Touring - Maps

I am in the midst of planning a ride from Raleigh NC to at least Phoenix. I have been looking for maps and everybody points me towards adventure cycling's maps. Ya they look nice but I don't really want to spend nearly a hundred bucks on maps. Is there anywhere else to find good maps for less $? Also, what about just getting state maps and using the back roads on those?

Thanx

I don't know about maps per se in the USA, but if you have a Savvy Traveller in your city or someplace close by, you should pay them a visit. They have good maps for cheaper than Rand McNally. I got my maps there (overseas maps, though), and I was satisfied with what I've gotten so far. They have maps for just about everywhere.

If you can't find one in your neck of the woods, call the one here in Chicago- they are soooooooooo nice and helpful. They can probably help you get what you want from their store or point you in the direction of their website if they have one. Their phone number is 312.913.9800.

Good luck.

Koffee

Not sure if the American government issues 1;250 000 topographical maps, but that is the scale you want. Maybe try the AAA or try and find an atlas in that scale and cut out the maps that you will need. It is also handy to have a state map and a country map to put things into perspective.

:beer:

Try this link:

http://www.delorme.com/topousa/default.asp

Print your own. This will give you Topo maps of the entire US.

Also worth a try is Topozone.com

Adventure Cycling maps are specifically tailored for cyclists. For the level of detail and information they provide, I'd think that $100 for a cross country trip is a good deal. The maps are waterproof and designed to fit in a handlebar bag map window.

If you really want to plan your own route, try getting a copy of TopoUSA from Delorme. You get digital topographic maps with roads. You can plan routes and check the elevation profiles, print copies, etc. TopoUSA runs about $100 so you won't save money unless you use it for more than one trip!

Getting paper topo maps from the government for a cross country route would be prohibitively expensive.

State level road maps will only show the major roads. To get the back roads, you will need to get copies of county level road maps. A better choice would be a street map program like Street Atlas (also from Delorme) for about $40 or so. Cheaper than TopoUSA, has business and other points of interest listings but no topograhic data.

I'd still go with Adventure Cycling maps unless their route is obviously not adequate for you.

I want to echo all said about Adventure Cycling maps!

Actually I found some pretty decent maps at a Barnes and Nobles, or was it Borders, one of them, but the map is like a five state area, unfolds really wide. The detail is pretty good, without the topography, but in some map techniques a twist road generally means it is hilly in that area, although that isn't true for some of the roads I've been on, in the Rockies. What I also did was test out the map with what it reported as highways, and byways, so I knew what to look at for planning a trip using the legend for the roads on the map. The nice thing about that is the over view you get, then you can utilize a small state map for recon. Another source is a used bookstore that might have maps or map books. I picked up a guide for MN rides, and now am trying to connect them for a ride around the state. Another idea I've used is AAA trip planning, it's an older CDROM but it had a trip selection of slow, and average time on road, senic or get there today routes. In looking at the big map I was able to see what cities I want to hit and when then print out a trip plan for that leg. If you are going to do this and want to save space mail the maps for the next legs ahead of you.