Vacation planning with E-Bikes

[Jeremy McCreary]

I am generally a big advocate for what I call "Expedia Travel". The idea is you use online booking and most of the time book your stays only on the day of and book them one night at a time.

Much to be said for that approach. But if my wife read that, her head would explode.

 

[Mr. Coffee]

Much to be said for that approach. But if my wife read that, her head would explode.

All you need to do is have one trip where there is a missed flight or something is closed or you are otherwise delayed. And then you are looking at a bunch of cascading change fees (that can add up to astonishing numbers rapidly) and being on hold for most of an afternoon, at best.

I had a ski trip to Banff where a two-hour delay ended up costing me about $1500 between needing to book another hotel, losing our rental car reservation and needing to rent another one, and the nosebleed change fee our hotel in Banff charged me. For two freaking hours.

 

[Jeremy McCreary]

All you need to do is have one trip where there is a missed flight or something is closed or you are otherwise delayed. And then you are looking at a bunch of cascading change fees (that can add up to astonishing numbers rapidly) and being on hold for most of an afternoon, at best.

I had a ski trip to Banff where a two-hour delay ended up costing me about $1500 between needing to book another hotel, losing our rental car reservation and needing to rent another one, and the nosebleed change fee our hotel in Banff charged me. For two freaking hours.

We've been very lucky in that regard. But after a few dozen cascading failures, she might come around.
;^}

 

[RunForTheHills]

I used to travel a lot for work. If you are a frequent traveler and have status with the hotels and airlines, a lot of those problems go away. One year I qualified for Global Services on United. My connecting flight got canceled while I was in the air to Dallas. When I got off the plane, an agent met me with a choice of two alternate flights to my destination.

 

[Chargeride]

Never had a delayed flight, but every flookin time I go to an airport or get on plane the village idiot homes in on me, I swear , I know its a cliche but Im gifted with them.
I even had the barman at Innsbruck airport want to fight me because I asked for the wrong beer.
He had a huge handlebar moustache and was shouting like a drunk that I was a stupid english person.
Luckily someone on our plane stepped before I lost it, the entire lounge was staring...
the wife..' why is it always you?'

Hilariously I went back and just stared him down for another, he had calmed down.

I hate flying with a passion.

 

[stompandgo]

I used to plan the family vacations where we traveled out of the area. For anyplace new, I planned half of the trip. The other half was wide open.

 

[Jim1348]

My wife and I have been vacation planning with e-bikes for the past year, too.

Tuscon was great.

Laughlin NV/Bullhead City AZ was not great.

 

[6zfshdb]

My wife and I take many fly / drive vacations. We've had quite a few trip disruptions over the years, mostly due to airline issues. We also found out the hard way that it pays to book everything in advance, especially hotels. Once spent a night in the rental car during a snowstorm when everything was booked. To avoid cascading problems, the best approach we've found is to book a 2 night stay at the first and last hotel near the airport in the cities where we plan to arrive & depart. That gives us a 24+ hour cushion to make adjustments for delays caused by weather, airline, rental car, hotel or POI complications. It also allows us to make any itinerary changes we choose to make on the fly. We've been doing this for over a decade and so far, haven't incurred any fees for hotel cancellation or airline flight changes.

Being retired gives us the timeline flexibility this requires. I realize it won't work for everyone, so YMMV.

 

[Moriform]

My Wife and I are trying to plan a trip, taking our e-bikes. We live in the Cleveland OH area with some of the most beautiful Metro Park Trails and were hoping to find some nice paved trails where we decide to go. We were originally thinking of traveling south to the Charleston SC area, (about 700 miles) - but I haven't checked into any trails that might be in the area yet. We would be okay traveling in about any direction for the same distance (about 8 or 10 hours) to find a nice location with things to see and do.

We would like to stay in one location, for 8 to 10 days while we explore, we were thinking of staying at an Air-B&B, which I am sure we can find in just about any location. If you know of any place or have been anywhere that would be worth exploring please let me know, thanks.

We took our Bikes last year to the Traverse City MI. area. We purchased a total bike cover that after a few hours on the highway the wind was beating it to death... even though we had it tied down tight so there were no loose flaps; the handlebars started ripping through the cover. I ended up stopping at Lowes removing the cover and buying some film wrap that I covered all the electronics and the battery connection with.

Another big issue I discovered was with the total cover on the bikes you couldn't see my tail lights, which was one of the real reasons why I removed the cover and just film-wrapped the electronics. So maybe I'll look into rentals, but I do like the idea that my large A$$ is finally getting used to my Brooks saddle. I could also look into a H/D cover, but I would need to find some type of light system that would hook onto the back, to act like brake lights.

And what kind of bike rack do you use for two heavy electric bikes?

 

[6zfshdb]

On your way to SC, check out the 77 mile Greenbrier River Trail in WV:

Greenbrier River Trail | West Virginia Trails | TrailLink

Greenbrier River Trail spans 77 from Back Mountain Rd/WV 66 and Deer Creek Rd. (Cass) to Stone House Rd/CR 38 & Mountain View Farm Dr. (North Caldwell). View amenities, descriptions, reviews, photos, itineraries, and directions on TrailLink.

www.traillink.com

The 58 mile New River Trail in VA:

New River Trail State Park | Virginia Trails | TrailLink

New River Trail State Park spans 57.5 from E Main St/VA 99 & Xaloy Way (Pulaski) to T George Vaughan Jr Ave (Galax). View amenities, descriptions, reviews, photos, itineraries, and directions on TrailLink.

www.traillink.com

And the 34 mile Virginia Creeper Trail also in VA:

Virginia Creeper National Recreation Trail | Virginia Trails | TrailLink

Virginia Creeper National Recreation Trail spans 33.7 from 300 Green Spring Rd. (Abingdon) to 2053 Dolinger Rd. (Whitetop). View amenities, descriptions, reviews, photos, itineraries, and directions on TrailLink.

www.traillink.com

I usually stay a week in Wytheville, VA, which is centrally located from the above trails, with Lots of good places to stay.

One the way, you might also check out the 153 mile GAP trail in PA and MD. Many good B&B's along the trail.

Great Allegheny Passage | Maryland Trails | TrailLink

Great Allegheny Passage spans 153.22 from Point State Park near Commonwealth Pl & Liberty Ave (Pittsburgh, PA) to Chesapeake & Ohio Canal National Historical Park at Canal St & Harrison St (Cumberland, MD). View amenities, descriptions, reviews, photos, itineraries, and directions on TrailLink.

www.traillink.com

Also the 184 mile C&O Canal Trail in MD & VA is worth a try, along with the 28 mile newly paved Western Maryland Rail Trail:

Chesapeake & Ohio Canal National Historical Park | District of Columbia Trails | TrailLink

Chesapeake & Ohio Canal National Historical Park spans 184.2 from Canal St (Cumberland, MD) to 29th St & Rock Creek Pkwy (Washington, D.C.). View amenities, descriptions, reviews, photos, itineraries, and directions on TrailLink.

www.traillink.com

Western Maryland Rail Trail | Maryland Trails | TrailLink

Western Maryland Rail Trail spans 27.5 from C&O Canal Towpath (Little Orleans) to Big Pool Rd. (Big Pool). View amenities, descriptions, reviews, photos, itineraries, and directions on TrailLink.

www.traillink.com

I travel extensively to ride bike trails and these are among my favorites in the Northeastern US.