ststephen65

hey there, i have a few questions for all of ya. the wife and i are thinking of bicycling across the states in about a yr. just trying to gather up some info so we can start planning this. does anyone know some good links to get and idea on how much this could cost, how long, what time of the year to start, routes, etc etc


also, we plan on doing this with a 1 1/2 yr old kid. anybody have any exp in long tours with young kids? we have already been on a few 3 day trips with her and she does pretty good in her burly trailer.

Old Hammer Boy

For starters, go here >> https://www.adv-cycling.org/index.cfm

Marylandnewbie

You should also check out the "crazy guy on a bike" journal
https://www.crazyguyonabike.com/doc/?...es&context=all
about a family that crossed from Florida to Washington on a triple with a 6 year old. They seemed to have a good time with relatively few problems. We never did any tours before my son was 9 and reasonably self propelled, so I can't offer much for real little kids.

I would guess planning on doing maybe 40 miles a day with frequent time off is going to be about tops for mileage. Plan on making frequent stops at interesting places since I doubt small kids can sit for long periods in the trailer. If you're already doing some short tours, then you have already taken my other piece of would-be advice. Good luck on such a major undertaking.

ststephen65

hey thanks guys for giving me a good place to start

BigBlueToe

The CrazyGuyOnABike site has journals organized by routes, equipment, etc. and one of the choices is tours with kids.

On a 4-week tour down the west coast I averaged 55 miles per day. On a cross country trip there will be lots of stretches without nearly as many hills, or as tall, so I'd guess your average will be higher, although pulling a trailer with your daughter may slow you down.

For me, $30 per day works pretty well if I don't stay in motels - just hiker/biker campsites. If you're going to be staying in motels your average will go up considerably. KOA's are more than hiker/bikers, although splitting the cost between two people would make your per-person cost go down. Then there's the cost of your transportation to and from your starting and ending points.

Think about putting some money into the budget for repairs. On my long tour I didn't start out with a very good set of wheels. I ended up having to stop at many, many bike shops to get spokes replaced on my rear wheel. On my next tour I went to a bike shop beforehand and had a good craftsman handbuild me a strong rear wheel. It cost over $200, but nothing broke. I'm sure I spent around that on my previous tour, not to mention all the time spent waiting in bike shops.

Make sure your racks are bolted on with Loctite. I've had them vibrate out before. I carry a couple of extra bolts, just in case.

For my upcoming tour this summer (Seattle to eastern Montana via the Northern Tier) I'm going to start by having my technician check over my rear wheel and rebuild whatever needs it. Then I'm going to carry some spare spokes and a cassette remover so I can replace my own spokes if they break.

ststephen65

hey thanks alot, very good info. yeah that budget sounds really good to me. we will be camping it for sure and doing ALOT of couch surfing.......couchsurfing.com chk it out GREAT website as far as the spoke issue yeah thats going to be an issue. im a heavy guy....sittin in around the 240 mark...but hopefully that will drop about 15 lbs by the time i go.....ive been excercising regularly and changing my diet to a more healthy one. anyway yeah i finnally broke my first spoke the other day after 2k+ kilometers and 4 short tours. i have some nice wheels but im going to need to know how to fix it myself before i go. i think that will end up being one of my main issues