Touring - Alabama?

Anybody done much touring in Alabama? Just wondering about your routes, etc...

thanks,

monkd

not yet. this site has some good info.

http://www.kenkifer.com/bikepages/touring/northala.htm

Unfortunatley, Ken was killed on his bike by a drunk driver.

I have a route I may try soon as I am just building up to this distance. I have done a couple of sections so far. I have section hiked some of the AT so I guess this is section biking...LOL

http://www.routeslip.com/routes/23396

the Paint Rock Vally and up around Skyline look interesting. In fact this area of Al and Tn is fairly remote and it looks like any number of routes would be doable. But it is pretty hilly.

This looks like a good ride and when completed it will go all the way to Atlanta via the silver commet trail. No traffic to worry about.

http://epic.jsu.edu/clt/

The rest of the state probably has some good riding oppertunities but I am not familiar with those areas.

http://home.hiwaay.net/~slone/DirPaintRock.html

I just found this site. Some hundred mile rides but you could actually join some of the routes for a longer ride/tour. Look at the other routes he has. I see one that goes by my house. Might stick a sign up in the yard and tell Mark to stop in and say hello.

This looks like a good ride and when completed it will go all the way to Atlanta via the silver commet trail. No traffic to worry about.

http://epic.jsu.edu/clt/


I ride this rail trail almost daily. There are no patrols but an active group of cyclists have formed a Trail Watch and report crimes and activities that should not be happening on the trail. Before Trail Watch was formed and became active it was common to see Mopeds, 4-wheelers, and motorcycles on the CLT. Also be aware that any real laws except in the city limits of Weaver, Jacksonville, and Piedmont Alabama do not back the posted rules. As a Sheriffs deputy told me there just nice rules for nice people and may be ignored by people who are not nice so when your in the county areas between the cities expect to see all sorts of things going on contrary to the posted rules and the Sheriff could care less about it. That being said since Trail Watch became active the CLT has become safe as far as use goes. No work has been done to the asphalt surface and wood bridges and both present severe tire damage to bicycles on the older sections. The college bicycle club no longer rides the CLT due to this problem. If you're on a bike with puncture resistant tires like those used on mountain bikes you'll be ok when riding over the pavement bucked up by tree roots running underneath. The wood bridges have screws and nails with some of them sticking up out of the boards and will rip any sort of tire to pieces. I always carry my bike over the wood planking and watch my step as well. It's been rumored that paving has started on the Cleburne County section of the CLT but until I ride on asphalt in Cleburne County I would not believe that. They’ve been telling us that story for 10 years now. You can bypass the unpaved section in Cleburne County via Old Borden road/highway 94, Highway 70, and Highway 49. Ignore the bridge out signs on Old Borden road as you can easily cross that bridge and removes almost all traffic making that road very nice and you avoid the extreme climb on Highway 70. You'll still have one moderate climb on 70 just before entering Borden Springs and another tough one on Highway 49 about 5 miles from the Silver Comet trailhead.