Places To Stay

To help travelers find bicycle friendly lodging, I've decided to offer a directory of places to stay that offer at least two of the following criteria:

- Discounts to cyclists
- Temporary bicycle storage before, during OR after their stay (describe if covered or secure)
- Energy snacks OR bottled water before, during OR after their bike ride
- Bicycle washing facilities (can be as simple as a garden hose)
- Laundry washing facilities
- Bike/luggage transportation (such as to the next lodging on their route)
- Spa services on site (describe those that apply)
- Proximity to a bicycle path, lane or route

Lodging that meet 2 or more of the above qualifications will be promoted on RideTHISbike.com as bicycle friendly Places to Stay.

I'll consider including any lodging provider that qualifies, provided they use the list above to identify the specific criteria that apply to their accommodations. There is no cost to participate; however, (to prevent myself from being overwhelmed) I'm reserving the right to limit participation from lodging providers that I have not contacted.

If you know of anyone that may be interested in this offer, feel free to pass it along.

Respectfully,
Larry Lagarde
RideTHISbike.com

Biking in Amish Country (Lancaster County)

Here's some info about cycling in Lancaster County, thanks to 2 local innkeepers. I've visited this area and can attest personally to it as a great place for cycling. Thanks to the large population of Amish and their delighful, horse drawn carriages, drivers are very courteous to cyclists on the local roads & byways.

From the AppleBinInn
"Biking in Lancaster County is a great experience, as many of our B&B guests can confirm. There is a wide variety of things to see and do, and the trails are generally either flat or gently rolling, with few steep climbs. And the wide shoulders (designed to accommodate the thousands of Amish buggies in the county) are very bicycle-friendly."

"LancasterCountyHeritage.com offers biking routes around Lancaster County. The link near the bottom of that page opens a wonderful, printable, pdf file showing bike trail details for the county."

Steve & Jamie, AppleBinInn

From the Artist's Inn and Gallery
"There are lots of great bike rides close to us. The tour of the covered bridges is Sunday - it goes right by our inn (and) there are three levels. Many other rides featured on this site. Also, Vermont Bike Rides sponsors several rides through our area."

Jan and Bruce, Artist's Inn and Gallery

Several Great Bike Trail Suggestions For Pennsylvania

In the course of researching one or more trail stories for Pennsylvania, I decided to contact a few innkeepers in regions that seemed like great places to ride. The responses have been so helpful that I wanted to share them here.

Erie, PA
Presque Isle State Park (Erie, PA) and the Oil Creek Trail (near Oil City, PA) both "are worth looking into. Lots of people ride around on our country roads (around Edinboro, PA) as well. Many are paved and in generally good condition for bike riding... People have come to stay here while bike riding on Presque Isle or in the countryside."

Karen Willey, A Place Inn Time B&B

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Ride In The Pocono's
Many bikers use the blue (bicycling) route... which is (just off Route 115 on) White Haven Rd... The road also passes the Francis Walter Dam which offers a wonderful ride.
Billi, Bischwind B&B

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MTB & Road Rides Near PSU (Pennsylvania State University)
In the center of Pennsylvania, "(t)here are numerous rides of varying degrees of difficulty and length that are accessible from our PHH" (Purple Heart Highway a.k.a. PA SR45).

Useful Links:
- GrizGuides.com (MTB Trails).
- PurpleHeartHighway.com; click on the "Other Services" tab within the "Directory" section, then select "biking".
Central PA. Visitors and Convention Bureau's Cycle Centre County has great info.

Lodging
There are about 20 B&Bs along the Purple Heart Highway.

Mae, Chatelaine Bed & Breakfast

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Southern Alleghenies
There are countless wonderful trails in central PA. A few of them are included in this website.

CycleSA.com

Nancy, The Queen B&B

Great Bike Trail Suggestion: The Delaware Canal Towpath

Earlier today, I received a suggestion for a future trail to profile on RideTHISbike.com: the Delaware Canal Towpath. Several years ago, I found the Erie Canal Towpath from Rochester New York to Niagara Falls to be an excellent ride, so the Delaware path is certainly worthy of further study. Following are some reasons why.

The Region
As it winds along the border of Southeastern Pennsylvania, Maryland and New Jersey, the Delaware Valley is "rich in history and natural beauty... Its meandering country roads, and hilly interior is ideal for the biking enthusiast..." Along the way, riders will see "300 year-old stone farmhouses (and) ancient wooden covered bridges..."

The Delaware Towpath
"The old mule path along the Delaware Canal is now a 60 mile long state park which offers 0 elevation and great canal and river views and an easy ride."

Lodging Suggestions Near Philly
Just outside Philadelphia, PA is the town of New Hope (named the #1 Arts destination for small cities/towns by American Craft Magazine for 2005/6). Besides being on the towpath, New Hope offers opportunities for backroads cycling and has two bike friendly inns (Wedgwood Inn and the Aaron Burr House. Both inns have a barn to store your bike and are just 1 block from a bike store that can repair or rent a bike (the Wedgwood is also just 1 block from the towpath).

For more about this area, Google "New Hope, Pa", "Bucks County, Pennsylvania" or "Hunterdon County, NJ".

Useful San Francisco Cycling Links

Following are some of the interesting links I've found that relate to cycling in San Francisco. I'm posting the info because I don't know if all the links will be displayed in the Great City Rides story.

San Francisco Bicycle Coalition
http://www.sfbike.org/

511.org's Interactive Bay Area Bicycle Maps
http://bikemapper.mtc.ca.gov/BikeMapper/index.jsp

A San Francisco Bicycle Map (in .pdf)
http://www.campuslifeservices.ucsf.edu/transportation/rideshare/bike/pdf/bicycle_map_sf.pdf

Peninsula Bicycle & Pedestrian Coalition
http://www.penbiped.org/project-north-south-route-scenic.html

SFGov: DPT's San Francisco Bicycle Program
http://www.bicycle.sfgov.org/site/dptbike_index.asp?id=3180

By the way, if you know of another webpage with useful info about cycling in San Francisco, please let me know so I can have a look.

Cheers.

LL

Bicycle Over San Francisco's Golden Gate Bridge

Years ago, I drove across the Golden Gate Bridge. I remember wanting to enjoy the incredible view but the chores of driving in traffic dictated otherwise. Today, I learned that there's a bike path over the bridge. Cyclists can ride from Fisherman’s Wharf to the Golden Gate & continue on to Sausalito, the redwoods and the legendary mountain biking of Marin County or even take a ferry right back to San Francisco.

With over 200 miles of bike trails, routes, lanes & wide shoulders, I think that the next Great City Ride will have to be about riding in San Francisco. Stay tuned.

LL

Albuquerque: Sunport Airport to Univ of New Mexico

While collaborating with Brian Fletcher on my story concerning cycling in Albuquerque, we cobbled together a ride starting from the airport that would take in many of Albuquerque's tourist attractions. In the process, I realized that some cyclists might want to get to the University of New Mexico more quickly so I asked Brian about riding north from the airport on Girard Blvd. In response, Brian did some field research and reported the following:

"A better way to get to the University is to stay on Girard Blvd past Gibson. Although there is no bike lane, the traffic on Girard is very light. Girard Blvd is the easternmost edge of the campus. I recommend avoiding University blvd because there is no bike lane and the traffic is heavier.

I did try this out on my bike ride today and it is about 2-1/2 miles from the airport terminal to the University. Once you pass the golf course at Gibson, Girard becomes a residential area. I think Girard Blvd. is an excellent way to get from the airport to the city in general. I will be doing an entry on my blog about this. I even took a few pictures to give you an idea of what the route looks like."

From the University, the are a variety of bike trails, lanes and routes that lead to other areas of the city so this is an alternative for those that would rather avoid the South Valley. You can see them on this great interactive map suggesting routes to bicycle through Albuquerque.

Thanks again Brian for your help. I look forward to seeing those photos sometime soon.

LL

Albuquerque Makes Great Cycling Year-Round

Albuquerque, New Mexico is renowned for its pleasant year-round climate. Although located at about the same latitude as Las Vegas, Albuquerque's 5000' high altitude results in mild, dry days & cool nights, making it an enjoyable place to bicycle during any season. Breath taking scenery (the city hugs the western side of 12000' high Sandia Peak), miles of paved, car-free bike trails (such as the Bosque along the Rio Grande River), genuine frontier appeal, a hip college vibe and great air connections all combine to make Albuquerque an excellent, affordable cycling destination.

Like New Orleans, Albuquerque is one of the few places where you can get off the plane, unfold your bike and start cycling right from the airport.

Cycling From The Airport
From the terminal, head down Sunport Blvd. and make a left on University Blvd. From there, a bike lane runs south (see the blue line on University Blvd. on Albuquerque's bicycle trail/route map). The lane only goes a few miles but there is very little traffic so the rest of the road is fairly safe to ride on. After University Blvd. passes below I-25, it becomes Rio Bravo Blvd. Continue west on Rio Bravo until the intersection of Broadway Blvd., then begin looking for the Rio Bravo Trail on your left.

Rio Bravo Trail, Albuquerque, New Mexico
The Rio Bravo is a loop trail and is less scenic than other trails like the Bosque. My suggestion is to continue west on the Rio Bravo Trail and use it as a connector to the Bosque Trail. When the Rio Bravo meets the Bosque, turn right and you will be heading north along Albuquerque's most popular trail.

For the rest of this profile on cycling in Albuquerque, and for profiles about bicycling in other cities, visit Great City Rides.

NOTE: Special thanks to Brian Fletcher for his blog and personal assistance writing this profile.

Cycling in Chicago w/Jason Pettus

While doing some final research this morning for my upcoming Great City Rides story on Albuquerque, New Mexico, I ran across Jason Pettus' blog on living in Chicago. Jason got a new bike at the beginning of the summer and has become a bicycle commuter. In the process, Jason's discovered that Chicago can be a great place to cycle and has amassed a small cache of relevant cycling info. Hmmmm. Sounds like Chicago could make a future Great City Ride story... Thanks Jason.

Check out Jason's bike blog and let me know if you find any other cool bike blogs out there too.

LL

Submit A Trail Report; Save $50 On Your Next Bike

HELP!

In the course of researching future trails to spotlight in the Great Bike Trails and Great City Rides sections of RideTHISbike.com, I have come to realize that there are far too many trails out there for one person to cover alone. Thus, I've decided to reach out to riders such as yourself to submit trail profiles or reports for publication on RideTHISbike.com.

Get A $50 Credit Towards The Purchase Of A Bicycle
If I publish your profile or report, I'll give you a $50 credit that will be redeemable towards the purchase of a bicycle from RideTHISbike.com anytime within 6 months of publication (offer applies to standard 16" Giatex bikes on sale at $329 w/o optional accessories and is not combine able with any other sales or discount offers).

A trail profile is info you have compiled about a trail based on research online and some first hand knowledge of the area you wish to profile. To see what qualifies as a profile, please visit the Great Bike Trails portion of RideTHISbike.com. Examples of profiles on the site include Vancouver Island, B.C. (near Seattle, Wash.), the Tammany Trace (Near New Orleans) and the Colorado Rockies (West of Denver).

A trail report is info you have wrote first hand based on your ride of the trail. To see what qualifies as a report, please visit the Great City Rides portion of RideTHISbike.com that is titled "New Orleans: Airport To French Quarter".

Oil Prices Reach A Record Breaking $64/Barrel

Yet again, oil prices have broken another record today, rising to $64/barrel. Have prices reached their peak? Not likely, says Daniel Yergin, chairman of Cambridge Energy Research Associates. According to an article written by Yergin that appeared on July 31st in the Washington Post, the oil market is "even tighter than it was on the eve of the 1973 oil crisis." Additionally, Yergin predicted that "surprise" events such as political instability, hurricanes, a heat wave, etc. could spur additional hikes.

Yergin should know what he's talking about. Not only is he a specialist on energy and international politics, strategy, and economics; he's also chairman of the U.S. Department of Energy's Task Force on Strategic Energy Research and Development (he even won a Pulitizer in '92 for his non-fiction book titled The Prize: The Epic Quest for Oil, Money, and Power, which was a number-one national bestseller).

While Yergin also mentioned that oil supplies are likely to grow 20% over the next 5 years, he is also forecasting that oil demand from countries like China & India will cause the world to consume 50% more oil in 25 years than is consumed now...

So, Chicken Little, if you're worried that the sky's falling, relax. This is just a small bump in the road. The real challenge is the mountain on the horizon. In the meantime, expect more bumps to come. All the more reason to spin your pedals on a Great Bike Trail.

Fly into St. Louis, then MetroLink Rail

While looking further into riding the Katy Trail, I was researching how to get to the famous St. Louis Gateway Arch and the Mississippi River when I happened upon the website for the MetroLink Light Rail system. The MetroLink runs from Lambert field (St. Louis' major airport) into town and beyond, taking about 37 minutes and just $3.00 to reach the Gateway Arch and the riverfront. The Arch is about 400 yards/meters south of the Arch-Laclede's Landing MetroLink station.

Starting the Katy with a visit to the Arch seems perfect. I've wanted to visit the Gateway Arch ever since I flew over it 20 years ago on a connecting flight from Europe. Plus, the Riverfront Trail starts just 900 yards/meters upriver from the Arch.

Here's some relevant info I found on the Katy Trail website:
If you want to go the other way and head east toward downtown St Louis from the airport, your best bet is to take the Metrolink light rail system. Bikes are welcome and you can save your legs for riding around the interesting areas downtown. You might want to hop off at the Forest Park stop and head south into Forest Park. This large park is crisscrossed by numerous bike paths, and includes the Art Museum, History Museum, Science Museum, and the Zoo. Once you've explored Forest Park, downtown is just a 4 mile ride away (see the Katy Trail to Downtown page again for details).

From downtown, a favorite ride is the Riverfront Trail, which follows the Mississippi River some 11 miles north to the Chain of Rocks Bridge. Nice views of the river, although there's not much to look at along the west side of the trail. Again, there are some details about the Riverfront Trail and C.O.R. bridge at the Katy Trail to Downtown page. Also check out the Trailnet's website.

While getting around St Louis, be aware that all the Metro buses have bike racks up front. The buses are run by the same organization that runs the light rail, here's Metro's website again.

Useful Maps:
- St. Louis MetroLink Rail map (it's a pdf).
- St. Louis bike trail map (also a pdf).
- Confluence Greenway Map (Arch to Katy Trail)
- Illinois DOT Bike Trail Maps

Metro St. Louis Has 50+ Bike Trails

While researching the web for a feature I am writing about Missouri's Katy Trail for RideTHISbike.com's Great Bike Trails, I learned that the St. Louis metro area (the eastern terminus of the Katy) offers over 50 biking trails and bike routes.

A great site about the trails in the St. Louis area is TrailNet.org. According to info on their homepage, TrailNet is working to add a Trails & Bikeways section to their website by the end of this year. The section will feature an interactive regional map displaying the trails and bikeways. Each trail/bikeway will be described using a standard format that will include trail length, surface type, terrain traversed, trail locations, driving directions, trail facilities, contact information and a trail map.

Sounds like I could possibly add St. Louis to the growing list of Great City Rides too but I need to wrap up the story on Albuquerque, New Mexico.

TrailsBC Solicits Fee For Link To Great Bike Trails Story

Earlier today, I received a reply to an email I sent that informed TrailsBC (The Trails Society of British Columbia, a volunteer organization dedicated to promoting hiking & cycling interests in the region) about my feature story on Great Bike Trails about South Vancouver Island. In my email, I asked them to consider placing a link on their site to my story. I was surprised by the Trails BC reply; here is what they wrote:

"Hello Larry -- Trails BC no longer does the exchange of website links. We are a volunteer organization that does offer some benefits (including posting your business on our website) to other volunteer groups and to associated businesses. Our yearly fee is $100 and we would be pleased to accept your membership.

Thank you for your interest...........Sue"

Sure, RideTHISbike.com sells folding bicycles but Great Bike Trails is a labor of my love for cycling. RideTHISbike.com promotes cycling as a lifestyle alternative to the world's unsustainable thirst for motor vehicles. Apparently to some, selling a great bike to fund my pro-bicycle quest detracts from the benefit of promoting cycling destinations.

Anyhow, in reply, I wrote the following back to TrailsBC:

Sue,

Thanks for your reply but I'm wondering if you looked at the article I wrote. This is no run of the mill link exchange.

The purpose of Great Bike Trails is to to identify and promote the best bike trails on earth.

I heartily believe that many vacationing cyclists are unaware of the beauty and charms of Vancouver Island. The Great Bike Trails profile on South Vancouver Island benefits TrailsBC by raising awareness of treasures like the Cowichan Valley Trail in general and the Kinsol Trestle specifically. I'd bet that few people outside of British Columbia even know that the world's longest and highest railroad trestle is on Vancouver Island...

No one paid me to feature Vancouver Island; I wrote my story as an independent, 3rd party evaluation. As such, I'll continue to offer my link to your website regardless what TrailsBC decides. All the same, at a time when millions are needed to renovate the Kinsol and other key links on the Trans Canada Trail, it seems odd that TrailsBC would solicit a fee for a link that so obviously benefits your organization.

Here is the link to my story:
http://ridethisbike.com/bicycle_trails/south_vancouver_island-british_columbia-canada.htm

I do hope you will reconsider.

Respectfully,
Larry Lagarde
RideTHISbike.com

If you've read this post and visited my story about cycling on South Vancouver Island, I'd like your opinion. Did I go to far or should I have gone further? If a for-profit site offers information that benefits a non-profit, should the for-profit site be charged a fee?

Hope y'all have a great day.

LL

Bicycle Trip Lodging in Victoria, BC on Vancouver Island

Joanne at the Cycle Inn emailed me today in regards to my feature story on cycling the great bike trails near Victoria, British Columbia. Her B&B is actually on the Galloping Goose trail and she hosts many cyclists. In fact, she wrote that guests must cross the bike trail to get to the B&B.

The Cycle Inn also offers to their guests "a bike cage that is totally reinforced and yes it is covered. We cater to bicyclists and even rent to guests who come from away without a bike. We have all the gear - pump, oil, routes, picnic lunches..." so obviously the Cycle Inn is an ideal place to stay for cycling this trail.

Permission Granted - Bosque Trail, Albuquerque

Just received a reply from Brian Fletcher regarding a request I sent him to link a future Great City Rides on RideTHISbike.com to his blog about cycling in Albuquerque. Brian offered really detailed info on the trail scene there. His cycling blog is definitely worth a read if you're even remotely considering cycling there.

RideTHISbike.com Review From The Cycling Dude

Kiril "The Cycling Dude" wrote a brief review of RideTHISbike.com on his cycling blog. Kiril & I share the belief that "bike riding is good for you and fun". If you want an idea what a blog about bicycling can be, visit his. The wealth of cycling links and info is amazing.

Kiril mentioned that folders are not his cup of tea but everyone's entitled to their opinion. Here's mine: for long distance rides on the bike trail next to my house, my first preference is to ride my long wheel base Rans Stratus. FOR EVERY OTHER RIDE including riding the bike trail next to my house in the rain or when the Rans is out of service, it's the Giatex folding bicycle. The Giatex takes up minimal space in my car so that's where I keep it. As a result, I literally can ride whenever I get the urge. Try hauling your roadbike on your roof rack or the back of your SUV every where you go. Chances are that your tires would rot, your chain & other steel components would rust and the bike would always be dirty (not to mention more prone to theft).

I've ridden the folder in all sorts of conditions and riding surfaces. It's been on the New York subway, in numerous airports, on buses, trains and even the Staten Island Ferry. My point is that, for me, the Giatex folding bike has meant FREEDOM like no other bike. That's saying a lot.