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Getting Away By Bike

02.01.2011 by Ray Niekamp // 1 Comment

It’s the coldest weather I’ve experienced in the 10 years I’ve lived in Texas.  My former homes in the Midwest are snowed in by the biggest snowstorm of the year.  I’m not thinking much about biking in these circumstances.  But we can use the time away from our bikes to make plans.  And when doing that, it’s a good idea to dream big.

David Houghton dreams big.  His new website, Biciklo, is a guide to biking tours around the world.  The premise is simple.  Let’s say you want to go somewhere – maybe somewhere exotic – and while you’re there, you want to get in some riding.  You could make arrangements to rent a bike and get a map and explore on your own, or you can go on an organized biking tour, with experienced guides who know cool out-of-the-way places and who can look after the mundane details of the trip.

Lots of different companies compete in this field.  How can you compare them and figure out which is the best for you?  That’s what Biciklo does.  Log onto the website, www.biciklo.com, and click on a country you’d like to see by bike.  Let’s say Spain, just for kicks.  You want to go for a period of two to 10 days, and you want to do some road biking.

Descending on the Costa Brava.

Holy cow! I counted 112 different tours in Spain, offered by at least 30 different companies.  Once you get those returns, you can start culling them to find the kind of tour that fits your interest.  Some feature overnight accommodations in luxury hotels, other say overnights are “indoors.”  The tours are described as easy, moderate or challenging.  Prices are quoted in Euros, Pound sterling, or U.S. dollars, depending upon the company offering the tour.  Of course, there’s a link on each tour to the company that offers it, so you can get further details from their sites.

Most people keep a “bucket list” – list of things they want to do in their lifetimes.  Biciklo’s Houghton suggests keeping a “bike-it” list.  He hopes his site will help promote bicycle touring as a healthy, environmentally sustainable way to travel.

If you want a break from Old Man Winter, even vicariously, take a look at www.biciklo.com.

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Categories // Travel Tags // touring, Travel

Five Top Recommendations for Trail and Mountain Biking

08.12.2010 by Ray Niekamp // 1 Comment

Bike Noob has always focused primarily on the recreational road biker.  But it’s always a good idea to break out of the routine.  If that break out involves travel, guest poster Maeyahn Aguilar suggests some mountain biking destinations.

As a cyclist, you probably prefer spending your biking days exploring little known trails. But how do you find them? We’ll make it easier for you. Here are five of the top areas that you should definitely try.

1. Park City, Utah

Park City provides you with breathtaking scenery. Its trail is 8000 feet above sea level along a 20 mile radius. And it has up to a 3000 foot altitude change! We suggest that you take Sweeny North or Sweeney South until you reach mid-mountain.

2. East Burke, Vermont

At first glance, it seems to be in the middle of nowhere but if you look closely at the map, you will see that it is a two hour drive from Montreal and Burlington. This trail is definitely worth the drive. In fact, East Burke is on the map because of the Mecca Kingdom Trails which consists of 100 miles of non-motorized trails.

East Burke has abundant and beautiful landscape. Beginner and experienced cyclists will definitely find this trail worth trying. It is one of a kind.

3. Fruita, Colorado

Fruita provides cyclists with hundreds of miles of thrills! The uphill and wide open views of the Grand Valley Basin provide breathless views of nature. The descents are tight, but worth it as you fly down the mountain.

4. Asheville, North Carolina

Located between the Appalachian Mountains and Blue Ridge, Asheville is surrounded by natural and lush attractions amidst the western North Carolina mountains. Note: If you want “grippy” granite or “sandy” soil, then proceed to the DuPont State Forest.

5. Pontiac Lake, Michigan

Pontiac Lake is actually a recreation area but its 11 mile trail consists of challenging climbs that lure cyclists of all kinds. Imagine a trail that will make your lungs scream, legs burn and mind completely focused while navigating roots, rocks and sharp turns.

Pontiac Lake is divided into three sections. It changes as the rider goes downhill and along the rooty sections. And even though heavy use of the trail has led to some erosion, it is definitely a must ride for amateur and experienced cyclists alike.

So those are my recommendations. You might disagree with me as favorite trails are like fingerprints – everyone’s are different!

Have any trails you’d like to share? Shoot me an email – Maeyahn@ndparks.com.

Maeyahn writes for NDParks.com, the site that reviews camp grounds and all sorts of camping equipment, from family camping cots to the best folding camping chairs. You can read her latest post on camping with kids.

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Categories // guest post, Travel Tags // guest post, mountain bike

Heresy

08.17.2009 by Ray Niekamp // 3 Comments

It’s heresy, I tell you. Away for a whole week in Hawaii (Maui, to be specific) and not one day of bicycling!

ViewThe view from our hotel room. Yep, another lousy day on Maui.

It’s not that we didn’t plan it. We were looking into bike rentals before we left for the islands. But on Maui, the big biking experience they push is the ride down Mt. Haleakala, the 10,000-foot dormant volcano that dominates the eastern half of the island. It’s a 37-mile ride, and to get the full experience, you start at sunrise at the top of the volcano in temperatures in the 30sF (+2C).

But our first two days found us dealing with the remnants of Tropical Storm Felicia (at one time a Category 4 hurricane) that rained out our activities. We drove the road up Haleakala to the national park entrance, and were advised not to go any farther because of the poor weather conditions. The drive back down the mountainside, with its constant hairpin turns, unsettled Pat, and put me off of any ideas I’d had of doing the ride, too. So we decided to look for alternatives.

The road from our resort area near the historic city of Lahaina features a wide shoulder in both directions. The downside to that is the amount of traffic on the road. Depending on time of day, it can be heavy, and the drivers don’t appear to be bike friendly.

We had plenty of other activities to cram into the remaining days once the rain stopped, like golf and horseback riding. But we never did get around to renting bikes and riding. However, on four of the seven days we spent there, we started the morning with a brisk half-hour pedal of the spin bike in the hotel’s fitness center. I programmed in some hill work, and played with different levels of effort. It was a good way to start the day, and we decided Maui ranks as one of the top vacations spots we’ve ever visited.

Some interesting biking issues popped up while I was gone, and I’ll be looking at them later this week. But for now, I have to readjust my body clock.

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Categories // Travel Tags // Travel

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