Great places to ride

M

MLB

Well-Known Member
how about a thread for people to list GREAT places to ride that they know about and think worthy of other people going out of their way to seek out and experience?
NOT just your local trail.................. ;)
Personally we have 70 miles and growing of paved, off street bike trails, some of which follow our rivers and circle downtown, BUT aren't anything SPECIAL that would recommend you drive -3hrs experience.
But there are plenty of places that are, and that's what I'm looking for.

For me: The St.Marys/Xenia, Ohio trails are pretty nice and worthy of a "shorter" drive.

Personally, I'd like to know about awesome offroad places to ride (not looking for rock hopping or mountain climbing type challenges) in scenic places in the midwest. Or if paved, through a forest, or along lake shore drive type stuff.
 
Well, it ain't the midwest, but the Warren County Bikeway in New York starts in Glens Falls and runs about 10 miles up to the shore of Lake George at the million dollar beach and is great, especially in the Fall after the crowds are gone. Paved the entire length of the trail. Almost all heavily forested, not a rail trail so there is plenty of up and down activity, and a ton of French and Indian War and Revolutionary War history along the way. Always a nice ride. Even in the off season, plenty of places to grab a beer in Lake George Village before heading back down to Glens Falls.
 
Sounds nice! I really like historical places, so that would be really neat to me. I know NY has some gorgeous places. (Finger lakes?)
 
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Just rode this today ...

http://www.traillink.com/trail/north-augusta-greeneway-park.aspx

N Augusta Greenaway .... Very nice about 7 miles each way .... Along the Savannah River ... Thru forest area and recreation areas also along the way are toilet , exercise equipment ... Plenty of history and downtown area ... You can also cross the river (via 13th st bridge) to Augusta GA. And rode the River Walk up to Evans GA. ... about 16 miles round trip. Combined together also of good riding thru historic areas and plenty of canopied tree riding ... Nice
Met many friendly and helpful folks along the way ....


ive added a link to the Augusta Ga. side for those interested

http://www.traillink.com/trail/augusta-canal-trail.aspx
 

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I just got back from the Grand Canyon around the second week in November. The town of Tusayan about 4-5 miles south of the main south rim entrance has a paved bike path that starts on the north end of town that leads all the way to the Canyon overlook near Mather Point. Just on that 6-7 mile ride due north to the park in the morning, we saw a wolf, elk and deer just off the path. It is a very well maintained path and very beautiful area to ride. If you ride the path, you don't have to pay the $30 fee for the 7 day pass.

Once you get to the main parking area, no bikes allowed on pedestrian rim trails heading west (waaay too many tourist piling out of buses anyway). You have to head east along the rim on the paved trail marked for bikes and you can ride another 6-7 miles along the paved bike path along the rim past the South Kailbab Trailhead towards the Yaki Point turn around.

We ended up putting around 25 miles on our bikes in 3-4 hours just riding, taking pictures, and just enjoying the views.

The next day, we took the Hermit Trail road that started at the tourist bus stop on the far west end of the south rim village area near Bright Angel Lodge. Bikes are not allowed on the paved waking paths past that point. We had to share the road with the buses to get to each overlook area along the 8-9 mile route. Not as much fun dodging buses and limited views of the canyon when riding until you get to the crowded overlook areas.

We still put 20-22 miles on the bikes that day and was able to see around 20 miles of the canyon from east to west instead of 2-4 miles on foot being stuck in the village area like most folks.

Start of bike friendly trail near Mather Point looking north:
(Link Removed - No Longer Exists)

South Kailbab Trail-head halfway to Yaki Point looking west:
(Link Removed - No Longer Exists)


We went to Sedona for the (Veteran's Day) weekend after the Grand Canyon. It was just too crowded on the trails, around town, and on the road to really enjoy yourself. Might have to pick a weekday during a non-holiday to avoid all the people.

Bell Rock park southeast of town:
(Link Removed - No Longer Exists)
 
If you are ever are in Chicago we are getting more and more bicycle friendly! many bike lanes throughout the city so if you are interested in seeing Chicago by eBike, its getting better and better! haha

painted bike lanes
upload_2016-11-18_12-54-36.png


Painted plus extra cone protection
upload_2016-11-18_12-53-43.png


Concrete barriers (Awesome! Milwaukee Ave also known to the locals as Hipster Highway! hahaha)
upload_2016-11-18_12-55-26.png


We also have a more elevated Bicycle highway type of setup I think the whole world needs to have more of, I know these are popping up more and more in Europe! hehe

We have a planned river ride, so if you are not in a rush, plan to come when that is done? lol

Nice link I forgot to add as well
http://www.peopleforbikes.org/green-lane-project/city/chicago-il

Unfortunately I mostly ride as a commuter to and from work and I have a lot of painted bike lanes to work, but not the whole ride and can have some bumps I need to mindful of, but its getting better and better! So if you want Urban eBike ride, check out Chicago!

As always ride safe, and it is a urban city, so be mindful of where you are riding to and from (some neighborhoods are rougher than others if you know what I mean :) so maybe don't ride a nice shiny tempting eBike in certain parts :))

Take care, ride safe!
Marc V
 
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what a great ride and pics ... pics never do that huge hole in the ground justice... something one needs to see in person.

and Chicago also ... glad to see alot more places accommodating bikes...

tks for the post ... never would have thought of biking there.

B.
 
Marc V said:
If you are ever are in Chicago we are getting more and more bicycle friendly! many bike lanes throughout the city so if you are interested in seeing Chicago by eBike, its getting better and better! haha

Concrete barriers (Awesome! Milwaukee Ave also known to the locals as Hipster Highway! hahaha)
View attachment 12101


Unfortunately I mostly ride as a commuter to and from work and I have a lot of painted bike lanes to work, but not the whole ride and can have some bumps I need to mindful of, but its getting better and better! So if you want Urban eBike ride, check out Chicago!

As always ride safe, and it is a urban city, so be mindful of where you are riding to and from (some neighborhoods are rougher than others if you know what I mean :) so maybe don't ride a nice shiny tempting eBike in certain parts :))

Take care, ride safe!
Marc V
Click to expand...

I really like the Milwaukee Ave style cycle paths. Makes it so much safer.
But the road conditions are pretty bad in other parts of the city. I also heard that they clear the snow every morning, so winter commuting shouldn't be too bad.

Another place I really enjoyed biking was Kalispell, MT.
Probably one of the most beautiful places to ride. It's a 78 mile loop and simply stunning beauty all around.

http://www.mapmyride.com/us/bigfork-mt/flathead-lake-loop-route-16796195
 
mrgold35 said:
We went to Sedona for the (Veteran's Day) weekend after the Grand Canyon. It was just too crowded on the trails, around town, and on the road to really enjoy yourself. Might have to pick a weekday during a non-holiday to avoid all the people.

Bell Rock park southeast of town:
(Link Removed - No Longer Exists)
Click to expand...

It might be important to note that on most of the off road biking trails in the designated wilderness areas of the National Forest around Sedona, motorized vehicles of any kind are NOT allowed. We have road style bikes so we ride a lot on the roads around here....early mornings and non-holiday times are best. Sedona is a mountain biking mecca, but electric bikes are not allowed on most of the trails. However, there are miles of dirt roads and jeep trails where an electric mountain bike would be fine.

Another trick we have found is to ride in and out of every small neighborhood off of Hiway 179 between Sedona and the Village of Oak Creek. We live in one of those neighborhoods, and we can ride 20-25 miles without ever being more than 3-4 miles from our house and most of the time we are on side roads where there are almost no cars.

Other particularly nice areas to ride are:
Jack's Canyon Road and the neighborhoods along that road in the Village of Oak Creek
Verde Valley School Road and again some of the side roads into neighborhoods in the Village of Oak Creek
Dry Creek Road out to Boynton Pass Road....and there are miles of dirt roads that continue beyond the end of the paved section of Boynton Pass Road

Hiway 179 is a very scenic and divided two lane route with a wide and painted bike lane and it connects several of the areas mentioned above with West Sedona where a lot of the tourism is located.

This search result will give you an idea of the scenery around here:
https://www.google.com/search?q=sed...ivkrXQAhWk44MKHehfD9AQsAQIJw&biw=1572&bih=920
 
Ravi Kempaiah said:
I really like the Milwaukee Ave style cycle paths. Makes it so much safer.
But the road conditions are pretty bad in other parts of the city. I also heard that they clear the snow every morning, so winter commuting shouldn't be too bad.

Another place I really enjoyed biking was Kalispell, MT.
Probably one of the most beautiful places to ride. It's a 78 mile loop and simply stunning beauty all around.

http://www.mapmyride.com/us/bigfork-mt/flathead-lake-loop-route-16796195
Click to expand...
Looks like a good ride to try!

I just google mapped it and its around 1655 miles by bike ride for me to just get there lol but who knows, maybe in the future! haha
 
Marc V said:
Looks like a good ride to try!

I just google mapped it and its around 1655 miles by bike ride for me to just get there lol but who knows, maybe in the future! haha
Click to expand...

We should do Chicago to Milwaukee bike trip next spring.
 
There are some nice rides in New England. Route 1a and 1b south of Portsmouth, Nh are great to ride on, quiet roads, great scenery and beaches such as Rye beach and Hampton beach.

Acadia national park is another great spot. The loop road around the park is a great 25 mile ride, rugged Maine coastline, ocean views, beaches and perhaps the carriage roads. The last 2 times I was there I was still using pedal power, we are heading there this summer with our ebikes. My research to date is giving me mixed messages; one article stated that ebikes could go anywhere a pedal bike could, another stated that motorized bicycles (gas or electric) were not allowed on the carriage roads. Is an ebike without a throttle a motorized bike?
 
McApple said:
There are some nice rides in New England. Route 1a and 1b south of Portsmouth, Nh are great to ride on, quiet roads, great scenery and beaches such as Rye beach and Hampton beach.

Acadia national park is another great spot. The loop road around the park is a great 25 mile ride, rugged Maine coastline, ocean views, beaches and perhaps the carriage roads. The last 2 times I was there I was still using pedal power, we are heading there this summer with our ebikes. My research to date is giving me mixed messages; one article stated that ebikes could go anywhere a pedal bike could, another stated that motorized bicycles (gas or electric) were not allowed on the carriage roads. Is an ebike without a throttle a motorized bike?
Click to expand...

Every National Park has it's own laws. I was stopped by a NPS ranger for going too fast on a bike trail [Grand Teton National park]. The fine was $135.
He was not concerned about throttle or not.
I think some of the bigger national parks would not bother stopping cyclists (on E-bikes) if they maintain low key and use a stealthy E-bike.
 
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Ravi Kempaiah said:
Every National Park has it's own laws. I was stopped by a NPS ranger for going too fast on a bike trail [Grand Teton National park]. The fine was $135.
He was not concerned about throttle or not.
I think some of the bigger national parks would still bother stopping cyclists (on E-bikes) if they maintain low key and use a stealthy E-bike.
Click to expand...

What was the speed limit?
 
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