+1! Most enjoyable to watch, gave a good feeling. Once again, your photography is really first rate.

What was that odd approach with all the graffiti (as if you were in an open box culvert under some freeways)?

Erick, I have used the Mirrycle mounting system that you mentioned in a different thread on my bike, and it works really well, so thanks again for the idea (and the excellent photo that you included in your message in that thread).

Adrian loved your DV trip report.. love the town of Bishop and wish I could live there as well and have the E. Sierras as my backyard!

I want to PM this to you but the forum wouldn't let me due to my low post counts..

Question about your rear panniers.. Did you use any customized mounting points? Did they bounce around when you rode the rough roads?

Just an underpass under some road. There are a few in Gatineau and many of them are quite colorful. What I didn't see was the large block of ice/snow at the beginning.

Here's a more detailed route: https://maps.google.com/maps?saddr=55...m&z=9&lci=bike

It doesn't have every single details but close enough. There were a few places where I changed route because bike paths still had snow or water, like in Oka park. In St-André-d'Argenteuil, you can take the Route des Seigneurs, turn left Chemin de l'île-aux-Chats, go through the little woodland and you pop-out next to the Carillon dam. There's a campground next to the dam and some cheaper sites are in that woodland. Showers require looneys. In Ontario, the new highway 17 is a pain so before Rockland, you can take McTeer rd, Cannan rd and Baseline rd.

It's a great place for day rides, with many ferry options to cross the river. There's free parking in Oka, Carillon and Chatham and perhaps other places. Cyclists can go through Voyageur park for free. Plaisance park is really nice. I usually stop a full day and turn back there instead on going all the way to Ottawa.

Merci bien, thanks a lot for all those details, much appreciated.

If you can get 4 days....Day 1: Take NJT to Seacaucus Jct. and then the Port Jervis train up to Middletown. (The new NJT bike policy applies to this train so you cannot take it to Port Jervis because that station does not have a high level plaform.) From Middletown, ride to the Port Jervis area, where there are some private campgrounds near by. Day 2: Ride down through the Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area and camp at Worthington State Forest. You might see a bear along the way. The group sites at Worthington have bear boxes. If they are in use, you will have to hang your food. Day 3: Cross into PA via the pedestrian walkway along I-80, ride down the river, cross back into NJ at Belvidere and continue south to Milford. Across the river from Milford there is a private campground. You could also keep heading south to Frenchtown, NJ, cross into PA and head south a few miles to Tinicum Park, which has a campground. (The camground at Bull's Island State Park, about 8 miles south of Frenchtown, is closed this year and may never reopen.) Day 4: Backtrack the few miles to Frenchtown, take the D&R canal path to Trenton and catch NJT back to NYC.

We were going to do all this this weekend (but ride back to Hilly instead) but things got in the way so we are doing something shorter. I hope to do it sometime later this year. Fall or late summer (after Labor Day) would be ideal. Worthington can get crowded in the summer, and they won't let you make an advance reservation for Friday or Saturday unless you book both nights. If you call Saturday morning and they happen to not be full, you can make a reservation for that one night.

If the train schedules work out, you could combine Days 1 and 2. Middletown to Port Jervis is 20 miles via U.S. 6. Port Jervis to Worthington is about 40 miles via Old Mine Rd. Send me a PM if you would like more details.

Just planning some 2 to 3 day midweek bike camping trips from White Bear Lake, Mn. to various state, national parks and forests in the 50 to 75 mile distance.

Gonna head out this weekend for the first overnight of the year. Took a yurt in a state park 40 miles out, so no camping this time, but future trips will involve the tent.

So far this year ...

Mid-January -- we took a long weekend and went to Gippsland and area (south-central/eastern Victoria) where we cycled up a couple mountains, and visited the ocean.

Mid-February -- we took a long weekend and went to the Phillip Island area for a cycling event that didn't quite pan out the way we had planned, so we made the best of it and had a nice look around the area.

Some ocean photos from our mid-January and mid-February long weekends: https://www.flickr.com/photos/machka-...7629300260523/

Mid-March -- we took the Labour Day long weekend, and went to the central Goldfields area of Victoria (sort of the middle of the state) for a cycling event. Then we did an overnight camping trip and exploration of a little goldfields town.

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Early April -- Easter Weekend
Rowan did a hub-and-spoke tour over the Easter weekend. We had thought we might do an overnight tour, and we brought everything we needed for that, but the weather was a little scary over the weekend ... howling winds, driving rain, and a sudden drop in temperature.

We were also planning to camp all weekend, and did the first night which was good, but the next morning we were offered a unit and with the winds gusting up to 80 km/h, we decided to take it. Good decision.

We also decided to make the trip a hub-and-spoke tour then as well.

Thursday - drove to Port Fairy.

Friday - spent some time at the beach on boogie boards, some time taking photos of the ocean and area, and some time relaxing.

Saturday - drove out to Portland, and then cycled out to Cape Bridgewater and back on new touring bicycles for a total of 37 km.

Sunday - cycled here and there around the Port Fairy area for a total of 39 km. Got caught in one of the many rainstorms passing through the area, and got totally soaked.

Monday - spent about 4 hours walking around the Flagstaff Hill Maritime Museum in Warrnambool, then drove home.


Photos:
https://www.flickr.com/photos/machka-...etail/?page=15
https://www.flickr.com/photos/machka-...etail/?page=16
https://www.flickr.com/photos/machka-...etail/?page=17
https://www.flickr.com/photos/machka-...etail/?page=18

On Friday we drove to Lambertville, NJ, rode 33 miles with some good hills in places to a state park with a campground on a reservoir, stopping to pick up groceries on the way. Huge moon rose over the water Friday night. Heard the calls of loons in the middle of the night and saw them the next morning. Saturday we scouted part of a route through the "Jersey Alps" that will be part of a 75 mi. road ride I will be leading in June. Met a friend for dinner Saturday night and then watched a full moon rise over the water. Frost on the panniers Sunday morning. Rode back to the car Sunday morning via some different roads. Got a flat a few miles before a planned second breakfast. Very windy all weekend and cold in the mornings, but the days were sunny. Hope to add some photos later.

Hi Boogman,
No customized mounting points. Standard Surly bike and Surly Nice Racks. The Arkel panniers are superb. Love them. They move around a little as can be expected on rutted roads but they stay put and never gave a problem. It was far more of a problem to stop everything from self destructing in the paniers as things jiggled against other things.

My wife and I just got back from a five day trip down the Big Sur Coast of California. Superb trip.

Day 1. Parked at friends house in Morro Bay. Cycled to San Louis Obispo, +-14 miles, boxed bikes for Amtrak ride to Salinas (170 miles). Should have been 3 hours but someone tried to commit suicide by Amtrak so we were delayed for two hours as authorities in Solidad cleaned up the mess. We arrived in Salinas after dark and cycled another +-14 miles to Laguna Seca Racetrack. Came across some unexpected freeway and no-bicycle signs. Thankfully my smartphone gave us directions around the short section of freeway. Cycling by headlight and full moon was pleasant with little traffic. Got to campground at around 11:30PM. As there were no races, the place was empty.

Day 2. Cycled into Monterey and started coast ride down to Pfeiffer Big Sur State Park. Pleasant ride of 42 miles. Weather was cool and we wore jackets all day. Brisk North wind. Narrow to non-existent shoulder in places but the killer cars were mostly pretty good about not passing where it was unsafe to do so. I was disappointed at how dirty the hike and bike site at the State Park was. I picked up a large bag full of trash. Nontheless a very pleasant day. Beautiful vistas. It was a cool night with temps in the low forties.

Day 3. We got up late and took a very easy 27 mile cycle to Limekiln State Park. We stopped often and saw several whale pods and a huge dolphin school. Also a pair of condors soaring just above the road. Warmer today with North wind again. I was in a t-shirt all day. The hiker bike site at Limekiln is the closest campsite to the ocean with great views. The river and ocean drown out the car noise from the bridge right above the camp spot.

Day 4. We got up early and cycled 42 miles to San Simeon State Park. The road was nice and quiet early with very little traffic. Once again t-shirt weather with a light North wind helping us along. Lots of whale pods again. We stopped at Ragged Point for lunch and sat on the grass in the sun out of the wind and ate our sandwiches. Plenty of wild flowers. The traffic picked up as the day wore on. We stopped and gawked at the Elephant Seals along with the other tourists. Didn't have time for the Hearst Castle unfortunately. San Simeon State Park hiker bike site is close to the road, so noisy. On the plus side it was sheltered from the wind which was strong off the ocean. The wind died down shortly after sunset and we made a fire. The dew was heavy and everything started dripping early on.

Day 5. Even our sleeping bags were wet inside the tent. We got up early and packed up a soggy tent and soggy everything and headed into San Simeon for a breakfast treat. We had carried all our food thus far but had run out of breakfast. There was fog for the first time on the trip but it was not too thick and soon burned off. We asked some local cyclists we passed about a good place to eat and they pointed us to Lynn's, a very pleasant restaurant with great food, service and atmosphere where we gorged on great food. On the way to Morro Bay i got a puncture, an old, sharp, rusty nail. After changing tubes we covered the last two miles back to our friends house and were at our car by 11:30 for a long drive home. We covered 27 miles today.

Overall a great trip which could be covered in fewer days if desired. I highly recommend this route. The Amtrak train did not have racks so the bikes had to be boxed but the guy gave us a great deal in San Louis and we paid far less than the advertised rates.

April 21/22 - Saturday & Sunday - Victoria Australia (Wangaratta/Beechworth)

Rowan and I did a cycling tour this weekend.

Friday, we packed up our panniers with everything we thought we might need for an extended cycling tour. We're a bit out of practice packing for a tour ... so it was a good exercise.

Saturday morning, we drove to Wangaratta, a couple hours away, set up the bicycles with the panniers etc., and set off.

We decided to ride a paved/sealed rail trail to Beechworth, about 50 km away. We don't normally like rail trails and MUPs, but this one wasn't too bad ... for one thing, the sealed surface really helped. So many of them around here are gravel.

For another thing, the trail is quite scenic, and it was nice not having to deal with motorised traffic.

The trail was generally a climb most of the way, and especially the last 16 km, but it went quite well, even with the panniers and all.

We arrived at Beechworth just before 5 pm, set up camp, and then walked into town to have dinner. Pizza!

It started to rain in the middle of the night and finally quit just before 9 am, so that's when we emerged and started to pack up.

We stopped for brunch in town at a tasty little bakery, and then began the descent. That went a lot quicker than going up!

There were quite a few other cyclists on the trail, but not as many as I expected there might be for a beautiful autumn weekend.


It was a really good practice tour, and we talked about some changes we'd like to make on future tours. We're both considering different panniers. We're also talking about our off-the-bicycle clothing choices.





(Click photos for more)

Reading about everyone elses great adventures has really piqued my interest again. I did some touring in europe back in 1975 after I seperated from the Air Force. I did about 3700 miles [pretty paultry by today's adventure standards]...but it was one of the highlights of my life. Presently, I 'drive' to various areas of the state and do day rides. Florida is pretty flat though, and not that much variation in geography. I really envy people living out west; seems that is where a lot of cycling interest is centered. I'm presently 'planning' more extended trips [around my work of course]...2 or 3 day small trips and 'test the waters' again. I dream about the open road though. But it's funny, when I was 24, I never saw any obstacles; I just 'did it'. Now, as a 'responsible' [ha] old man [I'm 61], seems I find all sorts of reasons to 'not do' things. But people out there doing it are inspirations for the rest of us [me anyway]. That darn mortgage gets in the way though, ha.

Some more photos ...

The campground


The path into town

(Click photos for more)

This wasn't in 2012 but is applicable: I rode Berlin-Copenhagen. It's about 600km, took me 5 days. Credit card touring, but I still used panniers for clothes and such. Rode an undersized MTB on 26" Big Apples. It was a blast, other than catching the tail end of some hurricane. The route was very well marked and I only got lost once or twice in the cities. Absolutely no climbs to speak of, just some small rolling hills now and then. Lots of lakes, lots of forests, 80% of it was a bike path, 20% low-traffic roads. In Denmark I just wanted to get to CPH so I did 170km on the last day, getting off the paths and onto some roads, saving myself some 40km.

On Memorial Day weekend, I'm catching a ride down to Kerrville, Texas, and riding the southwesterly winds thru the Hill Country, and back to Fort Worth. It's about 300 miles over 4 days. I'll probably motel it one night, and camp the rest.

We are planning on repeating an out and back trip on the Trail of the Coeur d'Alenes in Idaho. About 65 miles from Plummer to Wallace, along a paved old railroad bed. This time we'll be traveling with my daughter's family and her friend's family from Sweden. There will be 6 adults & 6 kids, so daily distances won't be terribly long. We'll camp along the way and take our time. Three of us took three days and rode this several years ago. It is a beautiful ride.

https://parksandrecreation.idaho.gov/...urdalenes.aspx

You want to talk about short and easy tours... We live in San Luis Obispo.. the upcoming week looks like this on our tandem...

Monday: San Luis Obispo to a beachhouse in Cayucos... 25 miles
Tuesday: CAyucos to Ragged Point Inn (southern tip of Big Sur)... about 30 miles
Wed: Ragged Point back to Cayucos
Thursday: Cayucos to SLO

Goals: Eat well, read a lot, laze around

ACA has a new website for short tours: https://www.bikeovernights.org/. Not much there yet.

And a few more Wangaratta/Beechworth weekend tour photos ...

An Anzac Day display in Beechworth ...



Getting ready to go in the morning ...



Brunch ...

There are some great rides on Vancouver island, especially on the Galloping Goose Trail.

We did a short tour up the east coast of Vancouver Island from Victoria to Nanaimo last August ... it was a really nice credit card little tour.

Some of the photos: https://www.flickr.com/photos/machka-...7627943421118/

160 miles last weekend.

36 miles from Port Jervis, NY to Worthington State Forest near Delaware Water Gap, PA. Short day, but lots and lots of ups and downs. Virtually no traffic at all. Was hoping to see a bear, but it didn't happen.

57 miles from Worthington to Upper Black Eddy, PA. Many more traffic-free miles.

64 miles from Upper Black Eddy to my home in Philadelphia.

Rained every night so I had to carry a wet tent, but riding was dry. Everything was amazingly green, and there were so many birds. I would show you the photos I took, but during the middle of day 2 I dropped my P&S camera off a bridge into the Delaware River. It sleeps with the fishes.

now that was funny, not at the moment it happened Im sure, but it sure makes for a good line!

Wish I could think about it and laugh, but it was a birthday gift from my honey a little over three years ago. She bought it primarily so I could document our first tour together and her first tour ever. A lot of nice touring and non-touring moments were captured with that camera.

So....Can anyone recommend a good replacement?