Hi Jeff,

I had planned to fly off to France but circumstances are keeping me closer to home.  I won't slack like last year though ;-)

It's been almost 10 years since my cross country ride and I may ride some of it again, a trip down memory lane so to speak, with a few new roads added in to keep it interesting.

Nothing is nailed down though and I am notorious for changing my mind. ;-)  But either way I am excited for summer and touring season to begin.

I hope you can get some weekend trips in at least.  We miss your journals.

Karen

Hi Jeff and congrats on the new little one.
As a father of four sons (now all grown men) I can say with certainty your life will never be the same, and that is indeed a wonderful thing.
I hope to take several modest trips, a week long maybe on the Mickelson Trail with the wife and tandem, about a 10 day jaunt on the touring bike and several 3 - 4 day lightweight distance runs on the rando bike.
I have been averaging 4 - 5 thousand miles a season, all riding types combined and I hope to keep that up or even exceed expectations.
The longer term goal is a long cross country solo self contained trip to celebrate retirement.......if that really ever happens.  ;-)
Best,
Randy R

Hi Jeff,

Happy New Year!

My goals, ever so ambitious though they might be, are to climb at least two cols over 2000 meters, finish visiting some of the departments in France that I started in the context of the Brevet des Provinces Français, and above all not get sick again. If I can manage that I will feel very acomplished.

Cheers,

Keith

Bonne chance!

After several years spent reading about cycle touring, and so far having just done a few overnights, this is the year for my first multi-day tour.  I'm planning to start small and close to home, doing a week long circuit of my little state of Vermont.  This will be a trip partly of my own devising, as well as following part of Adventure Cycling's Green Mountain Loop.  I'm hoping to do this trip in June, before the full summer tourism traffic starts.  

This will, of course, give me a chance to post my first journal on Cycleblaze!  

Bob

Despite 2018 providing us with six months of great cycling through Patagonia and Japan it also had some dreadful curved balls with which we had to deal.  We are both in need for some emotional healing so for 2019 we are hoping to get off to South-East Asia for a month or two of easy R&R cycling in February.  We plan to spend four months of the austral winter doing a convoluted LEJOG criss-crossing England, Wales and Scotland to visit friends.  If all goes well we will be back in Patagonia by the end of the year with the hope to push all the way down to Ushuaia.  With this in mind I am filling the gaps in my time boning up my Spanish using DuoLingo.

Well, I have a few simple goals.  

First, the bike (an old steel, rigid frame mountain bike that I had originally rebuilt from scrap for a gravel bike) that I had planned to use to get started bicycle touring got stolen Thanksgiving.  I finally found a bike I believe is suitable for touring so I am now in the process of rebuilding/fixing it so that it is in riding condition.

Second, once my bike is complete I want to take all I have learned from videos, books, articles, forums, and podcasts and load up my bike for a little overnight trip to the local state park.  It isn't much...but I am so excited!

Third, after doing the Mountains to Coast ride across North Carolina (7 days and 480 miles this past fall) this year I was hoping to ride the GAP and C&O from Pittsburgh to DC.  It may still happen...or it will be shorter as I'm talking to someone about doing the C&O from Cumberland to DC.  Either way...I am excited about it.

Hey, Joseph - I ride the GAP just about every year, did a 3 day Towpath ride years ago, and bike/hike the C&O many times per years, as I live in Maryland. While there are some unique aspects of the Towpath, I'd choose the GAP every time if it could only be one or the other. The surface is much better, much more variation in scenery and places to stop. 

If you do decide to do the C&O, check the weather for a month or so before - with years like last years constant rain there are many outages and mudpits. The government shutdown hasn't helped on the maintenance but the Park Service web site is good to check for closures - here.

This past weekend, a friend and I hiked from Point of Rocks to the current closure at mile marker 52 and the washed out creek crossing.  They have started the temporary crossing but the high levels still on the Potomac have delayed things for months, but by the spring it should be crossable - right now you have to trespass on active railroad tracks to get over.

Here's a picture of what it looks like - under that water are a bunch of plastic pipe sections that will be covered with stones for the temporary crossing.

I've added one to this year's list: I signed up for the Seattle to Portland ride in July. Current plan is my wife and I will fly to Seattle and I'll rent a bike and do it as a 2 day ride. Carole will rent a car, visit friends during the day, meet me outside of Centralia the first night. Then, repeat on the second day, meeting up in Portland, dinner with friends there, fly home the next day.

Thanks,  John!  I have been following some of the issues and closings, but didn't realize the current state of some of it. Our trip is likely around late summer so I'm hoping they will have things in better shape.  But... I'm also starting to work on plans for the GAP!