People Cycling has four categories for our rides – Easy, Moderate, Difficult, and Challenging. It should be somewhat obvious what these categories mean, but please become familiar with the elevations and distances that define them:
NOTE: This is not a strict guideline. There could be rides that have a day or two where the average elevation or distance exceeds the values given above. These anomalies should be outlined in the ride description. It is recommended that you read it carefully.
People Cycling uses the following guideline when describing the types of roads our riders encounter:
This is just what you think it is, roads that are fully paved with concrete or blacktop. Road conditions will vary from state to state and country to country, but you should expect a mostly smooth route.
Gravel tour are becoming very popular and consist of hard packed dirt and gravel/pebble roads. A mountain bike is not required, but you should have tires that are wide and can handle the surface conditions.
Dirt Trails will require a mountain bike that can handle rough conditions and geared for the hills. The trails will be mountain bike trails, forest service roads and the like. Some tours may have paved surfaces to get from trail to trail, but you will want a good set of knobby tires.
Rails to Trail routes will follow along groomed surfaces such as crushed compact limestone. Examples are the C&O Canal, the Katy Trail, and the Great Allegheny Passage. Most road bikes can manage well on this surface type.
People Cycling is a bicycle touring club, which you can join for free. We offer Domestic and International Cycling Tours which are led by volunteer Ride Leaders. Our tours are made up of a small group of participants (typically 15-20 or so) who want to ride an average of 30 to 55 miles a day over a one or two week period in interesting regions of the world. Our tours range in price from frugal getaways to luxurious adventures. We travel road, gravel, or mountain bike styles, and all bicycle types – including e-bikes, recumbents, and tandems are typically allowed.
Our ride leaders are volunteers and do not financially profit on tours they lead. They are also given broad discretion on how to lead their tours, and we consider them our greatest asset.
People Cycling tours are operated at cost or at lower cost (as negotiated by our ride leaders) than individuals can obtain on commercial tours. Within the cost of a tour, there is a nominal fee to support club operations and provide tools to ride leaders to manage their rides.
What are you waiting for? Join today to see what bicycle adventure awaits you in our club.
A lifetime membership in People Cycling is absolutely FREE, so please join us and become one of us – we the people, cycling together.