Conference noted::bicycle

    I am sure that you will get many more replies.  I'll send you some
    summaries from the Bicycle USA Almanac for the six states.  It
    summarizes the states by regions and other things. (Mail stop EWO?)
    
    My own suggestion is that you plan to be here Jul 30 - Aug 2 for
    the NEAR '87 -- NEW ENGLAND AREA RALLY -- to be held at UNH in Durham.
    It should be attended by 1000 or more cyclists and will be an
    interesting stop if you plan to be here those two weeks.  There
    may be a pre or post rally tour to go along with it.
    
    The rides planned for the rally are from 10 to 125 miles in length,
    vary in terrain from coastal flat to inland hilly with a century
    of either type.
    
    Near '87 rides committee chairman,
    ed

    I have found that the best time to tour is in September.  After
    Labor Day the crowds are gone, the highways less traveled, 
    lodging (campgrounds/B&B/etc...) cheaper and more available,
    and probably most important--the weather is better; ie, low 
    humidity, warm days, cool nights, better visibility.
    The state I found to be the best is Vermont, followed by
    the mountains of NH, seacoasts of NH and Maine.  The rest
    of the states, Mass/Conn/RI, I have a strong prejudice
    against and could not comment fairly on.
    The RALLY sounds interesting---hope to see more info on it.
    Tom
    

    
    I'll second September as the best month, and NEAR as the best weekend.
    Sept. is particularly good in costal and lake (resort/vacation)
    areas - the difference after Labor Day is dramatic.  NEAR is comming
    along better than any of the past 2 events. Granite State Wheelmen
    are proving to be a top-notch host club, really taking care of things
    well in advance.  If you register early, you may be able to get
    into an apartment, rather than a dorm room. Won't be cheap, but
    sooo much nicer!
    
    NEAR Exhibits Chairman
    
    chris

    If you want to go on an inn to inn tour with a sag wagon to carry
    your luggage, there a many companies providing this service. The
    oldest operating in Vermont is Vermont Bicycle Touring. You can
    write for their 87 catalog - Box 711, Bristol, VT 05443. This past
    autumn I went on their Champlain Vagabond, a five day tour in northern
    Vermont during the fall folliage season. The tour was well run,
    the routes were hilly, the views were magnificent, and the food
    was great.

    Here's a tour that I want to do someday.  Route 100 through Vermont
    is supposed to be fantastic. If you start at the Canadian border
    and end at the Massachusetts border, I think it's supposed to be
    about 50 miles a day and take about a week.  Each 50 miles should
    bring you to a town with places to stay and eat, so you shouldn't
    have to carry more than a few clothes.   Since Route 100
    is north/south, it's hilly but not mountainous.  And it's beautiful!
                                           
    Wow, all this tour talk has got me psyched!

Did a large Vermont loop 3 years ago which was beautiful.  Mostly
consisted of the central part of the state and north to the Northeast
Kingdom.  It also included a bit of New Hampshire around Mt.
Washington.  We did a combination of inns, camping, hostels and
motels. All was arranged by the group (no tour group, no sag wagon),
so the costs were minimal and the flexibility was maximum. 

Still have maps and materials (even slides) if you are interested. 

Don't really agree with Kathy on Route 100, my feeling is that while 
it's not bad, it's not nearly as nice as other areas.  By Vermont 
standards, route 100 is past its prime, in spite of TOSRV-East.
The best thing about route 100 is the Ben and Jerry's factory tour
(near Stowe).

	Mike

    Kathy,  Have you ever driven over Terrible Mountain comming south
    on 100 from Woodstock?  Or climbed Killingly Mt. gap, or done the
    Duxbury Hills, or God know what-all north of the TORSRV route. 
    A route for masochists!  I drove a sag wagon one year and had a
    full car on Sunday morning comming back south. So, I rode about
    65 miles in the middle of the route.  (Stopped in Woodstock) I'll
    take along the Conn. river and some of the NEAR '85 rides any day.
    From North to South would probably make a nice route. There used
    to be a metric from Keene that went over about 5 covered bridges...
    some nice stuff up there, (but I'll stay near the river).

    re. -.1   It was/is Ludlow, not Woodstock.  sorry - Chris

    No, I haven't done this ride, I am just hoping to do it someday.
    I read about it in SKI magazine a couple of years ago and it sounded
    great!  If you ride in Vermont, I think you have to expect a few
    good hills!!  Isn't that part of what makes a good ride fun?

    	re .9	Right on Kathy !	
    
    Why ride at all if you can't take the climbs ?
    
    Will we see you on that hill in New Hampshire next September ?,
    you know, the one somewhere near North Conway.

    	Reg	(still riding)
    

Vermont has some GREAT hillclimbs. I went with Vermont Bike Touring a 
few years ago, and the route went over Appalachian Gap (think that's the 
one...). Lovely 2.5 mile STEEP climb, finished off by a 500 yard near 
vertical section. Out of 32 riders on the tour, 7 made it over under 
their own power (including walking). Of the 7, 4 *rode* over the top. Of 
the 4, only 1 (me) did the entire climb without dismounting, and it was so 
much fun that I rode back down the 500 yd section and did it again to 
pick up my partner who had dismounted. I sort of cheated, tho - I think 
I was using a 45-28 "granny" combo for the steep sections... 

Be careful when descending from gaps, tho.... I came awfully close a few 
days later to splattering at a high rate of speed on a twisty descent!

                                      Enjoy Vermont!
                                      ken

    RE: .11
    
    Is that a 45-front 28-rear gear?  I wouldn't call this "granny".
    If you climbed it in that, you're pretty good.
    
    Chuck
    

>    Is that a 45-front 28-rear gear?  I wouldn't call this "granny".

That's it, all right. I call it the granny gear since I usually ride 
(depending on which wheels have flats....) with a 45-52 front and a 
14-21 (5-speed) rear. I only put on that 14-28 monster gold freewheel 
when there's serious social work to be done :-)...

                                               ken

    I take it you do fairly hard riding normally.  Why the 45/52 front?
    Does a 42/52 create a gap in the gearing?
    
    Chuck

I use the gearing setup called (?) full-step gearing - anyway, I use 
only the inner 3 freewheel cogs with the inner 45 chainwheel, then shift 
to the outer 52 chainwheel with the outer freewheel cogs. Eliminates 
ever having to shift both shifters to move up or down one gear in 
sequence. It also gives you 4 overlaps in the gear sequence, but since 
these give more or less bad chain angles, I hate to use them anyway. The 
45/52 combo is approximately equal to a single cog jump in the middle 
range of a 14/21 or 14/24 freewheel.

Another note actually explained this rather lucidly, if the above didn't 
make sense....
                                               ken

    I have a book in my bicycle library called "New England Over the
    Handlebars".  The author escapes my at the moment.  My boyfriend
    and I are more in to do-it-yourself, unstructured touring which
    may include mellow or brutal terrain, or take a moderate approach.
    Also, sometimes we feel athletic, and sometimes we feel mega-touristy.
    Last July 4th weekend at Tanglewood (Massachusetts Berkshires) and
    surrounding towns was just like that: all music one day, all mountains
    the next.
    
    Anyway, the book covers all of New England, mentions several day
    or overnight trips, has okay (usable) maps, and points out convenient
    campgrounds.  Pair it with a AAA Tour guide or Rand McNally Campground
    directory, and you're off!
    
    I'll get the Author and other info tonight.
    
    Elaine Kokernak
    

Re: < Note 189.16 by TASMAN::EKOKERNAK >

>    I have a book in my bicycle library called "New England Over the
>    Handlebars".  The author escapes my at the moment.

	The author is Mike Farny, who owns and runs Lincoln Guide Service.
LGS is excellent both as a bike shop, and as an XC ski shop.