Sunday, February 14, 2010

Alternatives to PALM

As many of you know, PALM filled very quickly again this year, and we have turned away a large number of potential riders. I believe that PALM is a fairly unique ride in that we keep most of our daily distances to a maximum of about 50 miles, and we try to have a ride that appeals to a wide variety of ages, abilities, and biking experiences. However, there are other rides in Michigan and our surrounding states that you might decide to try as an alternative to or in addition to PALM. I will list some of them in this blog entry, and you can get details by checking out the web sites. As far as I can determine, these rides do not fill as quickly as PALM does. There seems to be a "hilly" theme to the rides this year. If you have young children, please read the web sites carefully as some rides have restrictions on the ages of children permitted on the ride.

The Great Ohio Bicycle Adventure. www.goba.com. June 19-26, a 7 day loop ride. From what I have been told, this ride attracts the same variety of participants as PALM does. Like PALM, each year GOBA follows a different route, and this year's ride will be located in very scenic but also rather hilly southeastern Ohio, near Athens and the Hocking Hills area. The 7 days include 5 riding days of 45-60 miles each, with 2 layover days that include optional loop rides or alternate activities. The ride limit is 3000, and the fee does not include meals. GOBA has an excellent web site, with lots of details about the ride and an excellent rider handbook.

Across Ohio Bicycle Adventure (XOBA). July 25 to August 1. www.outdoor-pursuits.org/xoba. The ride is limited to 250 participants. This year's route will cover the rolling hills of southern and eastern Ohio. The average daily mileage is 60 miles.

TRIRI. Touring Ride Across Rural Indiana. June 20-26. www.triri.org. This year's hilly route is in southeastern Indiana and includes 3 days of 65 miles, and 3 layover days with optional loops.

Rides sponsored by the League of Michigan Bicyclists. www.lmb.org. The League sponsors several rides which this year include Pedal and Paddle (June 5-6),the Sunrise Adventure (June 18-20), MUP (July 17-24), and the challenging and very scenic West Shoreline (August 7-14).

If you want even more options, you can go to www.nbtda.com, and search for rides all over the country.

We sincerely hope that all of you find a biking adventure that you can enjoy in 2010, and we hope that you will be able to join us on PALM in 2011.

Ellie, PALM "Mail Granny"

3 comments:

Ken Kaye said...

Ellie, that is a very useful posting. I found PALM last winter by using the NBTDA web site - it's a great resource.
I rode XOBA in 2008 with three teenagers, and while we had a good experience, it's worth noting that XOBA is a strenuous ride. We had several days of 60-80 miles for the basic route, and the terrain included some real roller coaster hills. I suspect the ride this year in the Hocking Hill region of Ohio will offer the same.
Everyone at XOBA was telling me about GOBA, which is a very family-friendly ride, much like PALM as you describe. If I were riding with novices and/or children, GOBA would be my first choice after PALM. 3000 riders sounds too big to me, but my Ohio friends say that it is well run and the chaos is manageable.

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Gus Gosselin said...

I have done the GOBA 4 times. I think it is a very good ride and it is well organized. Most of the towns that GOBA stops in, roll out the red carpet for the bikers.
There is usually buses to take you all over town to enjoy the variety of entertainment and restaurants they have to offer.One does not need to go any place as there is usually groups offering foods on the overnight sites.
On the layover days, one can bike the optional loops or take advantage of well planned acitivities. However, sometimes there are fees for these activities.