Biking, Vermont

It’s hard not be enticed by the allure of an inn-to-inn bike trip.  Days are spent pedaling through a country at a relaxed pace, seeing many sites that only locals know about.  In the evening hours, gather for a feast of food and drink at country inns and estates, only to reenergize for the next day’s ride.  But these trips can be costly, especially if you sign up with one of the more exclusive outfitters like Butterfield and Robinson.  So why not try the latest trend, self guided inn-to-inn bike tours that often charge less than $1000 for a week of riding.  Based in Brittany, Breton Bikes (www.bretonbikes.com) offer one-week guided  tours to some of the owner’s favorite haunts.  With small rural towns, exquisite coastline views, and very few tough climbs (the highest point in Brittany is just over 1,000 feet), this region of France is ideal for biking.  The owners supply bikes, routes, maps, and will transport luggage from one inn to the next. In Vermont, Country Inns Along the Trail (www.inntoinn.com/self_bike.htm) offer the same services, significantly reducing the price from a guided trip.  Then there’s Bike Tours Direct (www.biketoursdirect.com), which offers ten self-guided trips to Europe the summer of 2009 for less than a grand, including jaunts into France’s Loire Valley and along the Danube River in Austria.

My mother in-law is currently biking amidst Germany’s Moselle River Valley on an inn-to-inn bike trip with VBT. But there’s one hitch. She’s not really biking from inn-to-inn. Instead a barge follows her on the Moselle, where she meets up with it after the day’s ride. All across Europe, from the Netherlands to Belgium to France to Germany, these barge biking trips are growing in popularity. Why? Because you don’t have to pack and unpack every night and check into a new inn! It’s a much more relaxed way of doing the standard inn-to-inn bike trip. 
 

After a week of biking, hiking, kayaking, and wine tasting in the Finger Lakes (which I’ll delve into later this week), I spent a night revisiting my youth in my boyhood town of Schenectady, New York. Best known as the spot where Thomas Edison started General Electric, the town had fallen on hard times the past several decades with large layoffs at GE and the population dwindling. Much to my delight, Schenectady was thriving this past weekend. The old vaudeville theater, Proctor’s, just received a $25 million facelift and was hosting the original cast of Rent. Derelict buildings were being converted into artists’ lofts and empty storefronts were now the home of pubs. We stayed in the historic Stockade district, dined at one of my favorite Italian restaurants growing up, Cornell’s, and had drinks at the Van Dyck, reopened after being closed for five years and now a microbrewery.

The highlight, however, was biking along the Mohawk River along the Erie Canal. As a boy, I would often head here to see the locks running along the river, just like they did in the mid-19th century. Park at Jeff Blatnick Park, named after the Olympic gold medalist who went to school in a suburb of Schenectady, Niskayuna, and head east to Colonie along the river. It’s a bucolic stretch of level biking, past farmland, former train stations, even a woodchuck.
 

I was psyched to hear that Rob Evans, one of my favorite chefs on the East Coast, was recently awarded the James Beard Award for Best Chef in the northeast. The chef and owner of Hugo’s in Portland, Maine, is known for using the finest and freshest local ingredients, like the small snail-like whelks that attach themselves to the lobster traps, featured in his lobster risotto. Now Evans is taking his talent to southern Spain. From October 18-25, 2009, he will be a guest chef on a Bike Riders tour though Andalucia. Bike through olive groves and fields of sunflowers while soaking up some of the finest scenery in the country. Along the way, you’ll stop at farms and town markets to watch Evans shop for the necessary ingredients to create paella and tapas that evening. As a snack, he might also pair some manchego cheese with a glass of tasty Rioja. This is the only way to bike!
 

Called Giardino d’Italia, the Garden of Italy, Puglia’s rich soil is known for its bounty of fruits, vegetables, and wines. As the weather cools in southern Italy, it’s the perfect place to bike in the fall. On Ciclismo Classico’s nine-day trip, you can ride through olive groves, picnic on the Adriatic shores, visit the Greek ruins of Egnazia, and bike through the conical dwellings of UNESCO World Heritage Site, Alberobello. Nights are spent at a 15th-century agricultural estate. Upcoming trips are September 19th and October 10, 2009.
 

Autumn is that precious time of the year when rural roads radiate with colors comparable to Monet’s finest Impressionist works. This is not news to most of us, especially if you’ve experienced the traffic in New England on a fall weekend. Yet, there’s a problem with the usual fall road trip—one of you has to drive. Your significant other shouts exclamations of joy while you barely get a glimpse of the red-leafed maple, causing severe neck strain in the process. Thus, the reason why it’s always better to bike during this time of year. You can both slow down and stop to appreciate Mother Nature wearing her most flamboyant dress. All this week I’ll be discussing my favorite rides in North America during fall foliage.

Let’s start with the most obvious selection, the Green Mountain State. Biking outfitters have pounced on Vermont like miners on a vein of gold. And why not? The state’s pastoral setting is ideally suited to the sport. Lightly traveled backcountry roads are rarely used outside of a handful of dairy farmers who live and work there. Around every bend, there’s another meadow greener than the last, another anonymous mountain standing tall in the distance, another quintessential New England village where a freshly painted white steeple pierces the clouds overhead. 

Do this self-guided jaunt I designed for Boston Globe Sunday Magazine. If you prefer to go on a guided trip, select VBT’s “Classic Vermont” six-day trip.
 

If you think fall foliage is only relegated to the northeast, you haven’t been to Asheville, North Carolina in late October and early November. Leaves on the dogwoods, sweetgums, mountain ash, red maples, poplars, and birches all change color. Locals avoid biking on the famed Blue Ridge Parkway this time of year, unless you like weaving in and out of the leaf peeper congestion.

The folks at Liberty Bicycles will provide bikes and steer you away from the traffic, leading you to nearby Burnsville for a favorite local ride. Park your car at an old gas station on Highway 19 just past the turn off to Highway 19E. Then head west on 19 and get ready for a great rural ride, North Carolina-style. On this 37-mile loop, you’ll bike alongside the Cane and North Toe Rivers and over suspension bridges past old tobacco farms, country stores, and small churches. Except for one steep hill in the beginning, the ride is relatively flat. Be on the lookout for deer, and if you do the loop on Sunday, make sure to bag a lunch in Asheville, because most stores are closed. 
 

If you’re just checking in, I’m devoting this week to the best road biking during fall foliage. Autumn colors are not usually associated with the Northwest, the land of conifers. Yet, due east of Bend, aspen groves provide enough color to satisfy the local contingent of riders. It doesn’t hurt that the backdrop is the Cascade Range, with North, Middle, and South Sister Mountains rising 10,000 feet above town.

A great 32-mile jaunt takes you north of Bend along Innes Market and Tumalo Roads to take in that glorious variety of terrain central Oregon is blessed with—sage-scented high desert, snowcapped peaks, sparkling lakes, raging rivers, and flower-filled meadows.  Start at Hutch’s Bicycle Shop in Bend (where you can rent bikes and pick up the detailed route) and head northwest on Columbia Street. Three miles in, you’ll be coasting downhill past Shevlin Park gaping in awe at the Cascade Mountains and the splash of color in the nearby forest of aspens and poplars. Pedal along the Deschutes River and then stop in Tumalo, the midpoint of the loop, to fill up your water bottles or have lunch at El Caporal. You’ll need that extra burst of energy for the steady climb back into Bend. Afterwards, don’t miss the microbrews and homemade ginger ale at Deschutes Brewery, well-earned. 
 

Take a chunk of Vermont and plop it down in the Gulf of St. Lawrence and voila, you have Prince Edward Island. This sylvan setting lends itself well to road biking, especially in the fall when the summer crowds are long gone and the maples provide a colorful backdrop. The Canadian Pacific railroad that once connected Prince Edward Island’s small villages last roared through the interior in 1989, leaving in its wake hundreds of kilometers of track. By 2000, the tracks were pulled and the line replaced with a surface of finely crushed gravel, creating a biking and walking thoroughfare called the Confederation Trail. Crossing the entire island, the trail starts in Tignish in the west and rolls 279 kilometers to the eastern terminus in Elmira. One of the most scenic stretches starts in Mt. Stewart in King’s County along the sinuous Hillsborough River. You’ll soon reach St. Peter’s Bay, a large inlet dotted with mussel farms and lobster traps. After crossing a bridge that rewards you with glimpses of the island’s fabled red cliffs, you’ll arrive at the rolling Greenwich Dunes, a perfect place to bring that picnic lunch.
 

Who needs red leaves when you have red rocks? Looking at Sedona’s blend of twisted monoliths, mesas, and hoodoos will get you motivated to ride, especially during the cooler days of autumn. Twenty-six miles of rarely used dirt trails wind through the heart of Red Rock Country from Boynton Canyon Road, opposite the Enchantment Resort. Once you tire of these, try the Old Stagecoach Road, an abandoned route that ventures north to Flagstaff. For a breather, hop off your bike and meditate at one of Sedona's renowned vortices, spiritual sites that attract thousands of visitors each year. Absolute Bikes offers rentals and will work with you to map out an itinerary for the day.
 

This is one of my favorite rides in the state, especially during fall foliage when the countryside resembles an Impressionist painting. Start from the gardens of the Barsen House Inn in Addison. A left turn on Lake Road and you’re smack dab in a fertile breadbasket. To your right are glimpses of stacked hay, lounging cows, corn that has been reaped, tall silos, and the spine of the Green Mountains. On your left are the waters of Lake Champlain, with the Adirondacks rising from the opposite shores. 

Continue straight through a thicket of pines on Arnold Bay Road, where Benedict held his ground on this site to win a major battle against the British in the Revolutionary War. At Button Bay State Park, the crescent beach offers a good vantage point of mighty Champlain. A right turn on Basin Harbor Road, then lefts onto Panton Road and Route 22A will bring you over Otter Creek into the town of Vergennes. As you head south from Vergennes on Maple Street Extension, Hallock Road, and Quaker Village Road, the route turns into a quintessential Vermont bike trek that is neither flat nor dauntingly steep. It’s a rollicking good ride up and down the hillside past a quilt of patchwork farms and the smell of Vermont aromatherapy, manure.  There’s a challenging climb as you close in on the one-block town of Weybridge Hill and then a sweeping downhill run after veering right on Route 23. Turn left on Route 17 for a straight shot onto Atherton Road and back to the inn. An added bonus is the thousands of squawking white snow geese that reside at the Dead Creek Waterfowl Area in October.
 

Known for its award-winning Rieslings, the Finger Lakes deserve its reputation as one of the best spots in America to go wine tasting. Yet, its resplendent beauty also lends itself well to adventure. At the southern end of Seneca Lake, we hiked alongside a handful of waterfalls in the famous gorge of Watkins Glen. The next morning, my wife and I kayaked through a cattail-laden marsh and saw countless herons, turtles, and a beaver. Talk about adventure—a 40-pound carp jumped out of the marsh and slammed against my arm as I shrieked. But my favorite part of the weeklong trip was a quiet bike ride along a peninsula that juts into Keuka Lake. Start your ride from Keuka College and follow East and West Bluff Roads as they pass the small waterfront cottages with cute names like Hide N’ Seek. There’s one killer hill on the 20-mile ride that takes you atop a bluff, before cruising downhill back to the college. Afterwards, we rewarded ourselves with a lobster roll and glass of semi-dry Riesling at Heron Hill’s outdoor café. We were fortunate to book the next two nights at the Black Sheep Inn in Hammondsport, on the northern tip of Keuka Lake. Owners Debbie Meritsky and Marc Rotman spent over 6 years refurbishing the rare octagonal-shaped house, which celebrated its 150th birthday in 2009. See my review of the wines at Everett Potter's Travel Report.

 

Vietnam is that coveted destination that’s jaw-droppingly beautiful, yet still not overrun with tourism. Traveling this lush, mostly flat country by bike (the locals’ preferred transportation method) is an ideal way to see it. Many biking outfitters like VBT, Backroads, and Butterfield & Robinson now offer guided bike trips across the country. Pedaling 15 to 50 miles per day, you’ll roll past untrammeled coastline, terraced emerald rice paddies, ultra-green mountains, and rarely visited rural villages. Many of the trips starts in Ho Chi Minh City and ends in Hanoi, so you’ll have time to explore urban Vietnam, as well. All include post-trips to Angkor Wat in Cambodia. Sign me up!

 

Co-founders of the non-profit Bike Florida, Linda Crider and Herb Hiller have spent the past 30 years leading the Florida biking movement. This past October, they launched their first long-distance bike tour, a 260-mile weeklong jaunt that starts and ends in Palatka on the St. John’s River. You’ll cruise on backroads to America’s oldest city, Saint Augustine, the Merritt Island and Lake Woodruff National Wildlife Refuges, state parks, and along the Atlantic Ocean, with numerous beaches to stop and rest. All tours are fully supported with luggage-carrying vehicles, on-road guides, maps, overnights in B&Bs, breakfasts, dinners, and naturalist-led programs. Hiller is a longtime travel writer who specializes in Florida, so few no this state better than him. Cost is $1250 per person and the tours are available fall, winter, and spring.
 

While we’re on the subject of intriguing tours, Beyond Boundaries Travel out of Colorado Springs has teamed with Flash Tour of Cairo to create new biking and sailing trips in Egypt. So far, there are two 8-day itineraries, one along the Red Sea, heading into the undiscovered Eastern Desert. The second seems more exciting, heading to the pyramids along the Nile River between Aswan and Luxor. Since Egypt can get pretty hot in the spring and summer months, most of the biking is done in the early morning. You’ll visit Luxor Temple, Valley of the Kings, and many small villages that will be stunned to see a group of bikers riding by. All of the trips are guided and van-supported if you get tired, and include all lodgings and food. Trips start at an affordable $1153 per person.

 

As outfitters are looking to cut costs, self-guided bike trips are becoming the norm. Last week, I received a press release from uber-sybaritic bike touring company, Butterfield & Robinson, stating that they are now offering self-guided bike trips. Yes, the company that built its reputation on biking to 14th-century chateaus in Loire Valley and then dining on a gluttonous five course meal with their small groups is now offering self-guided bike trips. Though it seems foolish to pay B&R prices for a trip where they don’t cater to your every whim. A better option is the more affordable Bike Tours Direct, which offers ten self-guided trips to Europe this summer, including jaunts into France’s Loire Valley and along the Danube River in Austria.

 

One of the reasons I started ActiveTravels was for people across the globe to tell me about their favorite spots to enjoy the outdoors. It’s simply impossible for one travel writer to know all the active hotspots around the world. I also wanted local outfitters who specialize in one region of the world to check in and tell me what they’re doing. A decade ago, I wrote an article for Budget Travel magazine telling reader to go straight to the source. Instead of spending gobs of money to hire an American outfitter to take you to Vietnam, where they simply hire local guides to show you around, go straight to those guides! No one knows their country better than locals and their trips are usually far cheaper. Thankfully, indigenous outfitters are starting to find me and I’m happy to plug them. Just last week, I received an email from Dung Van Nguyen from Green Trail Tours, an outfitter based in Hanoi who has spent the past nine years bringing people around Vietnam. They have trips for bikers, kayakers, trekkers, rafters, you name it, practically any activity you want to do in the country. The cost is as low as $990 US dollars for a 9-day guided bike tour, including lodging and meals.
 

Tour d’Afrique, the socially responsible bike touring company out of Toronto, doesn’t fool around when they create their dream bike trips. In 2003, they traversed the entire African continent in four months, from Cairo to Capetown. Then came the 50-day jaunt on the Orient Express from Paris to Istanbul, the 2752-mile Silk Route ramble from Istanbul to Samarkand, and 7500-mile Vuelta Sudamericana that traveled from Rio to Quito. Starting in January 2011, they will set their sites on India, cycling from the Taj Mahal to the southern tip of the country, passing though the desert cities of Rajasthan, the city of Mumbai, and the beaches of Goa. You can take the trip in its entirety (2050 miles) from January 29 to March 15, 2011 or split it up into sections. The $5200 cost includes guides, van support, and lodging. A much needed masseuse for those tired calves is extra.
 

If you happen to be in Miami and crave an authentic outdoor experience away from the trendy restaurants and clubs in South Beach, take an hour-long drive on the Tamiami Trail (Route 41) to Shark Valley Visitor Center in Everglades National Park. Try to get here on the early side (before 11 am), because the parking lot fills up quick, and bring water and sandwiches for lunch. Then rent a bike and head out on the 15-mile paved Shark Valley Loop. Far from the deafening noise of a propeller boat, a tourist magnet in these parts, you get to bike at your own pace along canals teeming with alligators, turtles, and an extraordinary amount of large birds. It took my family of four almost an hour to bike one mile because we had to stop every 50 yards to get a photo of that gator basking in the sun next to the bike trail. Don’t worry. They could care less about you and no one’s ever been attacked on the route. Usually near the alligator was an anhinga drying its wings on a branch and wood storks and white whooping cranes standing tall in the shallow water. There was every type of heron imaginable, from the stocky black-crowned night heron to the long-legged great blue heron. Another highlight were the pink roseate spoonbills resting in the dense sagebrush along the canal. Stop midway at the observation deck to get a good overview of the Everglades topography, a mix of sinuous waterways and tall swaying grass. This is also a good spot to have that sandwich or snack you brought before heading back.
 

The rhododendrons are already in bloom and the yellow warblers just arrived at my birdfeeder in the Boston burbs. With temps hitting the mid-80s today, it’s time to break out the bike for a ride. For riders looking for a little inn-to-inn action this summer, it’s never been cheaper to bike in New England. Two outfitters, Bike the Whites in New Hampshire, and Country Inns Along the Trail in Vermont, are offering three days of riding for as low as $299 per person. What does that 300 bucks get you?  Detailed maps depending on you ability, from 20 to 80 miles a day, emergency roadside assistance, two nights lodging, two dinners, two breakfasts, and transport of your luggage from one inn to the next. Country Inns has rides in several of my favorite spots in Vermont, including Addison along Lake Champlain, where you spend the night at the Barsen House Inn. See the story I wrote on biking in this part of Vermont for The Boston Globe Sunday Magazine.