year's (2013) short tours:
2013 - Your Short Tours

2012 short tours:
http://www.bikeforums.net/touring/79...ort-tours.html

2011 short tours:
http://www.bikeforums.net/touring/72...ort-tours.html

2007 short tours:
http://www.bikeforums.net/touring/25...ort-tours.html



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Short tours can include quite a variety of different sorts of touring including, but not limited to ...

-- day tours (usually taking up most of the day and including scenic or tourist destinations)
-- hub-and-spoke tours (cycling or driving out to a destination which becomes the "headquarters" or "hub", and then doing day tours off in various directions from the "hub")
-- overnight tours (cycling out to a neighbouring town, campground, national park, etc, staying overnight in a campground, hotel, B&B, or whatever other choice of accommodation is available)
-- weekend or long weekend tours or several days or week long tours (similar to the overnight tour, but longer)

These tours can be credit card tours where no camping gear is carried and the cyclist stays in accommodations such as hotels, B&Bs hostels, etc., and eats in restaurants, cafes, etc., or they can be camping tours, or some combination of the two.

They can have a variety of purposes ... travel and exploration, a desire to get away from it all for a weekend, visiting family and friends, or in combination with work, school, or other events.

Lots of options!

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And also ... for reference

2014 Touring Plans ... long and short ...
http://www.bikeforums.net/touring/92...you-going.html

I have a 295KM ride planned. From my home in Richibucto, New Brunswick, up the Acadian Coastal Route.

I also have several other trips planned, including possibly hitting Nova Scotia and Prince Edward Island, and several shorter tours in and around New Brunswick.

EDIT: And, I plan to cycle up the Miramichi River from Fredericton to Miramichi. The route is outlined here.

I have a 1/4 mile trip planned , to have some pints till 01.01.014, 1:10, at least :beer:

I can Ride My Brompton , and park it inside under the wall hanging Juke box..
They're smaller now that the music is all web downloads.

The usual... I guess. Primarily hub and spoke in the various locations up and down the East Coast of the US. We will be in Savannah, GA for a week in May as part of the Highland Games it is in early May. We will make a week long trip out of it and do some local riding. I think too we may be in NY finger lakes region in June or July for work, but again, time to take short trips.

Aaron :)

Exploring a ride from Austin, TX to Little Rock, AR. The attraction of Little Rock is that it is ~1 week ride away and is on Amtrak line with baggage service.

I organized an overnight ride from Santa Cruz CA to Costanoa KOA campground near Pescadero CA to see the elephant-seal tour at nearby Ano Nuevo State Beach. Here's the plan: http://www.meetup.com/norcal-biketou...nts/155092092/. I'll post some pictures and comments after the tour concludes. Costanoa is an unusual campground in that it has a range of accommodations, including tent camping with your own tent, tent cabins, wooden cabins, RV campsites, and a full-service lodge with high-class restaurant. Tent campers can enjoy hot showers, dry sauna, and outdoor fireplace in one of the several "comfort stations". YouTube has videos of it. There's also the nearby Pigeon Point hostel in a lighthouse on the coast.

I'm heading across northern Nebraska for 7 or 8 days into the Black Hills and then ride the Ride Across South Dakota back. (RaSDak)

I am planning a ride from southern Vermont to the south Boston suburbs. I am looking for the best route
between Brattleboro VT and Gillette Stadium in Foxboro MA. I am hoping someone out there can suggest some ideas
that maximize the scenery and minimize the traffic. It will probably be a 2 day ride.

Planning a trip from long island n.y. to ocean city md.in august that will coincide with a family vacation with parents , siblings, and nieces and nephews. What really has me stoked , my 20 yr old daughter in college and rotc will finish boot camp a month previous and wants to join me.

I am alone this year. My two partners are not available so I'm doing a fully supported tour. It's all here

I'll be continuing to visit my favorite destinations in the Atlanta, Ga. area. That includes a new primitive camping area that I've never been to at Panola Mountain State Park. One of my favorite trips in the area is a little known WMA known as Charlie Elliott. The camping there is free if you don't count the annual $22 GORP. Also high on my list of weekend trips is the camping along the Silver Comet Trail, where free camping is also not hard to find and there's miles and miles of off road riding.

Two old dudes, me 72, bud 77, will leave Tuesday, Vicksburg to NOLA, on the Mississippi River Trail. Both on loaded bents. Forecast is for perfect cycling weather.

Machka, I'm still recovering from an a$$ kicker of pneumonia and just looking at a couple of picnic rides to bring the lungs back online. ;)

I am toying with the idea of revisiting Connecticut and Block Island for a few days this summer/fall. There are also some places in the San Francisco Bay Area I'd like to explore better. Both will be a modified hub and spoke format and as usual it's just finding the free time to do so.

Brad

Well, I'm still trying to work the details, as I've never done any touring before (i've biked, i've camped, but never at the same time).

To add another little monkey-wrench, I want to bring my oldest boy (7) along. He's never ridden without training wheels (will work on that this spring to be sure), so I'm currently thinking about doing a loaded tour with racks/panniers on my bike, plus a trail-a-bike, and (if necessary) a small trailer behind that.

The plan is to take a week to ride from my house (northern twin cities, MN) up to and along the length of the Willard Munger trail to Duluth MN. My wife and other kids would meet us at a hotel (with a pool) at the end and haul us home.

Before doing that, I'll definitely pack the bike and kid, and bike to a nearby campground for a test-run of myself, my son, and the chosen gear.

Am I crazy to even consider this? The route is approximately 170 miles.

Try to get a hold of some rubel bike maps for MA.

My thoughts: Think about your objective of the trip, especially the "getting there" versus "being there" balance; that is, how much time you'll be riding compared with time camping each day. The number of miles you're planning to travel seems ok (170 miles / 7 days = 24.28 miles per average day). At an average speed of 10 mph, that's about 2.4 hours of riding daily. If you can ride more, say 3.4 hours, you could cover the distance in 5 days of riding, leaving you 2 days of pure camping. This gives some leeway to take longer on the riding in case something goes wrong (mechanical problem, flat tires, slow progress up hills). I'd suggest that you find the most difficult segment of such a trip and do a trial run of that segment on some weekend, fully loaded, to see if your estimates are realistic and you can get from campsite to campsite (or motel/hotel) with time to spare. Your plan doesn't sound crazy to me, but you need to do some work to condition yourself and your son for the riding fully loaded and you need to make options along the route if you don't get as far as you planned on some day(s). You can examine the route and elevation climbs using a mapping program, such as MapMyRide.com, where I found this ride that is similar http://www.mapmyride.com/us/richfiel...route-19387154. Be safe; have fun.

Hopefully I'll get around to going to Kyushu and Hokkaido...

I've created a 4 States, 4 Days on $40 tour. CT, MA, VT, & NY

Early August, me and a few work colleagues will set out for four days of fun. 75 mile days with an average of 6000 feet per day of climbing. :) We've never toured....we don't own the right camping equipment....we have expensive road bikes.....we are normally glued to your gadgets but we are all in create cycling shape.

The rules.... Leave day one with your phone charged and when it dies, it dies. I will carry a solar charger for emergencies. We will leave with $40 cash each (emergency cc also) and when your money is gone, its gone. This adventure is all about disconnecting from our everyday world, making ourselves think outside the box and exploring the world with the basics. Im stoked and can't wait!!

Starting to think about this year. Looking at a 4 day either on the Oregon coast or central part of te Oregon haven't really decided yet. Got a fellow BF'er who is interested and hasn't toured yet so that could be fun. Last year was solo.

We've done a couple short hub-and-spoke style tours this month ...

1) Hobart Regatta long weekend in early February ... we headquartered in an old (early 1800s) inn and cycled out in various directions on Day 1. We were planning to cycle on Day 2 as well, but a really nasty weather system blew in. Within 2 hours the temperature dropped 20 degrees (33C to 13C), the wind blew (and took out trees), the rain fell, the lightening flashed ... and we weren't dressed for that sort of thing! But by Day 3, everything had settled and we were able to do some more cycling again. :)


2) Last weekend, we headed up to a small town in northern Tasmania to see the National Penny Farthing Championships. And of course we cycled on both days of the weekend to see the penny farthings and to explore the area.

Another hub and spoke tour on the March Labour Day long weekend. We travelled up to Deloraine, stayed in an old converted barn ... just beautiful.

Day 1 of the tour was a short ride around town.
Day 2 of the tour was 113.85 km to celebrate my birthday.

See details on this weekend's Weekend Cycling Reports thread:
Weekend Cycling Reports - March 8/9/10

[QUOTE=Machka;16371815]Short tours are great for those of us who can only spare a few days from our busy schedules to spend on a cycling tour ... or for those of us who want to do a quick exploration of the area where we live or an area we want to learn more about ... and for those who want to test equipment, bicycle setup, etc.

When you go on a short hub-and-spoke tour, overnight tour, weekend tour, long weekend tour, maybe even a week-long tour, or something similar, tell us about it here. :)

Where did you go? What did you see along the way? Would you recommend the area? What sort of accommodation did you use? What kind of bicycle did you ride? Did you learn anything new?

What short tours do you have planned for 2014?


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Short tours for me means bike camping weekends. Here in Northern California, there are handfuls of great spots that are easy to access by bike from your doorstep and if you have a few extra days you can just connect the destinations for a nice loop with plenty of varied terrain. Often there is a ferry or train option for the return which allows you to over extra distance or helps you to get home without feeling destroyed.

My recent favorite has been camping at Hawk Camp in the Marin Headlands (via fire roads) and then descending out to catch the bike trail that leads you to Sir Francis Drake where can ride out to all the way to Point Reyes. Glen and Sky Camp are two great options out there with some fire road riding and Samuel P. Taylor is okay in a pinch (though they've destroyed one of the best bike-in campground around IMHO). All in all it's a good 140 mile ride from SF, a good, solid 2-3 nights.

Here is a list I've compiled of Bay Area favorites, along with maps and advice: Guide to San Francisco Bay Area Bike Camping ? Pedal Inn: Bike Camping Guide, Provisions, and Cookbook

http://bikeforums.net/attachment.php...hmentid=368990http://bikeforums.net/attachment.php...hmentid=368991http://bikeforums.net/attachment.php...hmentid=368992

Bump for those about to head out on short tours. :)

Heading out in a couple weeks for at least 7 days in northern AR and southern MO. This one ought to be interesting because I'll get to start off the season climbing all those little Ozark "hills" and having very little mileage in my legs.

I can see a new thread forthcoming, " Pics of me walking up hills with my loaded touring bike"

I got an opportunity to get together with a riding buddy this coming weekend so we are going to go on our first "wheeled" trip together. We've been backpacking a lot but no bike trips. This weekend has us in central OH around farm land and small towns. As to mileage I am hoping we're between 25-50, just one day.

I'm hoping to ride my first short tour next week, weather permitting. Plan to ride from my home in Raleigh, NC, to the town of Oriental on the coast. It should take me 3 days. I was originally planning to camp but the locations of parks/campsites along the way are not good for my planned daily mileages, so I will probably stay in hotels. I am ready to go with gear ready and trip mapped out but waiting for the weather forecast to make a final decision. We have had unseasonably cold, wet weather all winter and spring so far and I have no interest in riding through cold rain for 3 days. Right now the forecast is looking good, however, so maybe I'll get lucky.

We're on holiday ... a hub and spoke sort of tour ... so today we cycled to a pair of tourist attractions and bought tickets to go to them at some point this weekend. Then we cycled northward to a beach, spent a little while sitting on the beach having lunch, and then we cycled back again.

It was a lovely day without much wind ... sunshine and 17C.


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(Click for more photos. :))

I camped April 5-6 in the Land Between the Lakes in Kentucky. Rode mountain bike trails both days. Definitely plan on going back to explore the rest of the place. Would like to try some primitive camping along the trails. Or, I could just stay in the campground at night and ride trails all day. Off-road riding is my favorite.

Last summer I did the Pacific Coast, San Francisco to Long Beach (home). This summer I am hopping to do either the Oregon Coast or the Northern CA part of the Pacific Coast route, Crescent City to San Francisco. I'll work in one of those, as well as a 50 mile hike in the Eastern Sierras this summer. Hopefully everything will fall into place in the next month or so. I'll also do a few over nighters to the local beaches.

That sounds like fun. Did not know about RaSDak; I'll have to check it out one of these days.