Seeking info about "Great Hudson Valley Pedal" by Parks and Trails NY

[JonathanS]

We are looking for a good family ride (mom, dad, and 2 teenage daughters) for this summer not too far from Washington, DC.  We found a ride that looks good called the "Great Hudson Valley Pedal" put on by Parks and Trails New York.  Does anyone know about this ride or the sponsoring organization?  Or do you know of a ride that would be a good intro to a 15- and 13-year old, probably with sagging and with either camping or indoor nights?

I'd appreciate any help - there are just too many choices out there and ACA trips (which I trust) didn't match our schedule or location needs.

Jonathan
Life Member

[ctbiker]

I did the Great Hudson Valley Pedal (http://www.ptny.org/hudsontour) last year with this organization and rate them highly.  It's definitely "family friendly" with all age groups represented.  It has the whole pedaling gamut, rural country with little traffic, gravel in the 13 mile, skinny Palisades State Park, pedaling across the George Washington Bridge, a few blocks of streets in NYC, the Hudson River Trail along Manhattan's west side to the finish -- memories hard to forget.

Ray in CT
rnkf at comcast dot net
ACA Life member

[jimbeard]

You might want to check the  NYS Erie canal tour.
http://www.ptny.org/canaltour/

[John Nettles]

We are going to try GOBA (bike ride around Ohio) in late June. http://www.goba.com/index.htm

We are taking 3 teens (two 16yo girls & one 15yo boy) as there are a couple of layover days which include an amusement park.  The scenery is not very good supposedly (according to the GOBA forums) and will be very flat.  However, like you, we are trying to get them interested in touring so don't want to make it too tough.

It is a lot cheaper @ $170 for adults & $85 for kids versus $495/$245.  The GHVP does sound like a really nice ride however.

[Peaks]

We haven't done GHVP, but did do Erie Canal, sponsored by Parks and Trails NY.  In addition, we have done Bon Ton Roulet, another ride managed by Al Hastings (In Motion Events).  We give him high marks for a very well run and enjoyable bike tour.

Like others, we did GOBA last summer.  It was enjoyable, but it's a larger tour.  We met several families, mostly from Ohio, that return year after year to do this annual tour.

We have signed up to Bike Virginia this year.  This will be our second Bike Virginia.  We enjoyed our first one also.

There are several great bike tours that are family friendly.  I'd recommend that you consider all of the above.

[klofton11]

There are a lot of good rides near the Hudson. A lot of the cycling companies have some really cool deals where you start out the trip in a New York Luxury Hotel and then they drive you to the beginning of the trail near the Hudson, you camp for seven nights, and then return to the same luxury hotel. It is a good way to get biking in and check out awesome parts of new york. Try googling new york cycling companies to get more informaiton.