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Bike Across North America

Tour d’Afrique, the socially responsible bike touring company out of Toronto, doesn’t fool around when they create their dream bike trips. In 2003, they traversed the entire African continent in four months, from Cairo to Capetown. Then came the 50-day jaunt on the Orient Express from Paris to Istanbul, the 2752-mile Silk Route ramble from Istanbul to Samarkand, the 7500-mile Vuelta Sudamericana that traveled from Rio to Quito, and the upcoming 2050-mile jaunt through India that starts in January. Now the company has just announced a new itinerary next summer that will cross North America, from San Francisco to Newfoundland. Starting on May 29th, they’ll bike for 76 days, averaging 106 km per day. Along the way, you’ll hit California wine country, the Grand Canyon, Route 66, Chicago, Toronto, and Montreal.  Cost of the entire tour is $9,950 per person or you can do one of the five shorter segments for $1800. Cost includes guides, van support, and lodging.

 

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Hut-to-Hut Hiking in New Hampshire’s White Mountains with the AMC

In 1876, 39 outdoor enthusiasts met in Boston and formed an organization devoted to exploration of the White Mountains. Several of the members had visited Europe and knew firsthand about Alpine huts, mountain refuges that sheltered hikers. They wanted to build this form of accommodation for the growing legion of avid "trampers." Twelve years later, dreams became reality when the stone Madison Spring cabin was opened in a col between Mount Adams and Mount Madison. The cost was 50 cents and you had to bring your own food. To commemorate the 125th anniversary of the opening of the AMC’s first hut, I spent last week hiking to 4 of the 8 high huts, with my wife Lisa, on assignment for The Washington Post and The Boston Globe. 
 
We started on the Gale River Trail, listening to rapids as we slowly made our ascent through a forest of birches and pines, going from forgiving soil to the unforgiving rock we would grow accustom to over the course of the trek. Thunder serenaded us throughout the day, but the skies didn’t open up until we were at the Galehead Hut. After a hearty dinner of turkey vegetable soup, freshly baked honey-oatmeal bread, and stuffed shells marinara, Lisa and I went outside to see a rainbow and listen to the birdcalls of the white-throated sparrow, black pole warbler, and bicknell’s thrush. 
 
Built in 1932 at an elevation of 3800 feet, Galehead is the most remote hut, 4.6 miles to the nearest trailhead. You’re lost in a panorama of peaks, from Galehead Mountain, perched just above the hut to Stinson Mountain, 25 miles away. Over the course of the next five days, as we hiked over 26 miles with an elevation gain and loss over 15,000 feet, that Japanese silkscreen of ridge upon ridge was never far from view, always luring us to put one step in front of another. We would face adversity from trails flooded with water, humidity, black flies, the threat of thunderstorms on ridge walks, and ascents and descents that at times felt like a Marine Corp obstacle course. But when you arrive at the next AMC hut, each a day hike apart, lemonade in hand, looking at this exquisite view atop the peaks, all is good. You’ve accepted the challenge and this is your just dessert, one of the many reasons why the huts continue to thrive 125 years later. I felt fortunate to be a part of that history. 
 
 
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Marriott Marquis Set to Open in Washington, DC On May 1st

Fans of the Marriott Marquis in Times Square, New York, will want to know that a new Marriott Marquis will make its debut in the nation’s capital on May 1st. Minutes from the National Mall, the $520-million, four-star property will house 1,175 rooms, five restaurants and bars, and a state-of-the-art bi-level fitness center. To celebrate the opening, the hotel is offering a number of deals for folks visiting DC this spring and summer. From June 1 through September 1, Marriott Marquis is offering a Summer Weekends Deal that promises 40% off 2-night stays and 50% off 3-night stays. Reservations must be purchased in advance and include a Friday and/or Saturday overnight. 2-night stays start at $108 per night, with 3-night stays starting at $90 a night. This summer is an exciting time in DC with the debut of the CityCenterDC, a $700-million luxury retail center that The New York Times dubbed the “Rockefeller Center of DC.” Visitors can cool down from shopping with a stroll through the “American Cool” exhibit at the National Portrait Gallery (through September), or the Degas and Cassatt display at the National Gallery of Art, which will be the only US stop for the blockbuster show.

 
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Top 5 Fall Foliage Picks in New England, Biking Addison County, Vermont

Nestled between Lake Champlain and the Adirondacks to the west and the spine of the Green Mountains to the east, Addison County is a fertile breadbasket chockfull of dairy farms, vegetable stands, apple orchards, and green fields as far as the eye can see. Bike through the heart of this bucolic slice of pie on backcountry roads that sweep up and down ridges and you’ll be rewarded with vistas in all directions. The spectacular scenery is enhanced in the fall when the maples offer the best of Mother Nature’s light show. If you want a local to design your route based on mileage, go on a self-guided bike tour with Country Inns Along the Trail. They’ll create a detailed map, shuttle luggage from one inn to the next, rent bikes, and help out in case of emergency. This is wonderful news for New Yorkers who can take the Amtrak train from Penn Station and five hours later be at the small Ticonderoga Station, a 6-minute ferry ride across Lake Champlain from Addison County. Country Inns Along the Trail can drop off your bikes, take your luggage, and off you go. Try to include the Shoreham Inn in your itinerary. Built in 1790 as a country inn, this post-and-beam house is now home to a gastropub manned by an excellent Irish chef, Dominic. They also serve Switchback Ale on tap, one of the many reasons why it’s become a favorite stopover for bikers.
 

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Top 10 Adventures Along the New England Coast

Just in case you don’t live in Boston or read the newspaper, I want to link you to an article I wrote in last Sunday’s Boston Globe on Top 10 Coastal Adventures. Included are some of my favorite jaunts in New England like biking on the Province Lands Bike Trail in P’town, sea kayaking with the osprey and harbor seals in Sheepscot Bay, Maine, and surfcasting for stripers on the Vineyard. Try one of these activities and you won’t regret it.

 

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Top 5 Paddling Spots, Niobrara River, Nebraska




Canoeing and Nebraska may bring to mind images of portaging through cornfields past cows and combines. But avid Midwestern paddlers know there’s a gem in the rough and it’s called the Niobrara River. A coveted Cornhusker secret, the Niobrara is arguably the prettiest prairie run in the States. A 30-mile, three-day jaunt from Valentine’s Fort Niobrara National Wildlife Refuge to the take-out at Rocky Ford is a smooth ride on a wide and shallow river between sandstone cliffs. Along the way, there is excellent wildlife viewing opportunities. Scattered groups of bison


 

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Context Rome Tours Provide a Wealth of Knowledge

We took two tours with Context in Rome and both of our guides were not only exceptionally knowledgeable, they have been doing this exact tour for over 20 years. On a bright and early Saturday morning, we braved the crowds at the Vatican and met our docent, Cecilia, an art historian and a native Roman with a Master’s degree in Medieval and Renaissance Art from the Sapienza University of Rome. Some 30,000 to 35,000 people visit the Vatican every day and today was no different. Cecilia was a marvel to watch as she weaved in an out of the people to wax lyrically on the long map hall, maps of Italy created in the 1500s, only open to the public in the 1700s. Outside, overlooking St. Peter’s Basilica, she sat us down and went over all the panels we were going to see in the Sistine Chapel, a place where no one can talk. But first we would visit the dreamy Raphael rooms, most striking the first room depicting his portrayal of philosophy, religion, justice, and truth. Look closely and you can see both Raphael and Michelangelo, a great inspiration to Raphael, when remarkably they both were working at the Vatican at the same time, 1508. It’s hard not to be blown away by Michelangelo’s brilliance when peering up in the Sistine Chapel, only to end at Bernini’s masterpiece, the largest church in the world, St. Peter’s Basilica. Wowza. No wonder Cecilia’s been doing this exact tour for over 2 decades. Everything else pales in comparison. 

Our docent for the tour titled Caravaggio’s Mean Streets, Sara, was just as brilliant. Having earned her PhD in archaeology, she recently published a book about Caravaggio’s paintings in the Contarelli Chapel, helping to add insight to the late 16th century, early 17th century painter that many consider one of the greatest of all time. Unlike the crowds we faced at the Vatican, there were relatively few people peering at Caravaggio’s passionate works on St. Paul and St. Peter found on the side walls inside a chapel at the 15th century church, Santa Maria del Popolo. Caravaggio was a master of chiaroscuro, best seen by the illuminated figure of St. Paul on the ground. Sara didn’t delve into the juicy tidbits of Caravaggio’s life, like the murder he committed resulting in his expulsion from Rome, focusing primarily on his art. We spent a good amount of time at her favorite topic, the Contarelli Chapel, located at the church of the French congregation in Rome, San Luigi dei Francesi. It’s here that you insert your 2 Euro coin to lighten up another one of his masterpieces, The Calling of Saint Matthew, depicting the moment at which Jesus Christ inspires Matthew to follow him. The painting was so magnificent that we asked if it was recently refurbished. "No, not in decades," said Sara. 
 

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