Seeing the U.S. on Two Wheels: Great Destinations for Cyclists?
 

I was up in Rhode Island for a few days earlier this month and brought my newish road bike along. I'm used to primarily riding in NYC, along the city's bike lanes; so I'm used to having to stop every few blocks for traffic and pedestrians. I'm also used to sharing the really popular lanes, especially on the city's west side, with many others.

So it was really great to have a chance to ride in the wide open on roads that I didn't know at all.

My ride took me on a long loop from my start in Wakefield to Judith Point north to the heart of the sleepy beach town Narragansett and then west just a ways and then south on country roads. At 27 miles, the ride was the longest that I have ever done. We took our time and stopped in at a few local spots along the way, including a bike shop and Brickleys Ice Cream shop.

I had a great time---so I'm already thinking of where I'd like to be riding next. I'd like to "train" more here so I can do longer rides.

Just curious if there are any cyclists out there--any U.S. destinations or tour groups that heartily recommend for bike enthusiasts? Any recent rides you care to share?

Hi Katie,
I am an off road rider and the fewer hills the better I like it. I just posted a trip report on the VA Creeper, which was great fun. I love the rails to trails programs. Another favorite of mine is the New River Trail near Pulaski/Galax, VA. Of course, YOU should try the Katy trail in MO!

I am just a commuter and occasional recreational rider - nothing long or too technical :) - but there are a lot of cycling clubs here in the SF Bay area and a lot of good rides around here. Any sunny weekend you will find lots and lots of cyclists out.

cmcfong--- I enjoyed your report; I saw it the other day.
It's here for anyone else that would like to check it out...
http://www.fodors.com/forums/threads...p;tid=35149534

I admit to knowing nothing of Rails to Trails so thanks for mentioning it. I've been thinking of hopping on Metro North here in New York for some rides further north and west.

Do you take these trips often as a group?

November_moon--- well, I love San Francisco and it looks like a cyclist's paradise. Of course, I've seen the movie Quicksilver with Kevin Bacon one too many times...

Hi Katie,

In the US, for actual trails, I'll nominate Seattle's Alki Beach and Burke-Gilman trail, two of the most scenic I've seen. The south side of Key West and San Francisco going over the GG Bridge to Sausalito were gorgeous too, but not designated trails per se (shared with pedestrians or cars in spots). Path alongside Lake Michigan toward Lincoln Park from Millennium Park once away from the tunnels and hubbub in Chicago was quite pleasant in places with lake views.

Although not in the US but within reasonable reach of US northeast cycling enthusiasts (and I think I'm being honest here and not just tooting my own city's horn), Montreal and surroundings (and to my understanding, elsewhere in Quebec) truly has the most developed and interesting system of cycling paths and lanes I've as yet seen in North America, some of which fall under the banner of Route Verte.

Check out: www.routeverte.com (click "English" in upper right corner if you need to). I've only been on trails on Montreal Island and the Suroit/Monteregie region to the south and west of Montreal but there are some beautiful rides to be done.

To give you an idea, all of the following are accessible by bike path or lane within an hour from downtown Montreal!

Ile des Soeurs/Estacade crosses the wide expanse of the Saint Lawrence River. Gorgeous.

Route Verte #1 goes out to Chambly and impressive distances beyond into Eastern Townships; things get quite bucolic quite quickly going south of Montreal.

The path out to the Lachine Rapids is just lovely with continuous views of the Saint-Lawrence River to the south.

Iles de la Visitation with views of Laval Island across near Gouin Blvd.

My brother just visited from Washington DC and couldn't believe how many cyclists (a headache say some drivers) there are.

DAN

I live in Oregon, Eugene to be specific- lots of good bike riding around here - and Portland too -
We have a "Rails to Trails" trail outside of Eugene . Remember the movie "Stand by Me" It was partly filmed along that trail - very nice ride along Dorena Lake.

Last weekend I rode in a ride in Portland - the Bridge Pedal - its an annual event with 17,000 people registered. They block off the roads and you have a chance to ride over all the bridges in the City.
I rode about 25 miles - Its pretty cool to be riding down the freeway on your bike.
There were 3 different rides you could register for - different lengths and one was family ride.
Very fun but a little intimidating at times.

http://www.hvrt.org/

You can take the Harlem line of MNR up to Wassaic and ride a rail trail there into Millerton which has some shops and restaurants.

There's a fun ride in Putnam County the last weekend in Aug. It starts close to the Southeast station and there we be a bunch of folks coming up from the city.

NoVA has some good rail trails and I think there's one that goes right into DC.

CA has loads of good bike routes. If you start getting hooked on cycling check out:

www.bikeforums.net

The road cyclists there are a surly bunch but don't let that discourage you as there is a lot of great info.

Last year, Cycle Oregon, an annual week-long event, included a ride up to and around Crater Lake. Tough climbing, but absolutely spectacular.

Another nice ride in the Portland area is the Mosier Tunnels, a section of the Historic Columbia River Highway.

Anyone done a trip with Backroads? http://www.backroads.com/ I've seen them the last two years up in the San Juans; look like fun.

I gave up on Bridge Pedal after last year, sunbum. How was it?

http://www.ragbrai.org/

If you are into bike riding you may be interested in the annual bike ride in Iowa.

It is a 7 day bike ride across Iowa. It is a big event here and communities open their doors for the bike riders.

beachbum- this was my first year for the Bridge Pedal and I thought it was quite well organized - didn't run into any really problems other than some of the faster bikers being a little intimidating.

I had heard there had been some organizationl problems last year and was worried about it - but turned out fine.

Are there companies close to Crater that rent bikes? Still trying to decide what to do on our trip. Riding bike around Crater was one thing we were thinking about. 33 miles at that elevation sounded pretty challenging, but rewarding at the same time time us.

Katie -welcome to the fabulous world of biking.

Have you been to www.bikenewyork.org? While it isn't quite what you are asking about, the 5 boro ride through NYC is a fantastic experience that you should do at least once.

I usually find my routes in biking books. Look for titles such as 25 Bicycle Tours in Eastern PA, 25 Bicycle Tours on Delmarva, etc.

I have enjoyed routes through the Lancaster County Amish country, the Manchester Vermont area, coastal New Hampshire, etc.

There are always the inn to inn and winery to winery tours and when you have put in some serious miles you may want to try a century!!

I believe you can rent bikes at the store at Diamond Lake ( not far from Crater Lake) - but not sure if they have racks to carry them or if you can take them off the property

However, there is a very nice trail around Diamond Lake for walking/biking and it is quite easy -

Thanks for all the input and posts; looks like I have some research to do.

Inspired by an Anthony Bourdain episode, I rode to Brighton Beach over the weekend. As I hate going back the same way I came, I followed several NYC Greenway signs on the return. I stumbled on a pathway along the Belt Parkway that had beautiful views of the Verrazano Bridge.

While looking at sites for New York, I stumbled on this one---it helps you map the safest routes. It was helpful for my ride.
www.ridethecity.com

The BRP (Blue Ridge Parkway) is a great place to ride, but you'll have some hills...or Mts.

Katie, the Southern California coast has hundreds of miles of bike paths.

San Diego is very bike friendly.

I would advise against riding on the Blue Ridge Parkway because it would be dangerous for bikers. Two lane roads, hairpin curves, motorists watching the scenery and not the road.

Based on where Katie has been riding, I'm thinking the sparse, slow-moving traffic on the BRP would not cause much concern. The Max. speed limit is 45mph & with a good map you can easily determine elevation changes & such. I'd be more concerned w/hitting a deer.

I have driven on the parkway but it's been a number of years. My main worry would be that I'd lose focus and look off at one of those overlooks. So beautiful! Maybe an option for an early morning ride; I know it can get crowded.

California is high on my list--I was just there this past spring but that was before I became a serious bicyclist. =)

Many state bike organizations have rides across their states. These are only at specific times and as a group so that might not be your style. A friend of mine did her first cross state ride in her late 60's and managed to get in about 10 states before old age finally caught up with her.

The League of American Bicyclists has various rallies a few times a year in different locations.

Another poster mentioned Seattle area..we lived there and I have to say biking nonrainey days was great.
Another surprise to us was the greater Wash DC area..bike in the Spring and Fall were great...
you can bike all the way from Wash DC N VA to Mt Vernon.

Rails to Trails is a terrific organization and can use all the support it can get. They publish guide books that describes in detail with maps all of the rails to trails to-date. They have one for New York. -- railstotrails.org

Another important group for long distance cycling is the Adventure Cyclist. This group is the outgrow from the 1976 transAmerica ride. While geared to the touring cyclist, they have excellent maps and other information for the type of riding that you want to do. == adventurecycling.org ==

I second Birdie's recommendation of Lancaster, PA for a beautiful fall weekend. I remember biking there once right after we returned from France, and thinking that the countryside was just as beautiful. I saw a cow standing in an old mill stream under a big weeping willow. I just don't see scenes like that often. You can take the train to Philadelphia and then out to Lancaster.

RIght off the BRP they do a Mt. Mitchell climb every year. It is not for the faint of heart.http://www.blueridgeparkway.org/bicycling.htm

The 264 mile KATY trial in Missouri is a beautiful rail trail. Much of it is along the Missouri River. There are B&Bs along the route and part of it passes through wine country. My favorite section has cliffs on one side and the river on the other. Lewis & Clark camped along this stretch. http://www.bikekatytrail.com/

In the spring, I have twice done Bike Florida. They move your luggage to the next location when you can camp or stay in a motel. Those trips were lots of fun. One of the rides began with watching a launch at the Cape. http://www.bikeflorida.org/

I did a great tour with Michigan Bicycle Touring, but they went out of business.

Keith

If you would like a midwestern bike route, Milwaukee has a wonderful bike trail along Lake Michigan and through parks that was part of the '76 celebration. Milwaukee, Racine and Kenosha counties (south to IL border) have bike ride maps indicating both on and off road trails of various lengths. Many are former railroad routes without the tracks. The ones near Lake Michigan are cool both in temperature and views. The Sparta-Elroy Trail is probably the best known bike trail in WI, but IMO there are many better without the crowds. Having toured on bikes averaging 100 miles per day many years ago, I still enjoy biking locally now. This week Wisconsin roads will be filled with Harley Davidson motorcycles for their 105th Anniversary in Milwaukee. I much prefer the quiet of my bike to the "thunder" of the 100,000+ bikes expected this weekend. Chicago also has many bike trails. The fall colors are beautiful in this area so come enjoy them on a bike.

Two ideas if you ever come to southern Maine or western VT: In Maine, there's the Maine Lighthouse Ride during September of each year. The funds from this raise money for the ongoing construction of the 4-season, recreational Eastern Trail. It is great fun. Check it out at www.easterntrail.org.

In Vermont, they have some of the best biking in the Northeast. We just did a biking tour of Grand Isle, South Hero, etc. in Lake Champlain. With the Adirondacks in the background it is just gorgeous! Both of these are not too challenging.

Here's another: www.summerfeet.net

We live near Buffalo, NY where you can bike over the Peace Bridge and ride approx. 35 miles along the Niagara River to Niagara on the Lake (NOTL). It is obviously very scenic seeing as you pass Niagara Falls! The ride from Niagara Falls to NOTL is also interesting because there are several wineries and farmers markets along the route, not to mention beautiful mansions.

Hi Katie-this group always seem to be having a great time when they whiz through one of our favourite areas, Cape Rosier, ME.
http://www.ciclismoclassico.com/trip...php?trip_id=46 - 32k