April 27, 2016: W2GW: Celebrating May & National Bike Month

Tanya's Daily Scoop
NEXT TRIP DEPARTS IN: 22 DAYS

Cycling around....

Good Day my peeps!
Can you believe that it's already mid-week and hump day?! 

I'm counting down the days until our next trip (22), adding more and more details to our itinerary, and also shifting my focus to future trips!

• Another trip to Europe (April 2017)
• Hawaii on the Horizon (May 2017)
• And working on the Germany/Poland/Czechia/Austria trip - but for when...I still don't know.

Big Ben (c)travelincousins.com

Yesterday, was a typical weekday for me - errands, running around town, shopping (all done with Birthday shopping for sweet Chaplin), stables (Cosette had a Horseback riding lesson), Dominic had his classes, and of course cooking.

Home cooked meals are a staple in our house - sure we eat out too, but at home you'll find me in the kitchen. We are not a fast food family. Neither do we use a microwave or eat pre-made meals! It's Good Old Fashion Cooking.

Today will be more non-exciting everyday stuff.
We are out of town and traveling so much throughout the year that I definitely try to balance as much routine in our home lives as possible.
​
It's a juggle, but I somehow manage.

Today is also W2GW (Where to Go Wednesday) and since National Bike Month is only a few days away (May) both Elisa and I are focusing on Cycling!

​While Dave and I usually pedal and grind along in the Catalina Gran Fondo which is normally scheduled for mid May (we even planned the dates for our upcoming trip to Europe around this event). HOWEVER this year for some reason they scheduled the event for April 30th - Chaplin's Birthday - and you know my rules on that!
So fingers crossed it works out for us again in 2017.

Read more about the Gran Fondo and Catalina:

Feeling the burn in Catalina

US Cup Gran Fondo on Catalina Island

Catalina Gran Fondo (c)travelincousins.com

Here are some fun Southern California rides for all levels in the month of May:

May 14, 2016 - Tour of Long Beach
100-mile Cruz Gran Fondo, 62-mile Metric, 30-mile Tour, 5-mile Free Family Fun Ride
​May 21, 2016 - Tour De OC
Offering - 100, 55 & 25 mile rides
May 22, 2016 - City of Angeles Fun Ride
Offering a 50 & 30 mile ride

​Who knows, maybe we'll sign up for the Tour of Long Beach...

Elisa has provided us with a lovely list of The 10 Best Car-Free Bike Paths in the USA, be sure to check that out. 
If Dave and I have time between mountain biking around Mount Hood this July while in Oregon, I might try to squeeze in: the Banks Vernonia Trail!

And although this one is LONG (335 miles) the Great Allegheny Passage Trail and Chesapeake & Ohio Canal Towpath, Pittsburgh, PA to Washington, DC sounds pretty darn cool!

What I'm gonna share with you is...

​Drum Roll please:

Europe's 10 Best Cities for Cycling - according to Frommers

• London
• Berlin
• Paris
• Copenhagen
• Rome
• Munich
• Amsterdam
• Lyon and La Rochelle
• Trondheim

Additions to those listed are Dublin, Brussels, Vienna, and Seville.

About to Pedal in Paris (c)travelincousins.com

The Top 10 Most Bike-Friendly Cities In The U.S. according to Forbes

• Minneapolis
• San Francisco
• Portland
• Denver
• Boston
• Chicago
• Washington DC
• Sacramento
• Tucson
• Philadelphia

​Additions to those listed are cities like Long Beach, New York, Seattle, and Oakland.

Pedaling Portland (c)travelincousins.com

We're pretty excited that we've got some pedaling around the amazingly beautiful Sete Cidades coming up in June on the island of Sao Miguel in the Azores! 

If you aren't already, be sure to SUBSCRIBE to this page and don't miss a beat or a picture from my upcoming trip to Portugal, France, Andorra, Spain, Gibraltar, and of course the Azores!

Riding in the Azores (c)travelincousins.com

That's almost all for now folks...
I did want to add a couple of non-cycling vegan events that are happening this weekend: 

May 1, 2016 - VegFest
VegFest Los Angeles, is a nonprofit  annual vegan festival.
Held in beautiful Woodley Park in the San Fernando Valley, this fun green-powered festival will inspire you about important topics such as: healthy living, the environment, animals, and more.  Everyone is welcome!

VegFest 2013 (c)travelincousins.com

May 1, 2016 - Herbivore Festival
​There will be tons life-changing lectures, cooking demos, fitness activities, musical and art performances, activities for the kiddos and of course loads of plant-based and cruelty free vendors.

And now that's all folks!

Toodles,
​-T

Elisa's Daily Scoop
​

Celebrating the Five Boro Bike Tour

Howdy friends!

Hump day here and "W2GW" (Where To Go Wednesday).

How has your week been?  Mine is going great, but yesterday, I have to tell you, there wasn't enough hours in the day.

Cleaning, straightening, laundry, organizing the kids' rooms, then afternoon snacks, homework, dinner, cleaning up and lastly, listening to Kelsey read her usual 20 pages a night of her mystery book for her next Book Report project. whew!

Usually, me and Tanya focus on "general" local events in various geographical locations on W2GW;

But, today, considering we are four days away from the beginning of the new month of May, we thought "we'd gear up" (no pun intended) for National Bike Month.

This coming weekend, we've got a few local "cycling" events here in the New York-area.

Catch Tanya's Scoop for more biking happenings out on the west coast in SoCal.

What is National Bike Month all about?
​
"Established in 1956, National Bike Month is a chance to showcase the many benefits of bicycling and encourage more folks to giving biking a try" according to The League of American Bicyclists, the national sponsor.

The League's goal is to increase awareness and build momentum about biking throughout the nation.  It provides resources to help people around the country plan local events. 

TD Five Boro Bike Tour
The 39th Annual TD Five Boro Bike Tour will take place this Sunday, May 1, 2016.

Participants will bike 40 miles through New York’s five boroughs on Five Boro Bike Tour, starting north of Battery Park.

All are welcome to participate. However, it is necessary to obtain a valid pass of entry to the event.

CLICK HERE for the official website for all rules and frequently asked questions.

COMING UP IN MAY...

​National Bike to Work Week 2016 
May 16-20, 2016
National, regional, and local bicycle advocacy groups encourage people to try bicycle commuting as a healthy and safe alternative to driving during this week.

Bike to Work Day
May 20, 2016
Bike to Work Day, part of Bike to Work Week is an annual event each Spring across the United States and Canada that promotes the bicycle as a commuting option to and from work.

For all of the cycling enthusiasts, according to Bicycling.com, here are their picks for:

The 10 Best Car-Free
Bike Paths in the USA

1. George S. Mickelson Trail, South Dakota
109-mile rail trail in South Dakota’s Black Hills.

2. Banks Vernonia Trail, Oregon
Forty-five minutes west of Portland, the flat, well-paved BVT is Oregon’s first rail-to-trail and follows a 21-mile line that dates back to the 1920s.

3. Carriage Trails, Acadia National Park, Maine
On Mount Desert Island, 47,000-acre Acadia National Park offers 45 miles of car-free carriage roads.

4. American River Bike Trail, California
This 32-mile trail that runs from Discovery Park in Old Sacramento to a lake in the city of Folsom.

5. Katy Trail, Missouri
Spanning 225 miles across the state of Missouri, from Clinton to St. Charles, the Katy Trail is one of the longest rail-trails in the country and a great escape for thousands of bikers who ride here every year.

6. Island Line Rail Trail, Vermont
The 14-mile Island Line Rail Trail is a great introductory ride to the area that connects the Burlington Bike Path, Colchester Causeway Trail, and the Allen Point Access Area in South Hero—where the seasonal weekend Local Motion ferry delivers cyclists from an island in middle of Lake Champlain.

7. Paseo del Bosque Trail, New Mexico
This 16-mile recreational trail west of downtown connects with many other multi-use trails and runs along the Rio Grande. 

8. Great Allegheny Passage Trail and Chesapeake & Ohio Canal Towpath, Pittsburgh, PA to Washington, DC
Travel 335 uninterrupted miles from Pittsburgh to the nation’s capital along the GAP and C&O trails. You’ll roll over the roaring Youghiogheny River into Ohiopyle State Park, atop the Salisbury Viaduct, beside the active Western Maryland Scenic Railroad, through small, friendly towns and the Laurel Highlands. 

9. Historic Union Pacific Rail Trail State Park, Utah
the 28-mile Historic Union Pacific Rail Trail, which begins downtown and follows Interstate 80 through Wanship and Coalville to Echo Reservoir.

10. Trail of the Coeur d'Alenes, Idaho
Idaho's 72-mile-long paved Coeur d’Alenes crosses the Panhandle of North Idaho and winds through the glistening Chain Lakes region, into the old silver mining expanse of Silver Valley,

For the full slide show, CLICK HERE.

More tomorrow as we throw it back with some surprises!

Enjoy your day!
-E
xoxo