3 month trip.
 

Hi i am planning a 3 month bike trip starting september 5th.

i am starting from pittsburgh to the lehigh valley

then from there i would like to stop in philadelphia, baltimore, d.c. and so on making my way to savannah, ga.

from there i would like to go up to athens, ga followed by chattanoga, tn and then heading north again stopping in louisville, ky and then head home to columbus, oh.

i am looking for any suggested routes to take along the coast, any designated spots i should check out along the way. i know i am starting out on the Appalachian trail but from there i am just taking it as it comes.

Also any advice, i've only done a few day trips before and am excited to do this trip!
i have 3 month to do this trip maybe a little more.

thanks!

Should you be interested, the Adventure Cycling Association has created bike routes all over the US. One of them, the Atlantic Coast route runs from Philadelphia down to Savannah, GA.

Given the route you outlined, you will have more than enough, indeed too much, time to complete it. Are you intending to spend time in various places along the way or do you intend to ride the entire 3 months?

I recently rode from Charleston, SC to Lambertville, PA in under a month averaging about 50 miles on 20 biking days. I spent the rest of the time visiting places.

Since you haven't done a long bike tour before, I'd recommend that you gather your gear together and try some over night rides to a nearby town/campground to see how long you can ride in a day. What you learn on these trips will be the basis for the trip you've outlined above.

Good luck!

Ray

I am puzzled by the reference to the Appalachian trail.

I would suggest considering using the Adventure Cycling maps for the part going down the coast. The AC maps have a lot of useful info like locations and phone numbers of services and points of interest.

You mention a lot of major cities, many (most?) bicycle tourists generally avoid major cities hitting mostly rural areas and smaller towns. I think the Atlantic Coast Route may adapt well for you in that regard since it goes not too far from Philadelphia, has an option to go through Baltimore, and goes to Washington DC. In North Carolina it has an option of going along the barrier islands or taking a more inland route.

If you are passing through Baltimore and need a place to stay or other assistance, let me know.

Have a great trip!

yeah i plane on stopping in a lot of places for a day or two or more. my first stop is fleetwood, pa and i will be there from the 8th until the 20th and then continue south stopping and visiting friends along the way. In chattanoga i will be staying for a long period as well or at least hope to and then head back north.

i have been looking at the website and am looking very forward in using those trails.

thank you very much for advice and comments!

My journal for my trip up the Atlantic Coast is here. While it is in the opposite direction, it should give you a pretty good idea of what the ride will be like.

Expect to see a lot of trees!

Ray

wow, i didn't think it would cost 96.25 to get a map. i'm not quite sure who can afford that, at least i can't.

What's the weather like in that part of the country, that part of the year? You're going to be heading into winter - long cold nights, short days. Make sure you think that through, and have funds to make it home some other way and spend some nights in indoor accommodations if you run into really seriously bad weather.

Or consider just hanging a West when you get to the south, and staying where it's warmer?

You can possibly find used copies of the A.C. maps by posting here, A.C. or www.crazyguyonabike.cm

Have fun!

You would only use either two or three of the maps at $14.75 each. If $45 is going to make or break a 3 month tour, your budget must be really tight.

FWIW, the maps saved us more than they cost on our first tour. Our maps for the Trans America listed a lot of free and cheap places to stay that we would not have found on our own at that point in our touring careers. We got much better at finding free or cheap places to stay on our own as time went on, but I think the maps were a big help in that learning process. I can't say whether that would be the case for the Atlantic Coast maps though.

Not sure if there's something like the following for other states, but if you're ever planning a slow trip through Texas, it's a great place to start. Surely someone has done it for at least a few of the others.
http://www.amazon.com/Backroads-Texa.../dp/089123053X
(Only problem I have with it for bikes is that the older editions are huge - too big for a normal handlebar bag, and you might not fish it out as often if it's tucked into a pannier. This one gives smaller dimensions, so maybe it's time to update.)

Rainy. If you stay close to the coast, it will be somewhat warmer, if you try to follow the Appalachian Trail it will be colder. Either way, we're still showing the weather effects from El Nino... if that keeps up it will get cold and snowy early. On the bright side, I wouldn't expect winter to seriously kick in until late November in Pennsylvania. It's pretty unusual to have snow before Thanksgiving.

I gotta admit, I'm seriously boggled at the notion of riding north from Savannah tho. The timing would pretty much have to result in riding straight into the teeth of winter. Which is fine if it turns out that there's a mild winter... but that isn't the way to bet when planning something like this.