Holiday Cycling Adventures

After cycling through North America in 2005, 2010 and 2013 we returned back to North America in 2016. This time we cycled the east coast. We started our cycling trip in Key West, Florida and cycled all the way to Halifax, Canada.

We started this cycling trip at Key West, the southern most point of the United States. It took us just over two days to ride the Florida Keys heritage trail and reach the main land. We made good time despite the strong head wind and high temperature. We visited the first National Park of our list: the Everglades. We have spotted a number of alligators on our trip already. Avoiding the busy Miami, we travelled north, to return to the coast (our first small deviation from the planned route) at Fort Lauderdale. We followed the coastal roads and reached as far as Cape Canaveral, where we visited the Kennedy Space Center.

Southern most point.

Everglades National Park.

Fort Lauderdale Atlantic Ocean Boulevard

Rocket Garden Kennedy Space Center

We continued three more days heading north on highway A1A along the Florida coast. Just north of Jacksonville we crossed the state border and entered Georgia. Still following the Coast, we reached Savannah, where we started heading northwest. Going inland, the scenery changed and more hills needed to climbed. We found several very nice and quiet county roads, soms of which unpaved. The weather has been quite nice, just one day with rain. Today we crossed a State Border again and are now in South Carolina.

Forest campsite

Georgia State Border

Sandy Country road

Forest road

South Carolina State Border

From Anderson we continued heading northwest for two more days to reach Cherokee in North Carolina, the westernmost point of our trip. As we entered the Appalachian Mountains, the hills gew larger and more and steeper climbs came on our way. Via the Great Smoky Mountains National Park we turned onto the Blue Ridge Parkway, which we are now following heading north west. To find campgrounds and grocery stores we leave the Parkway and continue cycling parallel to the Parkway. The weather is still very enjoyable, we only had a few days with rain.

North Carolina State border

Downhill towards Cherokee

Great Smoky Mountains National Park

Great Smoky Mountains National Park

Southern End of the Blue Ridge Parkway

Blue Ridge Parkway view

On the Blue Ridge Parkway

After Pilot Mountain we headed back to the Blue Ridge Parkway to enjoy some more amazing views. Meanwhile we entered Virginia.
In Shenandoah National Park we rode the beautiful Skyline Drive. We headed northeast again, into Maryland and later Pennsylvania, avoiding the big cities Washington, Baltimore and Philadelphia.
We had to fix some more flat tires. In Hanover we had to visit a bicycle shop to replace J.D.'s rear Wheel. A crack had developed in the rim.

Virginia State Border

Roadside tire repair

Skyline Drive of Shenandoah National Park

Skyline Drive View

Maryland State Border

Pennsylvania State Border

Pennsylvania scenery

We normally go around big cities, but we made an exception for New York. From Royersford we rode northeast into New Jersey, to Belford, where we took the ferry to lower Manhattan. We visited the 9/11 Memorial and cycled the greenway along Manhattan into the Bronx. The South (and later: North) County Trail (a former Railroad) led us away from the city. We crossed State borders from New York into Connecticut and then into Massachusetts. Apart from a few showers the weather is still very nice.

New Jersey state border

NY Waterways ferry from Belford, NJ to Manhattan Pier 11

At the 9/11 Memorial, posing with One WTC

On the greenway along the Hudson River and Manhattan

Connecticut state Border

We've made it! After 4304.28 km in 51 days, we have reached our destination Halifax.
From Westborough we continued northeast to meet the Atlantic Ocean again just north of Boston. We followed the coast, crossing state borders of New Hampshire and Maine to Portland. There we took (the first sailing of) The Cat to Yarmouth, Nova Scotia, Canada. We visited Kejimkujik National Park and rode nice trails to Halifax.
At the end we enjoyed some days of rest before we flew home.

Boarding The Cat in Portland, ME

Welcome to Canada

Quiet backroads in Nova Scotia

Visiting Kejimkujik National Park

Reached Halifax, Nova Scotia!

KEY WEST WEATHER
HALIFAX WEATHER