My 2016 bicycling calendar is starting to shape up. I just signed up for the 5 Boro Ride in New York City. By all accounts this is a big mess of a ride. Two night’s lodging and the ride itself will cost over $400, more than $10 per mile. I’ve never ridden in NYC or spent much time there so it’s no guts no glory time. YOLO.
For a tour I am trying to decide between three tours. One is a figure eight loop in upstate New York, Vermont and New Hampshire. This combines the Adirondack Park and Green Mountain Loop tours from the Adventure Cycling Association. It’s about 830 miles. Logistics are simplified by the fact that I have family in the Albany area so I can drive the 400 miles there and drop the car off. This tour would take about 2 weeks. It would add New Hampshire to the states I’ve ridden in. And involved a ferry across Lake Champlain.
An alternative would be an out and back ride from Albany to Bar Harbor, Maine by way of the ACA Northern Tier Route. This would involve riding from Albany to Ticonderoga then heading to Maine. This is about 1,000 miles round trip. It would allow me to pick off two states that I haven’t ridden in (Maine and New Hampshire), let me visit Acadia National Park, and maybe even develop a taste for lobster rolls. This one is pretty hilly.
An second alternative would be to ride the North Lakes route (or most of it) from Indiana to the Upper Peninsula of Michigan to Wisconsin. This would involve some ferries including one across Lake Michigan. The total mileage is somewhere between 980 and 1,050 miles. This would take me about 17 or 18 days and add two states (WI and MI) to the states I’ve ridden in. I would start at my in-law’s house outside North Judson, IN. Once again simplifying logistics although the drive is something like 700 miles.
Today I saw a tweet from the Advernture Cycling Association. The ACA announced some changes to their routes. One of the changes moves the start of the North Lakes route in Indiana about 60 miles or so to the west. The new route passes within two miles of my in-law’s house. Are the gods trying to tell me something?
A Few Spokes Shy of a Wheel 
Let me know if you get to Burlington. I’ll give you a bed, a beer, and a good meal.
Thanks for the offer. Stay tuned for further developments
I’m doing my 8th Five Boroughs Tour in May. I really enjoy spending Saturday in NYC and visit a different part every year. My favorite part is Lower Manhattan in the Bowery district. East Village is also a great spot.
Riding the five boroughs of NY on a bike is a great way to see the city. Every borough’s entry is crossing a bridge. Some big, some not so much. I really think your going to love this ride.
I am trying to figure out myself what I want to do this year…the Adirondack Park Loop looks cool!