I'm going to lose my job on January 30th. (Actually, I'm the guy in charge and I'm laying myself off.) I've never done any touring, but, if I wanted to take February and March and go someplace and tour for a couple of months, where would I go? I'm in Northern Michigan and would be looking for someplace where the lows stay around 40 or upper 30's. Although, I've done lots of camping in much lower temps. I don't need, or want, real warm weather. I'd also rather stay East of the Mississippi if possible, but would be open to other areas. I've got all the equipment and the choice of a couple of different bikes. I'd be camping most of the time. I might need to get some front panniers, but that would be about it. And, by the way, I hate going on busy roads, so rural and sparsely populated would be the route of choice. Also, I'll not be in any hurry to get anywhere, in fact, I describe my style as "aggressively slow."

Any ideas?

John

Your temp and area requirements pretty much limit touring to the Gulf Coast states. For lighter traffic, just stay away from cities and US highways. By avoiding US highways tho, you'll likely have no decent shoulder for riding. That's the trade off.

The main drag along the coast is a mad house of traffic and strip malls, but that's where the beautiful beaches and parks are. Not far inland, it becomes nicely rural.

I do many all day rides in the summer and have enjoyed the back roads, even though there be no shoulder. There's usually very few cars, so that's not a big issue with me.

Thanks for your comments.

John

I don`t have any specific advice since all my time on that side of the river was spent staggering from bar to bar around the posts I was stationed at, but I wanted to say good luck and offer my congratulations or condolances- not sure which applies most. One suggestion I can make is to cruise Crazyguyonabike. See where other people have gone, read how it went for them on different routes, check out the pics, and you should be able to get some good ideas for your own trip.

How about the ACA Southern Tier from Louisanna to Florida? Get ST maps 5, 6 and 7. It's about 1260 miles.

Just in case you end up in Northern Florida, you might this find part of my tour journal useful. State highway 20 fits your low traffic requirements plus has a good shoulder. I think part of it may be on the Southern Tier.

ACA??

John

Adventure Cycling Association

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

Thanks,

John