Dec 24, 2020
It's the end of the season, but that doesn't mean we can't dream up new tours. In this edition, I open up my thought process and planning technique for a brand new tour I'm thinking about next year. Once upon a time Snake Plissken escaped from NY... my next tour turns the tables!
More tour wishcasting - Escape to NY
A potential spring 2021 tour to scratch a few itches
A bit of tour planning in lieu of touring
Some insight into how I come up with new tours
How I start
Come up with where to go and from where I'm starting (usually
in that order)
Factor in limitations (i.e. money, COVID, time)
Reverse engineer things from there
Destination
I've always wanted to find touring on the east coast that
satisfies me the same way riding on the west coast does
Might be worth rethinking that... the infrastructure just
isn't the same
But, let's go with NYC
Starting point
I've tried to do a start from DC in planning before and I tend
to get frustrated/dissatisfied with the route. New plan: start from
the cabin and see how it goes
Resources
C&O, Google Maps, Ride With GPS, message boards and past
research
My path
It seems like the C&O is a good gateway to get me east to
a point that gives me a good path north
C&O to Williamsport, MD
From there it's trying to connect north into PA and hit one of
its surprisingly robust bike routes.
Have I mentioned US highways are GREAT for bike touring? Hwy
101 makes up the bulk of the riding in Oregon and CA, and it has a
good to great shoulder for many parts of the ride.
Turns out, US Hwy 11 is an *excellent* gateway northbound into
PA
From there, I go a bit less than 30 miles to Chambersburg to
hook up with US Hwy 30 eastbound and PA Bike Route S which takes me
essentially all the way to Philly
The lightbulb
That's when things get great and I realize there's a resource
to tap into... the East Coast Greenway, a route I've been meaning to
hit for years.
The gap between the end of Route S and Greenway is pretty
minimal, and that gets me onto a trail in NJ and on my way through
Trenton and then north to New Brunswick as I'd cut across the
center of the state before turning north again to Elizabeth,
Newark/Jersey City and then a quick ferry or PATH train to
Manhattan!
Mileage? Timing?
That's the next step because that can determine whether this
has camping possibilities before I'd have to look at hotels or
Airbnbs later in the trip as things get decidedly less
wildernessy
Generally, I figure it's 6 days or so?
Chambersburg
York
2 days to Trenton
2 days to NYC
Terrain
Mixed bag - lots of up and down hills in parts
Good shoulders when on roads
Some trail riding
Bike
Almost assuredly the full-sized touring bike, but Brompton
isn't out of the question if I decide not to camp
Camping/Lodging
Not sure - that's next steps but I suspect the stealth camp
option would be pretty compelling
Is this COVID-friendly?
Not sure. I'd probably have to consider hotels.
Worst case might be a good one for post-vaccination but
too-early-to-consider-flying kind of a tour?
Getting back
Amtrak, one-way car-rental, bus - lots of options, some better
than others from a COVID perspective
So... doing this?
I'm pretty interested. I've also always wanted to
circumnavigate Manhattan as a day tour, so if timing allows, that
could be the bonus add-on!