Bike Spotting in the Whites

[roadtripper]

As I was waiting for my friend to ride a bike back from the Bridal Path trailhead to the Lincoln Woods trailhead yesterday (where our car was parked), I was wondering what other peaks or combinations of peaks in the Whites are fun to combine with an easy bike-spot. I was trying to think of some that would involve a mostly downhill ride either up-front, or at the end of the actual hiking.

Marty (from VFTT) and I did this to combine the Twins & Galehead once, and it was awesome. I've also combined Mt. Monroe and Mt. Eisenhower with a bike spot that wasn't too bad either.

Has anybody else done this sort of thing? If so, which mountains?

 

[sapblatt]

Greg -
Have not done it, but have thought about it with:
Pine Link and Appalachia
Caps and Castles (Bowman lot)
Imp Trails and 19 Mile Brook

Any of these would create some nice point to point hikes without any backtracking.

 

[marchowes]

Moriah - Wildcat traverse

best bike spot I have ever done (its a tough hike tho -- were talking 8500+ vertical)

All downhill from pink\ham notch to Gorham except a little bit by the start of the Mt Washington Auto rd. sure its 10-15 miles but they go by fast when you are cruising downhill

 

[Fisher Cat]

Where I grew up at the Jefferson end of Valley Road, we used to bike down Valley Road then go up Jefferson Notch Road and hike up Caps Ridge Trail to Mt.Jefferson. I'm not sure the mileage but coming home was a blast going downhill. If you do it at the right time of year you don't have to many cars to dodge either. We did it once from the Bretton Woods side but it wasn't as much fun. There was more traffic too, as drivers that seemed a little unfamiliar with the road ventured up a ways and would then turn around.

 

[blacknblue]

*Baldfaces/Royce traverse, spotting a bike at Evans Notch.
*Osceolas, biking from Tripoli Road to Livermore Road
*Any combo of trails that begin on Rt. 16 and wind up at Pinkham Notch
*Any combo of trails along the Kanc (Pine Bend Brook, Sabbaday, etc.)
*Couple of options along Route 2 in the northern Prezzies (up from Lowe's; return to Appalachia)

Probably a lot more, but those are ones from the top of my head.

 

[Mike P.]

I did my first two last year, one in the Catskills on Devil's Path & one in MA on the AT riding from Race Brook to the Rt. 7 crossing where there is no car parking but the bike was easy to park & lock.

Had planned a couple of trips in the Whites this year but didn't pan out (or it did & I did not go solo)

Any Franconia Trip, I was going to ride from Skookumchuck to one of the southern lots.

galehead-garfield
Cannon, Kinsmans
Hale using both Zealand Trail & Hale brook
Any Southern Presi- Combo riding the Mt. Clinton Road.
Osceola Traverse
From Kanc a combination of Tri's & Whiteface & Passaconaway
Carters - ride down from the high spot

To count for the FTFC your ride can only be from one trailhead to another so riding Lincoln Woods Trail or Livermore Road will negate the trip for the committee. (still enjoyable though)

 

[Pig Pen]

Isolation is a good one. Leave a bike at the bottom of the Glen Boulder Trail then hike up Rocky Branch to Isolation and go out Glen Boulder. You could also go all the way to Pinkham via Boot Spur or something. It's fun ride back down to the Rocky Branch Trailhead.

 

[wardsgirl]

Willey, Field and Tom- it's a good idea to check the brakes first though.

 

[rocksnrolls]

Willey, Field and Tom- it's a good idea to check the brakes first though.

Yeah, pretty steep bike ride south out of the notch. I did that last year, in November (or was it October?) to hike Ethan Pond Tr to the AZ to bag Tom. Rode my breaks almost all the way down from the Webster Jackson TH. So cold I had to keep switching which eye I had open to keep 'em from freezing

I also used my bike on the northern end of the Carter-Moriah range. Parked at Imp, cruised down to the Stoney Brook TH and hiked Moriah, North and Middle Carter. Took more peddling on this ride as it's not near as steep.

By the way, I like to do the bike ride at the start of the trip. Partly due to worrying about the bike getting stolen or damaged (any bicycle riding bears in the Whites?) during my hike, partly because I just want to hop into my car at the end of the day.

 

[blacknblue]

By the way, I like to do the bike ride at the start of the trip. Partly due to worrying about the bike getting stolen or damaged (any bicycle riding bears in the Whites?) during my hike, partly because I just want to hop into my car at the end of the day.

Very much agreed. I just want to plop in the car when I'm done, not gear up for a bike ride, even if it is mostly downhill. It's rather annoying to bike to your car in the rain, or if you got yourself hurt during the hike. I also try to park at the higher spot, then bike to the lower spot, then hike, but it doesn't always work out that way.
Biking first is also a nice way to warm up the legs without impact.

 

[snoshoovt]

Hike Bike loops

Some of my NH favorites are:
1. Leave Bike at Jefferson Notch, hike up any of the several routes from Appalachia, or from the cog base up Ammo or Jewell, either way it's a hoot riding down.
2. Leave bike at 13 mile brook, hike up via AT from Rt 2 over Moriah and northern Carters.
3. Not a 1-day, for me at least, but every year I leave bike in bsmt of Highland Center, do presi traverse, and bike back next day over Jefferson Notch, not nearly as bad as it might seem and a delightful ride.
Jefferson Notch, suggest fat tires only, esp. the first mile to north of notch.
If you're ever looking to do pieces of the Long Trail in VT, most of it can be done via hike-bike with a bit of research, typically 10-15 mile hikes and 15-20 mile bike returns, leaving bike at a high point.
Go for it.
-John

 

[roadtripper]

Excellent suggestions everyone - Thanks!

 

[Hillwalker]

Some of mine

Hide Bike: Kinsman Notch....Hike in Gordon Pond trail to AT to K Notch. Ride back to car parked at Govoni's Italian.

Hide Bike: Jefferson Notch....Hike entire Davis Path across the Camels, over to Jefferson and down via Jeff Notch rd, Clinton Rd, Rte 302. That was done in August and was my most ardous, since there was very little water on the route. I skipped the Rockpile as I often do.

Lock Bike: at Nawford's Crotch and start hiking at AT crossing at 302 over Willy, Field, Tom and back to bike.

Lock Bike: at Pinkham and start at Appalachia, up Airline bagging Madison, down Osgood to the Parapet and around to Hut and up Adams and rest of summits except the Rock Pile, down Tucks to Pinkham and bike back to car over Dolly Copp.

Hide Bike: at Skookumchuck and start at Bridle Path, or Liberty, or Lincoln Woods. Done all of these.

Lock Bike: at Nauford's and start at the AT crossing on 302, AT northbound to Mizpah and back out to Nawford's.

This summer I started locking my bike up to the porch at the restrooms by the Crawford Station visitor info building.
I always ride out in my Limmers and pack, looking somewhat strange I'm sure as I bomb down the Notch.

I started doing these types of bike/hikes around 1983. Had one bike stolen out of Jeff's Notch, but otherwise no problems. Nowadays since I am almost 68, my hike/bikes are much shorter. Like the Willy, Field, Tom trip a couple of weeks ago.

 

[John Satterlee]

There were a couple of guys who planted a bike and then hiked sections of the AT in Connecticut. There might still be something written in the old CT (or Mass?) VFTT "trail conditions" section though a lot of the posts got lost a few years ago.