Bekologist

fidel, don't tour far, tour deep. get to know the landscape intimately, you will become more attuned to the world. of course touring deep in europe would also be mos' excellent and likely more enjoyable than israel, given the political situation.....however, it is where you live. long weekend trips from your domicile, let you get very familiar with the terrain and your place in a way no car trip can bring.

FidelCastrovich

Hey, who's talking about cars? I am car free, and intend to stay this way as long as i possibly can.

Touring deep is of course the only reasonable alternative to touring far, but you know, nothing clears your head more than just sheer distance. Knowing that you are far from anything familiar, physically, geographically and mentally. Exploring every back road and visiting every village is very interesting, don't get me wrong, but knowing that you are 1-3 hours from home, no matter what you do, kind of dulls the adventure.

Anyway, the political situation is fine, that's not what bothers me. I mean vis-a-vis our neighbours, things could definitely be better, but within our own borders, it is really safe.
I'm waiting for a peace agreement with Lebanon and Syria, and then we can roll right through those two, into Turkey, and Europe.

Maybe we should elect a touring aficionado with expansionist tendencies for Prime Minister...

cyclezealot

WE Are going to do some riding around Hungary and Romania. Other possible rides are likely to be a weekend in Provence. And my bike club plans a week long ride in Spain. Possibly this fall, somewhere about Valencia.

centexwoody 

I'll teach in Duesseldorf the month of June and my wife is coming over the last week of the term. Part of our educational program is taking the whole group on a day tour of the Ruhr (Landschaftpark Gelsenkirchen Nord, Gasometer, Zecke Zollverein museums). We'll also do bike tours of Potsdam (Sanssouci) and Berlin (the parks & lakes). By then the students will be gone so we're planning a credit card tour for a week on rented bikes along the Rhine from Xanten, Germany (as per Arie's suggestion) into Holland (Arnhem to Groningen). Haven't figured out details on that one yet but it shouldn't be too difficult

My wife does not like to camp so any other kind of touring will be on my own. A long-time backpacker, I can't wait to try a camping tour on my Surly LHT!

capejohn

Erie canal in July. Salazburg to Vienna in October.

slowjoe66

First ever overnight tour will be the second week in September. I will be doing the Oregon Pacific Coast, North to South on my commuter/hybrid bike.

This will be cool because I have a bunch of time to get ready and prepare. I am new to touring, but spent years backpacking and hiking until the body began to complain. Now at least I have some good gear that is applicable to touring/cycling-even if I don't have a "touring bike" per se. I've got a rear rack, some home-made panniers, handlebar bag, aero bars etc. A nice light backpacker tent and bag. I'm totally excited.

Fonk

Since my PBP plans are thwarted for this year (1. expense, and 2. we got twins coming in Sept!), here's the tour I'm planning for myself right here in CO, starting/ending from home:

https://www.google.com/maps?f=d&hl=en...,3.735352&om=1

Not sure if it will be loaded or unloaded at this point. My wife and daughter might be tagging along in the car, so I might have a free sherpa service! I'm planning on taking a "rest" day in Crested Butte; if the family is along, we'll go hiking and check out the wildflowers (wildflower capital of CO, and June is peak season!), and if I'm solo I may rent a mtn bike to check out some of the local trails. Can't wait!

-Fonk

cyclezealot

Are you familiar with how bike friendly Germany is. We share in part your bike tour plans. We are taking the train up to Berlin April 12, for a church seminar and from there starting our Hungary , tour. Don't know much about Berlin. Had not been for our seminar, would not have started our bike tour from Berlin. Actually after a couple days in Berlin, we are trucking down to Prague on the train and from there our bike tour portion will begin to points south. One of the bikes we will be taking is also a Surly, but not a LHT but a Cross CHeck. It does pretty good at hauling heavy loads.

David in PA

Lighthorse,

Thanks for the recommendation on the Florida post. I'll definitely check it out.

Your trip to Oregon will be fantastic. Good for you! My longest was VA to eastern CO, but I hope to do a longer one within the next couple of years, but work and available funds, as always, can hold me back.

David in FL

centexwoody 

Last fall I bought a German crossbike (Cube brand) for the 5 weeks I was teaching in Bonn. What a wonderful town and country to bike around! If I could ever get my LHT fitted with S&S couplers, I'd pack & take it over with me every time. Since I sold the Cube to a friend over there, he's agreed to let me 'rent' it from him for a month this summer. The vice-mayor of Bonn is a cycle commuter and the city has set a policy transportation goal of having 25 % of commuter traffic to be done by bike. A remarkable goal and probably not matched anywhere outside of The Netherlands.

Berlin has lots of bike tours and rental shops. The city's web portal promoting cycling is here:
https://www.stadtentwicklung.berlin.d...index_en.shtml
We figure to rent in the city for 3 days then use the train to get out to Potsdam and other spots with our bikes.

Then there are all the efficient, accurate bike maps produced in almost every region as well as by independent publishers. All in all, a great country to cycle in...

I envy you your touring plans and I don't think it matters where you start from - it's all going to be great! A real blessing to have that opportunity. Will you be going to Berlin from France?

cuffydog

In between goggling rifles, you should consider doing a few bike rides in the Adirondacks (where you will be). Check out the book "Twenty-five Bike Tours in the Adirondacks," for some good rides. You may be able to rent a bike in either North Creek or Wevertown (both next to Chestertown), and even more likely in Lake George or Glens Falls.

--cd

cuffydog

That last message was for "Savage..." and for anyone else who finds themselves in the Adirondacks.