Chuck's Bicycling Home Page

On the old highway maps of America, the main routes were red and the back roads blue. Now even the colors are changing. But in those brevities just before dawn and a little after dusk -- times neither day nor night -- the old roads return to the sky some of its color. Then, in truth, they carry a mysterious cast of blue, and it's that time when the pull of the blue highway is strongest, when the open road is a beckoning, a strangeness, a place where a man can lose himself.

William Least Heat-Moon, Blue Highways

Welcome from North Carolina!

I'm Chuck Tharp, and this is my Bicycle Touring Web Page. Here I have deposited trip reports from the 24 summers of bike touring that I have done. As you can see from the picture of my great-great uncle, bicycling is in my genes. As of 2005, I have toured a total (by my best guesstimate) 29,652 miles. This includes all my overnight bike trips over 24 years.

My great-great uncle Mort Stuart, in 1886

Map of all my bike trips (This year's trip in green)

I have toured by bicycle each summer since 1980, so there are lots of opportunities for pages! My first overnight bicycle trip, which I took in 1974, wasn't really a bike trip, but it was an overnight trip by bicycle. So why not include it here? Here are ride descriptions of all the trips I've been on:

1974 - Frankfort, KY to Oxford, OH

1980 - Indianapolis, IN to Palm Beach, FL to Toronto, ON

1981 - Connecticut and Pennsylvania

1982 - Boston, MA to Gilbertsville, NY via the Adirondacks

1983 - Boston, MA to Watertown, NY via the Connecticut River

1984 - American Mid-Atlantic (MD, WV, VA)

1985 - Indianapolis, IN to Ebensburg, PA

1986 - Seattle, WA to Oakland, CA via the Cascades

1987 - Bikecentennial's TransAmerica Trail

1988 - American Midwest (IL, IN, IA)

1989 - Colorado Springs, CO to Indianapolis, IN

1990 - Colorado Springs, CO to Lincoln, NE

1991 - Lincoln, NE to Aurora, IL

1992 - Chapel Hill, NC to Oxford, OH to Tyrone, PA

1993 - Whitefish, MT to Fargo, ND

1994 - Wolf Point, MT to Minneapolis/St. Paul, MN

1995 - Minneapolis/St. Paul, MN to Indianapolis, IN

1996 - Seattle, WA to Whitefish, MT

1997 - RAGBRAI XXV

1998 - Amtrak Adventures and Southern Plains

1999 - Southern Exposure, Cycle North Carolina, and still more Great Plains

2000 - American Midwest, Oregon, and Cycle North Carolina 2000

2001 - Two sections of the Northern Tier Route

2002 - Touring the Western Isles and Highlands of Scotland, and Cycle North Carolina 2002

2003 - Possibly a year off? Say it ain't so!

2005 - Back in the saddle again!

Others - Pictures that don't really fit under other trip descriptions

Future Trip Plans

I have created a page with my touring equipment. This is what works for me; Your Mileage May Vary.

I also recently created a page with an overview of how I plan for my trips.

In addition, I have created a photo gallery of some of the best pictures from my trips, including a page dedicated to the people that I have met along the way.

While you're waiting for my page updates, why not browse the tour reports of some cyber-friends of mine. Ray Poore, whom I met while he was riding across the USA in 1997, Minko Oh, whom I met while touring the Pacific Northwest in 1996, and Mark Boyd, with whom I've traded much cycling info.

Or you could check in with my bike club, the Carolina Tarwheels.

Other notable pages:

Adventure Cycling, THE premier bicycle touring organization in the United States;
League of American Bicyclists, an organization dedicated to insuring safe and pleasurable riding on our roads;
Steve Ciccarelli's Web Page Ride Reports, a repository for ride reports gleaned from various lists and groups;
The Warm Showers List, a reciprocal list of those cyclists offering a warm, dry place to stay. Courtesy of Roger Gravel.
cycling.org, a depository of all things cycling.
Chainguard, a cycling advocacy group
Ken Kifer's Bike Pages, bike touring and bike advocacy

Comments? Suggestions? Let me know...


My great-great uncle Mort Stuart, in 1886	Map of all my bike trips (This year's trip in green)