Fall 4 or 5 day tour from Boston. Your suggestions?
03-21-17, 09:24 AM
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Fall 4 or 5 day tour from Boston. Your suggestions?
New England in the fall has always been on my ticklist. Finally going to make it happen this year -- partly to justify my new travel bike purchase.
Looking to fly in/out of Boston to see some friends (and leave my case with them.)
What I'm looking for:
- 50-60mi per day.
- Scenery / foilage
- Some dirt / gravel / canal. (Running on 38s so nothing too aggressive.)
- Cool towns to stop in for food / drink. (I really like beer.)
- Can either camp or stay in hotels/hostels/Warmshowers/AirBnbs. May lean towards the later to minimize packing.
- 90% sure I'll be solo.
- Don't need crushing hills. Some shouldn't hurt me too much after a season of mtbing in the Rockies, but this trip isn't about finding my athletic limits.
When to come? Where to ride? What to eat and drink?
Looking to fly in/out of Boston to see some friends (and leave my case with them.)
What I'm looking for:
- 50-60mi per day.
- Scenery / foilage
- Some dirt / gravel / canal. (Running on 38s so nothing too aggressive.)
- Cool towns to stop in for food / drink. (I really like beer.)
- Can either camp or stay in hotels/hostels/Warmshowers/AirBnbs. May lean towards the later to minimize packing.
- 90% sure I'll be solo.
- Don't need crushing hills. Some shouldn't hurt me too much after a season of mtbing in the Rockies, but this trip isn't about finding my athletic limits.
When to come? Where to ride? What to eat and drink?
03-28-17, 12:41 PM
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off the top of my head
might help to know where in Boston you'd be staying? lots of cyclist can offer ride ideas, especially if they know where you'll be starting from. bunch of groups too like Charles River Wheelmen, might check their website for routes of their organized rides
https://www.crw.org/
https://www.facebook.com/crw1966/
https://www.meetup.com/Charles-River...-Bicycle-Club/
- lobster, clams, striped bass, corn, apples, apple cider
- Rt 117
- Rt 62
- historic gravel Battle Road path Concord to Lexington (aka ride of Paul Revere & see National Park re-enactors)
- Monument St in Concord (go visit the Old North Bridge where the shot heard around the world started the American Revolution)
might help to know where in Boston you'd be staying? lots of cyclist can offer ride ideas, especially if they know where you'll be starting from. bunch of groups too like Charles River Wheelmen, might check their website for routes of their organized rides
https://www.crw.org/
https://www.facebook.com/crw1966/
https://www.meetup.com/Charles-River...-Bicycle-Club/
Last edited by rumrunn6; 03-28-17 at 01:13 PM.
03-28-17, 02:53 PM
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Some ideas...
1) Take the bus to Portsmouth, then ride to North Conway. You can ride the Conway area for a day, I'd suggest Bear Notch Loop, ride to Portland (that's about 70 miles, but it's mostly downhill.) If you decide to do that you want to go through Freedom NH. From Portland you can take the bus back to Boston.
2) Take the bus to Portland. Ride to Baileys Island ( Bailey Island Maine Hotel-The Driftwood Inn Maine Hotel, Hotel on the water near Brunswick, Maine ). The next day take the ferry back to Portland (it's a nice ride, we've done the Baileys Island loop a few times that way). Spend the afternoon in Portland (I can suggest some places depending on what you like). Then you can ride back to Boston, or go to North Conway and then ride to Boston.
3) day trip it... rent a car, and then you can pick and choose among the best rides New England has to offer. If you do that, I can suggest a couple rides.
If you have any questions, feel free to shoot me a question. My favorite Fall day ride starts in Steep Falls, and goes to Conway NH. It's about 50 miles.
1) Take the bus to Portsmouth, then ride to North Conway. You can ride the Conway area for a day, I'd suggest Bear Notch Loop, ride to Portland (that's about 70 miles, but it's mostly downhill.) If you decide to do that you want to go through Freedom NH. From Portland you can take the bus back to Boston.
2) Take the bus to Portland. Ride to Baileys Island ( Bailey Island Maine Hotel-The Driftwood Inn Maine Hotel, Hotel on the water near Brunswick, Maine ). The next day take the ferry back to Portland (it's a nice ride, we've done the Baileys Island loop a few times that way). Spend the afternoon in Portland (I can suggest some places depending on what you like). Then you can ride back to Boston, or go to North Conway and then ride to Boston.
3) day trip it... rent a car, and then you can pick and choose among the best rides New England has to offer. If you do that, I can suggest a couple rides.
If you have any questions, feel free to shoot me a question. My favorite Fall day ride starts in Steep Falls, and goes to Conway NH. It's about 50 miles.
Last edited by late; 03-28-17 at 02:57 PM.
03-28-17, 03:43 PM
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New England in the fall has always been on my ticklist. Finally going to make it happen this year -- partly to justify my new travel bike purchase.
Looking to fly in/out of Boston to see some friends (and leave my case with them.)
What I'm looking for:
- 50-60mi per day.
- Scenery / foilage
- Some dirt / gravel / canal. (Running on 38s so nothing too aggressive.)
- Cool towns to stop in for food / drink. (I really like beer.)
- Can either camp or stay in hotels/hostels/Warmshowers/AirBnbs. May lean towards the later to minimize packing.
- 90% sure I'll be solo.
- Don't need crushing hills. Some shouldn't hurt me too much after a season of mtbing in the Rockies, but this trip isn't about finding my athletic limits.
When to come? Where to ride? What to eat and drink?
Looking to fly in/out of Boston to see some friends (and leave my case with them.)
What I'm looking for:
- 50-60mi per day.
- Scenery / foilage
- Some dirt / gravel / canal. (Running on 38s so nothing too aggressive.)
- Cool towns to stop in for food / drink. (I really like beer.)
- Can either camp or stay in hotels/hostels/Warmshowers/AirBnbs. May lean towards the later to minimize packing.
- 90% sure I'll be solo.
- Don't need crushing hills. Some shouldn't hurt me too much after a season of mtbing in the Rockies, but this trip isn't about finding my athletic limits.
When to come? Where to ride? What to eat and drink?
Personally. I'm very happy cycling in Metro Boston, and have posted an informal Cycling Guide to Metro Boston that would make a nice hub and spoke tour of nine days (and is easily accessible from Washington, DC).
It may seem parochial, but I think the cycling around here is great. One can be in scenic countryside within about one hour from downtown, while passing through an interesting, compact urban and suburban scene. Furthermore you can extend your range with a convenient Commuter Rail that allows fully-assembled bikes during off-peak hours. In Spring through Fall it’s a temperate climate.
Besides the cycling, Boston is such a popular tourist destination that there will always be something interesting to do off the bike…culture, nightlife, sports and so forth...
If you’ve never been here before, the experience may be even more…epic.
It may seem parochial, but I think the cycling around here is great. One can be in scenic countryside within about one hour from downtown, while passing through an interesting, compact urban and suburban scene. Furthermore you can extend your range with a convenient Commuter Rail that allows fully-assembled bikes during off-peak hours. In Spring through Fall it’s a temperate climate.
Besides the cycling, Boston is such a popular tourist destination that there will always be something interesting to do off the bike…culture, nightlife, sports and so forth...
If you’ve never been here before, the experience may be even more…epic.
Last edited by Jim from Boston; 03-28-17 at 09:51 PM.
03-29-17, 01:48 PM
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It may be worth looking into a Boston to Cape Cod route. It begins with urban scenery and ends with coastal scenery. I do a 3 day loaded tour every summer. A 90 minute ferry ride from Provintown will get you back to Boston at the end.
