Conference noted::bicycle

    Hi Tonnie,
    
    I think you should post this question in the conference called
    HOLIDAY_TRAVEL as well as keeping it here in BICYCLE.
    
    			JPOIND::HOLIDAY_TRAVEL
    
    							Good Luck,
    							Jim

    
    You can also try posting it in the COLORADO notesfile
    (COMET::COLORADO).
    
    Most of passes are open by the beginning of July (this year, without
    much snow, they opened by late May).  Your best weather is likely
    to be in late August to early September.
    
    Steve
    

    I would highly recommend contacting BIKECENTENIAL, a non-profit
    touring organization located in Missoula, Montana.  They have
    organized rides and publish maps all around the US.  There is one
    well known ride called the Great Parks North which goes from Missoula
    to Jasper, Alberta.  A complete set of maps will run you about 10.00US
    and are extremely well done.  
    
    To contact them:
    
    BIKECENTENTIAL
    113 West Main St
    Missoula Montana 59802
    Phone: 406-721-1776
    
    I agree with 695.2, end of August is a perfect time of year, although
    if you are heading north into Alberta, being there in July will
    give you daylight until 10:00PM or later.
    
    steve

    	I went for a week last year in late June.  We went from Durango
    to Denver, and the weather was fine.  In the afternoons, there were
    generally rain showers, and the passes were colder than the valleys.
    I carried a wind jacket and leg warmers in a fanny pack, but generally
    needed nothing more than lycra clothing on the bike.  With four weeks, 
    you may want to head up into Wyoming as well as go through Colorado.  
    
    	As far as steepness, the climbs tend to be long and gradual,
    compared to what I've heard about Europe.  I have never ridden there.
    Without bags (we put them on a truck) most people were comfortable 
    climbing in gears of 42x24.  One person rode all week on 42 x 21, but 
    I don't think he would do it again.  He had to really jam on every
    climb to stay ahead of the gear.  Another (very fast) person used a
    42x26.  It wasn't especially macho looking, but nobody made fun of him 
    as he spun away from the rest of us.  If you are planning loaded
    touring, I really can't help you with gearing.  Perhaps someone else 
    can.  
    
    				Good luck, and have fun!
    
    						John

    I agree that the Great Parks North trip is wonderful. You do bike
    camping, and the weather can be wet, but the scenery is wonderful,
    the road surface is good, the climbs are well switchbacked, and
    the route well thought-out. It's about a 700 mile route, and you
    could take time out for day hikes.
    
    At the end of the trip, you could take the overnight train from
    Jasper, Alberta to Vancouver, which is a beautiful city, and then
    fly home from there. 
    
    Patrick

>< Note 695.3 by AKOV11::FULLER >
>                           -< CONTACT BIKECENTENIAL >-
>
>    I would highly recommend contacting BIKECENTENIAL, a non-profit
>    touring organization located in Missoula, Montana.  They have
>    organized rides and publish maps all around the US.  There is one
>    well known ride called the Great Parks North which goes from Missoula
>    to Jasper, Alberta.  A complete set of maps will run you about 10.00US
>    and are extremely well done.

    By all means get their map. It's a good route. BUT: If you want to
    know  where  you  are, or detour at all, you need other maps. They
    put  the  "crib  sheet" in parts of the map that the route doesn't
    touch.  The  problem is that if you wonder what that mountain over
    there is, the name is probably hidden behind a block of text. Also
    the  maps  have  1000  ft.  contour lines. All of San Fransisco is
    below  1000  feet, so the hilliest city in this country would look
    flat on their maps.

    DO NOT  GO ON A TRIP THEY RUN!!! I made that mistake (we did Great
    Parks  north,  a  very  nice area.) The leader was incompetent (he
    didn't  know which way to turn a freewheel to remove it), couldn't
    cook,  and  was utterly incapable of dealing with extraoridinarily
    bad weather. As a result of his pep talk when people were cold, we
    had  3  cases  of  hypothermia. We should have hitched rather than
    continue  in conditions that some people weren't prepared for. (We
    had  sleet  and  hail  in Aug., the worst weather they ever saw on
    that route.)

    Since they  took  a lot (over 1/3) in overhead the food budget was
    too small. We barely had enough food for dinner, and always had to
    buy  lunch ourselves, which was hard some days when there wasn't a
    convienent store. The trip was supposed to include all meals. This
    was  partially the leaders fault. I was able to bring in the meals
    that  I cooked in under budget, but almost no one else did. If the
    leader knew about the problem, he might have advised people on how
    to do it.

    Drinking was encouraged. This affected other planning as we had to
    eat  in a restaurant on Sun. nights because the liquor stores were
    closed, so the only way to have beer with dinner was to eat out.

    I wrote  Bikecentennial complaining about the trip, and suggesting
    that they find a more competent leader in the future, and got back
    a  form  letter  ignoring  my complaints. I resigned with a letter
    stating  that  as  far  I as I'm concerned their trips are a major
    hazard.  

    My advice is to use their routes (carefully, there were some areas
    where the route used poorly chosen roads, the locals steered us on
    to better routes a few times), bring a topo map, and maybe a local
    road map to add flexibility, and avoid the trips they run like the
    plague.

--David Wittenberg