Plan my Vacation for me!

[sulis]

Well, sadly it looks like my trip to Belgium is not going to happen next month. The friend I was supposed to meet up with has injured her back and will be out of commission for a few months. We are going to reschedule and hopefully go in the Spring - yeah spring classics!.

But I already had the time scheduled off work and am in great need of a fab vacation this year, so instead, I am going to take the time to do either one long or a few small road trips (but I'm not opposed to flying). My new travel buddy is also a budding cyclist and we want to visit places we have never been but are also cycling friendly - if we drive, we're taking our bikes, if we fly, we want to rent. So, since the members of this board live all over, I decided to post and take suggestions.

Alright ladies of the forum, convince me to travel to your home state or your favorite travel destination. While I can only afford a North American trip right now, I wouldn't be opposed to hearing from those of you acrossed the pond for future adventures. :D

[Veronica]

Cycle the Pacific Coast. The California section has campgrounds spread out at reasonable intervals, or you can hotel it, or do a combo.

V.

[BleeckerSt_Girl]

Beautiful French-speaking Quebec, from village to village along the Saguenay River!

[bcipam]

I was going to recommend to travel to Utah (which is where I always like to go) but realize you are already there!

When are you travelling? And is there anything specific you want to do? Hot weather/cold weather? Fall colors... what?

[mimitabby]

Cycle the Pacific Coast. The California section has campgrounds spread out at reasonable intervals, or you can hotel it, or do a combo.

V.
the best weather for Seattle in the pacific northwest is in September.
cool crisp mornings, pleasant afternoons. We have flats, hills and mountains.
take your pick. start in seattle and head down to california!
:)

[sulis]

I was going to recommend to travel to Utah (which is where I always like to go) but realize you are already there!

When are you travelling? And is there anything specific you want to do? Hot weather/cold weather? Fall colors... what?

We will be traveling within the last two weeks of September.

Te he. I do love Utah but I get to be spoiled here all the time. So time to venture out and see some other parts of the beautiful North American continent.

I honestly am not picky...I just love being and exploring new places - hot, cold, whatever. WHen I was in scotland we went hiking in a downpour. :p In Guatemala, we explored the ruins in 100 degree heat and 100% humidity. I just figure, enjoy where you are at when you are there.

Love the suggestion of Quebec. Always wanted to go there. And it would kind of be like going to Europ without traveling so far. :D

I absolutely love Seattle. I have heard great things about the San Juan Islands. Is it easy to get to the San Juan Islands without a car? ( I know there is a ferry but once on the islands, is everything pretty walkable until we get bikes?)

Oh the Pacific Cost and Northern California. Sounds beautiful and Very interesting. What is the terrain like? Mostly hills or a good mixture of flat and rolling hills? Any suggestions of a good start point?

Thanks everyone. I'm getting excited.

[Veronica]

If you decide to do the Pacific Coast, I'd drive to wherever you decide to start, so you can take your own bikes. Then you can either Amtrak back to the start or do a one way car rental back. Your starting hotel would probably be okay with you leaving your car. I'd make a point of staying at one that was. :)

Northern California seems very hilly when we drive it. Once you get to the Bay Area, I'd describe it as large rollers. You are heading downwind though. :)

I've ridden the section from Santa Cruz to Santa Barbara. It's gorgeous. I've also done day rides up the coast from SF. It's beautiful. Heck, if I weren't going back to work... I'd do this trip.


V.

[bcipam]

I love all parts of California, North of Los Angeles. Some of my favorite areas area inland but you also can't beat the central Coast (say from San Luis Obispo to Santa Cruz) or inland around Paso Robles down to santa Barbara.

One of my favorite rides is up PCH from Santa Maria to SLO to Cambria and back. Will be rolly but you can't beat the views. Also do some research on the Big Sur area. Lot of great cycling and hiking. And also I love, love , love the Monterey, Pacific Grove and Carmel area. Talk about gorgeous cycling!!!!! Do the 17 mile drive and see what I mean. Try to stay in Pacific Grove. You'll park your car and walk and ride everywhere. Go to the Monterey Bay Aquarium. Carmel is quaint and funky.

It's a bit of a drive but if you can, take the car and the bikes and explore central CA. Next to Utah, it's my favorite vacation spot!!!!

[MomOnBike]

You could ride the Katy Trail ( http://www.bikekatytrail.com/ ). I haven't ridden it (yet!) but from all reports it's worth the trip.

It would certainly be a big change from Utah.

The neat thing is that you can take the Amtrak train back to your starting point when you're done with the ride. That's GOT to help with logistics.

[Bad JuJu]

Lots of great cycling in New England--Champlain Valley, coastal Maine--or you could take the ferry from Bar Harbor to Yarmouth, Nova Scotia and cycle there. Lovely in the fall!

[Bikingmomof3]

Depending on what kind of biking you do, here are a few choices I personally would like.

Biking the Appalachian Trail-the temps should be cooperative and the fall leaf colours should be out.

Biking Ohio to UP Michigan

Biking Ohio-ferry to Canada

Biking through Amish country of OH and PA

I ma a history buff and would love to bike the underground railroad.

[Veronica]

If you do NS, be sure to look into the ferry schedule before you plan the trip. Some days it sails from Bar Harbor, some days from Portland.

It is a beautiful place to ride and very friendly people. I used this book to plan the trip Cindy and I did in early July.

http://ec1.images-amazon.com/images/P/0898864429.01._BO2,204,203,200_PIsitb-dp-500-arrow,TopRight,45,-64_AA240_SH20_SCLZZZZZZZ_.jpg

V.

[DebW]

Depending on what kind of biking you do, here are a few choices I personally would like.

Biking the Appalachian Trail-the temps should be cooperative and the fall leaf colours should be out.


I assume you meant biking on roads near the Appalachian Trail. The AT is for foot travel only. I have personally enforced this rule. It can be enforced by federal marshals.

[Bikingmomof3]

I assume you meant biking on roads near the Appalachian Trail. The AT is for foot travel only. I have personally enforced this rule. It can be enforced by federal marshals.

Oh yes, I most definitely meant the bike trails! I have done a very good search for: Road Bike Rides in and around Appalachian Mountains and there are plenty. :) I have a binder filled with trails and places I want to go. :D

People serioulsy bring their bikes on the footpaths? Why would anyone do that? I guess I should stop wondering why people do some of the things they do. It boggles the mind.

[oxysback]

I absolutely love Seattle. I have heard great things about the San Juan Islands. Is it easy to get to the San Juan Islands without a car? ( I know there is a ferry but once on the islands, is everything pretty walkable until we get bikes?)

When we went to the San Juans, we went without a car. We did drive to Anecortes, though, to park by the ferry. We had no problem at all walking our bikes on the ferry. When you arrive on San Juan, the city (Friday Harbor) is very conducive to walking and there are several bike shops you can rent from. You may have to do some calling ahead, though. Once you get your ferry ticket, you can 'island hop' for free! Orcas Island has some nice biking, as well as San Juan. We went in July a few years ago and the weather was gorgeous!

Happy vacationing wherever you decide to go!

[DebW]

Oh yes, I most definitely meant the bike trails!

People seriously bring their bikes on the footpaths? Why would anyone do that? I guess I should stop wondering why people do some of the things they do. It boggles the mind.

I haven't heard of anyone intentionally planning a long bike trek on the AT. Sometimes they just wander off the bike trails or dirt roads, though I'm not sure how they miss all the signs that say "Foot Travel Only". But some of our signs say "Motor Vehicles Prohibited" and maybe they then assume that unmotorized vehicles are OK. The bikers I've encountered have been polite and turned around when I asked them to. The nicest was a young man doing some serious MTBing on Mt. Greylock. I met him where his bike/ski trail crossed the AT, and he carried his bike 100 yards down the AT to another trail. I'm convinced that he would have carried the bike even if I had not been there to remind him.

It's really the ATVs we have major problems with, and that cause major damage to the trail.

[mimitabby]

I absolutely love Seattle. I have heard great things about the San Juan Islands. Is it easy to get to the San Juan Islands without a car? ( I know there is a ferry but once on the islands, is everything pretty walkable until we get bikes?)

Oh the Pacific Cost and Northern California. Sounds beautiful and Very interesting. What is the terrain like? Mostly hills or a good mixture of flat and rolling hills? Any suggestions of a good start point?

Thanks everyone. I'm getting excited.

It's easier to get to the Islands without a car. No lines!! or short lines i should say. sometimes cars have to sit while ferries load and get filled, and have to wait for the next one. bikes never have to wait for the next ferry; and the fares are a lot less expensive .
What do you mean UNTIL you get bikes? won't you be ON bikes?

the terrain is very variable; we have flats, hills, mountains.

[Kathi]

BRAT "Bicycle Ride Across Tennessee" we're doing it this year.

http://www.state.tn.us/environment/parks/BRAT/

The San Juans are nice for cycling too. Nice little rolling hills, more traffic than expected but probably not as much after Labor Day.

[Crankin]

The last 2 weeks in September are the absolute best cycling weather in New England. You have enough time to see a variety of locations and historical stuff. You might not be able to hit all six states without feeling exhausted, but 3-4 would be doable. Start up north and head south. You can get a nice combination of seashore and mountains.

I just came back from 2 weeks in Quebec. It was one of the nicest places I've ever been, very cycling friendly and yes, it feels like Europe.

[crazycanuck]

Hey,

Have you thought about coming down yonder way? There's some awesome mtn biking on the North & South islands in New Zealand.

How long would your vacation be? If it's only 2 weeks, venturing down here to aust/nz would be a bummer as you wouldn't see tons. However, in saying that you'd could base yourself somewhere like Taupo(north island) & do rides in that area. Otherwise, you could do the queen charlotte track on the south island...

If you plan on Australia-why not do Tassie (tasmania) as you can hike & bike in a really really nice place!!!! This is if you don't mind mountains...

Now, if you want to do Canada...Why not look at www.intrepidtravel.com.au-they have some awesome tours...!!!!(small groups-max 10-12 folks)

Why not do Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba-basically acrross the praries, tons of history,scenic & booooooteaful..

Many thoughts

c

[sulis]

Wow. Thank you to everyone for all the fabulous suggestion. I am very excited about all these possabilities and am actively researching them to see what is feasible money and time wise. I'll definitely give a trip report of where I end up. If only I could take off 4 + months from work and go everywhere. ;)

CrazyCanuk - I can't make it to New Zealand this year but it is definitely at the top of list for places to visit - yes I have an actual hand written list of all the places I dream of visiting before my time on this earth is done. Sigh..maybe in the next year or two.

Thanks again every one. You are amazing and always so helpful! :D

[Trekhawk]

Ooohh what about this - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Natchez_Trace_Parkway

I saw this area listed on the Womens Bike Tours site http://www.womantours.com and thought it would be a great place to ride.

Hmm I was so hoping to win that Womens Bike Tour Competition they had here at TE and Natchez Trace was the ride I would have picked out.


Anyone done this ride?????

[sulis]

Good Morning ladies of the forum
I just wanted to revive my old thread and thank you again for your wonderful suggestions.

My travel buddy and I spent last week in the San Juan Islands and it was beautiful. Everyone kept telling us that we must have brought the good weather with us because just before we had arrived it was raining non-stop. Well we had bright sunny skies and temperatures in the mid 70s. After much research and debate we found that it would be cheaper to rent bikes on the island rather than ship them over. So we rented some hybrids from Island Bicycles in Friday Harbor. Once we were on the road, we were glad we did. The hybrids were better suited for the pressed gravel and dirt roads that we were prone to wandering down. We had a tremendous time biking all over the island - and what a way to see it. Of course, I loved the Specialized Crossroads that I rented so much I am desperately trying to fudge the budget to justify purchasing one. How fun would it be to tool around on the parkway with the niece or for a quick run to the grocery store!

Because of work obligations, my biking buddy could not get more time off. But I still have vacation days to burn so I am dragging my mom away for a much needed vacation. We will be driving to Estes Park to explore Rocky Mountain National Park and will hopefully make it to Mount Rushmore, Rapid City and the Black Hills. Sadly, the weather looks like it might be more grim. But we'll go on and just enjoy ourself anyway. My mom does not really ride (I'm working on her) but I am debating on whether or not I'll take my trusty road bike. It would be fun to get a few rides in if weather permits. Either way I will have a detailed report of both the San Juan Islands and my next road trip, with many lovely pictures upon my return.

Happy Riding!:D