Touring?

[downhilljill]

I'm a new member, but after lurking around for a few weeks, it seems like there quite a few ladies on this board who do some touring. I've really been wanting to give it a try...so I decided I'm going to go for it this summer. I bought a BOB trailer and now I just have to decide where to go. So many options!!!

Anyhow, do any of you touring gals tour by yourself? Any favorite routes? Good stories? Tips, advice...I'd love to hear it all.

I'd really love to go do the Telluride to Moab Hut to Hut trip (www.sanjuanhuts.com) but I don't know if that one would be an ideal trip to do by yourself (I can't seem to find anyone to commit to a multi-day cycling adventure!)...so I'm thinking of riding down the coast of CA from San Fran back home to San Diego. Or the Utah Cliffs loop looks fun.

I look forward to hearing from anyone who has anything to say about touring!

Ciao!

[SadieKate]

I don't tour by myself but I rode from Telluride to Moab with Western Spirit (tents not huts) and it was one of the best trips ever! Gorgeous scenery! You will feel like you're on top of the world when you're up on the Uncompaghre Plateau.

[DeniseGoldberg]

I started in the world of touring many years ago by taking supported tours, but back in 1998 I "graduated" to solo touring, and I absolutely love it! I had a great time on the supported tours, but solo is the right answer for me for right now. I was lucky enough to be laid off from my job at just the right time for celebrating my 50th birthday with the cross-country tour that I had been dreaming about. Most of my tours have been shorter than that though since vacation time (from my job) doesn't support me disappearing for months at a time. I'm just a week away from going on a short tour in Maine, the subject of a discussion here at TE at http://forums.teamestrogen.com/showthread.php?t=3022. You can see the start of my trip journal at http://denise2005downeast.crazyguyonabike.com, and you can find journals for all of my solo trips at http://denisegoldberg.crazyguyonabike.com.

But - my tours are all road tours, and it sounds like you may be more interested in mountain biking from your reference to the Telluride to Moab trip. I can't help you there since I don't mountain bike at all, but there is a journal that you might find interesting. Mike Morse rode the Great Divide mountain bike route (yes, the whole thing!) in the summer of 2002. His journal is at http://MikeMorse.crazyguyonabike.com.

And riding the Pacific Coast is a classic. I've done the northern section from Bellingham, WA to Crescent City, CA, but I haven't ridden the section from San Francisco to San Diego. That should be fun though!

If you have specific touring (non-mountain biking) questions, please ask - I'd be happy to try to answer them.

--- Denise

[MomOnBike]

Another CrazyGuy journal that you might want to follow is Eat, Sleep and Ride the Divide, by Heidi Domeisen. She's just starting the Great Divide route solo on her recumbent trike.

Touring is a gas. Figure out a route and go for it.

[DeniseGoldberg]

Funny, I was thinking of mentioning that one but figured that a completed trip would be a good example. Heidi is an awesome writer, and an awesome cyclist - her journal about her tour last year around the country and up to Alaska was a great read, and I expect good things from her current endeavor too.

Heidi's journal that MomOnBike referred to can be found at http://heidihigh.crazyguyonabike.com.

[Irulan]

This guy is a client of mine. I made 10 pairs of shorts for this trip.

http://www.terminalia.org/tour/index.htm