Appalachian trail - possible to cycle
 

Hi,

I saw last week a documentary about the appalachian hiking trail on TV. I saw no difficult path during in that documentary so I'm just curios. Is it possible to cycle - or is it prohibited?

Thomas

Mostly prohibited. There are places where it isn't, but I don't think they amount to any significant portion.

Edit:
Just to clarify... I don't want to give the wrong impression. The places I mention where bikes are not prohibited are very short sections where it crosses bridges or uses short sections of roads or other trails.

Thanks

A note:

http://www.nps.gov/appa/planyourvisit/gettingaround.htm

Bikes aren't allowed on the AT. Good thing, too. Mountain bikes would destroy the trail, which already suffers from a lot of use. Generally speaking, mountain bikes should stay off hiking trails. It's not safe for hikers and bike tires really tear up the trails.

http://www.blueridgeskyline.com/
^^^
If you are looking for the same mountains but on the roads

Nope. No bikes. We dropped into a section of the AT by mistake during a MTB ride in 95. I guess we
had been reported, because Ranger Rick showed up and was NOT happy at all. Live and learn.

Aside from the legalities, it would be extremely difficult to ride many sections of the AT. The Lemon Squeezer and Agony Grind are well named. Depending on where you go you might be carrying your bike a lot.

Speedo

I've hiked up Mt. Kahtadin, where the AT ends, and I can tell you with absolute certainty, you could not ride a bike up there. I know they call them mountain bikes, but you would have to carry the bike up that trail. Lots of climbing over boulders and such. Riding a bike would be impossible.

No biking, as everyone already said.
I would, however, HIGHLY recommend hiking it, or some part of it, if you can.
It is a beautiful and LONG trail.
I hiked it a couple of years ago.
It changed my life.

My backyard.

In addition to the legality and the trail erosion, MTBs would completely kill the mood (I do some MTBing).

When ridding properly, mountain bikes cause less trail damage than hikers and far less damage than horses. Hawaii has some trails that people blamed mountain bikers for damaging, they closed the trails to mountain bikers but the trail damage has continued after several years with just hiking on the trail.

I grew up in Colorado and did extensive back packing long before mountain bikes came along. I saw the same trail damage then, that is now being blamed on mountain bikers today.

I see far more mountain bikers doing trail maintenance than I see hikers.

Saw that one coming.

Johny, I don`t know if it interrests you or not, but the Great Divide Trail, which more or less follows the spine of the Rocky Mountains on dirt roads is bicycle legal. There are a few other well known offorad routes that are mostly bike legal- Arizona Trail and I think the Colorado Trail, too. And the Adventure Cycling Utah Cliffs route is mostly offroad, I think. The Pacific Crest Trail, folowing the Sierra Nevada from border to border is closed to bicycles.

Hi,

it was just for the information. So if tour the once longtime in US I'll realy have difficulties with visa. Cycling through the whole country and hiking this trail takes more than 180 days. (For the trail I would calculate something between 80-100 days)

Thomas

Took me five and a half months to through hike the AT.

I am not sure I follow. Riding across the US usually take 9-12 weeks on the TA or NT for most self supported riders (less for the ST). Thru hiking the AT typically takes 6 months plus or minus a bit.

Hi,

Touring the US will be roughly a tour like this for me: Boston - Key West - Missisippi - there a bit north - than near the border to San Diego - Seattle - through the Rockies down to Las Vegas - then again through the Rockies up to the Canadien border - Niagara Falls. (Appalachien Trail option) - Boston.

Normally I hike untrained about 30-35 km per day. On the Icefield Parkway: I hiked two half day hikes and cycled about 70 km per day.

Thomas

Wow, that`s a LONG trip. I`m sure you`ll get a comprehensive view of the US!

That's just an idea - no plan. May be if I'm retired (in 30 years)...So far I was 5 times in USA - never with my bike. Okay once on the ferry from Vancouver to Victoria ;-)

Well, since you`ve traveled in the US a lot already, I imagine you understand the distances. I wasn`t sure before your last post. We met a Belgian woman a few years ago in Death Valley NP who had a CRAZY schedule for her trip. She was a profesional photographer who had driven from San Francisco to Yosemite and planned to drive her rental car from there to Grand Canyon, then to the national parks in Utah and back to San Francisco again within a two week trip. That`s probably around 2000 miles of driving- she just didn`t realize that the parks were so big and so far apart because she was accustomed to maps of European countires. Anyway, it doesn`t sound like you`ll run into that issue.

Hi,

No that wouldn't happen but I've some other stupid things in my mind. For instance crossing the Grand Canyon from North Rim to South Rim with fully loaded touring bike :D

By the way this idea was born than I stand on the North Rim...

Thomas

"When ridding properly"

I rest my case.

Anyway, even when true that there is less damage, which I don't doubt is true in certain circumstances, that's a fairness argument. Part of the issue is keeping numbers down, so rather than opening a trail that already gets too much damage to other means of transportation, they just keep with the traditional access rules.

Another thing is the amount of distance one can cover on a bike. At best are you saying that there is less damage per mile travelled, but travelling many more miles means more erosion in a given day.

I wish we had more ATB access, because as a result of an accident I find walking difficult, but biking is sorta my wheelchair. There is an assumption that if you needed a wheelchair, you couldn't bike, but it is certainly not the case for me. I can keep up reasonably well on a bike, but walking wears me down rather quickly and the following day after a long walk, I am worse. I don't need a wheelchair, but I am handicapped to a degree.