RiotBoi

hihway 80 runs coast to coast and I dont really know how to "look at it" via maps to know if it is uhm... whats that word.... OH YEA! suicidal. please help. thanks.

Little Darwin

If you mean I-80 on a bicycle, it is in most (if not all) locations, illegal. It is a freeway.

In case that is not a deterrant, the sections I have seen in PA have relatively reasonable shoulders... and 65 mph traffic.

RiotBoi

I'm talking about the one that starts in savannah, gs

jamawani 

US80 ??

Well, actually, it doesn't go all the way across anymore.
1. What's more, it goes thru lots of cities, large and small, such as Macon, Montgomery, Jackson, Shreveport, Dallas, etc. etc. Not exactly a nice biking route.
2. When, exactly, are you planning to do this? There's a difference between hot and humid in Hawaii and hot and humid in July in northern Louisiana - - like about 20 degrees and no ocean breeze. Leaving west from the Georgia coast would be best in late fall.
3. If you are starting near Savannah, consider Fort McAllister rather than Tybee Island. Tybee is a zoo and the beach road is a nightmare.
4. If you want to do something close to US 80 - consider small state routes south of Macon crossing the Chattahoochie at Fort Gaines thru Camden, AL and Raleigh, MS crossing the Mississippi at Natchez. You can connect up with the Adventure Cycling Southern Tier or I'll be glad to discuss options in the West which I know quite well.

Best - J

RiotBoi

yea I just traced highway80 from sav to dallas and ewwww.

So heres what my tour is looking like, fly to charleston (home) in mid april. Head to Manhattan, ks (dont ask me why) and then on to the west coast. I dont really have any clue about how to plan a route and havent really found anything too worthwhile in the advice deptartment. It should also be noted that I am travelling super light and fast. I ride 10 hour days, 3-5 days a week mostly sprinting(messenger) so putting in 100+ daily shouldnt be much trouble for me. And I'm quite familiar with the louisiana heat, I used to spend my summers there.

jamawani 

Actually RB -

There is a great route from Savannah thru Camden, Ala - then veering NW thru northern Miss crossing Old Man River at Helena - home of the Delta Blues. From Helena you can cut up thru the Ozarks in Ark and the Flint Hills in Kansas to Manhattan.

From there you can take many pleasant and quiet backroads west - depending on where you plan on ending up. Late spring / early summer isn't such a bad time temperature-wise in the eastern 1/2 of the U.S., but you are likely to have a good deal of rain - with big, dangerous, thunder boomers out on the plains.

There are a number of ways to get to northern Calif in mid-summer without roasting. If you are planning to head out to Oregon or Wash - there are even more choices.

RiotBoi

Was planning on going to SF so I could get a cheap flight back out to the islands for some suicide messenger activity in the summer. And I'm one of those twisted riders that actualyl looks forward to crappy weather, its more fun. Luckily I'm used to crashing a lot (usually once every 2 days) and dont mind roadrash. Could you give some more details on that route because it sounds exactly like what im wanting, was hoping to pass through the ozarks.

jamawani 

How much time are you allocating for the trip? Starting when - about May 1? Earlier?
When do you want to fly out of SFO? When you say "messenger activity in the summer" - I'm guessing you plan to be back on the islands by July 4th?

PS - You do know than in a lot of the area you are biking thru - vegetarian means a pot of beans with a hunk o' pork floating around in it. And vegan - I suspect some folks may respond - "Yup, I got me a '44 and a shotgun - but I ain't never heard of a V-gun - must be one of them new-fangled thangs." Just a heads up.

BikePackin

The Adventure Cycling Route Dept. has advised me that the Southern Tier dection running along the Gulf that had been damaged by the Hurricane has now reopened....it will take you into southern CA; however, you'd need to get from Savannah down to St. Augustine to pick it up.
When their servers are working.....
www.AdventureCycling.org
or 800-755-2453. Ask for Carla M. - she heads up the Maps and Routes Dept She is knowledgeable (has been there for years) and helpful.

RiotBoi

Planning on leaving april 15thish from either savannah or Charleston, charleston prolly being easier. Don't have a set date that I need to be in SF. Yes, im aware of the vegan "issues" but I am a big fan of rice and beans, ala me. Messenger activity is just that, messengering. and July 4th is my bday

Bikepackin- problem with that is I have to go by manhattan kansas.

RiotBoi

if you have aim, im me jamawani- IagianstI

jamawani 

OK

Well - there are some great backroads from Savannah to Helena on the Mississippi River. This area is known as the Black Belt - not because of the race of the people living there, but because of the black soil. Of course the great soil led to cotton plantations and slaves - thus many of these counties had 80% African Americans as recently as 1950. Since then many African Americans have migrated to the north or to southern cities, but still there is a black majority. After the Civil War many plantations went to sharecropping - "Slavery" under another name - and this area remains until today one of the poorest regions of the country. It's an incredible area of the country - one that all the people taking the Adventure Cycling routes never see. I doubt that folks in these little hamlets will have seen many x-country cyclists. Do bear in mind these parameters - and also that offering someone food is an important gesture of welcome. You'll need to think about how you'll handle it.

So you have 10 weeks to get across. I'd say it will take no more than 2 weeks to the Mississippi. 4 days for each state plus 2 rest days. Plus another 10 days to 2 weeks to get to Manhattan. The stretch along the Buffalo River near Jasper in Ark is great and you will probably love riding north with a tailwind thru the Flint Hills in Kansas. So let's say a month. That gives you 6 weeks to do the rest.

You can either do a straight line across the west thru Nevada - Yosemite is possible with this route. I can get you into San Francisco thru a back way from the south with some great coastal riding - although the wrong direction as far as prevailing winds are concerned. Or you can just take the Adventure Cycling Western Express route. I wouldn't think this would take more than 5 weeks, maybe only 4. June shouldn't be too bad crossing Nevada.

Another possibility is to veer north thru Wyoming, the Sawtooth Mountains of Idaho with natural hot springs, southern Oregon, and then head down the Redwood coast of Calif to the Golden Gate bridge. This would take about 6 weeks.

How are you touring? Road bike? Mountain bike? Panniers or BOB? Are you willing to do a little dirt for the payoffs? You do know about free camping on public lands in the west, right?

And as for July birthdays - You was born on the Fourth of Joo-Lie. Any thoughts on the direction the country's going in?

RiotBoi

country= going to $hit.

Going to use the bike I messengen with since my other bike isnt going to be returned to me. Aluminum Road bike. Not using panniers or a bob, going to use my messenger bag. my pase weight is only about 15lbs and I can carry that easy. Due to finances my trip is going to be kind of a "rush" so yea. Probably won't need too many rest days either. I was thinking closer to the 25-35 day mark. Go for broke.

jamawani 

Man - you gonna have to do 'bout 100 miles a day.

A direct shot in the west - -

Kansas -
US 24, KS 25, US 36, KS 27

Nebraska -
NE 27, US 34

Colorado -
US 34, CO 61, CO 14, US 40

Utah -
US 40, US 191, US 6, UT 96, UT 264, UT 31, US 89, UT 116, UT 132, US 6, US 50

Nevada -
US 50, US 395, NV 88

Calif -
CA 88, CA 104, E-13, CA 12 (or back roads)

Take a look on an atlas.

gpsblake

US Route 80 on wikipedia

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/U.S._Highway_80

jamawani 

Check these out on your atlas - -

Starting at Fort McAllister State Park

Georgia -
GA 144, GA 178, GA 147, CO 95, GA 117, US 280, GA 118, US 82, GA 266

Alabama -
AL 10, AL 93, US 29, (or country roads from Brundidge thru Spring Hill to Luverne)
AL 10, AL 28, AL 25, AL 14

Mississippi -
MS 69, MS 50, MS 9, MS 404, US 51, MS 8, MS 1, US 49

Arkansas -
US 49, AR1, AR 261, AR 78, AR 306, AR 17, AR 14, AR 125

Missouri -
MO 125, Bike 76 to border, MO 126

Kansas -
KS 126, Bike 76 to Neal, US 54, KS 99, KS 18

For free camping in the deep south - ask folks in town or at the crossroads store where a fishing access site is. It will be a levee or bayou - there will be mosquitos - and you may have bubba company - but it's free.

If you want to camp in state parks you can do some nearby routes, but I'm guessing you will be stealth camping most of the way.

Most of these roads have moderate to low to very low AADTs.

RiotBoi

aadts?

Dwayne

annual average daily traffic

Damn, I wish I could join you for the trip...

RiotBoi

ahhh, Going to put in some time at library tomorrow with an atlas. Was gonna do it after work today but, NO. Insane day at work, thinking I was somewhere in the 120ish mile range.

RiotBoi

I started mapping this out with favorite run but I think I might have gotten mixed up somewhere?

https://www.favoriterun.com/route/show/9318

jamawani 

There's a county road connecting Uvalda to Lumber City then taking Hwy 117 to Rhine and US 280 - - you can head on to McRae and get on US 280 - there's a state park with camping near McRae which is about 100+ miles form the coast - bu my guess is that you want to stealth camp - should be lots of places along Hwy 117 since it follows the Okmulgee River.

RiotBoi

I think Lumber city might be a good goal for the first day. its like 110. not too bad.

https://www.favoriterun.com/route/show/9318

RiotBoi

ok. So I didnt like the idea of riding west on 8 only to go northeast on 1 to 49, so I mapped this bypass
https://www.favoriterun.com/route/show/9337

look kosher?

jamawani 

Whatever you choose is fine -
I suggested the route along the Mississippi only so that you could see the river a little more -
Obviously, your route is shorter and more direct. Also has less traffic - some of those roads may not be paved. You can check Mississippi DOT and go to county maps.

PS - There's a dirt road that runs northwest our of Helena thru the forest - it's shorter in miles but would probably take as long to ride - don't know if your bike can do dirt.

RiotBoi

it could, may not be the best idea though ;-) I ride "offroad" a good bit thourgh the parks out here and crap, <3 shortcuts. Thanks a lot man, the outline you've provided is looking awesome, im gonna map the whole thing out, then go back over and try to knock the mileage down a bit, see what I come up with. My name on favoriterun is IagianstI and I think I'll have at least the initials done by tomorrow night..... now for missouri and kansas


**edit* where the hell is bike76?