5 Reasons to go on Spring Bike Tours
As the trees begin to bud and wildflowers bloom, a nice spring bike tour after a seemingly endless winter is just what the doctor ordered, right? The benefits to an active cycling vacation in the spring are numerous. Each of our spring tours offer great temperatures, beautiful flora, amazing birding and wildlife viewing, plenty of sunshine, and the perfect pick-me-up from the winter blues.
Temperature
Like Goldilocks and the bear’s porridge, spring bike tours offer temperatures that are just right. Not too hot, and not too cold. Usually in the spring, the days start off slightly cooler and then warm up quickly with the sun.
We’ve made sure to pick the best season for each tour based on the average climate of the region. Spring offers the opportunity to visit locations closer to the equator, where the heat gets to be a little too much in the height of summer.
Usually prohibitively humid in summer, Mississippi is a great early spring destination for biking. Our Natchez Trace Parkway bike tour takes advantage of the mild temperatures of March and April to explore the historically significant landscape. Starting in the city of Natchez, you’ll experience southern culture without the deep south heat.
Guide Tip: Always great to dress in layers as spring mornings may be cool. If you are warm before you start riding, you will be overdressed for riding. – Gary Smith, Wilderness Voyageurs Bike Guide
Finally Some Sunshine!
For many people, winter can seem a little gloomy so an early spring escape to a sunnier destination is nearly a necessity. A spring bike tour has plenty of opportunity to soak up all the sunshine you’ve missed for so many months. This helps boost mood and motivation by helping your body produce Vitamin-D! What a great way to start your cycling season.
And what destination is famous for its sunshine? The Sunshine State, of course! Our St. Augustine bike tour in Florida is a great way to soak up the sun while visiting historic sites and hanging out at the beach. Pack up your bathing suit and sun hat to join us on Florida’s Historic Coast.
Physical Activity = Better Mood
In addition to the Vitamin-D boost from sunshine, getting active is a great way to shake the winter blues. The more you get that heart pumping, the better you’ll feel. You will be well on your way to crush your cycling goals for the year with a spring bike tour.
Our Shenandoah bike tour has the highest difficulty rating of any of our spring bike tours, rated at a 4 out of 5. Cycling is a huge focus of the trip, and you’ll log up to 50 miles a day. The riding isn’t the only breathtaking part of the tour as you bike along the famous Skyline Drive, through valleys, and up winding mountain passes.
By far the most exhilarating ride of the trip is on the fifth day. We ride 52 miles from Shepherdstown, West Virginia to Taneytown, Maryland. The first part of a ride is a short climb out of the Potomac River Valley to ride on the mountains’ ridge with sweeping views. The views are made even better with the nearly bare trees of spring. Finishing the ride is a fast and fun descent into one of the valleys you could see from above.
Guide Tip: A few things that make the spring Shenandoah bike tour awesome are the views of the valley along with the butter smooth roads and limited traffic. There are also plenty of pull outs to rest if needed and enjoy the scenery and for the SAG to support. – Mark Piccone, Wilderness Voyageurs Bike Guide and Manager
Vibrant Colors
April showers bring May flowers. We all know that shockingly beautiful shade of green as trees begin to leaf. If you don’t get out to explore, you might just miss the true beauty of spring. Many of our spring routes burst with wildflowers of all colors.
In particular, our C&O Canal Towpath bike tour immerses riders into the spring beauty. The tunnel of trees show off their vibrant green as you ride the rail-trail. Over 600 species of native wildflowers can be spotted along the trail, some of which are listed as threatened or endangered in Maryland. You can hop off the bike to snap pictures, but please do not disturb these fragile flowers.
The bright pink and white blooms of redbuds and flowering dogwoods contrast the emerging hickory, maple and oak buds on the Natchez Trace Parkway. The trees aren’t the only thing of beauty on our Natchez Trace bike tour. Cypress Swamps we visit on tour provide the perfect conditions for wetland wildflowers. Many of Mississippi’s colorful native plants, like the yellow trout lily, provide nectar for butterflies and hummingbirds.
Great Birding and Wildlife Viewing
Do you like hopping off your bike every so often to grab your binoculars? Spring bike tours have many opportunities to spot birds and other wildlife. With the tree canopy not quite filled in yet and the spring migration of songbirds, you are destined to add a new species to your list.
Guide Tip: Spring warblers are much easier to identify than confusing fall warblers! I think more vocal too! – Gary Smith,
On our Chesapeake Bay bike tour, we spend a day cycling through the Blackwater National Wildlife Refuge. The refuge has been referred to as the “Everglades of the North.” It has one of the largest Bald Eagle nesting colonies in the country. Over 250 species of shorebirds, waterfowl and other birds live within the wildlife area as well. We get to cycle through the refuge and experience its natural beauty like few others have.
We also visit multiple protected wildlife areas on our popular Georgia Gold Coast bike tour. Harris Neck National Wildlife refuge boasts nearly 240 species of breeding and wintering birds, more than 20 species of mammals, and an undetermined number of reptiles, amphibians, and fish. If you keep a look out while riding through the refuge, you could spot an otter, gray fox or even a bobcat.
Learn more about the birds of Georgia’s Gold Coast.
Give yourself a little something to look forward to as winter comes to a close with a spring bike tour. The “doctor” said so after all, right? Not only will you feel great, you’ll have an experience of a lifetime as you take in the beauty of spring.
Wilderness Voyageurs operates fully supported, inn-to-inn bicycle tours across the United States. We offer more rail-trail tours and biking destinations than any other U.S. based bike tour company.