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florida to NY tour summer 2009

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florida to NY tour summer 2009

Old 08-29-08, 12:02 AM
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florida to NY tour summer 2009

Hey all.

I'm planning to do a tour from gainesville, FL, to NY,NY during the summer 2009. I would imagine that certain (appalachian)mountain range would make it neccessary to stick to more costal roads, but other than that, are there any good resources for mapping out RIDABLE roads? I road the 80 miles between Gainesville and Jacksonville, and even lower traffic County and State roads were dangerous (no shoulder, high traffic, etc.) I'm planning to go alone or with at most two people, and I don't want to die. So; how to choose my roads?
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Old 08-29-08, 07:42 AM
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Hi,
Try https://www.adventurecycling.org/routes/ and see if they can help you out.

I hope this helps you out.
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Old 08-29-08, 08:01 AM
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Man I am Jealous! I want to ride from the Florida keys to Portland Maine, but I need some good time off for that one.

In october I will be riding from Atlantic Highlands NJ (ferry from NYC) to Cape May (ferry to Delaware). Finding a safe route is challenging. I do use a GPS, which I highly recommend so you can re-route if you find yourself on an undesirable road.

There are few methods that I have done to help find my route. First I used my GPS software to find a NON-highway route, which is difficult because some roads are labeled as highways on maps. Like good ole route 1, which has some really nice scenic parts and some not so nice highway like parts.

So to help see if these main roads/small highways are safe I go to google maps and view the stretch I plan to ride with satellite view, zoom in and see if there is a shoulder or if it's too crowded etc.

Another good resource for insight is to search regional forums about info, you can post and ask questions. This is especially good for finding info about bridge crossings etc.

When it comes to multi day touring I personally find a huge amount of satisfaction in successful logistics , it's quite fun to plan then you get to hurl yourself out there on a leap faith and hope you did a good job.

good luck, I hope this helps
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Old 08-29-08, 08:21 AM
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If you enjoy all the logistics of route planning then ignore this, but...

The AC maps make this easy. Go to the Adventure Cycling site and buy the maps for their Atlantic Coast Route. You can then just pack your stuff and start riding, the maps have turn by turn directions and list all of the services along the way (libraries, post offices, stores, places to camp, motels, B&B,s, hostels, hospitals, police stations, emergency phone numbers, etc.)

If you want to go off route some of the time you always have that option, but if you don't want to have to do much planning you can just follow the map and turn by turn directions.
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Old 08-29-08, 12:33 PM
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I have a set of maps that I anticipate on using for a similar trip. I downloaded them as a pdf file and am going to translate that information to google maps.

https://www.greenway.org/

They have a series of google maps already configured and can be downloaded to your home computer. All of the work that I was going to do has been done.....

Bill

Last edited by teacherbill; 08-29-08 at 12:52 PM. Reason: added or corrected information
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Old 08-29-08, 01:03 PM
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Originally Posted by teacherbill
I have a set of maps that I anticipate on using for a similar trip. I downloaded them as a pdf file and am going to translate that information to google maps.

https://www.greenway.org/

They have a series of google maps already configured and can be downloaded to your home computer. All of the work that I was going to do has been done.....

Bill
I don't know how suitable the East Coast Greenway is for a long bike tour, but it has an entirely different approach than the Adventure Cycling Atlantic Coast Route. The ECG connects the major cities and tries to use off road trails where it can. The AC route avoids cities and uses lightly trafficked roads where possible. The AC maps try to provide all of the info needed for finding camping or lodging along the way as well as listing all of the other services. I don't think the ECG maps do that.

Personally I wouldn't want to hit all of the major cities, but others may.

Adventure Cycling has been around a long time and really does their homework in planning bike touring routes. Their maps have been used by thousands of bike tourists to successfully cross the country or complete other long trips. Personally I would have to look long and hard at the ECG before I would pick it over the AC route.
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Old 08-29-08, 01:10 PM
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Last year I toured North Carolina's Outer Banks, and this year I rode part of the Blue Ridge Parkway in North Carolina. If I were riding from FL to NY, I would ride north toward Cherokee NC and take the Blue Ridge Parkway north into Virginia, then I would ride the Skyline Drive to northern Virgina. From there plan whichever route is possible to NY.

I'd select that route because I found the mountains more enjoyable for riding -- much cooler (our riding temperatures on the Parkway this July ranged from 63 to 75 while back home in Georgia near the coast it was 100), little traffic on the Parkway, quite, scenic, and just overall a pleasant experience.

The Outer Banks are also interesting, but hot, humid, and generally less comforatble. Of course the coastal route from FL to NY would be flat, but I have to admit that after riding in the mountains, I am now partial to mountain riding (I like the inclines for good exercise).

Anyway, just an alternative to consider.
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Old 08-29-08, 03:24 PM
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I was on aca's atlantic coast route from nyc to richmond, and I cant imagine a better resource unless you want to have planned it yourself. Also the blue ridge parkway was probably my favorite place Ive ever ridden so a detour there is recommended. aca's transamerica route includes some riding on it too, mabey angle northwestward, hit the t/a, and ride it east back to the atlantic coast route.
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