With my season winding down, no more Bat Mitvahs, MS Team Planning, and this years week long trip behind behind; thoughts turn to what the hell are we going to do next year!
So lets start throwing ideas around, I of course have my own
Some caveats for the selection pool
- Hotel Rooms Available ( no camping for me)
- Heat & Humidity Reasonable (no death rides for me)
- Cost & Logistics Reasonable (if I could sell unreasonable I would be doing a month long tour of Ireland)
If its an area I have some modest familiarity with, I am willing to plan again. If its someplace I have no clue about, then its either needs to be a ride organized by some other group, or someone else with familiarity needs to plan.
Lets also toss out dates, because I do have to work around my family vacation. That means for me, that anything in August becomes iffy. If I have enough notice I might be able to swap the family vacation from August to July.
Roark
10 comments:
Dan wrote:
I like the Blue Ridge Parkway idea. Late June or early July would work for me.
Dan
Didn't Julian invite us to Maryland / Pennsylvania? I'm up for that. If that didn't happen I like the Blue Ridge idea too.
I think we also talked about BRAT - which is an organized ride around Tenn. - I think they have a hotel option. It's driving distance, and the ride is a loop, so you don't have to worry about getting back to the car.
Also, Border Raiders, which is Kansas, Nebraska, Iowa and Missouri has a hotel option, and is another loop. It is easy to get to as it starts and ends in Lawrence Kansas. It is an 8 day ride.
But I do like the Blue Ridge idea. I'm not real keen on having to deal with moving a car, or having to get back to a car, but I'm sure we can work it out. I know the area "some", so maybe can help with some planning. Of course I think most of us know Bicycle magazine did a story on it too. Late June or Early July are great for me too.
I'm not real keen right now on Canada - maybe in the future.
Mike
Mike,
I beleive Julian's Maryland/Penssnylvania trip was for four days. This falls under the extra trip Mark negotiated for me. We still have the option of a long 9 day (with bookend weekends) trip.
I have both the Bicycling Magazine article and the book Cycling the Blue Ridge. I have bicycled the Blue Ridge around Grandfather Mountain and Boone. I have driven it a number of times into Smokey Moutain National Park.
Mabye you could post the links to BRAT and Border Raiders so we could all get a better idea of the rides.
Brian cannot take any vacation in August, so end of June/beginninig of July is good for us, too. We'll need to narrow it down to a particular week soon as Brian has to have his request in by the middle of Oct.
Also, I'd like to be able to find out what kid-friendly things will be wherever we end up going so that I can plan accordingly.
Thanks.
Cheri
Cheri;
There is plenty to do along the Blue Ridge Highway. There are folk museums, gemstone mining, trout farms to fish, nature preserves, etc for the kids to enjoy. The Blue Ride is a National Park through a tourist zone. My trips to the Blue Ridge have always been for family vacations with just a bit of riding thrown in.
I think the same could be said for places we would ride in Nova Scotia, particulary along the Cabot Trail.
On a self directed tour we will have at least one vehicle so while your not sagging us out, you could be with the kids exploring. The same probably would not be true for an organized challenging bike tour. I could be wrong.
Roark
Mark wrote on the wrong thread:
The Blue Ridge Mountains sound good to me. However, I am up for organizing a bike trip to Maine.
Thoughts for the Blue Ridge Tour
The group in Bicycling Magazine took five days, averaging about 100 miles a day (no days off). I would think we would want more time to enjoy the extra sites of the Blue Ride taking at least 6 days to ride the 470 miles of the Blue Ridge, even better might be 7 days. There is a lot of climbing. Once must also include time to drive to and from the end and start of the Blue Ridge.
Mark wrote to the wrong thread:
Blue Ridge Tour - one thought for a date is July 3 - 13 - the 4th falls on a Friday in 2008
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If I am lucky it will even be one of my every other Fridays off under the new work rules.
It sounds like the group is really leaning towards the Blue Ridge, which is fine by me. So with that I won't post info on Border Raiders or other. We'll save for another year.
I would rather not go the week of July 4th, or that weekend either. I usually see my folks or other relatives about that time.
A great choice for me, that still fits most others that are looking for no later than mid-July, would be the very next weekend, which I think would start on Friday July 11. Or we could go in late June, but July is probably slightly better.
I'll be all up for driving too. If we plan right my car can probably deal with me, two others, and each of our bikes and gear.
This year I will not be able to go to 3S3M. If you all go, that's great.
I'm planning on going over to Lexington, KY for the Horsey Hundred though. It is the weekend of Memorial Day weekend. It is about a 5.5 - 6 hour drive. We should be able to make it on a Friday night if we could leave St. Louis by 3 or 4. If we get away later, we could go as far as Louisville, and still drive over for the start on Saturday morning. The ride is 100 miles Saturday (with several shorter options), and then up to 60 or 70 miles on Sunday, again with other options. The roads are fantastic, and with one or two exceptions (read hills like Osenfort), it is all rolling, or mostly flat. Very senic. It's a great ride, and you get two days riding for your driving. Plus, you can get home on Sunday night, perhaps as soon as 7 or 8pm, and still go to BFC's Pizza ride on Memorial Day. Plus, you don't burn any days off - so all in all I think it is as good, or a better choice than 3S3M.
Lastly, I'd still be very interested in a 4-day weekend to PA / MD, so I hope that gets inthe works. The sooner I know the better.
Mike
Some additional info on the Blue Ridge:
The start point is Rockfish Gap, Virginia. Its a 741 mile drive from my doors. Thats a 12 hour drive. If we stick with the Blue Ridge we should leave after work and drive 4-6 hours out into the evening.
We would end at Cherokee in Smokey Moutain National Park in North Carolina. The trip back would be 572 miles, or 10 hours of driving. My suggestion is a long day in the car to return home.
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