Help X. pick a bike vacation!

[Xrayted]

That I'm not worried about. We can do it. It's the sinking like a rock that gives me the shivers. Do they let ya use water wingies in a Tri?

[Bikingmomof3]

LMBO, you can try.

[Bad JuJu]

OK, X, I know you said you prefer to vacation independently, but let me just put in a little plug for Womantours anyway, and you can make what you want of it.

Other than a three-day, based-out-of-one-B&B bike trip that DH and I did in Vermont when we were younger and stronger and possibly not very bright, I'm new to the bicycle touring, and I'm totally new to bicycle touring on my own. So last spring, I took a 4-day with Womantours on Maryland's Eastern Shore. Rather than bore the whole present company with the details, I direct you to my blog entry on the tour experience, which I personally dubbed my "Tour de Chesapeake" and was generally wonderful:
Tour de Chesapeake

WT is not cheap, but everything is taken care of for you--route planning, booking of lodgings, restaurant choices and al fresco lunches en route, baggage transport, sag support, and even a rental bike if you need it. On my tour, the guides even offered "happy hour" beverages and snacks every afternoon when the ride for the day was over. And the guides themselves were each a remarkable combination of bike mechanic, tour guide, cheering team, and biking buddy--they were simply superb.

Anyway, the upshot is that I just reserved a space on the WT Meandering Mississippi Tour (segment I--I don't have the time, money, or stamina to do the whole thing) for next May. I've got a lot of training to do between now and then, and I can't wait.

Feel free to PM me if you have any questions.

[EBD]

Two recommendations:

First, I live in NC and can recommend the Outer Banks as another scenic, but flatter, option. Of course the Asheville area is also lovely - but I prefer to see it on foot (or from the picture window of a delicious restaurant!). I go on bike tours to enjoy myself, not grunt and curse my way up mountains! (I realize many people feel the opposite, including my BF - and good for them, I say!). And the coast is lovely in the spring - shops and restaurants are open for the season, but the tourist hordes have not yet arrived. Here is a tour company that does bike tours of the Outer Banks, staying at some lovely B&B's - however they are quite expensive, so if it were me I believe I'd cheat by checking out their routes and then planning my own trip. http://www.carolinatailwinds.com/ (They also have Blue Ridge and Shenandoah trips). I think after we pass the Bar exam this summer, BF and I are going to bike and camp our way down the Outer Banks.

Second, this summer I had a wonderful vacation in Northern California that included a bike tour of Napa, organized by Napa Valley Bike Tours (http://www.napavalleybiketours.com/). We just did a day trip, starting with an optional hour-long "serious" ride, followed by a leisurely day of riding from winery to winery, tasting wine at each one. It may have been the most fun day of the year. The company also rented us actual road bikes with clipless pedals, so we felt like the cool tour-ists. I would have loved to spend another day just riding around Napa or Sonoma (parts of which are quite mountainous), stopping in the adorable little towns and gazing at all the grapevines. Then you could do a day or two of riding in the Bay Area - lots of people rent bikes in Sausalito and ride over the Golden Gate Bridge. I've never done this, but my boyfriend has, and still talks about it years later.

Aw, now I'm jealous!

[Xrayted]

Thanks Bad JuJu. I read that one when you posted about it earlier. Because of you, I actually have that one in mind for later next year. This first one I really want to setup on my own though. Just to see if I can do it. Honestly, I don't know why I do these things to myself.

EBD - The outer banks is a great destination. I love it there. I wonder why it didn't occur to me? I've never there been in the spring. Thanks for your suggestion.

Keep 'em coming! We have all month. If you are the quiet type or just don't want it broadcasted for whatever reason, go ahead and PM me. I'd love to hear from as many as possible.

X.