Camping - Cycling Trips! Let's hear about them

[Sport 16 STL]

Fruita CO is one of our favorite places to ride. Stay at the state park right outside of town. Many trails to explore.

[PB_NB]

Originally Posted by Sport 16 STL

Fruita CO is one of our favorite places to ride. Stay at the state park right outside of town. Many trails to explore.

It looks like Colorado offers a lot for riders. The mountains are always good for the hill climbers and the mountain bikers. We haven’t explored Colorado yet but I expect it to be as awesome as other Rocky Mountain like Banff, AB.

[AlbertF]

Originally Posted by jcl

Too Tall:

Your post reminded me of a ride training camp in Solvang. Their motto was ride, eat sleep, repeat, IIRC. We were headed for a 5 day cross Italy trip with 27,000 feet of climbing over 5 days, up to 90 miles each day, and it was in early spring instead of our usual fall trips. Our winter riding is at a slower pace. We decided it would be worth getting some training in before departing for Italy. There was a supported ride camp available, but we are self sufficient on most of our rides so skipped the training package and did it ourselves. Solvang is a fantastic place to ride. Every day we included the short 20 km circuit from the Tour of California time trial, self timed, so we could track our progress, and did a longer ride as well.

My wife is my riding partner and was apprehensive about the ride across Italy, because we were the only couple. She figured it would be a hammer fest. Several of the riders had just come off the Portland to Portland ride, 41 days, I think. She didn’t need to worry. She finished at the front every day. But it wasn’t a race

I’ve been told that the only way to train for high elevation hill climbs is to go there and train.

I still dream of riding in the Alps, but I have a long way to go. At least the pandemic has been good for more regular riding!

[daytripper]

Wow!! Feeling a little jealous of you Canadians about now!

[wulfraat]

Originally Posted by AlbertF;

I’ve been told that the only way to train for high elevation hill climbs is to go there and train.

I still dream of riding in the Alps, but I have a long way to go. At least the pandemic has been good for more regular riding!

Colorado is pretty choice. I lived in Fribourg Switzerland in my early twenties when I could still pull off 130 mile days through the alps, and I have to say, that state side Colorado is still pretty sweet

Come ride up pikes peak! I am not a climber but I've done it, and melted a pair of cheap carbon rims on the 14% descent haha

A few weeks ago we traveled to the south rim of the grand canyon for a week in the airstream. Everything was closed pretty much - The south rim road to to hermit's rest was closed to cars and no buses running... but bikes allowed!

What a great rolling 20 mile round trip in the late afternoon at 85 degrees in the sun a few meters away from edge... I was the only sole out there and had the entire road to myself

Steel bikes are cool BTW

[PB_NB]

Originally Posted by wulfraat

Colorado is pretty choice. I lived in Fribourg Switzerland in my early twenties when I could still pull off 130 mile days through the alps, and I have to say, that state side Colorado is still pretty sweet

Come ride up pikes peak! I am not a climber but I've done it, and melted a pair of cheap carbon rims on the 14% descent haha

A few weeks ago we traveled to the south rim of the grand canyon for a week in the airstream. Everything was closed pretty much - The south rim road to to hermit's rest was closed to cars and no buses running... but bikes allowed!

What a great rolling 20 mile round trip in the late afternoon at 85 degrees in the sun a few meters away from edge... I was the only sole out there and had the entire road to myself

Steel bikes are cool BTW

Hi Wulfraat, I have to agree that steel has a cool factor! That Colnago with the crazy Columbus tubing was the envy of all the guys I rode with. I had a more traditional DeRosa extra stiff frame and a SLX frame made in Quebec called Bertrand. Then Rocky Mountain aluminum frame (probably the least exciting frame I have owned), then on to a Cervelo S2, then LOOK 675, and now LOOK 795 Aerolite which is faster than I am! It really has to wait for me to catch up.

I think I get more exercise, switching bikes than riding them

The Grand Canyon ride sounds like a blast, last time we were there was about 20 years ago. We dragged the kids down the main trail to the bottom, our son was 4 and our daughter was 8. It was packed with all sorts of people and there were sherpas with donkeys going down as well. It was like being in a different world and very hot!

Pikes Peak 14% grade sounds like an e-bike moment! But seriously, that would be a grind. A good micro brewery would be in order after that slog.

I think I have been a bit messed up over the last few weeks, I look forward to the Tour among other sports, and it has been converted to a Zwift event. I am having withdrawals!

So Colorado seems to be getting lots of votes in this informal web setting. Probably easier to reach for most of us being relatively central. Now we just need that pesky virus to go away and have things get back to normal.

[wulfraat]

Small world. I raced on a Bertrand with Columbus SL tubing and Shimano 600 back in the day. Go Gilles!

Moved over to Maranoni when our little team got some sponsor help.

[Mikebrady62]

I also have a passion for cycling and have loved our AS adventures. I have done many tours and some long distance racing (RAAM) as well as fun events like RAGBRAI. My wife enjoys cycling too, unfortunately she likes her Peloton stationary cycle so much more than the road and has MTB a total of once! Another issue for me is she has no interest or desire to EVER pull our AS. So a tour is out of the question. For me it would need to be out and backs to where ever we camp for a few days and then move on.
I know scheduling logistics are difficult but I would love to take part in some AS camping and cycling adventures with other enthusiast. One of our sons lives in Washington State right near Hwy 2 that someone else had mentioned (great ride) and the other son is in southern TX. So our travels are typically south central to Washington and all places in between. Lots of great riding in between for sure! Both road and MTB.
So plan away and hopefully some of us can meet up and do camping and riding together.

Mike

[PB_NB]

Originally Posted by Mikebrady62

I also have a passion for cycling and have loved our AS adventures. I have done many tours and some long distance racing (RAAM) as well as fun events like RAGBRAI. My wife enjoys cycling too, unfortunately she likes her Peloton stationary cycle so much more than the road and has MTB a total of once! Another issue for me is she has no interest or desire to EVER pull our AS. So a tour is out of the question. For me it would need to be out and backs to where ever we camp for a few days and then move on.
I know scheduling logistics are difficult but I would love to take part in some AS camping and cycling adventures with other enthusiast. One of our sons lives in Washington State right near Hwy 2 that someone else had mentioned (great ride) and the other son is in southern TX. So our travels are typically south central to Washington and all places in between. Lots of great riding in between for sure! Both road and MTB.
So plan away and hopefully some of us can meet up and do camping and riding together.

Mike

Hi Mike, I am in a similar situation so I thought that loops from the campsites would be one way to do this and work with the situation. Most loop rides would look different on the way back so it would be hard to tell

When we did the Reach the Beach, It was oneway so we just drove the to the start and then to the finish. Not all of us rode so that made it easier. Same sort of thing with the STP where some drove and some rode.

Anything is possible as it is supposed to be fun!

[Vagabonds_2]

We recently acquired a couple of Dutch e-bikes. They are heavy, 50 and 58#’s respectively. We transport them inside the trailer. But difficult to lift up into shortbed Ram. Hate to take heavy Kuat bike rack with and R&R Equalizer hitch. They’re too heavy for Famiano rack I assume and wouldn’t want lift that high with rotator cuff issues. Any ideas?

Originally Posted by PB_NB

Olympia, WA to Westport, WA.

We did a little charity ride in 2018 going from Olympia to Westport in WA. This was about 100 miles with stops at little towns on the route to the coast.

The day before the ride we camped at Lake Sylvia which was a beautiful little spot. Then we drove about 50 miles to the ride start and finished up in Westport on the Pacific Coast. The ride was very well supported and the route was nice with most of it through farm land and quiet back roads.



We had one more night at Lake Sylvia and then we moved our trailer to Westport and camped at a rather large RV campground for another 5 days. Exploring the area was nice but we did feel that the coastal town was feeling some economic challenges.

All in all, it was a great ride that I would recommend and they also have a ride that runs through Oregon's wine country and ends up on the Oregon Coast. I hope to do this one when the world situation improves.

[Dan_Rox]

Originally Posted by Mikebrady62

I also have a passion for cycling and have loved our AS adventures. I have done many tours and some long distance racing (RAAM) as well as fun events like RAGBRAI. My wife enjoys cycling too, unfortunately she likes her Peloton stationary cycle so much more than the road and has MTB a total of once! Another issue for me is she has no interest or desire to EVER pull our AS. So a tour is out of the question. For me it would need to be out and backs to where ever we camp for a few days and then move on.
I know scheduling logistics are difficult but I would love to take part in some AS camping and cycling adventures with other enthusiast. One of our sons lives in Washington State right near Hwy 2 that someone else had mentioned (great ride) and the other son is in southern TX. So our travels are typically south central to Washington and all places in between. Lots of great riding in between for sure! Both road and MTB.
So plan away and hopefully some of us can meet up and do camping and riding together.

Mike

My wife is not going to pull the Airstream. She wouldn't be comfortable doing it, and we want to spend our time together riding.



We typically stay at a location for 2 or 3 days and do loop rides. If you limited the miles you drive between places you normally can get a morning ride in, eat lunch, check out and drive 2-3 hours to the next campground, check in in time for supper.


We can't wait till we can retire and drag our trailer full of toys to the pacific northwest. We spent a week in Bend, Oregon a few years ago and loved it. I can see easily spending several weeks in Oregon and Washington before we would head back east.

[PB_NB]

Hi Vagabond_2, those are some heavy bikes! I know there are side loading solutions for Kayaks made by Thule. Perhaps something like that would help get them up.

Maybe an aluminum ramp to get the bikes into the box. It would be light enough to carry.

https://diamondbackcovers.com/collec...products/ramps

These ones are quite sturdy and foldable and they are up to 12' in length and huge carrying capacity as an example. Probably the best place for one or two of these is a ATV seller.

[PB_NB]

Originally Posted by Dan_Rox

My wife is not going to pull the Airstream. She wouldn't be comfortable doing it, and we want to spend our time together riding.



We typically stay at a location for 2 or 3 days and do loop rides. If you limited the miles you drive between places you normally can get a morning ride in, eat lunch, check out and drive 2-3 hours to the next campground, check in in time for supper.


We can't wait till we can retire and drag our trailer full of toys to the pacific northwest. We spent a week in Bend, Oregon a few years ago and loved it. I can see easily spending several weeks in Oregon and Washington before we would head back east.

Hi Dan, Since we would be developing the routes and rides and trips, it would make sense to factor this loop idea into the route planning since this situation applies to many of us. One way routes can be done as well but it just takes a little more organizing.

[Too tall]

Originally Posted by Mikebrady62

I also have a passion for cycling and have loved our AS adventures. I have done many tours and some long distance racing (RAAM) as well as fun events like RAGBRAI. My wife enjoys cycling too, unfortunately she likes her Peloton stationary cycle so much more than the road and has MTB a total of once! Another issue for me is she has no interest or desire to EVER pull our AS. So a tour is out of the question. For me it would need to be out and backs to where ever we camp for a few days and then move on.
I know scheduling logistics are difficult but I would love to take part in some AS camping and cycling adventures with other enthusiast. One of our sons lives in Washington State right near Hwy 2 that someone else had mentioned (great ride) and the other son is in southern TX. So our travels are typically south central to Washington and all places in between. Lots of great riding in between for sure! Both road and MTB.
So plan away and hopefully some of us can meet up and do camping and riding together.

Mike

Mike, fwiiw (in small caps) I supported Cassie Lowe twice winning RAAM and coached several 4 person teams. Greatest show on earth at 14 mph



Mike on a more serious note. What Dan and I figured out previously was that you are spot on. There are very few folks who want to swap driving duties so that a caravan can travel point to point each day. The format that works for everyone is to have layovers at great locations and do one or more rides from that spot than move on.



This also leaves each car/trailer independent to come and go as they please with agreed on beginning points and ending points each day(s).


My lovely spouse is not so bad driving the AS, as they say in the mid-west, however she too would not want to have sole responsibility or miss a day of riding for that matter.



Let's keep slinging ideas for potential tours until something sticks and go from there.


For the record my early offer to put together a Spring 2021 tour in Va might be optimistic because of the disaster. An optimist might back a fall 2021 tour yes?

[PB_NB]

Originally Posted by Too tall

Mike, fwiiw (in small caps) I supported Cassie Lowe twice winning RAAM and coached several 4 person teams. Greatest show on earth at 14 mph



Mike on a more serious note. What Dan and I figured out previously was that you are spot on. There are very few folks who want to swap driving duties so that a caravan can travel point to point each day. The format that works for everyone is to have layovers at great locations and do one or more rides from that spot than move on.



This also leaves each car/trailer independent to come and go as they please with agreed on beginning points and ending points each day(s).


My lovely spouse is not so bad driving the AS, as they say in the mid-west, however she too would not want to have sole responsibility or miss a day of riding for that matter.



Let's keep slinging ideas for potential tours until something sticks and go from there.


For the record my early offer to put together a Spring 2021 tour in Va might be optimistic because of the disaster. An optimist might back a fall 2021 tour yes?

I for one certainly hope that things improve by fall of 2021 so plans can be made and life can go on.

[Jim Flower]

Setting out for a neighbourhood tour
And my son’s new levy bike

Jim

[jcl]

What's a levy bike?

I had to look up the Proctor (even though I used to live in Edmonton/St Albert) Nice bikes. Reminded me of my early '80s Nishiki International in terms of look.

Here is the road bike before the Zipp 303s (hers is an R3); and the touring bike (hers is identical). Those are great for rail trails like the Kettle Valley.

Oh, and the city bikes.

The tandem is now sold (Co Motion Supremo steel, D/A, Rolf) It was fast. But once we got my wife the R3, it was parked a lot.

Jeff

[PB_NB]

Originally Posted by Jim Flower

Setting out for a neighbourhood tourAttachment 373545
And my son’s new levy bike
Attachment 373546
Jim

Now that's just not fair!

I bet that Colnago is a blast to ride!

[daytripper]

I would love to ride in Grand Canyon someday, especially if there were little to no traffic! About the closest I've gotten is riding in Mesa Verde this May when the park had just re-opened. I'm currently camping near Mesa Verde in a small town called Dolores, just 20 miles from the entrance. Beautiful spot on the Dolores River, with trees and shade. Much cooler than staying closer to the National Park. I went riding just this morning up the river canyon on CO Hwy 145 towards Lizard Head Pass (named for a rock that, you guessed it, looks like a lizard's head...)

On that subject, one thing I think would be wise to take into consideration when planning routes, is how much traffic is generally on the road, how much of a shoulder, or is there a bike path option. Unfortunately this morning, there was only a foot or 2 of shoulder, and sometimes I was literally "riding the white line". And being passed by a string of 18-wheelers kind of takes the enjoyment out of a ride, no matter how spectacular the scenery. I liked the suggestion someone made of the Rails-to-Trails option, which are old railroad grades that have been converted into bike trails. Just a thought. I'm sure Too Tall can weigh in on how to choose routes. And... one more vote for Colorado!

[daytripper]

And, just sayin'... Towing an Airstream is a joy no matter what your gender! (Backing into a spot may be another matter...)