Off of I70 near Grand Junction, CO is Kokopelli Trail and trails around Fruita like Lunch Loop and Book Cliff. Stop in Over the Edge Sports in Fruita. They can give you some good info and coffee.

Also, if you are headed from Las Vegas to I70, Brian Head in UT has some great high altitude trails. I did a 5 day trip there with Western Spirit. I believe there is plenty of opportunity for day rides there.

If you are going to Nashville, you might as well go on to Asheville. Tsali and Pisgah have great riding. Liberty Bikes is the local shop that can help you out.

If you are taking I-70 through Kansas the Switchgrass Trail is a good one. Everyone assumes that Kansas is flat and boring but this trail proves that is false. It is a fun trail that is around 21 miles in total but very easy to shorten the ride if you want. If nothing less, it is a great way to break up the drive through Kansas.

https://www.imba.com/epics/switchgrass-trail

If you take I-68, Coopers Rock in WV has many miles of nice trails. There are also several state parks in western MD with a variety of trails, especially in the Deep Creek area.

Seconding this. It's also known as the "wilson lake trail" since it resides in wilson lake state park. It's quite easy to get through from I-70, just an exit and a few miles down the road when you'll see the entrance to the park. Everything is very well labeled, and trail maps are at every big intersection so you can find your way around pretty easily.

It's seriously an anomaly for such an awesome trail system to be in Kansas, especially western Kansas for that matter.

The Black Hills in south Dakota doesn't get a lot of press, but it's some of the best riding in the country, especially if like having a trail all to yourself. Don't go during the Sturgis rally, though, which lasts through mid August.

Depending on how far north your trip takes you, definitely try and hit the Kingdom Trails in northern VT.
Totally awesome trail network that will leave you with a huge smile.
http://kingdomtrails.org/

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http://www.instagram.com/cyclewise

If you come through Missouri, try Two Rivers Mountain Bike Park in Springfield. It's a hidden gem in the Ozark foothills with smooth, flowing trails and optional terrain features that make it great for everyone from the newest rider to veterans.

http://trailspring.org

Caveat emptor: we've had a lot of rain this summer and the trails might be damaged from flooding

Tahoe, Moab, Fruita, Winter Park, Crested Butte, Curt Gowdy State Park

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Formerly DrD

+1 An abundance of free camping and relatively cool temps. REALLY dig this area.

• would consider Hurricane/St George UT - unless you're coming through in June through August, it's just too damn hot for me
• Crested Butte, Colorado - stop in Salida and ride Monarch Crest
• Summit, Eagle & Grand Counties in Colorado
• Grand Junction/Fruita Colorado & Moab, UT - too damn hot in the middle of the summer
• Durango, Co

I'll stop here...

have fun

Bend, OR. But if live in northern CA, skip it and ride it later.

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"Most of my heroes don't appear on no stamps"
Blog = http://extrememomentum.com|Photos = http://wheelgoodphotos.com

Consider heading north, way north to Michigan’s UpperPeninsula. Cool weather with two IMBA RideCenters:

http://www.noquetrails.org/singletrack-trails

http://www.copperharbortrails.org/trails

Thanks to everyone for the great suggestions, these are definitely going to get utilized. It looks like I'll have my road bike with me so I may mix in some mountain rides as well.

Again, thanks for the help.

Fruita, CO and Copper Harbor, MI.

If your path takes you along I70 thru Indianapolis you must head to Brown County State Park (IMBA epic rated) about 45 minutes south of Indy. Classic flowing single track and fanstastic road biking too!

If your path goes way North... I'll second the mentions above - Copper Harbor Michigan is Brilliant. This may sound like blasphemy, but pay for the van shuttle service at copper harbor and you'll have the time of your life doing downhills all day long! Save Cardio training for other destinations. Copper Harbor is best experienced with a shuttle! (You can ride Copper Harbor trails uphill, but the downhills are so good / so fun it's best to spend your time going down)

I just did a trip to North Carolina and we stopped in Knoxville on the way and did a little trail system called the "Sky Line" I think - super cool too. Most everything is good in North Carolina...

I will speak for only Colorado. If your looking for nothing south of Denver, hit Fruita and/or the Grand Junction area (Moab will be too hot). Eagle has some pretty cool riding and/or do some lift assisted at Keystone or Winter Park (a bit off I70).

Road rides? The National Monument outside of Grand Junction near Fruita is the most underrated ride in the state. Loveland pass from the Keystone side, to make it longer begin the ride in Breckenridge. If you don't want to risk the road, start at Copper Mountain and head over Vail Pass on the paved trail.

If you are willing to get off the beaten path a bit you can always hit Aspen and take your road bike up Independence Pass, a Colorado classic. If he is in town you may see Lance on the way up or down.

Or for mountain biking, take a 3 hour detour off I70 and come over to my neck of the woods for what I deem to be the best mountain biking in the world, my hometown of Crested Butte. Take a couple days and hit 401 and Doctors Park. If you love mountain biking you will not regret the detour.

Thanks (kind of) for the Switchgrass suggestion. I've ridden a fair number of trails and found this one to be one of the more difficult. It could have been the heat, or long week of driving/riding, but this trail beat me up. Honestly, when I was driving in, it looked so unassuming I thought that I might get through it twice...ah the joke was on me. My first clue should be have been the fact that it was completely deserted. I literally had then entire trail to myself.

Pictures do no justice.

Can we expect a full trip report with pics? :)

Switchgrass is a very unassuming trail. There are no big climbs but there are a lot of short ones. It's almost like a death of a thousand cuts! And hot days are made more difficult by the complete lack of shade. Good luck with the rest of your trip!

Here you go...

Thanks to those that contributed ideas for me to stretch out the legs on my 3,200 mile cross-country journey. Sandwiched in between long stints of driving was some tremendous riding, both mountain and road.

Though there was certainly a fair amount of research and planning, the timing was somewhat unpredictible and I didn't always have as much time as I'd have liked to explore certain areas (Colorado). With that said, it was a great trip and something that I'd certainly recommend to anyone that can find a week to pack up the car with a couple of bikes.

Favorites: Park City & Lake Tahoe

On a relative scale, every stop was excellent, but these two stood out as my favorite. Riding through the Aspen groves of Park City was even better than I'd read about and, of course, Lake Tahoe is excepional on many fronts. The ride along the Rim and Flume trails was probably the best of the bunch. Just under 24 miles of world-class riding.

Others: Dupont (Asheville), Switchgrass (Kansas), & Breckenridge
These were all great in their own right and would be a stellar destination for any trip. The Ridgeline trail in Dupont packs more smiles into a short single track trail than I've ever had before. Seriously, it was a blast. A short drive away has you riding on exposed granite which is a unique experience in its own right.

Switchgrass was a beast and definitely exposes any lack of fitness or technical skills in navigating tricky rock sections.

I hit some bad weather in Colorado and made a quick stop in Breck to try and salvage the day. Unfortunately, I didn't have much of a plan and just started exploring. It was a decent time, but I really wish that I could have made it to Crested Butte.

I managed to squeeze in two road rides, the Blue Ridge Parkway and part of Evans Pass in Colorado. The BRP was excellent and providied a solid climbing test. The winds on Evans Pass were trecherous, blowing me back into traffic so I decided to bag the ride instead of risking it. That's when I headed into Breck with the mountain bike. Again, I wish I would have had more time in CO.

I also made it a point to visit coffee shops along the way. I highly recommend...Waking Life Espresso (Asheville), Flow (Knoxville), Barista Parlor (Nashville), Pipers (Paducah, KY), Blueprint (St Louis), Oddly Correct (Kansas City), Lula Rose (Denver), Hub (Reno), and Blue Copper (Salt Lake City).

Blue Ridge Parkway
http://i57.tinypic.com/20ixsmt.jpg

Dupont
http://i59.tinypic.com/sw3dvp.jpg
http://i61.tinypic.com/2qtx0yp.jpg

Mt Evans
http://i57.tinypic.com/2dul73n.jpg

Breckenridge
http://i61.tinypic.com/2h745xk.jpg

Park City
http://i62.tinypic.com/1zc0f2c.jpg

Switchgrass (Kansas)
http://i60.tinypic.com/21l66nk.jpg

I did a similar trip many years ago and hit Durango, Santa Fe, Julian California, Tahoe, Moab, and Aspen. There are so many great places to ride. Enjoy it.

I know you said nothing south of Denver but you should really do Monarch Crest. Just an amazing run.