Machka 

Although I know that cyclists are not allowed on the Interstates, if you can get to one of the many rest stops on the Interstates, you will find that they often have travel coupon booklets with coupons for accommodations (mainly) and sometimes some other things like food.

You might also be able to pick these booklets up in service stations and visitors centers elsewhere as well. Each one covers a fair section of the US, so if you can get ahold of one in one State, you won't have to get the next one till several States over. However, I will note that in my recent trip from Illinois to California, the rest stops in California are not well stocked with anything, let alone travel coupon booklets, so you might have some trouble picking one up there. The rest stops in the rest of the States were great.

You can also check this website, the organization that puts out these travel coupon booklets, for coupons https://www.roomsaver.com/

On my trip, I checked hostel prices vs. motels across the US and discovered that unlike other countries (Australia, and many European ones especially), hostels in the US are few and far between, and can be almost as expensive as getting a motel, especially if you are travelling with more than one person. With a coupon booklet like the one I've mentioned above, a couple (or group) could motel it across the US for about the same price, and much more conveniently, than using hostels.


Also, the US forumites are probably already aware of this site, but for those of us from other countries, the US Department of Transportation site provides a lot of useful information (links etc.) for travelling across the US.
https://www.dot.gov/

Click on Citizen Services, and then click on any links that interest you . . . take for example, the Highways and Bridges link, and then on that page the Scenic Byways link. Those are the types of routes cyclists might prefer and on the Scenic Byways page you can read stories from people (not just cyclists) who have travelled those routes and find out information about those routes.

And the Travel link provides you with travel warnings/advisories and advice for the US and for other parts of the world.

froze

Thanks for those sites Machka.

If your biking and camping across America and had problems finding a shower, why not go to truck stops, most are accessable via secondary roads the cyclist are allowed on, they have showers that cost from $8 to $10 plus laundry machines and of course food.

turtlendog

It's legal (though miserable) to ride the interstate highway in some places in Arizona and New Mexico.

I second the truck stops. They also don't mind if you camp there, and typically have an all-you-can-eat buffet in addition the the redeeming qualities listed above. They are often found where a major US route meets another, or crosses an Interstate highway.

Camp at the bottom of a hill in cold weather. It's better to climb when you're a little cold than head down a mountain.

Be careful about heading west in the afternoon, or east in the morning (drivers feel like they have the right to continue on, even if they can't see facing the sun!) Personally I'd choose to ride west-to-east for this reason. That way you can leave the tent up to dry in the morning without missing the prime riding time.

gpsblake

Truck stops are good to visit for food and for showers, but I disagree on the camping part. They are loud and sometimes you'll get shady characters hanging out at them. I stealthed camped about 1/2 a mile from one, walked to it, had food and shower, then back to quiet tent for a good night sleep.

Interstate Highways - in a nutshell legal in the west (with exceptions in metro areas), illegal nearly everywhere east of Texas. I think illegal in Kansas and Nebraska. Since Interstate shoulders are full of debree and garbage, a good way to increase your flats. However in the mountains, they can save a lot of time and interstates usually are graded better for bikes.

You'll also find discount coupons for hotels at fast food places near interstates.

I'll add one of my favorite hints:

Instead of buying $2 gatorade at conv store, buy a medium drink for a buck from a fast food joint, fill it with gatorade/powerade and enjoy the free refills. Take a full cup when you leave to fill up your water bottle.

va_cyclist

You know what I always wondered? How do those people who work at the rest stops get to work? Some of those places are out in the middle of nowhere, dozens of miles from the nearest highway exit. I always wondered if there was some secret back road that led to the rest stop.

Bikepacker67

While I understand the logic, camping in low areas on cold nights just makes them COLDER!

Cold air sinks into those scooped out areas.

BRRRRRRRRR!

turtlendog

It's funny how peoples experience and logic differ!

I never had a cold night while touring in Oct-Nov thanks to my Kelty Clark Tent and North Face Thunderhead bag. Frankly, I don't care how cold it is while I'm in my sleeping bag (to a point, of course). It's when I'm out in the weather that I feel more vulnerable.

Sigurdd50

what's the point of riding across the US if you decide to ride on the shoulder of an interstate? And camp in a truckstop?

gpsblake

Same here. I was always warm in my tent & sleeping bag. It's getting out of the tent when it's 30 degrees F that's the hard part. I remember laying in my tent on colder mornings saying... 5 more minutes.... 5 more minutes..... 5 minutes.... Or even worse, having to get out of your bag to pee.

The smaller the tent, the more warmer it will be on cold nights.

will dehne

Lots of bikers do for the challenge to cross the USA in record time.
Same as climbing a Mountain in bad weather, run a Marathon, swim across the English/French channel, etc.

froze

Truck stops are loud? as compared to a nice quiet camp site with the campers on either side having a drunken fest rap boom box contest? If I had to choose between those two, I'd take the sound of diesel engines over booming rap and drunks; for you see, it's against DOT rules and regulations for a truck driver to have any alcohol within 8 hours of going, on duty and todays drivers are well aware of this and 99% of them won't drink at a truck stop; also they won't have a drunk fest rap boom box contest because the other drivers are trying to sleep and will beat the crap out of someone who does! The truck stops out in the country are the best ones because they will have grassy areas where you can pitch your tent or lay down your bag, the ones in cities won't have grass and those will be loud due to the constant flow of trucks. Also, especially in the country, your not going to find "shady" characters any more then you would at a campsite, in fact you'll probably find more at a camp site. I've seen lot's of bums in campsites but never saw one in a truck stop.

Machka 

I camped at a truck stop once in Australia and I'd have to agree with you froze. We got there latish in the evening, and took a look at the local park to see if we could camp - there were "No camping" signs everywhere, but some questionable characters were already looking like they were settling in for the night. I didn't feel at all comfortable. We had no idea where the next real campsite would be, so we returned to the truck stop to discuss our options.

My friend suggested just going up the road a ways and finding a ditch or piece of land somewhere, but I wasn't so keen on that idea either because we'd been travelling through land that was either fairly developed land - fenced farm land - or jungle. I wasn't sure how the locals would react to someone camping on their land, and I wasn't all that thrilled with the idea of camping in the middle of thick jungle.

So I took a look around the truck stop, and discovered that there was quite a wide strip of grass at the back - easily big enough for our tent and about 25 others. Way in the corner, on the paved part, were some pieces of mechanical equipment under tarps and they sort of hid the corner area of the grass. Perfect!

But I wasn't sure how the truck stop workers would feel about someone camping back there, so I sat in the truck stop, eating supper and observing the workers. I discovered that there were two or three women on, but no men were around. I knew that the women would be highly unlikely to walk to the back corner of the lot after dark. I also know that most shifts change about 10 or 11 pm, and when they change to the night shift, chances are a man or two might come on. He might go to the back corner, but only if he had reason to believe that there was something suspicious back there.

So, my friend and I packed up and made it look like we were taking off ... and then we headed to the back corner and were all set up before the shift change.

Although trucks did come and go all night, I slept through them, and we were not disturbed ... it was great!! We had a good night's sleep, and access to food, showers, toilets, and everything!

Shifty

Here is a gold mine that is right along the road. Many towns that you go through have a Visitor Information Center, when I see those three wonderful words I reach for the brakes. I've never been sorry for stopping at these. They know EVERYTHING about a place that I know NOTHING, and they bend over backwards to be helpful, gotta love volunteers. Many of these places have a computer set up to the internet, free for you to use. They have free water, sparkling restrooms, and they know all lodging deals and food options. Ask them about history of the area and you get the real stuff, ask about highway conditions and they know it. I stopped at one this summer in New Mexico (Chama, go there) and they had a BBQ set up making hot dogs and burgers free for travelers,PLUS, they were playing country music real loud, and the ketchup lady came out and danced with me, and my two left feet!

Bottom line, stop at the Visitor Information Centers, you'll see why I'm totally sold on them!

Machka 

YES! I completely agree with you!!

Now again, much of my touring experience has been in Australia, and there I think I stopped at just about every visitor's center we encountered on that whole trip ... as you say, they were wonderful!

I found the visitor's information centers to be a bit more elusive in the US - they aren't always located right on the edge of town with a huge "Visitor's Information" sign. In Davis, CA, for example, the Visitor's information center is buried in the middle of the college campus. In Boulder, CA it is on one of the main roads in town ... but right in the middle of town in a location that is not well marked and not easy to get to.

Some Visitor Information Centers in Australia have camping areas behind them which was great too because we didn't have to look any further for accommodations. I don't know if the US ones have that or not, but it is probably worth checking.

One of the things I used those Visitor's Information centers for in Australia (and used one for the same purpose in the US) was pre-booking. I could cycle into one center and get them to call ahead to the next town to book a room in a hostel for me. Very convenient!