What's your next ride going to be?

[cruziegirl]

So where is everyone going once it actually warms up enough to ride? Any epic rides planned? Exotic locales? New goals? I do a bike tour in France each year and I'll be going to Provence in late June. It's a great way to see a country and meet people. Pedal, eat, pedal, eat...

...just wondering what everyone has planned...

[DeniseGoldberg]

I'm planning to do two touring vacations this year.

The first will be a long weekend to Nova Scotia, probably in mid-June. I'll drive to Bar Harbor (Maine) and take the Cat ferry from there, ride a few days in western Nova Scotia, then spend a day riding around Acadia National Park when I return. I think that's a reasonable re-introduction to touring after my unscheduled break in 2004!

The second trip is still a bit up in the air. Right now I'm leaning towards the Canadian Rockies, probably in early August. If I don't get distracted by another interesting destination, what I will probably do is fly to Edmonton, take the train to Jasper, and then ride from Jasper to Banff to Calgary - then fly home from Calgary. I was going to try to do some trip dreaming last weekend, but somehow getting my taxes done kind of took precedence. This weekend is for dreaming though...

--- Denise

[SadieKate]

Beyond a full plate of organized century rides like Party Pardee, Top Hat and the little Red Riding Hood, we've got our annual Memorial Day weekend trip to Bend, OR. 5 fantabulous days of incredible libations (Oregon sure knows how to distill/ferment stuff) and let's not forget the singletrack. By the way, Jobob, I've found that Gatorade and Vitamin I work together quite nicely.

[Crankin]

In July I am doing a 6 day tour from Prague to Vienna. We really wanted to go back to Italy, but there's very few tours there during the summer because of the heat. I am very excited about this trip; I haven't done much travelling until recently (last year). In the beginning of June we are doing a 3 day weekend in the Berkshires. Our friends have 3 rides planned, one of which is 40 miles, with a 4 mile 7 percent grade climb. I am trying not to think about that! Other than that, I am registered for a 50 mile charity ride for the local Lions club on May 15th. It's right around in the area I do my local rides in, so that will be fun. So, any of you MA cyclists, come on out. There's no fund raising requirements, just the $30 reg. fee. We are going to Hilton Head at the end of June and plan to do some mountain biking there in the nature preserves/beach. We are driving down, so we'll bring the road bikes, too, but they like you to stay on the bike paths there, which I don't like.
Today, I am doing a 20 mile hill ride through Littleton and Harvard...

[Veronica]

I am so envious of your Bend trip Sarah! We're waiting to see if Thom's company folds or not before we plan anything. Ideas we're kicking around are a self supported tour down the coast to Santa Barbara. Trips to the Tahoe area to mountain bike. Talking Bill and Sarah into going back to Bend this summer...

Nothing really exotic this year.

V.

[Irulan]

I've been getting in a few local rides, but it looks like the rain is finally coming. I've got a trip to the mackenzie river trail planned, and a week in Stanley Idaho ( sun valley area) later on in the summer. I'm sure I'll come up with more before the season is done.

Irulan

[SadieKate]

Talking Bill and Sarah into going back to Bend this summer...
V.

Done! We have to go back to sign closing papers since we officially will be slumlords sometime this summer. Irulan, come on down! MacKenzie is on the list.

We talking about Ketchum/Stanley also since we haven't been there in awhile. We're not doing any mtbbike tours this year since we need to stay loose due to the house purchase in Bend so we're kicking around good ride areas you can do from a campground or hotel.

[Irulan]

Done! We have to go back to sign closing papers since we officially will be slumlords sometime this summer. Irulan, come on down! MacKenzie is on the list.

We talking about Ketchum/Stanley also since we haven't been there in awhile. We're not doing any mtbbike tours this year since we need to stay loose due to the house purchase in Bend so we're kicking around good ride areas you can do from a campground or hotel.

I don't use tours or guide services. I have a good network of riding pals all over the country, and I use maps and guidebooks. Seems to work for me.


Irulan

[SadieKate]

"The List" refers to our list and our list only. We (and our pals) have favorite trails we repeat and new ones we want to try.

Only time we use guides/tour companies is when we want to do 5-6 day trips waaay in the backcountry and don't want to spend our time doing all the planning, shopping, cooking, hauling, cleaning, etc. I can just pack my clothes, my bike, tent and a sleeping bag and show up. Everybody gets to ride every day, except for the guide who is paid to haul the water, the food, the stoves, the groover, the gear, etc., etc., etc. I do way too much planning and coordinating of excurions the rest of the year to want to do this for a truly remote backcountry trip. We do these trips once a year or less; we haul around a box of books and maps the rest of the time.