metzenberg

The adventure cycling (ACA) routes are places where cyclists before you have built up a lot of good will. Even when you are not on an ACA route, you are still in some sense representing other cyclists and what people think of cyclists will be affected by your behavior. Therefore, I would suggest that the best rule to follow is, ask how what you are doing will affect other cyclists in the future. You may be forced to stealth camp at times, by sudden changes of weather or mechanical failures. I'm sure that most western landowners have a lot of stories to tell about the people who pass through their land. The law clearly gives them the right to put up a fence, post a sign. Respect their wishes.

Does the cycle touring community want to be lumped together with motorcycles? I would say not. We have a unique set of circumstances that other kinds of tourists do not have. It is much more dangerous for us to travel after dark, and much more difficult in bad weather. They can always travel another 20 miles. We can't. But we don't have noisy machines that destroy vegetation. We are mostly very sensitive to our effects on the environment.

The truth about land ownership in the USA is that it can be very hard to determine who owns land and what their wishes are. There are may places in the western USA especially where the distances can be too large to get from one designated site to another in the time allowed. The laws create a set of legal tests that can be applied. The Midwest and the East are very different. A cycle tourist traveling on roads away from established routes is likely going to need to pull off the road at times and quietly spend the night.

I have always lived in large cities, except for very brief periods on my life. I am aware that most rural people own a gun. Many city people look down on this fact, in almost a cultural way. But in a sense, the fact of universal gun ownership in rural areas mostly makes us safer. (There is no reason for a lawful person to own a small concealable weapon or to carry it with them, but the fact that people in rural areas can in theory have a weapon, have learned to use them as hunters, and can defend themselves means that almost nothing ever happens.)

When I am 20 miles away from the nearest police station on a country road in the middle of Pennsylvania, I appreciate the fact that the people whose land I am passing through are watching out for each other and for me.

Howard

Torrilin

Google maps in combination with bike specific maps would be best. In Wisconsin, most US routes seem to be fine biking roads. The traffic may be a bit fast, and shoulders may be a bit narrow, but they're basically ok. In Pennsylvania, US routes are rarely a road I'd choose, even if they're legal (ie, not posted as closed to bike traffic). They are often built as 4 lane divided highways, or they're 2-4 lane highways with no shoulder. Since PA is full of major trucking routes, these roads are heavily traveled. There's a *lot* of variation, so if you're planning a route on your own, ask for advice!

Some states have extensive bike resources that are freely available. If the Adventure Cycling maps are too expensive, state resources may be a good way to go. Some states have road construction information available online. Construction doesn't always happen exactly to schedule, but it is useful to know about it in advance.

Lake_Tom

Looks like I will have to add a tube of baby wipes into my weight-budget. I am trying to get my mind around "skipping showers" in the context of those Bicycling Magazine articles about how imperitive it is to get your bike shorts off and into the laundry before wearing them again. I was never happy about going without showers when backpacking.

Here's a fun one--rub pulverized clay kitty litter into your hair to keep it from greasing up in a few days.

staehpj1

The little packages meant for carrying in a purse or small diaper bag work well.

On the issue with the shorts... I have often worn the same shorts on consecutive days without washing every night and I have not yet had saddle sore issues on tour or died of any dread diseases.

FWIW: The obsession with having to bathe or shower every day is a recent thing in human history. It is not required for good health or long life.

quester

Ah, but are you so sure? Long life is a recent thing as well...

staehpj1

Nope, can't prove it. I personally think we probably bathe more than is healthy though.

In my experience people who are obsessive about washing and germaphobes are among the least healthy folks I know. It is hard to tell which is cause and which is effect though.

In any case it is just an very unscientific observation, so take it for what it is worth.

Lake_Tom

In a seminar, a dermatologist advised us against washing "except where the germs are". Her thesis was that soaps strip away needed oils and useful bacteria and expose the skin to infectious bacteria. The soaps also lead to wrinkles. Her exception was for people who work outside and have to bathe.

I don't think her advice works for those with oily skin.

Wrestlefox

Not true. Read the Old Testament in the Bible. There have been people to live almost 1,000 years old. That was in b.c.

Kitty litter is one of the last things I want to voluntarily put on my body. Especially if it's been used!!! lol

spinnaker

And probably not for anyone with friends.

cyccommute 

For planning, certainly use Google Maps. For on the road, the Adventure cycling maps are good for the area that they cover but they don't usually have much information outside of the route. I carry AAA maps for the states that I'm going to be riding in for the off-route stuff. Google maps are too hard to fold

metzenberg

Torrilin,

Nice to see another Madisonian here! I was born in Madison, but I no longer live there. My experience is actually the opposite of yours. In Wisconsin, I find that the Federal highways have too much traffic. Yet in Pennsylvania, which I have toured in twice, Federal Route 6 across the northern tier of the state is a marked bike route for the state, and is quite manageable.

As a current FIB (F&%*ing Illinois B@st@rd) I find myself admiring Wisconsin's efforts to build good bike routes. Wisconsin's statewide network is one of the most complete, with rail trails that are close to linking major cities like Milwaukee and Madison. With great trails into and out of metropolitan areas, like the Military Ridge Trail, the Glacial Drumlin Trail, and the Ozaukee Interurban Trail, Wisconsin is a national leader. I saw the article in this Sunday's Wisconsin State Journal about bike trails building. It seems like Wisconsin towns really understand the benefits, and they are asking for more trails.

I have toured with Google maps as my source, in both 2006 and 2007. I also tried Mapquest. Both of those tours were in the east. I found that it was extremely hard to use these tools to plan an across country trip on minor roads.

Since 2007 I have discovered another kind of tool, which is the new sites that are built on top of Google maps, some of these are excellent for building bike routes. Try using Google's follow the road feature as developed on gpsies and bikely.

www.gpsies.com
www.bikely.com
www.sanoodi.com
www.cyclistnexus.com

On gpsies.com, I have built a number of bike routes in both Wisconsin/Illinois and in the New England region. I am on my way to New England in a few weeks. My current favorite tool for building and planning routes is gpsies.com, but I have continued to use some of the others. On the first three, my account is under my name "metzenberg" just as it is here. Have a look at these tools.

Howard

Wrestlefox

Thanks man. I definitely will.