# Where does everyone ride?



## boston_e (Mar 29, 2021)

Curious where everyone rides in the non-snow months.

For us we are almost exclusively mountain bikers (I used to road ride, but just don't feel safe anymore with so many people texting and driving etc).  We ride north of Boston and tend to do a variety of the state parks etc in the North Shore, MA and Southern NH areas: Willowdale, Georgetown/Rowely,  Stratham Hill Park, Exeter etc.  Plus we usually take a couple of weekend trips up to Vermont through the summer and fall.

Occasionally we will do one of the bike parks as well, Killington or Highland.


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## Bumpsis (Mar 29, 2021)

I ride mostly in the Blue Hills since my house is just a 15 min ride on pavement before I get to the trails. So, that's where I ride most of the time. It's big enough so I don't really get bored but it's just really rocky and with exception of one trail, no MTB specific terrain. Just ride what's there. 
For variety, I'll hit  Wompatuck State Park, and places south of Boston like Massasoit State Park or Upton. Lately, I've been favoring more of the XC type of riding and leave the technical challenges to more skillful riders. I don't mind some modest drops and hops but I ride a hard tail which is more suited to flowy terrain. A few years back I had a bad crash which made me re-think what I'm capable of 
Up north I only explored Bear Brook State Park in NH. On yearly basis I'm up in Stowe (VT) in the summer and ride the less crazy stuff up there. 
I'm still something of a roadie and like group rides. These tend to be safer (vs solo riding), but I agree that road riding has become something of a death wish. A lot of people really distracted (cell phone usage) and I'm also really aghast as to how many people choose to drive these gigantic double cab pick up trucks as their personal transportation. These inherently make people bad drivers. I really think that some separate, more intensive driver training and licensing should be required to drive these.


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## jimk (Mar 29, 2021)

This is a fun thread topic, which I'll try to adds some photo documentation.
I'm an old slow, mostly hybrid bike rider, but I got to do it in some pretty areas in the last year.
Jordan River Trail (paved) in the Salt Lake Valley, early summer 2020


Dimple Dell county park, UT, spring 2020, view east.


Dimple Dell, view west


Round Valley, UT, that's Deer Valley ski slopes in center background.


Take to the roads too, this is the access road up Big Cottonwood Canyon, UT.  Appreciate this view much more on a bike in summer than in car in winter rushing to ski areas.


In 2019 I did a three day, 185 mile bike/camp trip on the C & O Canal Tow Path from Wash DC to Cumberland, MD

One of the highlights of the towpath is passing through 3100' Paw Paw tunnel at mile 155. It was a fun change of pace and I enjoyed the cool temps of the interior. The tunnel does not have lights and is very dark in the center. You either have to use a flashlight or walk your bike in darkness along the 5' wide path. The tunnel opened in 1850 and was built for the then princely sum of $600,000. It was still used by canal boats as late as 1924.


Same year, one of my buddies on the Great Allegheny Passage rail-trail in western PA:


Same GAP trail (it goes for about 150 miles, Cumberland, MD to Pittsburgh, PA and passes through tunnels and over bridges.






I bike commuted around the Wash DC area for many years.  This is crossing the 14th Street Bridge over the Potomac River.





This last is not my photo, but is of the trail I've ridden the most over the last 20 years, the W & OD rail-trail in northern VA.  It passes close to my primary residence. It's about 50 miles long and goes from Arlington to Purcellville, VA.  This is out west near Purcellville.



PS:  not thinking about bikes so much right now.  this is where/what i was doing yesterday:


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## boston_e (Mar 29, 2021)

Those look like some great trips!  Thanks for sharing!


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## dblskifanatic (Mar 30, 2021)

jimk said:


> This is a fun thread topic, which I'll try to adds some photo documentation.
> I'm an old slow, mostly hybrid bike rider, but I got to do it in some pretty areas in the last year.
> Jordan River Trail (paved) in the Salt Lake Valley, early summer 2020
> View attachment 51222
> ...



I like what you were doing yesterday!


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## snoseek (Apr 4, 2021)

Bear brook, fort rock, musquash, and a bunch of stuff in the lakes region of nh. STAB trails in vt when I can get away or green woodlands.


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## PAabe (Apr 5, 2021)

I sometimes get bored with rail trails because they are so flat but the Lehigh Gorge trail by Jim Thorpe is pretty cool.  You can even race the trains sometimes.


Schuylkill river trail going into Philly is pretty cool too but gets very congested towards downtown.  It goes from like center city and the art museum out to valley forge and beyond.  3rd picture is this big rail trestle near me on the Conestoga and Susquehanna at Safe Harbor dam, it is being resurfaced and open to bikes and pedestrians this year - will be pretty cool and it will connect existing paths.

I ride on the roads mostly, Lancaster is a great place to bike.  I may be biased but Pennsylvania drivers seem to give you a good bit of room and you can usually avoid major roads.  There are lots of other bikers, scooters, buggys, and pedestrians so drivers know to watch out.  I even feel pretty safe biking in the middle of the street in downtown Lancaster.  Biking in Delaware and Maryland sucks.  The drivers are a-holes and don't give you room passing, and there is often no way to avoid biking on highways.  There seem to be far less people there on bicycles so drivers aren't expecting you either.  There is more garbage along the roads.  In some areas every road that goes anywhere is an arterial road, and in the developed areas the development is often new and does not interconnect.  The "bike routes" don't even have a shoulder in spots, on 4 lane highways.

We got lots of steep and windy roads, not necessarily super large hills everywhere, but not flat in the slightest.  There are some back roads we like to bomb on roller blades too.



C&D canal, Adirondack route 3, Pine Creek, White Clay/Fair Hills/Middle Run, Stony Valley, Acadia carriage roads, they are cool places too.

It is neat to ride around the Gettysburg and Antietam battlefields with all the monuments, especially if you have a guide book or some historical context.


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