USA (local)

Website includes travelogue, gear, planning, 50 (USA) State Bicycle Coordinator summary page, beer sampling, etc.

I also took the opportunity to sample beers from across the USA. When you are riding your bike across the country, beer is guilt free. It's called fuel, and it tastes good, too! At the end of the day, nothing replaces those vital body fluids better than beer - water works OK, too, I guess.

You'll find that some state bicycle coordinators are better than others. Wyoming and South Dakota coordinators were topnotch! Clearly, they were real bike riders not some pinky office donut eaters.

A one-week cyclotouring trip from Albany to Buffalo, along the Erie Canal and Mohawk River in New York State (650 km ~ 400 miles), mostly camping. Practical informations about traveling and camping in Upstate New York, and getting there by bus. Especially useful for budget travelers who don't mind pedaling long hours along the Mohawk River Valley, the cradle of US industry, an area rich in historical significance and landmarks.

Seattle - San Francisco round 1.800 Kilometers.
The complete tour length has been: 1.817,59 kilometers, and 14.670 meters of climbing.

A shorter tour of Colorado on a race bike, including two days on a mountain bike. Visiting: Ophir Pass, Imogene Pass, Corkscrew Pass, Red Mountain Pass, Lizard Head Pass, Independence Pass, Cottonwood Pass, Loveland Pass, Mount Evans, the lovely Trail Ridge Road and more.

From Denver to the Grand Canyon and return...

These pages describe a series of day rides around San Diego County, these include

• Mount Laguna and the Sunrise Highway
• Mount Palomar
• San Diego's South Bay
• The Anza-Borrego Desert
• Julian, and
• La Jolla

Last year I decided I wanted to go home for Christmas, but I previously stated that I would only leave Orlando if it was under my own power.

I spent seven days covering the 610 miles between Orlando Florida and Birmingham Alabama.

The page tells some of the highlights and realizations I encountered along the way as well as a map showing some of the places I stayed, I think this trip was a great warm up to my eventual goal of riding across country one day.

The plan is to pedal from Southern California to Virginia, or Canada if we don't feel that 3,200 miles is enough. Barring accidents, failed joints, or break-ups, we'll get to dip our tires in more than one ocean. We hope to succeed or fail before August.

Six men set out on a journey that would build character in body, mind and spirit. Physical challenges, scenery and surroundings ``to die for'', and a spiritual emphasis made this trip truly ``one of a kind''. There are many photos, detailed route maps, a list of everything we packed, the expenses for the trip and a daily ``blog'' or diary of each day. If your planning on doing this trip, it probably is worth your reading. If you've never done a multi-day trip in the ``back country'', it's a ``must read''. It was a trip none of us will ever forget - in the best sort of way! Enjoy!

These pages describe a series of day rides on or near California's Coast.

The rides include visits to

• King Ridge, Meyers Grade, Cazadero, Healdsburg, Dry Creek Valley, Alexander Valley, and the Jimtown Store in Sonoma County;
• Tiburon, the Golden Gate Bridge, and Sausalito in Marin County;
• Paso Robles, Peachy Canyon, and the Klau and Buena Vista Mines in San Luis Obispo County;
• Lake Piru in Ventura County and
• Calabasas, Topanga, Fernwood, Saddle Peak, Santa Monica, Venice Beach, Marina Del Rey, Playa Del Rey, Manhatten Beach, Hermosa Beach, and Redondo Beach in Los Angeles County.

Utah is better known for its colorful canyon geography than its lofty summits. But it order to get to the summits, you have to traverse the canyons first. A cycling climb in Utah often involves a combination of arid canyons, mountains and forested plateaus. These pages derive from day rides or short tours taken over many years. They contain elevation profiles, pictures, route descriptions, maps and history for numerous summits. Some of these summits are part of popular touring routes, such as Ut12 connecting Capitol Reef and Bryce National Parks, or the Kokopelli's Trail near Moab. Many others see cyclists very seldom - includes paved and MTB summits - new summits added regularly.

The gap was bothering me. I had done San Francisco to San Diego and Astoria to Eureka. The ride from Eureka to San Francisco would take about a week. Which, coincidentally, was about all the vacation time I had after starting a new job. So I flew to San Francisco, took the bus to Eureka, and filled in the gap, on my first solo tour.

These pages describe a series of day rides in California's Central Coast.

The rides include 17 Mile Ride, See Canyon, Figueroa Mountain, Camino Cielo and a loop of Lake Casitas.

Why would I bike around America? Why not? Or better yet, because I can. After first reading about cross-country bicycle tours on Crazyguyonabike.com I was hooked!

There it was, a great adventure that almost anyone could do, and I had all the free time in the world. Before reading about bike touring, I had dreams of hiking the 2500+ mile Appalachian Trail. But 75 mile days on a bike and real food quickly trumped 15 mile days on foot and oatmeal.

So I sold all of my stuff, opted to not renew my apartment lease, and bought a bike. It took me three months and almost $2,000 to aquire the knowledge and equipment to pull off this trip, but now I am ready to start it.

A lot of people ask me why I would want to do something like this. They either assume that I am either crazy, or poor. And while I may be a little of both, I just think it sounds like a good time. Cars, planes, and big cities are three things I try to avoid when I travel. So a nice slow bike ride through the Rocky Mountains sounds like a dream.

While most people will spend $20,000 on a new car, or $5,000 on a one week vacation, I spent $2,000 on a three month vacation with no bills to worry about. Everything I need, will be carried with me on my bike.

So, while it may seem a little crazy at first, I guess the main reason I would do something like this would be the journey itself. As one old Chinese guy once said, `The journey is the reward.'

Ten Days Of Cycling Through The Best Of California: Starting off with an awesome 150-kilometer ride high on the cliffs of America's wildest seacoast--past beaches filled with monstrous elephant seals--I pedaled on around surrealistic 17-Mile Drive and on through the Cannery Row of Steinbeck's novel into the famous resort of Monterey. Next, I soared across vast San Francisco Bay on the Golden Gate Bridge, and on across bike-friendly Marin Country to Point Reyes National Seashore for two nights in a traditional cyclists' hostel. Then came more exciting bike travel, through towering redwood forests beside the Russian River and across the Napa Valley Wine Country to the university town of Davis, famed for its many bicycle paths. Finally, I cycled part way around beautiful Lake Tahoe and ended the trip at the Nevada State Line. My website gives full day-by-day info on how I made the tour;and how to make the same trip yourself, including overnighting at economy lodgings, and where to get maps, when to go, and other helpful literature.

Seven tips, ride description, and map for a one-day ride from the sea up the mammoth 61-kilometer climb of the Hawaiian volcano Haleakela on Maui. At over 3,000 meters, this climb will take literally into thin air - some planning should be undertaken.

It's just a hill, in the grand scheme of things. Only different. Not because it's 10,023ft at the summit, but because this is one of those rare mountains that you can literally start at sea level... well, not just sea level, but actually at the sea! You don't have to do the ride that way though; you can start at the base of Highway 37 (near the airport), and pretty much eliminate the chance of taking a wrong turn and adding another 1700ft to the climb. But what's the fun in that?

The climb isn't challenging because it's steep (it isn't), but rather the length. You start climbing and never, ever stop, until you reach the top. Lots and lots of photos on our page, along with a printout from a HAC-4 heart monitor/altimeter.

A number of articles in rec.bicycles and rec.travel about the Oregon Coast inspired me to take my first long distance bicycle tour. I flew to Seattle from Denver on the 10th of July with a plane ticket to return from San Francisco on the 28th. If there was anything that I didn't like about this trip it was that deadline. I felt free except for the schedule I had to keep. This article is a personal narrative about my journey from Seattle to San Francisco following highways 101 and 1 along the Pacific Coast.

Every day is different. If you bring expectations from yesterday into a new day you increase the chance for disappointment and you waste time and energy trying to overcome that disappointment. Everyday unto itself.

This tour changed my life. I had never felt more alive. I left seeking a new way to see the world and I found me.

Paved all the way, Oregon's Historic Columbia River Highway takes cyclists on a breathtaking 75-mile ride through the Columbia River Gorge, a region so spectacular that in 1986, Congress declared it a National Scenic Area. Almost every mile of the way, I pedaled past steep, rocky cliffs and evergreen forests and I cycled next to 5 roadside waterfalls, one cascading down a sheer 620-foot drop. Most of the ride is on low-traffic, secondary roads with about ten miles on car-free bikeways. (To by-pass an as-yet unfinished 14 miles, cyclists are permitted to ride on the wide shoulder of I-84.)

Comfortable, affordable motels are spaced every 20-30 miles and you can take either 2 or 3 days to ride the Gorge--surely one of America's most awesome cycling experiences. En route, I pedaled up two superbly scenic--and fairly gentle--climbs, each around 750-feet in elevation gain--and with stunning panoramas from both summits. Along the way, I also spent a couple of hours touring Bonneville Dam where salmon were leaping up fish ladders. My day-to-day report tells exactly how I made this two-day tour and it's packed with advice and map sources for anyone wishing to duplicate my route. (Tip: it's just a six-hour drive between the Gorge and Spokane WA, end of my ``Touring the Northwest'' trip (see report on home page menu) and you can squeeze both tours into a one week vacation.

New York State's long, spindly Finger Lakes are webbed by roads that take you pedaling along lakeshores or over rolling hills, past world-class vineyards and picturesque farms, to quaint towns and villages with elm-lined streets bordered by elegant Victorian houses and gardens. From high ridges, I viewed breathtaking panoramas of the sparkling lakes below. On quiet backroads, I met Amish carriages drawn by high-stepping horses. And I spent the final two days on a flat 90-mile ride along the car-free towpath of the Erie Canal, cycling next to a series of still-operating locks and 19th Century towns, each with a unique lift bridge across the Canal.

My trip took 14 days and covered nearly 600 miles and I spent each night at a comfortable, affordable motel in traditional towns like Auburn, Geneva, Watkins Glen, Penn Yann, Canandaigua, Brockport and Lockport. Small wonder this is one of America's most popular bike tours! And if you'd like to ride it yourself, my full report not only describes my day-to-day cycling experiences but also gives full map and info sources for duplicating my route on your own.

Up in Northern Idaho and Washington, a series of 4 car-free bike trails linked together form one of America's newest bicycle tours. My 4-day tour began high in the Bitteroot Mountains with a wildly scenic ride down the Milwaukee Road's Trail of the Hiawathas, former route of the famous Hiawatha Scenic Vista Dome train. The line went bankrupt in 1977 and the Hiawatha stopped running. Today, though, you can enjoy the same scenic adventure on a bicycle, including traveling through the same 9 cavernous tunnels and across the 7 high steel trestles used by the train.

Next, I rode a 12-mile stretch of the former Northern Pacific railbed through emerald forests then switched to a paved stretch of the former Union Pacific Road that led for 66 spectacular miles through a wilderness of tall mountain peaks, rivers, lakes and wetlands and past historic mining towns to the Victorian village of Harrison, perched on a hilltop overlooking beautiful Lake Coeur d'Alene. I completed the trip by riding another 62-miles on the paved Millenium Trail beside Lake Coeur d'Alene then west along a cascading river into Washington and the city of Spokane.

My day-by-day report not only describes how I biked this 160-mile tour but also gives full map and info sources for duplicating my route. Using a unique routing strategy, for instance, I was able to ride the whole way either on the flat or downhill. And I found comfortable motels or guest houses a day's ride apart the entire way.

Almost every year, I spend a bike touring vacation at Frisco CO, staying in the same motel while each day I bike out and back on a complex of paved, car-free bike trails that wind past colossal mountain scenery to famous ski resorts like Breckenridge, Keystone, Copper Mountain and Vail. One easy trail hugs the shore of huge Dillon Lake to Keystone. Another winds up to the posh resort of Breckenridge. And a third climbs through awesome Ten Mile Canyon to Copper Mountain and on up over Vail Pass (10,600 feet, 3250m) then drops down to the Alpine-style town of Vail.

Using fat tires, I usually spend a day cycling up the unpaved road to Boreas Pass (11,480 feet, 3500m) where America's highest railroad depot still stands. Then for a change, I'll rent a kayak and paddle around Dillon Lake for a few hours. But there's lots more. It's just an hour's drive to nearby Georgetown, an unchanged Victorian mining town and from here a paved bike trail leads up to Silver Plume, a fascinating old mining town still much as it was in 1880. Heading back down, a low-traffic paved road leads to Idaho Springs, your motel base for cycling America's highest paved road that leads for 28 miles to the summit of Mount Evans (14,264 feet, 4360m). And with a mountain bike, still more exciting rides await, all in a world class setting of breathtaking grandeur. My website describes how I biked each trail, then gives loads of advice, and full map and info sources, for riding these trails on your own.

Trail reports and best strategy for touring 4 of America's longest Rails-Trails conversions that take you cycling through America's rural heartland on former railroad beds, converted to car-free bike trails, with comfortable, affordable motels a day's ride apart. Day-by-day, these reports describe how I cycled each trail plus loads of info and advice for anyone wishing to cycle the same route.

The trails are: Root River Trail, 60 paved miles (100 kms) along Minnesota's beautiful Root River, 2 days, McElroy-Sparta, 105-mile (170kms) trail system along Mississippi River in Wisconsin, smooth-unpaved, 4 days (can be combined with Root River Trail), Mickelson Trail, 109-miles(175kms)on smooth, unpaved trail through historic, Gold Rush country of South Dakota's Black Hills, 3-4 days. The 225-mile (362-km) Katy Trail along the Missouri River in Missouri, smooth-unpaved, 4-5 days. All are fairly level, easy rides through historic railroad towns and scenic countryside rich in Americana and wildlife.

Pictures of my Alaska bike trip/honeymoon this summer.

In the fall of 2000, my wife and I planned a tour around Lake Pepin for our anniversary, starting and ending in St. Paul, Minnesota. A lovely short tour in easy stages- my first tour!

Cycling Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks.

60 photos and movies by Steven Hill and Rebecca Heald.

This past weekend, Rebecca and I participated in a really nice, informal, two-day bicycle tour through the Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks in the Sierra-Nevada, California. These parks protect some of the most stunning habitats you'll find anywhere. The huge elevational range (1,500' to 14,491') in this region features immense mountains including Mt. Whitney, the tallest mountain in the lower 48 states; huge trees including the General Sherman Sequoia Tree, the largest (by volume) living thing on earth and deep canyons including Kings Canyon which is deeper than the more famous Grand Canyon in Arizona.

Although August is still considered high season, campgrounds are mostly completely empty. Campgrounds here are designed for RVs exclusively, and have RV hookups but no amenities beside a pit toilet and a well with a hand pump that dispenses wonderful cold water to fill my bottles. Well water is safe to drink; river or lake water is not. I normally want a hot shower in the morning and evening, so I got more and more desperate checking out one primitive campsite after another, until some friendly campers told me that the Lava Lake resort campground has showers and groceries. Although it's a RV campground, I highly recommend it - the sites are large and secluded, and the showers are great. Also, it has the first grocery store, or in fact any store, I have passed since Chemult. I am writing this sitting on the campground's boat pier, looking at the sun setting over the mountains all around me.

In the city of Napa, there is a friendly tourist info downtown on 1st. Stock up on food here because I haven't seen another grocery store for the rest of the day. I decided to take Silverado Road north, because unlike highway 29 it has a wide bike lane and is more scenic. There are beautiful vistas of vineyards and hills all the way. I was warned that both can be dangerous because the Napa valley is California's wine country, which means lots of drunk drivers, but I saw no evidence of that. I cut back to 29 on Bale St, and stayed in the Bothe-Napa State Park. One night costs $1 (like in all State Park campgrounds except the Bicentennial which was free), plus showers, and they never turn cyclists away.

I spent the next day and a half in the White Mountains, which were the highlight of this tour. The main east-west road through the White Mountains is route 112, called the Kancamagus highway after an Indian chief. The first half of route 112 to Lincoln is mostly flat, but the second half is moderately steep at about 9%. There are only occasional views of the valley. The pass is about 600m higher than Conway, with a vista point. (Observed there: car stops, fat lady bounces out, leaving the motor running, regards the panorama for three seconds, emits a little squeal of delight, jumps back into the car and drives off.)

Crater Lake is almost circular with a small island. There used to be a volcano there long ago, but its top blew off and left a very scenic lake. Due to its depth it is incredibly blue. In the summer (we rode in August) it is possible to ride around all around the lake; in the winter this road is closed. At the western side there is a mountain with a great view of the lake; the teaser image at the top of this page was taken there. Even in August there is snow there, and the path up the mountain is too rough to ride with road bikes.

After a day at Crater Lake, we followed highway 62 towards Medford. The ride was an exhilarating downhill through dense forest, sometimes alongside lakes or white water rivers and creeks. The area is almost completely unpopulated, and there was suprisingly little traffic (this was on a Wednesday, I expect it would be worse on weekends). We stayed one night in a campground in the Valley of the Rogue, and continued the next morning to Medford.

Although Highway 1 closely follows the coast, which means constant postcard motives to the right, it is still hilly because the cliffs vary considerably in height. They are no problem for riding because none exceeds 250 meters, and most days we didn't have more than two of these. Of course, the downside to untouched beauty is that there aren't any grocery stores to stock up on water or bananas either. The Big Sur coast is not completely devoid of human civilisation. There are small ``towns'' like Lucia (population 3 according to the Bikecentennial map) and Gorda with grocery stores and restaurants, but they are few and far in between. Stock up on food whenevr you can, and you'll love the rugged untouched beauty of this section of the Pacific coast. The picture was taken in the town of Gorda. I once ate better fish-and-chips there than in London.

Riding in Washington was easy. The roads mostly have wide shoulders and there wasn't much traffic. We had several tunnels, like the one shown in the picture. These tunnels had a button at the entrance for bicyclists to press that turns on flashing lights and warns motorists that there are bicycles in the tunnel and they might perhaps consider driving carefully. We were lucky and always had downhill tunnels, and didn't meet any logging trucks in a tunnel. A logging truck is a huge truck loaded with logs, and can be rather frightening when passing at high speed. They are more indigenous to Oregon though.

Various rides and trails in California and Nevada: the Sierras, Sonora, Yosemite, and in the Giant redwoods forests.

2003 we biked in Colorado. The idea was to ride the famous Colorado singletrack, biking between the places with singletrack, to see whether the Colorado singletrack is the best in the world. The question remains unanswered as we have zillions of miles of singletrack to try yet. However, one thing is clear, Colorado singletrack is fantastic. Colorado has some of the best trails in the world.