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Your 2015 Touring Plans? Brief tours, longer tours, all lengths, all destinations.

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Your 2015 Touring Plans? Brief tours, longer tours, all lengths, all destinations.

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Old 12-31-14, 01:40 PM
  #1  
axolotl
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Your 2015 Touring Plans? Brief tours, longer tours, all lengths, all destinations.

Do you have any touring plans for 2015? Brief tours, longer tours, any duration. Whether you're just thinking about it or have made definite plans, where are you hoping to go?
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Old 12-31-14, 02:05 PM
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I want to finally bike the Pine Creek Trail in northern Pennsylvania this year.

I hope to go touring in Colombia, but I'm guessing that will have to wait about a year.
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Old 12-31-14, 02:55 PM
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I'm planning on doing a weekend in VT. Plan is to take some of the dirt roads that are in the D2R2 from Greenfield,MA up to Molly Stark state park in VT. We'll camp there, hike a bit, cook some good food, and enjoy being outside.
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Old 12-31-14, 03:12 PM
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No 2015 tour plans for me yet. I am not sure whether I will tour or not. I will most likely squeeze in a multi week trip at some point during the year, but it is about as likely to be a backpacking trip as a bike trip. Since I expect to be relocating to a different state in 2015 and will be buying one home, selling another, and dealing with 35 years of accumulated stuff making of definite trip plans is on hold.
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Old 12-31-14, 03:16 PM
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Originally Posted by likebike23
I'm planning on doing a weekend in VT. Plan is to take some of the dirt roads that are in the D2R2 from Greenfield,MA up to Molly Stark state park in VT. We'll camp there, hike a bit, cook some good food, and enjoy being outside.
That sounds like a great trip. It's been a while since I've been to VT but there is some fine cycling throughout the state.
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Old 12-31-14, 03:22 PM
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I'd like to do 2-3 organized tours: I'm thinking RASDAK, BAM, and TOMRV.

I also plan on doing a couple of hub and spoke trips in SE MN and SW WI with a few friends. We'll drive to a campground for a 3 day weekend and ride for 3 days. There's a lot to be said for coming back to a campsite with an ice chest full of goodies!

I'd like to do at least one shortish trip purely on a bike as well but I haven't decided where or when.
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Old 12-31-14, 03:46 PM
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Originally Posted by bikemig
That sounds like a great trip. It's been a while since I've been to VT but there is some fine cycling throughout the state.
Originally Posted by bikemig
I also plan on doing a couple of hub and spoke trips in SE MN and SW WI with a few friends. We'll drive to a campground for a 3 day weekend and ride for 3 days. There's a lot to be said for coming back to a campsite with an ice chest full of goodies!
That's what I've heard. I found a cool site that shows all of the roads in VT by town (including dirt): VTrans Mapping Archive. We'll ride 30-40 miles on dirt to camp and use that as the hub for our other adventures. They have lean-to shelters for rent at the campsite, so no tent will be needed. I fully plan on using the extra rack space for some sort of ice chest . Hope you also have fun on your trips too.
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Old 12-31-14, 09:51 PM
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I have been slowly working out the details of riding form Liberal KS, where I work, to SLC UT, where my wife lives, once school lets out this summer. I think it may be in interesting ride. I have a concern that it puts me riding through a desert.
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Old 12-31-14, 10:08 PM
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I've done RAGBRAI twice, across Oklahoma with the Oklahoma Freewheel group once, the Katy Trail, and across Arkansas with SAG support. Have done one 4 day, 3 night trip where we hauled all our camping gear and camped at night. The end of 2016, I'll turn 60. So thinking that would be a good year for an "epic" ride (thinking maybe a month long ride). So 2015 will be a time to do some short camping trips alone. See if i feel up to the tasking of camping alone.
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Old 01-01-15, 04:51 AM
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Im trying to either plan or talk myself out of a one way trip from Alaska to Virginia at the end of April. This will be my first ever Bike trip and one hell of a feat.
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Old 01-01-15, 08:46 AM
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Originally Posted by Turkey222
Im trying to either plan or talk myself out of a one way trip from Alaska to Virginia at the end of April. This will be my first ever Bike trip and one hell of a feat.
April? That sounds extremely early. I have no experience with that route so I may be wrong, but the end of April is really very early for most coast to coast routes even in the lower 48. An April start in Alaska sounds like a very bad idea to me. I'd think that either going the other direction or starting in July would be more sensible.

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Old 01-01-15, 09:27 AM
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Going from VA to AK starting in April may work well. Here are some average April temperatures for VA, Average April Temperatures for Virginia - Current Results

Maybe do the Trans Am adventure cyclist route to Missoula and then pick up the route used in the adventure cycling north star trip. The adventure cycling web site has some info on that route, FAQ | Adventure Cycling Route Network | Adventure Cycling Association'

Certainly weather matters in planning trip like that but it sounds great. Agreed it would be a hell of a bike trip; good luck talking yourself into it!
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Old 01-01-15, 09:30 AM
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My 2013 Tour ended in NOLA, so I'm thinking to do the Natchez Trace, but starting out in NOLA.
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Old 01-01-15, 09:46 AM
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As usual, I can't put together enough time to take the type of enticingly long tours I see others planning, so I will be planning a bunch of overnighters throughout the Northeast fair weather season.
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Old 01-01-15, 11:02 AM
  #15  
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Originally Posted by staehpj1
April? That sounds extremely early. I have no experience with that route so I may be wrong, but the end of April is really very early for most coast to coast routes even in the lower 48. An April start in Alaska sounds like a very bad idea to me. I'd think that either going the other direction or starting in July would be more sensible.
In 1997 I started in Fairbanks, AK on May 2nd and spent next three months cycling to St John's Newfoundland. End of April/start of May is early, though worked for me that year:
- The contest to determine when the "breakup" of ice on the Tanana River in Fairbanks was won that year by people who guessed April 30th. Further in Alaska, I still came past some frozen rivers.
- A number of places on the Alaska Highway hadn't yet opened for the summer season yet. I got impression May 15th or Victoria Day were more common, so I came past some closed places.
- There was a late Spring storm that dropped ~10cm of snow in Edmonton on April 25th. Where I was (further north) it was just a few cm.

With that said, there weren't any passes I crossed that were closed (e.g. similar to Trail Ridge or Logan Pass or ...) and it was reasonable riding most of the time.
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Old 01-01-15, 12:12 PM
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I plan on doing the Katy Trail in Missouri for the 5th year in a row. I find it relaxing.
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Old 01-01-15, 12:49 PM
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Come on down The Coast, I'll Be here .. Bikes and Beyond Part Time..
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Old 01-01-15, 12:51 PM
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I'm planning a Xcountry tour starting in Seattle and ending in Miami. Right now I'm trying to find out what part of I-state 84 are bicycle friendly. If anybody knows please post it here.
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Old 01-01-15, 12:54 PM
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Originally Posted by Turkey222
Im trying to either plan or talk myself out of a one way trip from Alaska to Virginia at the end of April. This will be my first ever Bike trip and one hell of a feat.
Yes, it would be quite a feat indeed. That's especially true in light of the fact that you cannot take a firearm through Canada to protect yourself from predators of any ilk. A big can of bear spray might be all you can get away with.
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Old 01-01-15, 01:03 PM
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Originally Posted by Louis Le Tour
Yes, it would be quite a feat indeed. That's especially true in light of the fact that you cannot take a firearm through Canada to protect yourself from predators of any ilk. A big can of bear spray might be all you can get away with.
That's one of the better reasons to travel through Canada that I've read. It's a lovely country. We can leave the politics for a different forum and stick to touring plans.
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Old 01-01-15, 01:59 PM
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My 2015 plans not final yet, but thinking of a trip to Georgia and Armenia. As best I can tell, Armenia is interesting for bike touring, though very hilly. Tbilisi seems reasonable to fly in/out. After that, continue on to India (via plane and for work not cycle touring).
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Old 01-01-15, 03:07 PM
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Like to do the Silver Comet-Chief Lagida trail this year, something off road and just relaxing for a few days round trip.
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Old 01-01-15, 03:38 PM
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Originally Posted by gpsblake
Like to do the Silver Comet-Chief Lagida trail this year, something off road and just relaxing for a few days round trip.
+1 Great ride.
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Old 01-01-15, 08:35 PM
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Currently on tour in New Zealand, currently cycling the North Island for 4 weeks, then doing the Kiwi Brevet at the end of January. Will do a few short tours around Christchurch for awhile during working and then the bottom of the South Island in Sept or Oct before heading off to do a north/south Trans-Africa trip in Dec for a year or so.

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Old 01-01-15, 11:58 PM
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Originally Posted by Walter S
+1 Great ride.
Thanks, got a little bit of homework still to to like where to park the car safely for 4 or 5 days. Also going to incorporate geocaching into the ride as there are 100's along these trails to find.
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