Looks like I'm going to have something like 50-60hrs of PTO to use up in Jan. I would like to spend this time on a bike tour, but don't want to try that in MN in Jan.

I've got an email out to a friend of mine in LA, may end up doing some overnights in So Cal, but if that doesn't work, I'm looking for other options.

Planning on buying a purpose-built touring bike in late Dec, early Jan, shipping that to whereever, loading up and riding. I'm up for 60-70mi/day fully loaded, unsupported, solo or not if anyone is interested.

Anyone got any ideas for a fun, scenic, 450-900mi tour in the continental US, that's doable in Jan?

This's a cool idea... I'm thinking about it...

OK, it sounds like a stretch, but I know a guy (a fellow Minnesotan, now living on the East Coast) who did this a few years ago, and while logistically dicey, the payoff would be something unequaled to most Americans: Cuba.

Warm. Cheap (except getting there and back). Good eats. The experience of a lifetime.

Sure, there's always the Pacific Coast Highway, but rain could make it no fun to Ride/Camp. The only drawback (for me, anyway) is I don't speak Spanish.

You should probably be riding this bike right now so you can make whatever tweaks and dial it in before you embark on a loaded tour. I don't have any experience touring, but I do have experience doing a long rides on a bike that needed a little adjustment to fit properly. Ouch.

Sounds like fun though. Riding around SoCal or Cuba in the dead of winter sure sounds nice.

The delay is required by lack of funds. I might be able to swing the purchase in another month, but not really any sooner.

The concern is valid, but it's a risk I'm willing to take. My thinking is that, if I stay in the continental US I'm unlikely to get so far out of range of an LBS that I can't get an uncomfortable bike to it. Buying a quality bike from a good local shop should keep the bike from falling apart in the 1st few hundred miles.



I admit, Cuba had never crossed my mind. This would be my solo multi-day tour. Cuba is probably a bit ambitious.

PCH sounds interesting, though. I'll look into it.

I was all excited that'd I'd get another fatbiker to join me on my S24O this Jan.

Sorry, a fatbike is no closer than 3rd on my list of upcoming new bikes.

I think you can count me in, if we can manage to do it in 2.5 days of biking! (my time off will be sparse!)

and if it's on the second or fourth weekend in january (everything else is booked).

I just realized a tour would be really awesome and I'm starting to hate my job, so I'm thinking about a few weeks or a month sometime this winter.

Any other ideas out there?

I highly recommend Southeast Asia, especially Cambodia and Laos (fly into Bangkok and get outfitted there first, though). Even with the cost of the flight, you will spend less money than you would touring in the US, and you will have easier access to cheap, ridiculously delicious food ($2 per meal is easy to do), cheap lodging ($5 is a good budget for a basic room with shared bath, although it varies widely depending on where you go), and helpful friendly people everywhere. Towns are close together by US standards, so you'll almost always find somewhere to eat and stay. English is spoken widely. The weather is gorgeous. There's so much to see! DO IT!

I'm still way behind on my photo uploads but here's some stuff: http://www.flickr.com/photos/johnmoonistaken/

Hey, eviljelly, how you been?

Pretty good, I guess, but missing biking - I haven't 'seriously' biked (i.e. more than 20 miles or so) since April.

We DID Bike a bit in the Spessart, tho. (Was it back to the life of Kings upon your return to Regensburg?)