Spots Still Open to Join Rails-to-Trails Conservancy’s 2017 Sojourn Cycling Great Allegheny Passage

Biking the Great Allegheny Passage rail-trail, Confluence to Adelaide, PA on Rails-to-Trails’ Sojourn © 2017 Karen Rubin/ goingplacesfarandnear.com

by Karen Rubin, Travel Features Syndicate, goingplacesfarandnear.com

There’s still availability to join the Rails-to-Trails Conservancy’s 2017 Pennsylvania Sojourn, June 18-23, a six-day cycling trip exploring two dedicated trails—the legendary Great Allegheny Passage and beautiful Montour Trail – a total of some 150 miles of biking.

The organization’s main fund-raiser of the year, you get to experience Pennsylvania’s famous scenic wilderness, charming towns, beautiful tunnels, iconic sites and can’t-miss destinations.

The fully supported rail-trail adventure vacation, operated by Wilderness Voyageurs, offers great food (breakfast and dinner), hot showers, flexible scheduling (you ride at your own pace), fun evening activities, optional trips and experiences—and the added benefit of supporting America’s trails.

The trip is June 18-23, and costs $720/adult, $620/child. You have the option of bringing your own tent, renting tent service through Comfy Campers (extremely handy), or booking nearby bed-and-breakfast accommodations.

The tour highlights include optional climbs to the highest mountain in the state, Mt. Davis and the Eastern Continental Divide, the Mason-Dixon Line and Big Savage Tunnel.

The third-day is a layover with an opportunity to choose an excursion – visiting Fallingwater  (a home designed by Frank Lloyd Wright); visiting Kentuck Knob (also designed by Frank Lloyd Wright) or taking a rafting trip, either Lower Yough Class 3 rafting trip or Middle Yough Class 1-2 rafting trip 

Get more information and the day-by-day itinerary https://www.railstotrails.org/experience-trails/sojourns/2017-ride/

The annual RTC Sojourn is not just a great way to experience these trails, but also are powerful “trail-building tools” that highlight the significant impact of long-distance trail routes on America’s communities. Participants explore communities and attractions along the way (from the picturesque to the historic), take advantage of open trails and draw attention to gaps in would-be trail systems that, if completed, could result in substantial benefits (economic, health, social, environmental and much more) for their local regions.

For example, the Pennsylvania Sojourn will call attention to a major project, the Industrial Heartland Trails Coalition. A collaboration of more than 100 organizations, and led by the Pennsylvania Environmental Council, the National Park Service and RTC, the project would link 1,400 miles of multiuse trails, stretching across 48 counties in four states – Pennsylvania, West Virginia, Ohio and New York. It would stimulate the regional economy through outdoor tourism and small business investment, and create social equity and new health connections for underserved communities across the project footprint.

The sojourns serve to unite a selection of trails for a short period of time, serving as “dry runs” designed to benchmark—through real-world examples and user surveys how trail-system improvements could increase local bikeability and walkability.

Over the past 15 years, Sojourns have helped influence the creation and/or growth of multiple regional trail alliances through demonstrating the significant boost to local economies generated by the sojourn participants in just a few days – a small reflection over what can be achieved when programs are established.

RTC compiles economic impact data on the combined spending on food, supplies, rentals, equipment and other sojourn-related services, which is shared with local hosts to inspire future trail building and enhancements.

The 2014 sojourn’s positive economic impact to the region was $211,000.

Rails-to-Trails Conservancy helps communities meet their own challenges toward trail development, with expertise and assistance obtaining funding and design; and advocates with lawmakers at local, state and federal levels for policies and funding programs that make trail development and walking/biking infrastructure possible. The organizations promotes trails – awarding Trail of the Year, for example – forges partnerships, and is the nation’s foremost nonprofit advocate for rail-trails, working to create and protect the legal structures that make them possible.

The sojourns are designed for all ages and skill levels—from the young to the young-at-heart, aficionados to first-timers, families to freewheelers!

To book the 2017 Sojourn, https://wilderness-voyageurs.com/bike-tours/rails-to-trails-conservancy-sojourn.

Learn more about Rails-to-Trails Conservancy at www.railstotrails.org.

See:

Rails-to-Trails Conservancy Takes Cyclists on Sojourn on Great Allegheny Passage

Rails-to-Trails’ Great Allegheny Passage Bike Tour Side Trip into Dunbar Brings Surprise Encounter with TrumpWorld

Pennsylvania’s Industrial Past Highlights Day 3 on Rails-to-Trails Sojourn on Great Allegheny Passage

 

For more travel features, visit:

goingplacesfarandnear.com

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/author/karen-rubin

goingplacesnearandfar.wordpress.com

moralcompasstravel.info

travelwritersmagazine.com/TravelFeaturesSyndicate/

goingplacesfarandnear.tumblr.com/

instagram.com/krubin0830/

‘Like’ us on facebook.com/NewsPhotoFeatures

Twitter: @TravelFeatures

Bicycle Adventures offers 14 New Fall Tour Dates; $200 Off Bookings by July 31

Bicycle Adventures is extending summer with 14 new fall tour dates.

Bicycle Adventures, a leader in North America bike tours, is extending summer with 14 new fall tour dates to make up for a wet and cool spring when folks couldn’t get on their bikes.

If booked by July 31, 2014, you can receive $200 off listed rates on newly scheduled fall adventures that are scattered around six states from late August into November.

Leavenworth Mountain Biking in Washington offers four days of back country fat tire riding and rafting. The per person rate is $1,365. The trip departs from Issaquah or Leavenworth departing Aug. 24 and Sept. 21.

Departing Sept. 14, 21 and 28 Bicycle Adventures’ San Juan Islands 6 Day Classic begins in Seattle for six days of cycling through lavender fields, exploring Friday Harbor, a shark reef sanctuary and more. The per person rate is $2,995.

Tucked between Oregon’s Blue Mountains and the Snake River is an astonishingly beautiful region, the Wallowa Mountains and the Eagle Cap Wilderness.Wallowas & Hells Canyon tour departs Sept. 15 for four scenic days at $2,195 per person.

Cyclists can explore eastern Oregon and the eye-popping terrain of John Day Fossil Beds National Monument, one of Oregon’s Seven Wonders, on a four-day tour departing Sept. 20.  The John Day and Painted Hills tour runs $1,984 per person.

With temperatures getting crisper in the Pacific Northwest, the focus moves south toSanta Fe & Taos when a Sept. 28 six-day tour departs Santa Fe for $2,995 per person.  Arts and crafts, pueblos, southwestern cuisine and Spanish-style towns await discovery.

On Oct. 5 aMoab & Arches Classic tour departure focuses on six days in Utah’s natural playground graced by two national parks followed by Arizona’s Cactus Classicleaving Oct. 12.  The rate for the Moab trip runs $2,695 per person. The Cactus Classic spends six days in the land of Geronimo, Cochise and 250-year-old saguaro cactus. The rate is $2,895 for the trip that begins in Tucson.

The fall season wraps up in sunny California with four departures Oct. 27, Nov. 1, 6 and 11 inDeath Valley National Park. This four-day trip departs Las Vegas for the discovery of a stunning diversity of terrain: 200 miles of eerie salt flats, deceptively velvety sand dunes, crazy-stripe badlands, valleys, canyons, mountains and more. The per person rate is $1,984.

There are still a number of additional tours ideal for first time cyclists with good space remaining in the 2014 season. For more information, availability and reservations contact Bicycle Adventures by phone: 800.443.6060, email: office@bicycleadventures.com or visit online at: http://bicycleadventures.com/.

Scenic byways, four and five-star accommodations and local dining and visits to National Parks are trademarks of Bicycle Adventures, founded in 1984.  Types of tours include Classic (25-50 miles a day), Classic Plus (50-60 miles a day) and Epic (70+ miles a day with the most demanding terrain). Value-driven Casual category trips offer budget-conscious lodging and meals, with the same full van support.

Pre-set and custom tours embrace the Pacific Northwest into Canada, California and the Southwest, as well as Colorado, Missouri, Nebraska, South Dakota, New York, Hawaii and New Zealand. Excelling in its own backyard the Issaquah, WA-based company also conducts tours into Washington State’s wine country.

Follow Bicycle Adventures:
Website: http://bicycleadventures.com/
Facebook: Bicycle Adventures
Twitter: @BikeAdventures

For more travel features, visit:

www.examiner.com/eclectic-travel-in-national/karen-rubin

www.examiner.com/international-travel-in-national/karen-rubin

travelwritersmagazine.com/TravelFeaturesSyndicate

‘Like’ us on facebook.com/NewsPhotoFeatures

Twitter: @TravelFeatures

DuVine Cycling Introduces 4-Day Guided Bike Tour Itineraries to Tuscany, Burgundy, Provence

DuVine Cycling + Adventure Co. has been designing and leading luxury bike tours around the world since 1996, and they’ll now be extending their expertise to include four-day European tours. They have released these shorter itineraries for guided bike tours in Tuscany, Burgundy, and Provence, making DuVine one of the only mainstream US bike tour operators currently offering four-day guided tours.

Most of DuVine’s European tours include six day, five night itineraries, but with their new product, DuVine hopes to provide another option for those who are strapped for time. “We realize that people going to Europe on business don’t always have an entire week to spend cycling,” says Andy Levine, President and Founder of DuVine. “The four-day tour is a unique offering, exclusive in the marketplace—it’s a product that doesn’t currently exist for cycling vacations,” says Levine.

The new tours are also designed for travelers looking to try out a new way to travel. For those travelers who are new to cycling and may be hesitant to spend an entire week on a bike, DuVine’s four-day tours offer a relaxed alternative. “We want all travelers to learn what we already know—that biking is the very best way to travel,” says Levine. “The four-day tours allow beginning cyclists to experience true DuVine style with no pressure or stress,” says Levine.

In Provence, travelers will cycle through fields of sunflowers and asparagus, climb winding roads to farmers markets in medieval villages, and stroll through charming rural towns and breathtaking ruins. “Our guests will taste some of the best olive oils, truffles, and wine in the world, as well as Provençal specialties prepared by some of the region’s most prominent chefs,” says Levine.

On their four-day Tuscany tour, guests are invited to explore the iconic Tuscan countryside as they ride through gentle green hills and cypress-lined byways, stopping along the way for intimate cooking classes, a wine tasting at one of Italy’s most highly-acclaimed wineries, gourmet dinners, and relaxing at some of the most stunning luxurious villas in Italy. “Our seasoned guides call on their extensive local knowledge to orchestrate engaging and authentic visits, inviting travelers to partake of the best of the best throughout the world,” says Andy. “Welcome to the ride of your life!”

Find out more about DuVine’s new four-day tours as well as their classic, family, private, and couture tours at www.duvine.com.

For more travel features, visit:

www.examiner.com/eclectic-travel-in-national/karen-rubin

http://www.examiner.com/international-travel-in-national/karen-rubin

travelwritersmagazine.com/TravelFeaturesSyndicate

‘Like’ us on facebook.com/NewsPhotoFeatures

Twitter: @TravelFeatures

BikeToursDirect Launches New Website with 300 Cycling Tours Worldwide, Added Planning Tools

Biking the Danube Bike Trail, one of the popular BikeToursDirect programs. BikeToursDirect’s new website offers custom search tools to help travelers choose and book cycling vacations based on personal preferences. The site includes extensive information on nearly 300 tours in 40 countries worldwide as well as destination details and planning tips © 2012 Karen Rubin/news-photos-features.com.

BikeToursDirect has launched a new website designed to make it easier for clients to choose from its nearly 300 bicycle tours worldwide and to plan and book their cycling vacations.  Biketoursdirect.com helps visitors search for tours based on personal preferences such as destination, type of tour, level of difficulty, price range, date and duration. Additional filtering tools help further refine search results, which then link to detailed tour information such as tour descriptions, daily programs, dates, prices, route overviews, sample hotel lists and route maps.

“It can be daunting for clients to sort through hundreds of bicycle tours and find the right one,” says Jim Johnson, president of BikeToursDirect. “This is even more the case as we expand beyond Europe to Asia, Africa, Australia and the Americas. Our new site is designed to make it easier—and fun—for clients to find their dream cycling vacations. We then provide the tools to help them plan their trips.”

The site also offers short cuts such as quick searches based on destination, interest or date and “Top 10” lists that link to top recommendations, including family-friendly tours, budget-priced tours (one-week tours start at less than $700), tours for first-time bike tourists, and bike and boat tours.

Biketoursdirect.com also offers resources to help travelers prepare for their trips, with extensive information on destinations as well as tips on training programs, transportation and recommended clothing and equipment, and a suggested packing list.

BikeToursDirect serves as a central resource for bicycle tours around the world, representing nearly 60 tour companies that offer almost 300 tours in 40 countries throughout Europe, Asia, Africa, Australia and North America. BikeToursDirect offers a variety of resources to help travelers choose tours and handles the entire booking and payment process.

For more information, visit http://www.biketoursdirect.com,  call 877-462-2423 or 423-756-8907, email: info@biketoursdirect.com.

See our stories on BikeToursDirect’s Danube Bike Trail trip:

www.travelwritersmagazine.com/TravelFeaturesSyndicate

www.examiner.com/eclectic-travel-in-national/karen-rubin

Eastwind Cycle Unveils Custom Bicycling Journeys in Canada, Mexico

Eastwind Cycle, Atlantic Canada’s small, but dedicated premium cycling tour company, has been operating mainly behind the scenes to support the cycling programs of large tour operators and cruise lines, since 1995. But in 2012 Eastwind has changed gears by offering their custom cycling journeys in Canada’s east coast, Quebec and Puebla, Mexico to the travelling public for the first time. To kick it off they’ve revamped their website and introduced a creative newsletter and social media plan.

“We’re excited to do more custom cycling trips in our all-time favourite places to ride,” says Peter Williams, Eastwind Cycle’s founder. “We welcome all skill sets and group sizes. All you need is a passion for the good things in life like food and wine, and the willingness to hop on a bicycle. It’s that simple, and that’s what makes cycling travel extraordinary.”

Eastwind Cycle’s team of highly skilled cyclists, there to support guests at all times along the road, specialize in journeys as small as four people to as big as 40. Through their years on the road, they’ve gained countless nuggets of first-hand knowledge of the best of each region they travel to. Eastwind Cycle takes guest’s ideas for a dream journey and combines them with the finest regional ingredients … quaint country inns, boutique hotels, phenomenal and fresh local cuisine. Williams spent his past life as a restaurateur, and great food at all levels (markets, roadside eateries, high-end restaurants) is at the heart of every Eastwind Cycle journey.

For more information, visit www.eastwindcycle.com.

For more travel features, visit:

www.travelwritersmagazine.com/TravelFeaturesSyndicate

www.examiner.com/eclectic-travel-in-national/karen-rubin