looking for advice in planning a trip

hello all,

guess i should just jump in. next summer (2011) i get a one month sabbatical. it can be taken any time during the summer. i most likely will be taking it starting near the end of may (maybe the 20th). i plan on spending three weeks of it with my family. but i've already told my wife that i want a week to be able to go exploring on my bike.

i'm looking for a little advice. i'm trying to figure out where i want to go. there are so many places to see. and i probably won't have an opportunity like this again for a while. at the time of the ride i'll have a 3 year old and a 5 year old. and i'll have to be a campus minister for another 7 years before i get another sabbatical.

i've had a few thoughts on the matter. one was to start the trip with an IBA SS1000 ride. this would put me out west pretty quickly. but i'm not sure i want to start off a week long ride like that. my thought was that i could get to dallas, tx in a day. then the next day make it over to the grand canyon. then spend the next 5 days getting home. obviously this is a bit ambitious.

my hope was to make it out to the grand canyon. but it's about 2100 miles from home. that will be pretty ambitious for a week. it's possible. but the more i'm looking at it the more i'm thinking i won't make it out to the grand canyon.

so, if you lived in raleigh, nc (close to where i live) and had a week where would you go? at this point i'm almost thinking new orleans, to dallas, to kansas city and then back home.

thoughts?

oh, forgot to add something. for the reasons of needing to save money, and the fact that i like nature, i plan on camping along the way.

Hi, there.
Is it co-incidence??? ha ha ha
I had made some bike turing plan to the Grand Canyon last week ... ha ha ha
This map is what I have in mind for the next touring.

Los Angeles to UT and AZ Ride - Google Maps


I wonder if I could go at the winter time ???
At the UT and AZ >> are there snow at the winter???

Dean,
Congratulations, what a great opportunity.
I'm no long-distance tourer, so anything I say is not from kilomiles of experience. But I had a few thoughts. First, what is the longest day you have ever done on a bike? In my limited experience, 400 to 500 miles per day is a comfortable pace, leaving time to stop and rest when you want to, see some sights, etc. By my calculations (well, google's calculations, the Grand Canyon trip will push 5000 miles, or 700 miles a day if you want to do it in a week. That makes my rear end hurt and knees ache just thinking about it. With 7 days, maybe something aound 3000 to 3500 miles like this would interest you. In a nutshell, your place to Bar Harbor, Maine (Acadia National Park is awesome), then across Vermont, New Hampshire, upstate New York (spend some time at the Finger Lakes if you can), stop off at Niagara Falls, then across northern Ohio and Indiana to the Indiana Dunes, then south for a stop at Mammoth Cave, then head home via the Dragon. Only problem with the above is it might still be on the cool side if you leave May 20.
Whatever you decide, good luck, I'm sure you'll have a blast.

In your shoes, I'd probably head north. Maybe hug the coast up to Maine or play in the mountains of upstate New York. I think the weather would be more enjoyable. Regardless...... YOU HAVE A WEEK TO RIDE!!!!:rockon::rockon::rockon:

BusyWeb said:

Hi, there.
Is it co-incidence??? ha ha ha
I had made some bike turing plan to the Grand Canyon last week ... ha ha ha
This map is what I have in mind for the next touring.

Los Angeles to UT and AZ Ride - Google Maps

Click to expand...

maybe it's because i live on the eastern side... i'd love to be able to ride in some of the states y'all have out there. that trip through UT looks great. some day i'll get to the grand canyon.

SirIsaac said:

Dean,
Congratulations, what a great opportunity.

Click to expand...

thanks. i agree. figure i need to take it while i'll have it.

SirIsaac said:

...what is the longest day you have ever done on a bike? ... the Grand Canyon trip will push 5000 miles, or 700 miles a day if you want to do it in a week. That makes my rear end hurt and knees ache just thinking about it.

Click to expand...

i think the longest i've done so far is probably a 350-400 mile day. and being that i have a year and a half i was going to start "training" for it and work my way up. i've gone on trips and don't really struggle with long distance riding. BUT, after i did the math on getting out to the GC and getting back i figured it's something that'd have to wait for another time. maybe if i had 10 days to 2 weeks i could do it. but i don't see that happening.

SirIsaac said:

With 7 days, maybe something aound 3000 to 3500 miles like this would interest you. In a nutshell, your place to Bar Harbor, Maine (Acadia National Park is awesome), then across Vermont, New Hampshire, upstate New York (spend some time at the Finger Lakes if you can), stop off at Niagara Falls, then across northern Ohio and Indiana to the Indiana Dunes, then south for a stop at Mammoth Cave, then head home via the Dragon.

Click to expand...

that actually does. i wasn't thinking at all about going up north. just figured i'd stay in the south. but as i'm thinking about it, it sounds really nice. and i've never seen niagara falls so that'd be great.

SirIsaac said:

Only problem with the above is it might still be on the cool side if you leave May 20.

Click to expand...

what is the cool side? what the temps like at the end of may/beginning of june? my girls birthdays are june 6 & 14. can't miss those. but i have some wiggle room for the dates i'd travel.

SirIsaac said:

Whatever you decide, good luck, I'm sure you'll have a blast.

Click to expand...

thanks. i'm hoping to.

C-bus Biker said:

In your shoes, I'd probably head north. Maybe hug the coast up to Maine or play in the mountains of upstate New York. I think the weather would be more enjoyable. Regardless...... YOU HAVE A WEEK TO RIDE!!!!:rockon::rockon::rockon:

Click to expand...

that's two votes for a northern ride. glad i posted. and i agree. i think no matter where i go it should be great to get away for a week of riding, seeing the country, camping, enjoying the creation and Creator.


anyone else have any suggestions? or does up north sound like the way to go?

dean owens said:

i think the longest i've done so far is probably a 350-400 mile day.

Click to expand...

I actually think that that is a much more comfortable pace, but didn't want to sound like too much of a wuss.

dean owens said:

BUT, after i did the math on getting out to the GC and getting back i figured it's something that'd have to wait for another time. maybe if i had 10 days to 2 weeks i could do it. but i don't see that happening.

Click to expand...

I think two weeks is about the minimum if you want to enjoy the trip, see all that needs to be seen, and not feel like you are rushing.

dean owens said:

what is the cool side? what the temps like at the end of may/beginning of june? my girls birthdays are june 6 & 14. can't miss those. but i have some wiggle room for the dates i'd travel.

Click to expand...

Average high and low temps in May for a few spots along the way:
Bar Harbor, ME 60 42
Albany, NY 70 46
Buffalo, NY 66 47
Toledo, OH 71 47
Gary, IN 69 50
Bowling Green, KY 80 55

Found the above data here.
Actually not too bad, pretty easy to dress for. My guess is camping with lows in the 40s is a piece of cake for you if you are a camper, which you must be since you are planning to camp.