Touring - southern tier route maps, advice - newbie in touring

hi guys,

Currently I am in Orlando,FL - USA preparing to hit the road within 2 weeks. it was my dream to cycle in US, Central and South America. i am planning to use the ACA's Southern Tier Route to cross the country. As far as i understand these maps have most of the info about camping places and shops etc which will really help me to plan and see what's ahead.

I would be really grateful if there is anyone out there to sell used maps of this route.

I am open for any tips, advice or friends to pedal together some part of the route.

Depending on my performance and weather conditions i will cross Mexico from Texas or California.

love & peace

The guides from ACA are great and highly recommended. Here's a GoogleMaps of the Southern Tier (http://www.ziligy.com/googleMaps/displayGPX.html?gpx=SouthernTier.gpx) that I did. If you want my GPX you can get it here (http://www.ziligy.com/googleMaps/gpx/SouthernTier.gpx). Enjoy your tour.

Welcome to BF. Good luck on your tour.

I searched Craigslist and cgoab (https://www.crazyguyonabike.com/?o=5O) for ST maps. Nothing. Probably have to buy new from ACA. Or wing it like you'll have to do in Mexico. Google maps makes that pretty easy.

ACA maps are a great resource, especially for a non-native. Full of useful/interesting info. Might save you their cost by pointing out free camping spots. I find it all too fiddly, but that's just me.

The guides from ACA are great and highly recommended. Here's a GoogleMaps of the Southern Tier (http://www.ziligy.com/googleMaps/displayGPX.html?gpx=SouthernTier.gpx) that I did. If you want my GPX you can get it here (http://www.ziligy.com/googleMaps/gpx/SouthernTier.gpx). Enjoy your tour.

Nice touch BigAura.

Help me out here. If I wanted to load that GPX into a gps, what is the process? I have an eTrex with CNNA, Mapsource and Basecamp.

Thank you BigAura and Cyclebum for quick replies :) i have been checking craigslists in different locations and crazyguyonbike this forum was my last chance to find.

@BigAura thanks a lot for sharing your route. the main reason is for the camp sites and planning as i am not from US. I am from Turkey and here everything seems a bit complicated here. In my country you can camp nearly anywhere and for free :) only the paid roads (toll passes) are forbidden for the cyclists and the rest can be used.

I feel relieved now that i am on the correct web page to seek any help, tip and advice, thanks once again.

safe travels

elif

In my country you can camp nearly anywhere and for free...


With a bit of ingenuity and luck, you can do that in the US. Called stealth/wild camping (https://www.crazyguyonabike.com/search/?query=stealth+camping&main_type=articles).

With a bit of ingenuity and luck, you can do that in the US. Called stealth/wild camping (https://www.crazyguyonabike.com/search/?query=stealth+camping&main_type=articles).
FWIW, I camped in plain sight many places on the Southern Tier especially in Texas; under bridges, at roadside picnic areas, etc. You might have an issue with pitching a tent in the picnic areas, but using a bivy I had no issues.

Yep. I suspect that in most states you can camp in rest areas as long as you don't pitch the tent. In some, New Mexico for instance, the tent is ok. Be nice to survey which states allow tents in rest areas. In reality, all that would happen, even in Texas, is you might be rousted in the middle of the night and lectured about the rules. The odds of that happening are quite remote, as most law enforcement would not know the rules anyway and would rarely drive through a rest area.

Pitch late and leave early to avoid contact with rest area attendants. Hide if possible.

Even this late in the year, you'd still need mosquito protection on the ST.

Strange that it's ok to park a semi in a rest area and run the engine all night. But not ok for a cyclist to pitch his tent. Makes no sense at all. Similar to prohibition about cycling an interstate.

In reality, all that would happen, even in Texas, is you might be rousted in the middle of the night and lectured about the rules. The odds of that happening are quite remote, as most law enforcement would not know the rules anyway and would rarely drive through a rest area.
Just a side note on that. We camped under a bridge in Texas that happened to be used as a turn around point for at least 4 different law enforcement types (State, Park Service, Wildlife management, and County). There was and endless stream of them all night long. The only one that paid any attention to us waved.


Even this late in the year, you'd still need mosquito protection on the ST.
The mosquitoes in Louisiana practically carried us off and we rode through there the second week in March. Make sure you have repellent when you get there.

If I wanted to load that GPX into a gps, what is the process? I have an eTrex with CNNA, Mapsource and Basecamp.

Here's the same GPX but with different header data (http://ziligy.com/googleMaps/garmin/SouthernTier.gpx). You'll be able to import it into Basecamp. You'll probably have to send it in sections to your device.

Hmmm...I live in San Diego County, and am not convinced that following Interstate 8 is the best route for traveling east to west across the ranges to San Diego. If I were to be doing it, I'd come up 86 on the west Side of the Salton Sea, and then Hwy 78 through Anza-Borrego park (free camping almost anywhere in it, plus some developed sites) and then up the long but moderate grade to Julian. There's a lot of trees around Julian, but 11 miles rolling miles south is Paso Picacho campground in Cuyamaca Ranco State Park at about 5000', and it has hike & bike sites for $5. From there, 79 heads south to I-8, pretty much all downhill, then the Southern Tier route is almost all downhill into Lakeside. Lakeside is at about 600', so it's pretty much flat all the way to the ocean except a few small hills in Mission Gorge (where there's a city campground, no hike & bike, but cheaper than the commercial ones)...

whoops, it's closed due the city's budget woes, here's a good time to practice your stealth camping skills!

http://www.mtrp.org/campground.asp

or this is a quiet rural public campground not too far south and east of San Diego, tent sites $24, though. It's a flat 7 miles from the South Bay City of Chula Vista: http://www.sdcounty.ca.gov/parks/Camping/sweetwater.html

Here's the same GPX but with different header data (http://ziligy.com/googleMaps/garmin/SouthernTier.gpx). You'll be able to import it into Basecamp. You'll probably have to send it in sections to your device.

Thanks. Will give it a shot.