Tips for a cycling base Stateside.
 

For the last 8 or 9 years my wife and I have vacationed in France usually a couple of weeks.
I have always taken my road bike and although my wife does not cycle she's fine about me taking off
for 2 or 3 hours every morning. We would quite like to try a trip to the states. Can you guys make some recommendations for a good location. Ideally scenic, peaceful, interesting and good roads for my cycling.
The last two years we've been to Provence, great region for the bike with Ventoux etc. Also not sure about taking my bike on the plane, could I hire a bike? We've always driven to France.
Oh and we're also really interested in history. Hoping for some good suggestions.

Depending on the time of year, the Blue Ridge Parkway area is accessible easily from as far south as Atlanta GA up to Northern VA.

You could also go to NewYork City and find the Nyack ride and ride with the legendary Pcad.

Lots of potential places to go here in the states. A nice bottle of single malt would really make me open up. ;-)

How much time are you going to have? How many miles? Hilly? Flat? Somewhere in between? What about your budget and time of year?

I live in the deep south where we have all sorts of terrain, but the weather can be brutal in the summer if you're not accustomed to it. But on the other hand, we have lots and lots of rural roads with little traffic. Cost of touring here in the south is also quite reasonable.

Would be going late August early September. Hilly or flat I don't mind, scenic
and interesting. It'd be for two weeks.

How about this scenery?

http://youtube.com/watch?v=LEcclqbsw7Q

That's Mt. Rainier, Washington. I don't know if you want to go that far west though. I've never been there, but it looks great. Anyone else have comments on this location?

edit: More information, from the national parks service website: http://www.nps.gov/mora/planyourvisit/bicycling.htm

Obviously you'll want to read up on what else to do other than cycling here though, unless you want to get your wife into cycling between now and then :D

That's the hottest time of the year here in the south, so I wouldn't recommend that for you. Suggest you consider New England (esp. Vermont) or the California wine country. August might be too early for the fall foliage in New England, but September could be quite nice - check with tourism agencies about the best time for that. Lots of American history there.

The wine country is really nice, but can also be expensive depending on the type of accomodations you seek. Chain hotels in the nearby towns can be had for reasonable rates, but inns/B&Bs can be costly. If you're interested in that, get in touch with a poster by the name of Phoenix in the bicycling.com love forum. He lives in the area and can give you more details than I can. Tell him I sent you.

I've been to northern california a few times, right on the oregon border. It's a great place for general vacationing because you can walk around in the redwood forest, and go to the beach too. The scenery there is awesome, and you could probably find some great cycling routes too. Plus it doesn't get too hot in the summer.

Santa Barbara, California would be my recommendation. Beautiful views, great climbs and perfect weather are all there. With the exchange rate the way it is, it won't seem too expensive (although in the US, it is). There are plenty of things to do with the wife as well since there are all sorts of wineries in the area and great resorts/restaurants. It'll probably remind you of Southern France a little. You can fly into LAX (inexpensive), and drive there on a good day in 2 hours or so. Make sure you plan your drive time around traffic.

The Hudson Valley, NY - Revolutionary War history. Pcad where are you?

Virginia, parkway as mentioned above - Civil War battle grounds, very interesting. You must stay in Lexington Va. at the Hampton and go on the "Ghost" walking tour, it ends up in the cemetery by Stonewall Jackson's grave. Done it twice.

The Adirondack Mts. NY, LakePlacid, 1932 and 1980 Winter Olympics, very beautiful, very hilly, very nice cycling, lodging from so so to posh.

Lake Tahoe after Labor Day (Sept. 1), is cool, quiet, and gorgeous. Heaven on earth.

+1. Northern California (north of San Francisco) is fantastic cycling country. You can find 10,000 foot mountain passes, giant redwood forests, remote Pacific Ocean beaches, wineries in Napa Valley, spas in Calistoga, world class mountain scenery at Lake Tahoe and Yosemite, etc. There are lots of great cycling roads with little traffic, especially once you get away from the city.

But if Pcad gets shelled you're on your own Laddie.

Athens GA
Greenville SC
Traverse City MI
Northern CA

What about Canada? Cape Breton Island, Prince Edward Island, Banff/Lake Louise, Old Quebec City, Newfoundland, Niagara Falls/wine region, Ottawa, Algonquin Park, the Okanagan Valley and many other areas too numerous to list.

Try Santa Fe, New Mexico- it's soooo gorgeous! c. 7500 ft elevation, with beautiful mountains in every direction. It's all dry heat in the summer, so you won't be sweating like a dog, either. Santa Fe is one of the most beautiful places I've ever been, your wife will find tons to do, also.

Thanks for all that great info guys. I told my wife we'd get
more good stuff from the forum than any travel agent. By the
way Bullwinkle if we ever meet up I'd be happy to buy you a large
dram of Laphroaig. Cheers!

I once vacationed in the highlands. It was beautiful and the people were fantastic, but it was the wrong time of year and it was very windy and wet.

Having said that, I second (or third or fourth) going to Northern California. Lots to do, beautiful scenery, plentiful road and mountain biking, and not so hot. I was going to recommend the Texas Hill Country or the Carolinas, but agree that September is just too hot and muggy if you're not used to it.

Athens, huh? Anywhere in particular? The future Mrs. Michaelmc went to UGA and her parents live between ATL and Athens, so we visit all the time, but I never took it to be great cycling country. I may have to take my bike on the next visit.

history? no such thing in the states. if anything gets too old, we just tear it down and build some condos or a mini mall.

[QUOTE=kwrides;6088714]I once vacationed in the highlands. It was beautiful and the people were fantastic, but it was the wrong time of year and it was very windy and wet.

Windy and wet in the Scottish Highlands ??? Actually there is no right time of year, we get that any month.
I heard someone say " The weather's not bad you're just wearing the wrong clothes. "
I think the weathers the reason we invented whisky!

Lots of good suggestions of where to ride. BA and Virgin both let you take a bike (in an approved bike box) for free. You can check their websites under luggage/sports equipment.

If you end up in DC/Virginia let me know. Always happy to meet up with a fellow Brit for a ride/drink.

Tom

Thanks, Ben! Hope to meet you sometime.

Seriously consider the area around Montpelier, Vermont, esp. for the time of year you're talking about. I've never lived or cycled there, but it has a stellar reputation here in the states. Lots of climbs and loops (e.g., Smuggler's Notch). Also not far from major cities you might want to see (NYC, Boston), close to the Canadian border (a day or two in Quebec would be nice), and the Hudson River valley (think revolutionary war sites like Ticonderoga and Saratoge) and Lake Champlain are also close by.

Yes, and an avid crew of BF'ers nearby who would be only too happy to show you the great local riding...

Athens, huh? Anywhere in particular? The future Mrs. Michaelmc went to UGA and her parents live between ATL and Athens, so we visit all the time, but I never took it to be great cycling country. I may have to take my bike on the next visit.

MichaelMC - The South in general is great for riding (presuming you can tolerate the heat and humidity). Lots and lots of rural roads with little traffic, and all kinds of terrain too.

I'd go just west of Traverse City, MI. The nearby Sleeping Bear Dunes national lakeshore area is amazing. Lightly travelled country roads. Lake Michigan, not too many tourists, etc.