From: ST402676@brownvm.brown.edu
Subject: Re: Suggestions & Advice for 4-day trip, mid-Oct, MA
Organization: Brown University
Date: Wed, 26 Aug 1992 22:33:27 GMT

------------------------- Original Article -------------------------

I have a four day weekend in mid October (10/10-14) and would like to make a
biking trip out of it.  I live in the Boston, MA area, but I have a car so I
could drive to and from a starting point.  I and the person I hope to go with
are in fairly good but not excellent shape with old-ish but decent 10-speed
bikes.  We could easily handle 50 miles days *unloaded*, a little less
with lots of stuff, but of course we also have two months of training time
between now and then.

Any suggestions for a route, or recommendations for books to look at?

I've never taken a multi-day bike trip before.  What is the "preferred" method
of carrying stuff?  I suppose side saddle bags.  I guess I'm looking for "Here
is what you need to have a safe, fun multi-day bike trip."

Thanks!

--
Barry Jaspan, bjaspan@mit.edu
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I've biked from Boston to Vermont (near White River Junction) in two days,
so round trip in four should be fine. It is a very nice ride. I've also
biked from Providence to the cape, which is quite pleasant and can also
be done from Boston. You could also bike straight north to maine or NH. The
first time I biked from the Boston area the idea of biking in the city
scared me so a friend drove me out to the NH border, but after some
experience I no longer worry about biking in and out of the city.
I can't remember the exact routes I took, but in general, near cities avoid
major high ways (parts of rt 2 are ok, parts are divided highway and nasty
for example). Once you are in the country, anything on the map that isn't
limited accesss is probably ok, and the larger roads may actually be better as
they are better maintained (eg rt 103? something like that in NH)

As to what to bring: lots of water (at least two bottles) and some quick
energy food (a friend of mine has taught me that the unit in which one
measures hills is the snicker bar. he lives on a 4 snicker bar hill!)
If you do decide to camp, you obviously need camping gear (pad, tent or tarp,
sleeping bag, stove). If you don't want to camp, there are always bed and
breakfasts, but they are not cheap. There are also a few hostels if
you choose the right route. I usually just pitch a tent someplace out of view
(an abandoned road, a field behind some trees, even a cemetary on a couple of
occasions). Bring rain gear. Bring a few tools for basic reapirs, a patch kit,
and maybe even an extra tire (I learned that one when on a long trip on
the west coast one of us got a major unfixable gash in a tire 15 miles from the
nearest bike store), a pump, oil for the chain, goop to clean the bike grease
off your hands and face and legs, maybe a few extra spokes and cables.
Aside from that, nothing is really critical: the
great thing about biking is that if you really need help, you are never far
from civilization!

Enjoy! (ps MITOC has tents and pads. I don't think there is much in the
way of panniers and such, unless things have changed in the last few years).
Tamar
Newsgroups: rec.bicycles.rides