2017 CO OP BIKE TOURS WITH MARK

The past six years I've been hosting low cost bike tours. As with everything I tend to do in life, it's about bringing people together. My first one was the Sierra Challenge, four days of riding some of the biggest passes in the central Sierras including Ebbett's, Sonora and Tioga. It proved a difficult task trying to cook on small stoves and 4 vehicles. But a lot of lessons were learned and the tours that followed continued to be refined.

The rides are fantastic and  I enjoy finding places for their beauty and challenge. But above all else it's about the camping. Having people meet and create new friendships is the best part of the tours. Picture summer camp on bikes. That's the vibe that overtakes the week and why I avoid all the comforts of hotels, as they tend to separate everyone. The cooking is another delight of mine. Nothing like bring joy to the palate after a day in the saddle.

This year there seems to be even more interest in bike tours for 2017. Last years Calgary to Kamloops was the best yet and still managed to learn from that to make 2017 even better. I’ve come up with 6 preliminary routes and 5 different week options. They are prelim as I still need to set reservations for accommodations once I have date. The tours will be 6 to 7 days of riding and might include a day off. As always, it will include breakfast and dinner, camping, transportation of bike and bags to start and returned to SoCal, SAG vehicle (van), ride snacks, mechanics, hotel the night before and last night. There might be a hotel mid week too. As of now the costs will be in the range of $450-$800. Prices vary due to rooms needed, distance and number of riders.

I am doing a Monkey Survey to get your input and see which tours will have the most riders willing to do the tour. Here is a link: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/TXJ98ZG

So here they are:

• Tacoma to Portland- 353/29,000’
  Leaving from Tacoma to circle around Mt. Rainer from the north. Heading south by Mt. St. Helens, across the Bridge of the Gods then around Mt.Hood. Finishing in Portland. I would  prefer to end this tour the last weekend of June.
  https://ridewithgps.com/routes/17597799
• Southwest Utah- 337/20,100’
  Leaving from St. George we will hit the great parks of Utah-Zion, Bryce, Dixie NF and lots of small mountain towns. We finish back in St. George.
  https://ridewithgps.com/routes/17565647
• Missoula Glacier-356/13,600’
  Start and finish in Missoula. We will make our way north around Flathead Lake on our way to Whitefish. We will have option to ride or drive into Glacier NP for the day on the rest day.
  https://ridewithgps.com/routes/17565442
• Oregon Coast- 374/18,000
  This is a loop starting from Portland and heading southwest to the coast. We will hit Pacific City and continue to Florence before heading thru the foothills on our return.
  https://ridewithgps.com/routes/17565175
• Central CA Coast and Winelands- 407/29,000’
  Leaving from Sacramento we make our way northwest thru wineries and rolling hills. Lots of up and down the first half. Through redwood forests till we hit the coast at Mendocino. Then down the historic coast south to San Francisco.
  https://ridewithgps.com/routes/17453484
• Colorado Eastern Mountains- 329/27,300 or 373/34,500
  This will start from Boulder,Co and we will do a loop hitting some legendary climbs and classic Co towns. There will be options to reduce some of the climbing but those of you looking for a higher challenge will have a few days to take on such climbs as Mt. Evans. Other climbs include Trail Ridge and Loveland Pass. Lots of varied scenery and more than enough photo ops.
  https://ridewithgps.com/routes/17387740

Feel free to contact me with any questions or suggestions. If you have a group interested is something different, I'm always open to try something new. I'd really interested in doing a MTB tour. You can also leave comments here so others may respond to questions.

Peace and see you in 2017.