The 6 day bike ride was a wonderful and fortunately went according to plan. No accidents (except for one minor spill) and no mechanical issues. You should be prepared since bike shops are not abundant in these small towns we travel through.
The bike traffic was light with some occasional self supported riders encountered during the ride. With the ride conditions so good and the difficulty low I'm surprised that we didn't encounter some commercial operations during the ride (Trek Travel, Backroads, Intrepid, Butterfield and Robinson).
Trip Arrangements:
If we had the trip to do again, I don't think that we would have changed anything. Mike had planned the accommodations, I routed the trip and Colleen drove the support vehicle. We were responsible for making our own travel arrangements and hotel reservations at the locations that Mike had planned. Chris and me flew into Buffalo while Mike and Colleen plus Keith and Melinda drove from the Midwest.
For shared expenses such as gas and picnic food we used an app called SplitWise which made the calculation of shared expenses such as support vehicle gas and picnic supplies very easy.
Support Vehicle:
We were very fortunate that Keith and Melinda offered their SUV as a support vehicle and that Colleen volunteered to drive it each day. Had Colleen not driven it, we would have taken turns each day driving it. Each morning we would load our bags, ice chest and picnic supplies into it and be on our way by 8:30 or so. One day with morning showers, we delayed our start by about and hour or so to allow the rain clouds to pass.
Bike Shipping:
You can ship your bike via your plane flight or via a shipping service. I shipped my bike via Bikeflights. Bikeflights makes arrangements with UPS to ship your bike. They make it pretty convenient. Using their website you enter the box size, weight, starting destination and final location. You print out the shipping label and pay them with your credit card. The cost with tax was $152. The recommenced shipping time was 7 days though my bike was in Buffalo within 5 days. I had them deliver the bike to the hotel where I was staying in Buffalo. I also call the hotel to make sure that they would accept it. I've done this numerous times previously and have been successful every time.
Bike Packing:
There are various shipping containers that can be used for shipping your bike including; hardshell bike cases, soft sided bike travel bags, and cardboard boxes. I have almost always used cardboard bike boxes. I get them for free at the local bike shop and they fold up compactly in your support vehicle. If necessary, you can find a bike shop at your final destination and repeat the process to ship the bike home.
To pack your bike, you can have a bike shop do it for you, or you can do it yourself in less that 45 minutes. I have set of printed instructions on how to do it or Bikeflights also has a set of instructions as well.
Recommended Bikes:
Almost any multi-speed bike will work for the ride. We were often be on hardpacked gravel paths as well as asphalt paths and roads. The newer style gravel bikes would be ideal, but I used my trusty road bike with skinny 23cm tires with no issues. Keith had a more substantial touring bike with fenders that proved useful on the single day that rained and we had puddles on the hard packed paths. Melinda brought her electric bike that using the lower power setting allowed her to do each day without running out of juice.
I also gotta say that we weren't trying to set any speed records and took morning coffee breaks, lunch stops and when we could find them, afternoon ice cream stops.
Awesome Brian - looks like fun.
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