My bike touring was a total flop in 2013, so I am already making plans for 2014 so that won't happen again. I ended up with two extra weeks of vacation in 2013 (and also for 2014), so it was all the more frustrating that none of my tour plans worked out but life gets in the way some times. My wife's mother was extremely ill and died in September, which made it very difficult to make any plans and involved a lot of trips to visit her. Then I tried to take a late-season trip after her funeral, but was foiled by the US government shutdown and then a prematurely cold and wet autumn.
So I'm taking a more proactive approach this year and have already made plans for several trips:
- Cycle NC Spring Ride in early April. This is a 3-day weekend event based this year out of Oriental, on the NC coast, with loop rides ranging from 40-100 miles each day. I am considering extending the event by riding down to Oriental from Raleigh on my touring bike, which would probably take me 3 extra days.
- C&O Canal and GAP trails from Pittsburgh to Washington DC in early summer. I am planning to ride this with several friends as a credit-card tour, staying in hotels and inns near the trails.
- Outer Banks, NC, loop tour, hopefully in September or October. I had planned to take this trip in 2013, but the government shutdown occurred the week I was planning to go, closing all of the parks and campgrounds on the Outer Banks. By the time the shutdown was over and I was able to reschedule, the weather had turned and it was too windy, cold and rainy for my preferences.