Epic Appalachians

In 2020, we reintroduced our Epic Appalachian cycling tour. We have brought back our former version of a ride, which parallels the Appalachian Trail, and combined it with our Blue Ridge Parkway and Skyline Drive tour. The tour starts in a rustic and rural western corner of Maine and parallels the Appalachian Trail on low volume surface streets to our termination point in Cherokee, NC.

This is an original route designed by Cycle of Life Adventures. This is a 28-day cycling experience that can be done entirely or in halves. The full experience congratulates you with 1,440 miles of riding and 107,000 feet of elevation gain.

The northern segment will include the wilderness of central Maine, the Green and White Mountains of New Hampshire and Vermont, the Berkshires of Massachusetts, the Red Mountains of Connecticut, Mountains of eastern and central PA and New Jersey, The Delaware Gap, The Pocono Mountains, and Gettysburg, PA.

After our mid-way break near Gettysburg, PA, we then have the hills to contend with. Big hills! They are beautiful, lush green and at altitude, so the temperatures will be nice for riding. Many miles of the southern segment will include the full length (105 miles) of Skyline Drive National Park and 469 miles of the Blue Ridge National Parkway.

Right out of the starting gate, you get to experience our favorite ride of this trip, the Kancamagus Highway. Then, we ride on the quiet roads and enjoy the rustic scenery of Vermont. Vermont bicycle touring is the granddaddy of bicycle travel and is still a popular destination today. Vermont and New Hampshire roads will be quiet because we are ahead of the “Leaf Peeper” season.

We visit the Robert Frost Museum and Norman Rockwell Museum. New England will be quiet at this time of their early tourist season and the rolling countryside orchards of western Pennsylvania and Maryland will be greening up. In most minds, one thinks of New York, Connecticut and Massachusetts as being nothing but city. Just 50 miles north of NYC, we find some charming small towns with rolling hills, rivers and great scenery, as well as one of the Vanderbilt mansions. You will have the thrill of riding your bike across the Hudson River on the walkway bridge. Don’t blink your eyes or you will miss our tiny crossing through the state of New Jersey.

Through most of Pennsylvania, we hug the valleys between Appalachian ranges, the Poconos and some parts of the Delaware Water Gap. The beautiful capital city of Harrisburg lends to some comfortable scenic bike trails along the Susquehanna River. With a break day coming up, we have few days to take us into some of our country’s most well-preserved and educational Civil War Battlefields and the historic town of Gettysburg. There are several types of tours for the battlefields of Gettysburg National Military Park to fill your rest day. We will also be adding or subtracting guests, as this is our halfway spot and a chance for others to join us on the southern half of the trip.

From Gettysburg, we will now head to Harper’s Ferry, WV, before we take on Skyline Drive and Blue Ridge Parkway. The southern portion of this epic journey takes us into a couple of wonderful National Park Inns like The Peaks of Otter, and Big Meadows in VA and Pisgah Inn in NC. These NP lodges have beautiful long-range views. There are many pull-offs, nearly 300 hundred overlooks, on Skyline and the Parkway. The road surfaces are nicely paved, but you will need bright head lamp and flashing tail lamps to find your way through the 27 tunnels that have been carved into the mountainsides along these roadways. Throw in some water shoes – we ride past cool mountain streams, waterfalls and swimming holes.

Small mountain towns of Meadows of Dan, Fancy Gap, Blowing Rock and Linville to name a few, will be our resting spots nightly before we wrap up our tour near the vibrant small city of Asheville, North Carolina. Think about meeting family and friends after the tour and stay a few extra days to enjoy local beer scene, the River Arts District and The Biltmore Estate.

Visit these sites for more information about the local areas: Bethel Maine • Norman Rockwell • Manchester VT • Jim Thorpe PA • Gettysburg • Harper’s Ferry WV • Skyline Drive • Blue Ridge Pkwy