North Carolina To Kentucky Need Map Info Plz
10-01-08, 10:44 AM
#1
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North Carolina To Kentucky Need Map Info Plz
Hi Everyone
Going to start in Apex NC and end up in Louisville Kentucky- hope to do this soon..
Not sure were i can map this out or get a good back roads map, i dont want to take the Coast up and then cross..
Anyone out there know were or how i can get this map out at low cost ?
Trying to keep a Budget here
I dont have a Car and wanted to go see my family up there, this would be a better way, then going the Boring GreyHound Bus..
UGG besides i dont want to Pack my Rans V2 and risk it geting it broke or damage or lost on the way there.
Info- Advice ? I sure do need this info since ive never did anything like this in my life!
Yea and Camping lol noob there too!
Thanks for Stopping by!
Going to start in Apex NC and end up in Louisville Kentucky- hope to do this soon..
Not sure were i can map this out or get a good back roads map, i dont want to take the Coast up and then cross..
Anyone out there know were or how i can get this map out at low cost ?
Trying to keep a Budget here
I dont have a Car and wanted to go see my family up there, this would be a better way, then going the Boring GreyHound Bus..
UGG besides i dont want to Pack my Rans V2 and risk it geting it broke or damage or lost on the way there.
Info- Advice ? I sure do need this info since ive never did anything like this in my life!
Yea and Camping lol noob there too!
Thanks for Stopping by!
Last edited by V2Guy; 10-01-08 at 11:05 AM.
10-01-08, 10:52 AM
#2
Hooked on Touring
Vitu -
You didn't say where you wanted to start in NC and where you wanted to end up in Kentucky. That makes a big difference. You also didn't ssay when, but I suspect you are thinking soon.
And if you've never toured, starting off in the fall on your own route in the South isn't the easiest thing to do. The major advantage of the TransAm in the South is that it has bike-oriented services that are pretty limited elsewhere.
I was riding from the coast to Chapel Hill a number of years ago and a rather large young woman working at a country store said, "Why are you doing something stupid like that?" So one must be aware of the overall climate - not just the weather.
You didn't say where you wanted to start in NC and where you wanted to end up in Kentucky. That makes a big difference. You also didn't ssay when, but I suspect you are thinking soon.
And if you've never toured, starting off in the fall on your own route in the South isn't the easiest thing to do. The major advantage of the TransAm in the South is that it has bike-oriented services that are pretty limited elsewhere.
I was riding from the coast to Chapel Hill a number of years ago and a rather large young woman working at a country store said, "Why are you doing something stupid like that?" So one must be aware of the overall climate - not just the weather.
10-01-08, 11:47 AM
#4
Hooked on Touring
I've biked from Louisville to Chapel Hill / Raleigh a few times -
but it's been more than 10 years ago. Raleigh-Durham has really gotten huge.
There are a number of options -
a) You can ride west to the TransAm at Troutdale, VIrginia - then follow the TransAm - then cut up to Louisville from Harrodsburg, Kentucky. The advantages are than you are using the TransAm for about half the trip. The disadvantages are that the route is a chunk longer plus it involves some pretty brutal mountains - like Big A Mountain (you can guess what cyclists call it going uphill) and Pippa Passes.
https://www.adventurecycling.org/routes/transamerica.cfm
b) Or you could do most of the trip off of the TransAm taking advantage of the natural breaks in the Appalachians - called gaps. This would entail running mostly along the NC/VA border and the VA/TN border to Middlesboro, Kentucky - then heading northwest form there. A point of information - if you do the latter - you have to schedule a shuttle thru the Cumberland Tunnel since bikes are prohibited. If you stay at the park campground, it should be no problem.
There are excellent county maps for Kentucky with back roads and traffic volumes. The county maps for Tennessee and North Carolina have the back roads but less traffic data. Virginia doesn't have its county maps on line - but I have paper copies.
https://www.planning.kytc.ky.gov/maps...count_maps.asp
https://www.tdot.state.tn.us/projectp...ty%20index.pdf
https://www.ncdot.org/it/img/DataDist...html?year=2007
but it's been more than 10 years ago. Raleigh-Durham has really gotten huge.
There are a number of options -
a) You can ride west to the TransAm at Troutdale, VIrginia - then follow the TransAm - then cut up to Louisville from Harrodsburg, Kentucky. The advantages are than you are using the TransAm for about half the trip. The disadvantages are that the route is a chunk longer plus it involves some pretty brutal mountains - like Big A Mountain (you can guess what cyclists call it going uphill) and Pippa Passes.
https://www.adventurecycling.org/routes/transamerica.cfm
b) Or you could do most of the trip off of the TransAm taking advantage of the natural breaks in the Appalachians - called gaps. This would entail running mostly along the NC/VA border and the VA/TN border to Middlesboro, Kentucky - then heading northwest form there. A point of information - if you do the latter - you have to schedule a shuttle thru the Cumberland Tunnel since bikes are prohibited. If you stay at the park campground, it should be no problem.
There are excellent county maps for Kentucky with back roads and traffic volumes. The county maps for Tennessee and North Carolina have the back roads but less traffic data. Virginia doesn't have its county maps on line - but I have paper copies.
https://www.planning.kytc.ky.gov/maps...count_maps.asp
https://www.tdot.state.tn.us/projectp...ty%20index.pdf
https://www.ncdot.org/it/img/DataDist...html?year=2007
10-01-08, 11:54 AM
#5
Hooked on Touring
PS - Can your V2 do rail trails?
Cause the Virginia Creeper Trail will be really sweet this time of year -
Plus going west is almost all downhill.
Cause the Virginia Creeper Trail will be really sweet this time of year -
Plus going west is almost all downhill.
10-01-08, 01:00 PM
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I biked from Ashevill, NC to Lexington, KY then back down through TN. The Virginia Bike map is a joke. I tried to take the "Heat of Appalachain" route and found out it was not sufficently mapped or signed at all. Anywho, I took the Parkway up to Floyd and went East from there connecting to the Trans Am. It really isn't all that tough untill you get into east KY then there are some pretty short but very steep graded rolling hills. I went South through KY and towards Nashville, TN and then took 70 N all the way back to Asheville. That was a great road, and even had a bike lane through a lot of it. Going through Knoxville was tricky, but there were state partks spaced about a day apary (60 - 80 miles) on 70N/70 and it was pretty flat untill right before Hot Springs, NC.
Good Luck!
Travis
Good Luck!
Travis
10-01-08, 02:40 PM
#7
Hooked on Touring
Here's an idea from Harrodsburg to Louisville.
The roads all have fairly low traffic, but remember, few roads in Kentucky have shoulders.
The roads all have fairly low traffic, but remember, few roads in Kentucky have shoulders.
