Biking is a great way to see the country up close and personal. Except for the interstate highways, you can bike on most roads in the United States. Among the best are the Maine coast, Cape Cod, and the hills of New England (especially Vermont); Virginia's rolling Shenandoah Valley; the combined Skyline Drive and Blue Ridge Parkway in Virginia and North Carolina; the Outer Banks of North Carolina; the dramatic California coast; the Oregon coast; the San Juan Islands near Seattle; and the road circling the Big Island of Hawaii. Biking is an excellent way to see some of the national parks, especially Shenandoah, Yosemite, Yellowstone, Grand Tetons, and Glacier.

An ongoing nationwide program is converting some 50,000 miles of abandoned railroad beds into biking-and-walking paths. For a list, contact the Rails to Trails Conservancy, 1100 17th St. NW, 10th Floor, Washington, DC 20005 (tel. 202/331-9696).

Several companies and organizations offer escorted bike excursions, including Backroads and Backcountry. American Youth Hostels (tel. 202/783-6161) has trips for its members. CROSSROADS Bike Tours (tel. 800/971-2453) offers nationwide excursions, including California to Massachusetts and Maine to Florida.