tarwheel 

We plan to drive to Albany, take the Amtrak with our bikes to Buffalo, and then ride back. We've done similar rides on the GAP-C&O Caanal trails the past two years, taking the Amtrak from Washington DC to Pittsburgh. The Erie Canal trail appears to go through or by a lot of interesting towns and cities, and we are planning a short side trip at the start to Niagara Falls, and another one near the midpoint to the Finger Lakes. Total distance should be about 400 miles over one week.

Ridefreemc

Joshua Tree area for a week of feet on the ground, and then pickup the Sierra-Cascades ACA route (using the Bike Friday NWT I just purchased) somewhere near Big Bear. North to British Columbia and the Kootenay Mountains. Some of this depends on the Tioga Pass being open, and much of it depends on getting a long leave with pay (or just go ahead and retire).

One reason for the trip. I want to visit a friend in BC and don't want to waste the gas by driving or flying...
Another. I just want to be outside.

Mid-April to late July

Ridefreemc

Hockey I have considered many options for carrying gear on my NWT and so far I am going with my 48 liter backpack on a low level rear rack (for a 20" bike - ordered through THORUSA), with bear canister and water on top the front rack. So, no panniers so far, as I want to be able to get off the bike and hike some days. Having panniers keeps me too close to the bike at all (most) times, plus can get complicated when you need to transport to buses etc. Easier to throw on the backpack and then just deal with the bike.

Ridefreemc

I rode a Michigander once from Cadillac to Mackinac and it was awesome. Loved the ride up that coast. Good food and good beer along the way. Also, completed that trip a few times on my BMW (no beer involved).

Ridefreemc

If it is hot out you can ride over to Green Lakes State Park and swim in that beautiful clear water (it is a meromictic lake - quite interesting).

Biketouringhobo

I have to work on Butler Amusements in the Goldfish game for a friend from 2-8-2016 to
10-15-2016 and in Southern California Nov2016 I plan to do a bike touring from Riverside, California via Indio, CA then to Niland, CA (Slab City) then to Blythe, CA then back to Oceanside, CA same route

tarwheel 

A week-long trip like that is one of my touring goals for 2017. My wife and I spent a week in N. Michigan in September and we loved it. Looked like some great roads for cycling with a fair number of rails-to-trails to add variety.

ryanscottdavis

Here's a chunk of a tour I'm currently planning:



Starting somewhere near Sacramento (Nevada City, CA), down US-1 through Big Sur to Death Valley towards US-50.

Will start this tour in the El Nino winter (mid January or early February). Highest pass in this screenshot is Walker's Pass at 5,250 ft. Alternative routes exist in case of snow.

Might also tack-on Joshua Tree, Mojave, and Sonoran deserts down toward Big Bend NP at the tip of Texas. Possibly Mexico.

If you're getting worried, know that I'll probably pick up a cheapo trailer of craigslist to carry 5 gallons of water at a time.

Machka 

We don't have anything decided yet, but we are considering the following options:

-- New Zealand. It's just over the way but we've only ever been to the airport in Auckland. We'd like to spend a bit of time seeing the place.

-- Mainland Australia. I'm hoping we'll be able to go somewhere for a long weekend or two. Victoria is an obvious choice, but maybe further afield like Queensland or Western Australia.

-- Tasmania. I'm hoping there will be lots more travelling and touring within Tasmania this year. We did a short, overnight cycling tour at the end of November, and enjoyed that, so we might do a more in different locations.


So this year, we're planning to stick fairly close to home after all, we might as well see the place while we're still in the area.

Ty0604

Leaving April 30 or May 1 for a 5,000 mile trip from Portland, Oregon to Portland, Maine. I'm doing the ride to raise money for cancer awareness and the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center in Seattle. Yes, I realize the trip can be much shorter (~3,200 miles). The reason it's 5,000 miles is due to the fact that people are donating based on how far I ride at a rate of $.01/mile so 5,000 miles is $50/each. The trip is taking me through at least 22 states over a roughly 4 month period. Am planning on posting my route on this forum within the next month. It's completed but waiting until after the holidays. I'll be blogging about it as well and will add the link to my signature below when it's available to the public. The website is still being developed at the moment.

Happy Touring!

boomhauer

[QUOTE=Machka;18406884][COLOR=#000080][B]

Probably leaving out my front door.
So much I haven't done on the edge of the U.S. great plains.
Any direction is fine.
As long as it last more than a couple weeks.

Worknomore

Mi, still being very auto-centric, is perhaps not the best place for urban/suburban cycling. We do have many miles of quiet, low traffic paved rural roads. If you don't mind riding off pavement your possibilities quadruple. Up north the unpaved roads can be a bit loose and sandy but from mid state south most are hard, well maintained and have next to nothing for traffic.

maxine

After semi-pondering it for several years, I'm fairly certain that 2016 is when I will actually do the GAP/C&O trip. Maybe 5-6 days, tent camping. Still hemming and hawing about the most basic logistics question: from which end to start? I live reasonably close to D.C., and even closer (within just a few easy biking miles) to a MARC station that could, on a weekend day, deliver me and my bike to/from Union Station, so I could, if I wanted to, do the entire one-way trip without using my car.

But . . . having made use of dirt trails before for short portions of short (3-day) tours, I wonder how soon that will start getting old, LOL. (That's one of the reasons, it seems, that a lot of people recommend starting in D.C. -- you get the relatively less-pleasant C&O out of the way first, and finish up with the much smoother GAP.) So I've also been pondering a road trip, on the lower Eastern Shore of Virginia (down one side of the peninsula, back up the other.)

hfbill

'Planning a 610 mile trip on my Trek 520 from our home in High Falls, NY (mid Hudson Valley) to my daughter's in Montrose MI. I'll be taking it easy and making it 7 or 8 days of riding plus a day off here and there along the way as necessary. First day through the Catskills to Oneonta NY, second day to Skeneatales NY, and then on RT20 across the top of the Finger Lakes & Western NY to Buffalo, over the Peace Bridge and on to Port Dover Ontario. From there a short trip to London ON, & then over the bridge at Sarnia to Port Huron MI, (I'll have to get a ride across as the Blue Water Bridge commission is not friendly to bicyclists ), One last night in Port Huron MI and finally, half way across Michigan to Montrose.

Ty0604

If you can't find a ride, consider going 20 miles south to Sombra, ON and taking the Bluewater Ferry across to Marine City, MI. It's $2 for a one way trip for cyclist.

sprocketss

The JMT looks awesome, (I had never heard of it), how many miles do you intend?

staehpj1

Hopefully the whole thing which is something like 210 miles plus any side hikes. We are planning to include summiting Mt Whitney. This is all depending on whether we can get the necessary permits. I am not sure of the odds on that since they tightened up the permit lottery system. I attempted the JMT previously, but wildfire smoke got worse and worse as I headed south so I went as far as Vermillion Valley Resort and then worked my way back by a little different route to avoid the smoke. It is some really beautiful country.

Doug64

Michigan is a great place to ride. You have over 1300 miles of Rails-to-Trails MUP's. We rode on several of them during our "ride about"

JerrySTL

My annual Katy Trail ride in Missouri in June.
https://mostateparks.com/2016KTRide

Ty0604

210 is correct. About 150 miles of it follow the PCT if I'm not mistaken. Maybe a little more.

MassiveD

I keep hearing it is the worst place to tour in the "civilized" world as far as road rage of drivers is concerned. You guys are in the general neighborhood, do you ever hear that kind of thing. Would seem like the ideal place in other respects.



----------------------------


Myself, I am coming off a triple by-pass and am just hoping to be able to get my endurance up. The rehab piece is really weird. I should be better than ever, both in terms of improved blood flow, and being in the top quartile of the people having the operation, I would think. But I find myself very weak, for no particular reason. So onward and upwards.

imi

I looped around South Island a few years ago. Not any road rage as such, one yahoo threw a hamburger at us (but missed).
The problem is that there are no main and secondary roads, just one road from A to B, for the most part without a shoulder. People drive fast and pass close, especially timber trucks and the postal vans, ime, which can be less than fun :/
Rear mirror was checked A LOT. The roads are mainly chipseal so you hear vehicles coming from a long way off. 'Taking the lane' as your default is not advisable, imho, unless on very narrow roads, crossing bridges and such... I hugged the white line, wore neon... and did I mention checking your rear mirror!

Don't let this put you off though!

Machka 

We're thinking of something along these lines ...

The New Zealand Cycle Trail - OFFICIAL WEBSITE

Cycle Routes & Bike Trails in New Zealand | Tourism New Zealand

New Zealand Cycle Trail in New Zealand | Things to see and do in New Zealand

Rail Trails NZ - Portal for New Zealand's Greatest Cycle Trail Rides


We can take the folding bikes on trails, as long as they aren't too technical or something. So we'll research some of those and pick one or two we like.

MikeRides

My goddaughter and I rode the ECT from Buffalo to Albany NY last summer and loved it. We're now hooked on touring(we did a few short, weekend out and back bike-camping trips prior), she recently asked me where we were going to ride next summer. I looked at her and said, "I don't know, where would you like to ride?" She mentioned taking the ECT again, but to be honest even with the many touristy stops available and the security of knowing that 3/4 of the route is off-road I'm hesitant as the trail was pretty monotonous much of the time. She's only 10, and not exactly thrilled with riding on roads so that limits our options a bit, but I've been reading up on the C&O trail that goes from Philly to Washington DC, that seems to have some potential for us(educational and safe route).

In the end it's going to come down to how much time off I can manage to get this summer, right now it looks like we may only be stuck with 3-day weekend getaways. In other news, we're already discussing plans on riding cross country when she graduates in 2022

tarwheel 

I would recommend the GAP trail over the C&O if you don't have time to do both. However, they both have their charms and drawbacks. The GAP has a much more consistent and better maintained riding surface, and towns with places to eat or find lodging are located at closer distances. The C&O has more historical significance and remoteness, but can get very muddy during rainy weather and there are several stretches with very long distances between towns. If you have time, by all means ride them both.