50 Active Vacations for the Fitness-Conscious: Biking
Try out these biking vacations:
- Hugging the Maine Coast
- Through the Sonoma Valley
- Mountain Biking in Idaho' Backcountry
- A Family Tour of Martha's Vineyard and Nantucket
- On Nova Scotia's Cabot Trail
- Mid-Coast Maine Four Island Bike Trip
- A Trip Through the Loire Valley
- Cycling in Italy
- Mountain Biking the Maze
- Biking the California Coast
- Mountain Biking the Maah Daah Hey Trail
- Cross-Country Bike Trip
Hugging the Maine Coast
Where: Rockland to Castine
Duration: 6 days
Distance: 15 to 38 miles a day
Cost: $2,380
Operator: Bike Riders (www.bikeriderstours.com; 800-473-7040)
Difficulty: Moderate
You'll mount your road bike in the harbor town of Rockland, skirt Penobscot Bay, pedal along the island beach roads of Islesboro, and wrap up with a two-night stay in Castine. Along the way, there's plenty of opportunity to ogle lighthouses, chow down on lobster rolls, and soak up the salty air. Boston-based Bike Riders trips are designed as a vacation, not as a race, so the pace is stress free. Nevertheless, you bike or walk every day, so pretrip training—six weeks of biking until you can do 35 miles at a time—is recommended. You can bring your own bike or rent one.
Through the Sonoma Valley
Where: Healdsburg, Calif.
Duration: 3 days
Distance: 66 to 72 miles
Cost: $949
Operator: Escape SF Tours (www.escapesftours.com; 866-372-2735)
Difficulty: Easy to challenging
Besides exercise and scenery, this tour offers full exposure to the region's chardonnays, pinot noirs, and zinfandels (with a 15-passenger van at the ready in case the wine goes to your head). The ride kicks off with a tour through the Alexander Valley and a stop in the town of Geyserville. You visit Lake Sonoma and pedal at a pace of roughly 20 miles a day through the Dry Creek Valley and Russian River Valley, stopping at wineries along the route. "We can only lie on the beach so long," says Belinda Tips of Southlake, Texas, who took the trip with husband Steve. "This was a nice way to learn about part of the country, get some exercise, and meet other cyclists."
Mountain Biking in Idaho' Backcountry
Where: Boise, Idaho
Duration: 5 days
Distance: 90 miles
Cost: $990
Operator: Escape Adventures (www.escapeadventures.com; 800-596-2953)
Difficulty: Easy to moderate
Geared to beginning and intermediate riders, this ride takes advantage of Idaho's extensive network of jeep roads, so van support is available. But there is no cell service, and nights are spent in campsites with no running water and no showers. (There are hot springs, however.) The first day, you follow a dirt road between Steel Mountain and Bald Mountain as it makes a gradual 7-mile climb and an equal descent. A final short climb brings you into the 1860s gold-mining town of Atlanta. Day 2 brings a hike into the Sawtooth Wilderness. Leaving Atlanta, your ride dips down along the middle fork of the Boise River for 15 miles before you hop in the van to shuttle across the mountains to Banner Ridge. There, legs rested and stomachs full, you get back in the saddle, descend 3,000 feet to the tiny town of Lowman, and get back on pavement for a 5-mile ride to camp. The last day's leg is 18 miles long, a series of switchbacks with 360-degree views of the mountains, all on winding jeep roads to Idaho City.
A Family Tour of Martha's Vineyard and Nantucket
Where: Edgartown, Mass.
Duration: 5 days
Distance: 15 to 35 miles per day
Cost: $2,280, adult; child 15 to 20 percent off (6 minimum age)
Operator: Bike Riders (www.bikeriderstours.com; 800-473-7040)
Difficulty: Easy
Turn off the computer games and get back to basics—this biking trip is pure fun for the whole family. (For riders under 8 years old, a trailer cycle, which attaches to the adult bike, is available; kids can help pedal without tiring out.) The riding is on flat and gently rolling seaside bike paths and country roads, with breaks aplenty for homemade ice cream, lemonade, and chocolate-chip cookies. You start in the 19th-century Martha's Vineyard town of Edgartown, set on Chappaquiddick Harbor. From there, you bike "up-island" to West Tisbury and Chilmark. At Beetlebung Corner, you ride out to the red clay cliffs at Aquinnah, or hop the ferry to Menemsha for some swimming and sand-castle building. On the third day, after a morning ride into Oak Bluff, you'll catch the noontime ferry to Nantucket Island, for a trip to the fishing village of Sconset and to Madaket.
On Nova Scotia's Cabot Trail
Where: Sydney, Nova Scotia
Duration: 7 days
Distance: 15 to 60 miles a day
Cost: $2,480
Operator: Bike Riders (www.bikeriderstours.com; 800-473-7040)
Difficulty: Moderate
Gently rolling terrain, with some modest climbs, should leave you with enough energy to dance in the evening at a Ceilidh, a musical gathering of Scottish Gaelic Highlanders. A tour into French Acadian culture begins with an easy pedal along the shoreline of Great Bras d'Or Lakes. Other days, you wheel though fishing villages and cruise along the north coast of Cape Breton Island, and into windswept Cape Breton Island Highlands National Park, where you're joined by a naturalist for a seaside hike. Later that day, you climb into a ketch for a viewing of pilot whales in the chilly waters of the St. Lawrence Bay. Overnight stays are at resorts tucked into forests and oceanside inns along the route. At the Glenora Inn, you might want to savor a single malt whiskey; it's home to the only such distillery in North America.
Mid-Coast Maine Four Island Bike Trip
Where: Camden to Rockport
Duration: 6 days
Distance: 20 to 35 miles a day, with shorter and longer options
Cost: $1,595
Operator: Escapades (www.bikeescapades.com; 877-880-2453)
Difficulty: Easy to moderate
Lobster lovers take note. Here's an easy pedal for families and average bikers through mid-coast Maine's small quiet islands. Those who want to push a little harder can take alternative routes. The terrain is generally rolling, and road traffic is light in these parts. The craggy coast scene oozes charm, with coves full of bobbing lobster boats and tiny villages of white clapboard houses. Enjoy a day of sea kayaking in Vinalhaven, "Lobster Capital of the World." Take a hike in the mossy forests of Monehegan Island and make time for a bracing walk along its craggy shore as ballast for all the time in the saddle. Overnights are in B&Bs. You ferry-hop between islands, and a support van and knowledgeable guides are along to make the ride smooth. Bike rental is about $125 for a hybrid bike and $150 for a road bike.
A Trip Through the Loire Valley
Where: Tours, France
Duration: 6 days
Distance: 102 to 238 miles
Cost: $2,998 to $3,498
Operator: Backroads (www.backroads.com; 800-462-2848)
Difficulty: Easy to moderately challenging
You shove off from the village of Fontevraud for an introductory 22 miles of rolling wheat and sunflower fields, thick forests, and a view every now and again of a château. Your destination is Chinon and the Hôtel Diderot, a converted nobleman's house. The next day you have the option of a 16-miler plus shuttle ride or the full 48 miles to the historic town of Langeais, home of the Château de Langeais, a castle built by Louis XI in the mid-1400s. After a catered lunch in Langeais, you head back to Chinon and Château de Chinon, the spot where Joan of Arc met Charles VII in 1429 and persuaded him to allow her to lead an army to Orléans. Among other highlights, the trip takes you through Azay-le-Rideau, where you park for a self-guided tour of the town's chateau. Throughout your ride, expect regional wine tastings with lovely cheeses, fine long lunches, and a variety of biking options that allow time on a shuttle if your road legs grow weary or you're so sated with fine cuisine that you need to digest a spell.
Cycling in Italy
Where: Tuscany
Duration: 7 days
Distance: 140 to 560 miles
Cost: $3,500
Operator: Women's Quest (www.womensquest.com; 303-545-9295)
Difficulty: Moderate to challenging
Women's Quest fitness retreats, based in Boulder, Colo., was founded by Colleen Cannon, a world champion triathlete. The retreats offer a wide range of sports-oriented vacations for women that focus on everything from kayaking to road or mountain biking and horseback riding, as well as gentler mind-body yoga retreats. In general, you stay in one location with daily workouts scheduled. The cycling in Italy trip is a bit different, allowing riders to cover many miles of quiet back roads—past castles, olive groves, vineyards, and along the Mediterranean Sea—and experience different villas along the way. This coed trip, offered each fall, splits the time between two regions of Tuscany—the Etruscan countryside on the Mediterranean coast and the heart of Val d'Orcia, the picturesque region south of Siena. Both beginner and elite riders can enjoy this trip—and, in case cycling doesn't provide enough exercise, there are a variety of walks and runs, as well as cooking classes, wine tastings, and a visit to a local olive oil press, built into the agenda. If possible, Cannon suggests starting a training or workout program three months before you dust off your passport. "It doesn't have to be hard core, but get out and be active a few days a week," she advises.
Don't worry about riding with people stronger or slower than you. You'll be assigned to one of two or three sections, depending on ability. The Forzo, or fast group, rides team style in a drafting formation and travels from 45 to 60 miles a day. The Piano, or slower group, rides in a leisurely fashion and covers 20 miles. The middle, or Medio, group, can shift between the two riding styles as they please. Throughout the tour, instruction is provided to all participants on everything from the nuances of gearing and stopping for the beginners to climbing, descending, and cornering for everyone.
Mountain Biking the Maze
Where: Moab, Utah
Duration: 5 days
Distance: 120 miles
Cost: $1,195
Operator: Escape Adventures (www.escapeadventures.com; 800-596-2953)
Difficulty: Challenging
Go where few dare to go. The Maze section of Canyonlands National Park in southeastern Utah is a wilderness of flat sandstone, rugged desert, and canyon. It's the ancestral land of the Pueblo and Fremont American Indians and is one of the least traveled areas in the continental United States—not surprisingly, since it is 50 miles from the nearest paved road. The Maze itself is a jumble of six steep, forbidding canyons and in places is almost impassable. There are special support vehicles—fueled by vegetable oil—to carry your gear, so you will have a sleeping bag when you arrive at your primitive campsite each night. No showers, but chances are your Verizon wireless will work. Guides prepare meals made from fresh, organic food trucked in from Moab. The first day's 30-mile ride runs down a loose, rocky, switchback road. You camp at the Maze Overlook. The second day is a 10-mile hike through the center of the Maze. The van will meet you with the bikes on the other side. Time permitting the following day, take a rigorous hike down to the Colorado River for a dip. Test your biking prowess atop the naked sandstone, or "technical slickrock," in Teapot Canyon.
The word slickrock comes from the region's early settlers, whose metal-shod horses found the barren rock slick to cross over. For mountain bikers, the sandpapery surface creates traction that can allow a bike to assume gravity-challenging angles. The road is carved into the solid rock ledges that wind along the red canyon walls. The final day's 30-mile ride is fast and furious on a winding jeep road along the orange cliffs. You'll finish at sparkling Lake Powell, where you board a plane for a flight back over the Maze to Moab. Or rent a houseboat and chill for a few more days on the water.
Biking the California Coast
Where: San Francisco
Duration: 6 days
Distance: 272 miles
Cost: $2,298 to $2,498
Operator: Backroads (www.backroads.com; 800-462-2848)
Difficulty: Moderate to challenging
On this picturesque ride from Mendocino to San Francisco, you track the curve of the coast past woodlands, soaring bluffs, and rocky beaches and through redwood groves and rows of grapevines. Riders can opt for shorter riding distances and four-wheeled transport, but the route is geared for hard-core cyclists, with elevation gains of up to 3,000 feet some days. The trek is rated up to a Level 5, meaning seven hours in the saddle some days and distances of more than 60 miles. (The comfy inns along the route offer some payback.) The trip's last leg crosses the Golden Gate Bridge.
Mountain Biking the Maah Daah Hey Trail
Where: Medora, N.D. (Bismarck is the closest big city)
Duration: 5 days
Distance: 100 miles
Cost: $1,090
Operator: Escape Adventures (www.escapeadventures.com; 800-596-2953)
Difficulty: Challenging
This one is an epic of 100 percent single-track mountain biking across North Dakota's Badlands. Single track refers to trails so narrow that only one bike can fit—and typically they're tight and wind through the natural terrain. Good riders crave the single track for the challenge and thrills it presents. There's no van support, so you're going to have to tough it out. Twenty- to 30-mile-a-day rides track through high prairie grasses, shady cottonwoods, and the Little Missouri River Valley. There are sustained climbs and ripping descents as you skirt the edges of Theodore Roosevelt National Park. It's best to have single-track experience before you attempt this backcountry excursion. Coyotes will sing you to sleep at your remote campsites.
Cross-Country Bike Trip
Where: Santa Barbara, Calif., to Charleston, S.C.
Duration: 40 days
Distance: 3,178 miles
Cost: $14,500
Operator: Trektravel (www.trektravel.com; 866-464-8735)
Difficulty: Challenging
You're in the best shape of your life...or will be. You've got some time on your hands this fall between September 14 and October 24. Why not ride your bike across America? On Trektravel's "challenge of a lifetime," you'll spend 39 days on a Trek All New Madone road bike, putting in 40 to 145 miles per day and climbing a grand total of 174,000 feet. Four of the days are rest days; 11 days require mileage of 100 miles or more. Your tour guides multitask as coaches and bike mechanics. Along the route, you stay at a range of accommodations, from luxury resorts to hotel chains to small inns. Upon arrival in Charleston, better plan to spend a day at the beach. Minimum age is 16.
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