Looking for ideas for a week-long tour in April
 

My son has two weeks off school in early April, and I'm looking for an idea for a bicycle tour. It would be the two of us on a tandem. I think it would have to be in the South; here in the Northeast April weather is still pretty iffy. And I don't want to fly; I'm willing to take Amtrak or Greyhound, though.

Anyone got something?

If you don't mind a bit of rain ... there's always Vancouver Island. :)

The ideal place to cycle in April is in the Mojave and Death Valley.
Warm to hot days, cool nights. And dry.
Not to mention desert wildflowers. (Although this year is dry.)
Of course that's a long trip on Amtrak.
And torture on Greyhound.

That said, the best place in the Southeast is near the coast.
As you get further toward the Gulf the precip increases a lot.
The AC Atlantic Coast route has you biking thru the pine forests.
There's not much of a coastal experience.

So I suggest Jacksonville to Charleston.
(Both have Amtrak stops with baggage service.)
Instead, I would suggest lots of zigs and zags -
That way you can take in the Sea Islands of Georgia,
And some of the South Carolina coast.

http://i82.photobucket.com/albums/j2...71_2000041.png

http://i82.photobucket.com/albums/j2...71_2000041.png

PS Trenton doesn't have checked baggage, but 30th St Station in Philly does.
The Silver Meteor is pretty convenient.

Leaves Philly at 5:00p; gets to Jx'ville at 9:30a
Leaves Charleston at 9:45p, gets back to Philly at 10:00a

Amtrak is such a pain. They do sell a bike box. Every time I buy one the price has gone up, and the number of stations at which they do baggage has gone down. Everywhere in Europe you just put your bike on a baggage car on a train. Other than some high-speed trains that don't have room, you go anywhere.

The problem you are going to have with a tandem bike is that Amtrak's one-size-fits-all bike box isn't going to accommodate your tandem. So, I would suggest boxing it and shipping it somewhere to the south of you, and riding it back to New Jersey.

Howard

Yeah, that's basically what I've been thinking... or, better yet, a loop of some kind-- starting and ending from home. In many ways that's the most appealing; unfortunately it doesn't get me anywhere exotic.

Looks like you ruled out most of your options. How about a boat?
There is lots of history in the area you could do a history tour. Gettysburg is awesome by bike.

Don't know if you want to come this far, but there are some great tours in New Mexico. The weather will be good and warm for most of the state by then. Lincoln County has good great historic rides (Billy the Kid, OK Corral, etc).

look on adventure cycling maps you should get plenty of ideas. If you ever want to come to california, well there's always SF-LA or better yet SF-SD. To LA is about a weeks worth, to san diego add a day or two. Cant beat it. You ride through cali coast you will never forget it. I think the streach from carmel to big sur , then big sur to san simieon is unforgetfull and was definately the most breathtaking ride in my life. You might want to fly to get to cali though.