Mar 14 2010

biking cruises

I’m not a huge cruise fan for a number of reasons.

  1. I hate all the little extras they charge you for.
  2. I like being able to explore at random and exploring the ship gets old after day two.
  3. I need outdoor activity and most cruises don’t offer enough of that.
Wouldn’t it be nice to be able to explore some of the cruise destinations by bike. I’d love to get off the water cruise and start a land cruise on a bike. It would be awesome to explore some of the islands and go to off-the-beaten-path villages, beaches, and local haunts.
If any of you know about cruises that have biking excursions, let me know.

Permanent link to this article: https://trailsnet.com/2010/03/14/biking-cruises/

Mar 12 2010

Best Bike Cities poll

By the way, only two people have voted on the “Best Bike Cities poll” to the right. Come on peoples. Don’t you have an opinion? What city do you prefer for biking?

Vote soon. The polls close on March 14.

Permanent link to this article: https://trailsnet.com/2010/03/12/best-bike-cities-poll/

Mar 12 2010

Bear Creek Trail near Morrison, Colorado

Spring is around the corner. We’ve had a tough winter. February averaged nine degrees colder than usual this year. When I was working full time as a teacher, I averaged a couple days of biking per week. This year, as a retiree who works from home, I only made it out two or three times all winter. It’s been either too cold, too snowy, or too icy.
Well it’s warm out today, and my thoughts turn to a good biking trip. I’m thinking the Bear Creek Trail that goes through parts of Morrison, Arvada, Westminster & Denver, Colorado would be a good trail to hit pretty soon.
The nice thing about the Bear Creek Trail is that I can start by having breakfast in Morrison and end by having lunch in Denver. It also makes a pretty good loop trail when tied in with the Platte River Trail and the C470 Trail.
If you are interested in any of those trails, feel free to visit the links above for more trail information and photos.

Permanent link to this article: https://trailsnet.com/2010/03/12/bear-creek-trail-near-morrison-colorado/

Mar 11 2010

No Room at the Inn

… even worse… there’s not any inns.
I’m trying to find lodging for my upcoming bike ride on the Chief Ladiga & Silver Comet Trails in Alabama & Georgia. Holy cow … There are slim pickins’ near the beginning of each trail, and nearly no pickins’ in the middle.

If anyone out there on the ol’ cyber trail knows about lodgings in Cedartown, Georgia or Piedmont, Alabama, give me a shout. Of course there are hotels in those towns, but they’re not very close to the trail. I hate riding on roads, so I’d prefer something close to the rail-trail.

For information about the Chief Ladiga Trail in Alabama or the Silver Comet Trail in Georgia, visit trailsnet.com.

Permanent link to this article: https://trailsnet.com/2010/03/11/no-room-at-the-inn/

Mar 11 2010

Bike Rentals

If you’re an active traveler and like to ride trails all over the country/world, you may have noticed a bike problem. You’ve got two choices:

  • You can take a bike with you which is okay if you’re driving but a pain when flying, or
  • You can rent a bike when you get to your destination.
I prefer the second option for many reasons:
  • It’s less of a hassle.
  • I enjoy meeting the friendly bike rental people.
  • In the long run, it’s sometimes cheaper to pay a rental fee than a shipping/airline fee.
  • It’s nice to talk to someone local @ the bike shop for information, directions, & tips.
  • I get to try out different bikes.
Unfortunately, it’s not always easy to find fully stocked rental shops in some of the trail areas. It’s especially hard to find bike shops that have recumbent bikes. I don’t have to have a recumbent, but I love trying them out, and they’re especially nice on long trails when you have to pack a lot of gear (which I usually do). On one our trips, my daughter & I got to try a tandem recumbent bike while riding our bikes on the Withlacoochee State Trail in Florida. It’s been one of my most enjoyable trail experiences since I started riding rail trails. And that’s saying a lot considering how much I enjoy all of the rails-to-trails offerings.

Permanent link to this article: https://trailsnet.com/2010/03/11/bike-rentals/

Mar 09 2010

Caribou Trail near Nederland, Colorado

I just added a new trail to the trailsnet website yesterday. It is for the Caribou Trail which is just a little bit NW of Nederland, CO. The web page doesn’t have a map on it yet. Normally, I don’t report the pages on my blog page until they are complete; but this one is best for cross-country skiing, so I wanted to get the information out to you before it gets too springy. The way this winter has been going, we may run out of snow soon.
So if you enjoy cross-country skiing, visit the Caribou Trail information page @ trailsnet.com.

Permanent link to this article: https://trailsnet.com/2010/03/09/caribou-trail-near-nederland-colorado/