I am from Maine, and would like to think I could leave for a cross country, round-trip tour of the USA with my pooch in tow by the end of March or beginning of April. Starting to map the route myself. Anyplace to steer clear of? Looking for people to journey with! I'd like to think I could do it with just rear panniers, and a trailer which will contain my doggie too. Camping most of the way? How much money did people start off with touring? How much does it take? All questions I want to talk about! Hopefully I can just post my travels right to this awesome bike forum! Talk to me! - k.East

Steer clear of big cities, 12% grades, 40 mph headwinds, mean dogs, and bears.

Figure on $20-30/day for you and pooch, free camping, and one restaurant meal a day. That should cover what you'll need to be reasonably comfortable. If it's going to be motels and paid camping, add that. Paid camping will average about $15/day.

The average load for self supported touring is about 40 pounds including pannier weight, but not the trailer and pooch. Weight only becomes a problem when going up hill. Appropriate low gearing can help a lot with that. Mount the best puncture resistant tires you can find.

Check here for another good cycle touring site. And here for people who host touring cyclist.

Yep ... $30/day is reasonable. If you free camp a few days, you might be able to afford to do some of the touristy things along the way too.