Azurit

Hi, I'm new to this place and I'm really glad that I found something like this. There seems to be many experienced travellers and thats why I want to ask you for your oppinion.

I would like to go on tour across US, coast to coast this summer (Jul-Aug). I'm not familliar with North America at all (I'm from Czech Rep.) so I decided to find a route that has been ridden by other people before. The best I could find was TransAmerica ACA route (OR->VA)

My question is: Would you suggest any alternatives, modifications, detours, etc. to the default route? My biggest interest is to see the most of the US, especially the nature (I'm not a "history/museum" type of guy, exceptions apply ).

I prefer roads and bike trails, planning to make it as low-cost as possible (camping, cooking, etc.)

I have done one smaller trip around Europe before (cca 3500km) and for navigation I used only my outdoor GPS with prepared routes (no paper maps, just some rather rough ones as a backup) so I guess I will do it the same way.

Also, other suggestions, tips and ideas are very welcome

Thanks!

Tandem Tom

My wife and I will be riding across the US this year and we are using the Lewis & Clark route which starts in St. Louis.
I would suggest you look at the Adventure Cycling routes as their maps arequite good.

staehpj1

The Trans America is a great route and gives a very good sampling of the US. Many deviations from the route are possible, but it is a great route as is. We did go our own way here and there, but on an impromptu basis. I suggest doing the same.

Cyclebum

To get the most for your epic tour, you can't beat the ACA Trans Am maps. Most of the planning is done for you with many notes about interesting stuff on route. You may save their cost by taking advantage of the overnighting suggestions.

fietsbob

I live on the very western end of the east- west one .. the linked route goes down the coast first,
then Over the Cascades via Eugene..

Louis and Clark Route heads upstream on the Columbia River valley .. to St. Louis MO.

river gorge cut thru the Cascade mountain range as it was forming..

Other routes you climb over that mountain range..
(Way south its a lower rise but summer is dangerously hot to be riding .. 40C + is common.)

the Jeffersonian Guys did it both ways, Of course.. BTW , the US West, It's bigger than you Think..

And the basin and range is a lot of wide open horizons .. carry water by the 10's of Liters + .

the tire dip in the Pacific at Sunset beach
as bookends with an Atlantic tire dip on the other end is something Many Do.

indyfabz

+1, and what Cyclebum says. You will also likely run into other riding the route.

Since you are not from these parts, I will add that, for camping, places like town/city parks are often free. U.S.F.S. campgrounds can also be low cost. State parks are probably next up on the cost ladder, although some can be cheaper for cyclists. Private campgrounds tend to be the most expensive, especially in the east. The ACA maps list the types of campgrounds, so they can help you save money as Cyclebum notes.

Azurit

Thank you all for fast replies! I'm definitely gonna look at the ACA maps

jamawani 

Ahoj Azurit -

You do not say whether you are thinking about riding east-to-west or west-to-east. There have been many debates, but this year the West is extremely dry already - and by August there are likely to be many forest fires and, perhaps closed areas. (Maybe like the 1988 Yellowstone fires) It may be better to do west-to-east.

Also, although the Transam is the most popular bike route and you are likely to meet up with other riders - it will be very hot for a person from the Czech Republic. In Kansas in July you will have temperatures every day hotter that the all-time record for Prague. July & August are not the best times to be riding through Kentucky, Missouri, and Kansas. Also, the Transam maps are expensive.

If you are willing to do some homework, there are many, many other possibilities. Most state publish free online maps - often including bike maps and traffic volume maps. Here is one from South Dakota - https://www.sddot.com/transportation/...affic_2012.pdf
As you can see, there are many blue and yellow choices.

One thing about saving money. You can camp for free - wild camp - in the West on BLM and forest service lands outside of regular campgrounds. (But NOT national park lands) Small towns - less than 1000 - are usually better for letting you camp for free in the park. Also, small town churches are often very nice. (Usually the name of the pastor is on the sign in front)

Šťastnou cestu! - - J

indyfabz

Funny. I was thinking about that last night when I saw a map of a portion of the west and Pacific northwest on some evening news show that showed the areas affected by drought and the lack of snow. My jaw dropped a bit. So many places where there should be snow have been relatively dry.

rm -rf

If you ride the TransAmerica route, here are some places to see:

Since you mentioned Jack Daniels: The Kentucky Bourbon Trail includes tours of 8 large bourbon whiskey distilleries, and 8 small craft distilleries. A couple of them are right on the TransAmerica routes, at Bardstown, and near Springfield and Harrodburg. ( It's not an actual trail, it's a map with directions to drive to each site.)


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The tour passes through Damascus, Virginia: The Virginia Creeper Trail is a converted railroad trail, with a crushed rock and dirt surface. The halfway point is at Damascus. From there, it climbs 1500 feet/450 meters in 17 miles/27 km to the end of the trail, following a mountain stream for most of the ride. The return ride all downhill! Most riders use wider tires than a road bike's tires. There's also a paid shuttle service, driving your bike to the top, to ride downhill, but it's much more interesting to bike up instead.

Creeper Trail

Lou Skannon

If you don't want spend on maps; just follow US Highway 20. All the way from Newport, Oregon to Boston, Mass. 3365 miles or 5415 km. Coast to coast on the same road.

fietsbob

Or 30, from Astoria to Atlantic City NJ.

Azurit

Hi guys!
well, until now i thought ACA TransAm was a sure thing for me, but after the high temperature warnings in southern states (especially when i plan to go mid-Jul -> mid-Sep) I'm not so sure...
I knew it will probably be hot in there but I really have no true experience with riding in these conditions.

So I guess next week (after my finals are over) I'll have to do some homework and try to look at other possibilities.

The new plan is:
1) Plan route coast-coast (probably starting and ending in big city because of easier air transport from/to Europe)
2) Visit as many US natural wonders (+ other US "must see" like maybe D.C., NY,...) along the way
3) Make the trip doable in 90 or less days minus some reserve (limited by max non-visa stay in US)
4) Try to find as many bike-friendly trails along the way (something like this)
5) Rather avoid hot/deserty areas???

About some of your comments:

I was originally planning west->east. I heard it is somewhat easier due to wind or something?

Yeah, I know. I just have no idea what the content of the map actually is? A map with highlighted trail? With itinerary? Text guide? Also is the "additional content" gonna help me that much? I'm used to use a GPS so ...

Nice, if I will eventually ride through that area it is a nice spot for a day off =)

Well, I will post my ideas after I do some research (soon I hope, need to buy plane tickets in advance)

Thank you so much for your support
Azurit

Jim from Boston

Just a few minutes ago, I posted our cross-country routing experience to another Touring Forum thread:

We took a vial of Pacific seawater across the country, with the intention to dump it into the Atlantic; I don’t think we did that finis to the trip yet.

boomhauer

If this is your one shot at an American West experience I would recomend Highway 50 across the state of Nevada. Camping is free and everywhere. Wild horses if you are very lucky.

indyfabz

Except that there are parts of U.S. 30 in PA (and probably other places) that you do not want to ride on most times of the day if self preservation is an important concern. And there is at least one part that you may not ride on since it is combined with I-76.

fietsbob

I flew to other people's countries for My Long Bike Tours..

Now, I can see US 30 from my door ..

indyfabz

Here is a sample of part of a map and a complete description of what they contain:

https://www.adventurecycling.org/rout.../map-features/

Some of them have profiles in hilly/mountainous regions. You can also download GPS waypoints for free.

The content is very useful for finding things like food/water and camping. The types of camground are listed. E.g, private, town/city park, U.S.F.S., BLM, state park, etc. From that, you can get a pretty good idea of the relaive cost of each place and potentially save yourself money and effort.

jamawani 

Azu -

Have you read Willa Cather's "My Antonia"? In English or in Czech?
If not, then it should be a book for you to read while you ride across the Great Plains.

Speaking of which - have you heard about the ZCBJ? Zapadni Ceska Bratrska Jednota
More Czechs settled in Nebraska than anywhere else - although few now speak Czech 100 years later.
Verdigre, Nebraska could be on your route - it would make an ideal half-way point.
You could eat kolachi at the bakery and they would treat you like a king - I'll bet.

About flying to the west coast and leaving from the east coast - -
You may want to buy a round-trip ticket via New York -
Then fly one-way from New York to Seattle or Portland.
That will probably be much cheaper than two one-way tickets.
Delta flies non-stop from Prague in the summer.
May have cheaper flights out of Frankfurt if someone can drive you there.

And are you shipping your bicycle or buying one here?

<<<>>>

You can plan an incredible trip without buying ACA maps.
Most states have bicycle guides online - plus you can get free state maps once there.
I might suggest Seattle to New York -
You can start with a ferry ride in Puget Sound with the Space Needle and Mount Rainier -
And end with a ferry ride across New York harbor with the Statue of Liberty and Manhattan skyline.

In between you can include many fabulous national parks and monuments -
Like Mount St Helens, Mount Rainier, Glacier, Yellowstone, Grand Teton,
Devil's Tower, Mount Rushmore, Badlands, Lewis & Clark, Indiana Dunes,
the Chesapeake & Ohio Canal Trail, and all the monuments in Washington, DC.

I would encourage you to allow yourself at least a day or two in your starting city.
Seattle is the headquarters of REI - which would be a great place to purchase any last-minute stuff.
I would also encourage you to go all the way out to the Pacific Ocean and see the waves.
Harbors are nice - - but the ocean is the real deal.

My guess is that a trip such as the one above will take about 10 weeks - 70 days.
Give yourself 2 or 3 days for the start and finish makes 75 days.
That gives you two weeks to play on the east coast before flying back.

Jama

PS - In the mountain West, especially early in the morning, the sky is the color of azurite.
(Photo - Going to the Sun Road in Glacier NP)

Rwc5830

Azurit, whichever route you take look into www.warmshowers.org. There are a lot of people who can host you and/or allow you to camp on their property. Sign up for free. I'm a warmshowers host but you would not want to ride in my area in the summer if you think Kansas, etc is hot...

I get cyclists in the winter going in/out of Mexico. But you're welcome to ride down my way! I've hosted cyclists from Turkey, Poland, Holland, South Korea, Canada, Italy, Australia, England, New Zealand, and Mexico and of course the USA....

Have fun and be safe.

Azurit

Hi guys! Sorry for the long pause, I've been busy lately because of college, etc.

Yeah, I heard of Czech communities in US but didn't know much about them, thanks for the tip.

I was thinking about it and decided, that despite the trouble and costs of taking the bike on the plane, I'll take it with me.
But I'm still willing to change my mind if you suggest better alternative.
One of the downsides is that I'll probably have to store my bike somewhere if I finish early and want to make bike-free trips in DC, NY, etc. I can't imagine riding with all the stuff around the city.
Speaking of which - Have you ever dealt with such a problem? I guess I'll just try to leave it at someone's place (It will probably be a matter of trusting that person/instituion enough to leave it there) and hope for the best.


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At the moment, after reading all your suggestions, I'm leaning more towards the northern route (OR, WY, SD, IN, ...) suggested by Jama. But nothing is final yet! I guess it is impossible to visit everything US has to offer in 90 days coast-to-coast on bike, especially in the west. If I go north, I'll probably miss some really great places like LA, SF, Sequoia NP, Grand Canyon or Arches :'( . Maybe I'll come back someday later (or when I'm old and gray =) ).

Again, your suggestions for which places to visit along the way are very welcome!
You guys are much greater help than I hoped, Thanks =)

I'll try to post my rough travel plan as soon as possible (want to buy plane tickets by the end of the month)

Azurit

Azurit

I have been looking into it and definitelly gonna sign up =)
About the hot weather - I don't really have any idea how hot it is down there but I looking at some google streetview pictures it doesn't seem like the most enjoyable place for several hour bike ride =D . But maybe I'm totally wrong

stevepusser

A lot of tourists cross the US from North to South along the Pacific Coast. It has by far the most campgrounds with special, cheap "hike and bike" sites, and most of them you'll probably share with other tourists going the same way, if you like company. It doesn't go through the big national parks, except Redwood, but if you have time, you can take Amtrak and its connector bus from Southern California right into the Yosemite Valley and hike 'n' bike at the backpackers campground.

euclidpb

I'm American, wife Czech. We live in winchester VA. We will start our tour across the states in July ( Starting on C&O canal trail, following Ohio, then Missouri River.

if you are in northern Virginia and would like a place to sleep, you are welcome.
We like the Delorme gazetteer maps ( ale moc peníze).
Čau, Paul.

Bezalel

Have you looked into getting a B-2 visa? It looks costly but at least you won't have to worry that a border agent won't believe your plans. https://prague.usembassy.gov/