Our favorite places to ride
(outside of Maryland)

From time to time we'll add to this page as trips are taken. If a spot is particularly beautiful or affords unique riding opportunities, we'll pass it along!

If you've been somewhere unique with awesome bike riding, write about it and email us with your story. We'll try to include your trip in this section.

Stowe, Vermont

What can we say? The Green Mountains, the loooong and steep climbs, the breathtaking descents, the awesome scenery, and well you get the idea! Perhaps one of the best places I've had the pleasure of riding in and around. Enjoy the scenery, stock up on the maple syrup, and ride, ride, ride!

Start by staying at the Innsbruck Inn on route 108 in Stowe. If you can, book the Chalet. It is a small "gingerbread" house behind the motel, complete with babbling brook right behind the house. Get a back bedroom! With four or five bedrooms there should be plenty of room if you're traveling with friends. A complete kitchen is provided, with bbq grills right outside. So hit the supermarket and take turns cooking! Bring a couple chairs down by the brook and enjoy a much deserved rest after you ride. Or hit the outdoor pool after your ride. The Inn is at the end (beginning?) of the Stowe Bike Path. A very picturesque and winding 7 mile paved trail in to 'downtown' Stowe. Beware. Don't get caught riding the trail in the dark after lingering downtown, without lights it can be an adventure!

For dining out, one of our favorites has got to be The Shed Restaurant and Brewery. It's on 108 not far from The Innsbruck. A great selection of beer, and if they caught some that day you've got to try the trout! Another favorite after a long morning of riding is Pie in the Sky Pizza. Bring your appetite and get there for the all-you-can-eat pizza lunch buffet. At $5.95, it makes for a value added stop for some serious carb reloading! Good stuff!

Nightlife. While not the bright lights, big city, there is an active nightlife scene in Stowe. Unfortunately, it does close up early. Because we were riding 50-100 miles daily we didn't experience too much but the couple evening forays were a whole lot of fun!

Now, the reason to go: The Riding! It's fantastic. From a recreational roll on the Stowe Bike Path to an epic 100 mile ride over the border into Canada that features an awesome climb up Jay Peak, to a 50 mile ride including climbing Smuggler's Notch with it's 23% finishing grade(!) there's a ton of variety. Our friend from Colorado said Smuggler's was the hardest climb he's ever done! Our first day we started by turning left out of the parking lot and within two miles the road went uphill. Welcome to the Smuggler's Notch climb. After approximately six miles of climbing the steep stuff happened! About 1/2 mile of 18%-23% road to get over the top. Don't leave it all on the first part of the climb, you'll need some reserves to get over the top. After that it's a killer 8 mile downhill and a rolling 35 mile loop around and back to Stowe, jump off the road and cool down on the bike trail back to the Chalet!

The Stowe Bicycle Club Fall Century route has got to be the most challenging and beautiful century ever. With the possible exception of their metric century perhaps! Don't be surprised if the metric ride takes longer to complete than the 100 miles! The shorter route involves more climbing and can be a more difficult ride, in spite of the fewer miles. This is the route Bicycling Magazine chose as the best ride in Vermont and I'd have to agree. Leaving the country and entering Canada for 20 miles or so along the river is cooler than it sounds. No really it is! And the climb up Jay Peak seems to never end with 2 or 3 false summits, but the ride down is worth the ride up! Load up on food as there are not a whole lot of places to stop.

Not to missed is the ride to the Von Trapp Family Lodge in Stowe. From Austria, the family from The Sound of Music located in Vermont where they built a beautiful resort. The climb up the 'hill' to the resort is nice but the backside of the 'hill' and its dirt road is an ear-to-ear grin! As a portion is unpaved you'll want to drive this course before tackling it on your bike, just to see if it's something you'd enjoy.

With lots of side trips and summer time things to do you won't be bored. Visit Burlington Vermont, about 45 minutes away for a taste of the "Big City" Vermont style! While there don't forget to get your miles in at Lake Champlain Bikeways and visit The Magic Hat Brewery for your post ride refreshment! And remember to load up on that maple syrup!

- PAUL

Cape Cod

With the Cape Cod National Seashore and some of the best bike trails in the world, The Cape is a great place for a family vacation. Lots of stuff to do for the non-cycling members of the family and some destination beaches and stuff that you can ride your bike to, while others can meet you using an 'alternative' method of transportation. I pretty much grew up there, and am including only a very few of the things I like to do. The towns on the Cape are varied. You can have an Ocean City type experience in Hyannis, be fairly secluded in Truro, or live la vida loca in Provincetown! Give me a call at the shop if you plan on going, I'd be happy to provide more detail!

The Cape is crawling with Inns, B&B's, motels and rental houses and cottages. One of my favorites is the Belfry Inn and Bistro in Sandwich. Try to stay in the Abbey. The place is not cheap but the history and really cool atmosphere is worth the expense. The Abbey is a renovated Catholic Church, the oldest on the Cape. Bike through Sandwich, probably the most unspoiled little town on the Cape, fill your water bottles at the town well and soak up the history of one of the oldest towns in Massachusetts. Don't miss the Sandwich Boardwalk. Put aside your idea of the Ocean City or New Jersey boardwalks, it's not that fancy! Grab a couple muffins for breakfast at Marshland and walk the boardwalk  over the marsh to Massachusetts Bay, follow along the inlet to the right out to the point for a long, quiet, and peaceful walk. If you're really brave, join the locals for a swim. Dive off the bridge at high tide and you'll set a PR swimming to the ladder--the water is always colder than it looks!

For dining, forget the carbs and think seafood. The Belfry Bistro is pretty good, but pricey. For cheaper fare try Seafood Sam's by the Cape Cod Canal or Captain Scott's Table in Sandwich. For Pizza, The Tomato Palace is Cape Cod's second best pie. Grab a vacation guide and look for coupons and ads for places to eat.

Leaving Sandwich, be sure to spend a day at the beach. The National Seashore is great. Big waves and cold water. Go to The Salt Pond Visitors Center in Eastham. You can park here and ride a very cool bike trail to the beach where you can lock your bike in front of the ranger's station. Or take an open Tram from the parking area for Coast Guard Beach. The beaches along the seashore are pretty varied, you'll have to find your favorite. I always go to Coast Guard and Nauset Light in Eastham. Just remember, the Cape has lots of great beaches but the National Seashore beaches are the best! Unlike most resort areas there are no hotels or homes anywhere near these beaches. The Parks Department bought the land in the '60's to preserve it as a National Park; it's truly unique.

The riding on Cape Cod is varied but mostly gently rolling. Knowing the rules of the road will help keep you safe. No big hills but a lot of short up and downs! And don't discount the wind, some days it can seem all uphill! First stop, and not to be missed, is the Province Lands Bike Trails in Provincetown, right at the tip of Cape Cod. This an awesome ride that was named best bike trail in America a few years ago by Time magazine. It's a twisty hilly paved trail through the dunes on the Cape. (Pina Coladas after your ride, please!) Obey the caution signs, take some time to enjoy the awesome views of ocean and dunes, keep a sharp eye out for whales in the distance, and be prepared for a well earned dip in the Atlantic when done! There are showers at the beach if you want to clean up and make it an evening in P-Town for great shopping and nightlife!

Next up find the Cape Cod Rail Trail, a traditional rails-to-trails ride right through the heart of the Cape. Take the spur to Rock Harbor in Orleans. A great place to visit when the fishing boats come in at high tide, or catch low tide and walk way out on the flats.

The Cape Cod Canal bike path is not one of my favorites, but I do seem to be in the minority with that opinion. It's a 7 mile or so trail along the Canal, built by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. The Canal is a beautiful display of ingenuity, shortening and alleviating the dangers of a boat trip around Cape Cod into Boston.

Check this website for road rides on the Cape. Try for early morning rides or mid-week as the traffic can be a bear at times.

- PAUL