andrewx

I would like to do an unsupported, solo, credit card tour, from Fort Worth, TX to Cleveland OH. I don't have the ability, or the time, to develop a route so I am looking to pay someone to do this for me. I would like to ride around 70 miles per day, with consideration for terrain and hotels. I don't know how much to pay for this service, but I realize this is a big undertaking. I think it might be a good idea to pay part of front and a bonus after. I certainly understand that I am going to have to improvise along the way, as things can and do change. My planned departure date time is around May 2009.
comments and suggestions are appreciated.
Andrew

Machka 

Here's what you do ... get on your bicycle in Fort Worth, TX, and start riding toward Cleveland, OH. Improvise along the way, as things can and do change.

Oh, and ... between now and May 2009, pick up a few maps and a compass.

pasopia

I never plan routes in advance, beyond the very basics. (ie new york to montreal to quebec to boston). Just buy a map that has hotels on it and make it up as you go along. Planning is boring.

ernok1923

well, you have the "ability" since it is obvious that you either own a computer, or at least have access to a computer, you can research maps online. state bicycle maps, topographical maps, and transportation volume maps are available from most states online. for free. some bike maps even double as topographical maps.

i recently planned a trip (not terribly long, about 110 miles round trip) in another state on roads i have never been on using GoogleEarth, which is also free. i needed to cross over a river and i was able to get a first hand view (as if i was actually biking down the street) of several bridge choices. on a regular map i thought i would have to cross the fifth one down the river, but GoogleEarth let me see that the first bridge would work just fine, thereby saving me a few miles. plus, you can tilt the map so that you can 'see' the topography and move through your route. for me, still a novice at this program, all this took a little over an hour.

and i am guessing that somewhere between now, may of 2008, and your departure period of may of 2009 (one whole year away), you can find a few hours to sit down and map a route to your liking. no one else can know what roads you would prefer (curvy, straight, rolling, wide shoulders, heavy traffic, etc.).

however....

should you still decide against mapping it yourself, send me a message. and start saving up now.

mev

Here are some simple do-it-yourself guidelines:
(1) Go to maps.google.com. Type in Cleveland, OH as destination and Fort Worth, TX as origination. Click "avoid highways" and ask for a route.
(2) Buy a road atlas to review the suggestion
(3) Go to www.motelguide.com. This lists some of the Mom & Pop motels in cities along your way. When you pass big cities or major interstate highway junctions you can often expect chain motels as well. Take along pages of the states you will pass through.
(4) Buy state highway maps as you go along.

Depending on your style, for this part of the US, you can defer parts of this until you are cycling and each day pick potential destinations including your knowledge of motels, weather and experiences the preceding days.

Rogerinchrist

Pay the lady.

nasiralpharia

Or you can pay me $2,500 dollars and I will do this for you... Geez some ppl just have to go and give away my secrets

I thought about moving near hollywood, so I could get all of the stars to pay insane amounts to do something. Maybe I could teach them to ride bikes for $5,000 a lesson....

BengeBoy 

If your question is serious, I'll do it for $75 an hour, donated to the charity of my choice.

andrewx

I had no idea it was such a crime to humanity to pay an expert to do something that you were not skilled at or had a passion for. In fact, I believe this is the basis for the improvement and advancement of the human race. "you grow the food, I'll make the tools." Of course I can use google and mapmyride, etc, etc. However, I don't have any interest or inate skill for those activities. I always read about people who are scraping up funds to bike tour and someone in that situation could make some money by providing a service that was enjoyable to them. All of you smartie pantses do not know my situation. What if I have more work than I can get done at $200 per hour? Should I forgoe that work to look up hotels and streets? What if I suck at reading maps? What if I have never been on a bike tour and would like some assistance/advice/guidance/encouragement? What is easy and/or fun for one person is not for another. I realize cyclists are an independent group, but I am really surprised by the sarcastic responses to my post. I hope you don't treat everyone offering you employment in the same manner. Well I better go, I need to remove my gall bladder. I would go to a doctor but I learned how to on the wikipedia and those doctors cost a lot of money. I guess rich idiots in hollywood probably pay other people to mow their lawns and cut their hair too.

pasopia

Relax. Most people gave you advice.

You could pay these people and use their maps.

https://www.adventurecycling.org/rout...ndrailroad.cfm

Camel

Recognising and Dealing with Trolls: https://www.teamtechnology.co.uk/troll-tactics.html

pasopia

combined with

https://www.adventurecycling.org/routes/southerntier.cfm

Machka 

I think most of us just point our bicycles in the direction we want to go ....... and ride. We don't look up hotels and street, we just ride ... and if we see a hotel (or hostel, or B&B, or campground, or whatever) around about the same time that we feel we're done for the day, we stop.

You do ride your bicycle, right? Well, this weekend, go for a ride in the general direction of where you want to go ... explore a route. Next weekend try out some different roads. The following weekend head off in a slightly different direction. A year from now, you'll be very familiar with all the possibilities for the first day or two of your tour ... and you'll be fit enough to do the tour.

Once you're familiar with what to expect in the first day or two, the rest of the days are a repeat performance ... only in unknown territory.

Now, even if someone planned the whole route for you, and told you when to stop to eat, sleep, etc. ... you're still going to know how to read a map. Sorry, but if you want to go on a bicycle tour, you will have to spend the next year learning how to read a map. It's not difficult!

Dahon.Steve

Here's what to do.

1. Buy a Garmin GPS ---- Etrek Legend

2. Buy the software- Street and Trips - It also lists hotels and motels, stores etc

3. Learn how to creates routes (Avoiding turnpikes, interstates and parkways) and upload them into your GPS

4. Save them into your GPS.

5. Ready, Set, GO!

This is going to be over 1200 miles on bicycle and no one can give you a good route becase we don't know how the volume of traffic will be. However, you're be better off creating a route on your own and it does take quality time. It would probably take me about 15-20 hours to create a route using the GPS/Software and maybe more if I had to plan rest stops. It can be boring at times but if it's your first time, you'll be amazed at how huge the country really is.

I still think whoever makes your route, have them save it in a GPS and learn to use it. It's going to be very difficult to follow their route with maps because country roads are often not marked or have signs. However, the GPS can keep you in the right direction with the stops and routes saved in the unit.

58Kogswell

I'll bite. What is it you do at $200 an hour?

stevage

What I find odd is someone paying money to avoid learning the skills they'll need to make a successful trip. If you can't read a map and find places to stay, choose between alternate roads, estimate the distance you can cover in a day, etc, it would be worth getting some practice in those before you set out...

>What if I have never been on a bike tour and would like some assistance/advice/guidance/encouragement?

Somewhat different to paying someone to do your homework for you...

Steve

BengeBoy 

Did you see my offer?

$75 an hour, donated to my favorite charity.

Serious offer; I can do this over the summer in my spare time. You'll get a route, and the money will go to a good cause.

kopid03

I'll do it this summer for $15/hr.

BengeBoy 

OK, you now have two serious offers.

Dan The Man

I'll do it for a flat rate of $300 based on what you wrote in your first post. If the specific deliverables or details change a bit, the price can be negotiated accordingly. I won't be able to get around to it until the fall though.

Newspaperguy

I'll make some rough plans for myself before heading out, but the schedule then becomes very flexible. Anything can happen on tour and I want to be prepared for it all. If I were to prepare a detailed plan of exactly which roads to take and where to stop for the night, it would probably be fine. But what happens if, on my second day out and half-way down the road, something goes wrong? I might encounter a detour or a freak storm or a significant mechanical problem or I might need medical care. Under any of those circumstances, my plan has to change quickly.

Also, if I were to plan a rough route from Fort Worth to Cleveland, it would be the route I'd like to follow, not necessarily the route you'd prefer. You might not like the same kinds of roads or the same kinds of terrain I'd enjoy. That's part of the reason so many of us recommend you plan your own route.

For your first trip, you'll probably want a rather detailed plan, but somewhere along the way, the plan won't seem all that important. For your second tour, you'll probably find yourself jotting down some rough notes on a couple of pieces of paper and then moving on from there.

supcom

Just go south to Austin to pick up the Southern Tier route and take it east to the Underground Railroad route. Take it north to Cleveland. If you need a route to Austin, look up the one that the Ft Worth Bike Association uses for their annual Austin to Ft Worth ride and follow it in reverse. I believe they publish it on the FWBA web site.

Although doing this will take a little longer, you'll be able to use the well maintained Adventure Cycling routes. Since you admit that route making is not your thing, you would be best to use proven routes so that you minimize the chance of having to reroute on the fly.

The Adventure Cycling maps are not free, but are a bargain for the wealth of information they provide.

If you like, you make a donation to your favorite charity in exchange for this information.

ernok1923

despite any sarcasm picked up in my previous post, this was really what i should have added. the reason i suggested ways for to do it yourself is to learn these skills.

i too am very busy. i work long hard days, all the while standing on concrete and i don't make much money. i come home very tired almost everyday, but i MAKE time to learn more about skills that will help touring and also to ride my bike.

if you don't do the leg work before hand, how can you fix it when a problem arises?

mwl6464

Originally Posted by mev Here are some simple do-it-yourself guidelines:
(1) Go to maps.google.com. Type in Cleveland, OH as destination and Fort Worth, TX as origination. Click "avoid highways" and ask for a route.
(2) Buy a road atlas to review the suggestion
(3) Go to www.motelguide.com. This lists some of the Mom & Pop motels in cities along your way. When you pass big cities or major interstate highway junctions you can often expect chain motels as well. Take along pages of the states you will pass through.
(4) Buy state highway maps as you go along.

Depending on your style, for this part of the US, you can defer parts of this until you are cycling and each day pick potential destinations including your knowledge of motels, weather and experiences the preceding days.


Question-How do you get it to show safer less travelled Hwys? I tried google maps for my area and it showed hwys that are not safe for riding ,no shoulders-way too much traffic. I know this because I live here, and familier with roads, but to do this with states ,I never ran before could be a problem.

Newspaperguy

This is where I use a low-tech solution. I prefer using the provincial or state highway maps as they tend to have different colours or patterns to identify primary highways and less busy roads.