Finding Local Cycling Communities when Traveling

There is nothing like exploring a new place by bicycle. You can cover a lot of distance, see beautiful local countryside, and it puts you more in touch with the outdoors. If you like to include cycling in your travel plans, you may have found it difficult to coordinate all the elements necessary to ride during vacation. What trails are safe? Where do I rent a bike? Where are the best trails for my skill level? Can I find a group ride or a guide so I don't get lost? Local cyclists know the answers to these questions, but finding them is tricky.

Bike shops are the first resource to explore. Avoid bike departments in big sporting goods chains or worse, department stores. Independently owned bike shops are staffed by people who love to ride their bikes, and are passionate about cycling. Don't let this intimidate you-they can easily give directions to a nice flat dirt road that meanders through the woods as they can point you to more challenging terrain for mountain bikers. Road cyclists can also benefit from their knowledge. Which routes are freshly paved or are littered with potholes? The folks at the bike shop know. Additionally, most bikes shops offer weekly group rides that allow you the safety of being with lots of people who know where they are and how to change a flat. People who work at bike shops are on their bikes several times a week and know local conditions. And most of them love to talk about good places to ride a bike.

Bike shops are also your rental resource, if you need to rent a bike. Some shops just don't do this, but in bike friendly places from Boulder, CO to Provincetown, MA there are places that rent all kinds of bikes. Cruisers are great for light recreational biking. Mountain bikes come equipped for different conditions-some are hard tails and others dual suspension for extra rocky trails. And road bikes are often available to explore the countryside.

The Internet is another resource, with the rise of Web 2.0; several local cycling blogs have sprung up around the country. One website called Local Cyclist has consolidated all these sites and allows you to browse by region, by charity ride or race, and even read other cycling related posts. Once you find the site that represents where you are traveling, you can read trail reviews, and glean other personal insights from local bike riders all over the country.

And cycling blogs aren't limited to this country either. If you are really feeling adventurous you can always check out sites like MTB Serbia and Mountain Biking Scotland, just to name a couple. To find sites like these, just enter the location, the word biking, and the word blog into your browser, and you should be able to find a few blogs to read.

Sometimes the best way to explore a new place when traveling is by bicycle. Reach out to the local cycling community that you plan to visit, and take a ride!