Great (under the radar) villages/towns for cycling expeditions?

[572cv]

Rural France. I hope all paceliners get a chance at one point or another to ride in the rural south of France. Look for areas that have webs of small roads, the white roads on the Michelin maps. Then find a gite or apartment or house rental, set a base there and ride the area. It can be enchanting. Spring and Fall are great times to go. Fewer tourists, but generally wonderful riding weather. The areas we have been: Northwest of Nice, Cap Corse, Annecy, Vercour, Bonnieux, Ville Neuve d’Avignon, St Chinian, Minerve, Pyrenees Orientale, Mauvezin (centra Pyrenees) , Cordes sur Ciel, St Cyr la Popie, and our current locale, just north of the Dordogne river in the Correze. Among others. I’d recommend any of these areas as having some great riding. And the experience of riding on French roads is amazing, in that you can sense the respect of drivers, and the care they take in passing you. In my area, the riding is up, down with lots of variety, except along the flattish but lovely river sides, like the Dordogne and the Vezere. Great views, and a town with a cafe or food every ten Km or so. From a cyclist perspective, very civilized.
In Vermont, I recommend the Champlain valley almost anywhere once you get outside of Burlington. The islands are fine, if flattish. The climbing into the spine of the Green Mountains is near. Addison County is a joy.
If anyone wants any particular recommendations on my current area of France, not far from Brive-La-Gaillarde, feel free to PM.

[bikinchris]

It's flat, but my wife and I used Haarlem, Netherlands as a base for day trips and overnight trips to places like Hoorn, Alkmaar, Nijmegen (partly by train), Edam, Volendam and a few other places I can't think of.

[PaMtbRider]

Another vote for Cooperstown. We've stayed at the Inn and they are very accommodating.

It's close to home, so I am partial to it but Gettysburg, Pa. has some fantastic rural farm land riding.

[CNY rider]

Plug for the home team:
We really do have spectacular riding here. I’m happy to show it to you.
Any and all can come join us for a 3 day weekend in October.

https://forums.thepaceline.net/showthread.php?t=235003

[weisan]

There are many great places to be had...as long as we don't throw our weight around and behave like spoiled and pampered tourists that demand 5-star accommodation, immediate assistance, personal service, and money back guarantee or full refund.

[572cv]

Originally Posted by weisan

There are many great places to be had...as long as we don't throw our weight around and behave like spoiled and pampered tourists that demand 5-star accommodation, immediate assistance, personal service, and money back guarantee or full refund.

A completely appropriate grace note. Every society has its own ‘rules’ for social interaction. Being polite and thoughtful gets you a long way towards a happy trip.

[OtayBW]

Originally Posted by 572cv

A completely appropriate grace note. Every society has its own ‘rules’ for social interaction. Being polite and thoughtful gets you a long way towards a happy trip.

Grace note or admonition, I'd like to think that this is just normal behavior for most of us.....

[Clancy]

Originally Posted by Look585

Bolgheri / Castagneto Carducci (Tuscany) is the place I would choose if I had to commit to one cycling destination for the rest of my life.

I’ll second this. Been twice and it’s so beautiful it’s overwhelming. The difference in the attitudes of drivers is always on display.

In the fall, winter, and early spring, the Texas Hill Country (Kerrville, Fredericksburg, Llano, Comfort) offers endless miles of country roads with little traffic, very scenic and the weather is often ideal. Plenty of B&B’s. Great cycling destination for those wanting to escape the winters up north.

Just don’t go in the summer

[oldpotatoe]

Originally Posted by XXtwindad

My idea of a dream trip is to operate out of a city and take day trips. There are some well known ones (La Chambre, Girona, and Campan for example) but I'd like to hear about some lesser known gems from Forum members.

Here's some of mine:

Fort William Scotland (I've done that)
Triora, Italy (at the top of the list)
Middlebury, Vermont
Winthrop, Washington
Asheville, NC

Others?

Lavorno, Italy..ride to Pisa..
Bari, Italy..ride south along coast toward Brindisi
Brindisi, Italy..ride north along coast towards Bari..
Palermo, Sicily

[gomango]

Mineral Point/New Glarus in the driftless area of Wisconsin.

Just returned and we had a blast.

https://www.mineralpoint.com/

https://www.swisstown.com/

[biker72]

Bentonville Arkansas.

[marciero]

Originally Posted by joosttx

I have several but I’m not telling.

Ha! Practicing responsible geotagging??

[merlinmurph]

Santa Rosa/Calistoga

Not sure this is under the radar...
We stayed in a campground in Calistoga for a week and the riding options were some of the best I saw when we circled around the US. I follow a friend on Strava from Santa Rosa and get exhausted just looking at his rides. Mountains, coast, valleys, gravel, scenery.

[BobC]

Surprised no one has mentioned Charlottesville. It has to rank up there.

Personally, Winston Salem. Fantastic riding, Foothills Brewpub downtown & everyone (motorists too!) is super friendly on the road.

[Elefantino]

Anywhere in the Dolomites. Beautiful. Challenging.