Across the US in 2008

Quoted message said:

I would really appreciate some guidance as to road rules with
bicycles, routes and any other tips. I am also looking for a good book
to assist with planning. I am an Australian hence the dumb questions!

If you've cycled from Sydney to Perth, I don't think you'll find a
huge difference
other than that the lower 48 US states are about the same size as
Australia
with more than ten times the number of people (hence when you hear
about
"the loneliest road, US50 in Nevada" you will chuckle when comparing
it to
the Nullabor).

A good website to start with is Adventure Cycling http://www.adv-cycling.org
They sell some reasonable maps and have links to journals and other
tips.

I cycled across the USA (twice) and around Australia (once). My web
page
with pointers to both a USA crossing and the Australia
circumnavigation can
be found at http://www.mvermeulen.com/oneyear

--mev, Mike Vermeulen

roger said:

I have just completed a ride across Australia (see rmy blog at
rogermcd.livejournal.com)

I am now keen to ride across the US. I would like to start from San
Francisco (my one lives there.)

I would really appreciate some guidance as to road rules with
bicycles, routes and any other tips. I am also looking for a good book
to assist with planning. I am an Australian hence the dumb questions!

I would apreciate any assiatnce

www.crazyguyonabike.com has a fair number of journals for across the US
trips. These will be somewhat similar to your blog (except for the donations
part).

For example, here's a link to 125 journals from people who've taken
"TransAmerica Trail" (Adventure Cycling).
http://www.crazyguyonabike.com/doc/categories/?o=rzyi&category_id=99&doctype=journal

roger said:

I am now keen to ride across the US. I would like to start from San
Francisco (my one lives there.)

I would really appreciate some guidance as to road rules with
bicycles, routes and any other tips. I am also looking for a good book
to assist with planning. I am an Australian hence the dumb questions!

Other folks have pointed you to Adventure Cycling...

Of course, we ride on the other side of the road here, and I
found when cycling in Britain & NZ that the worst problem with
changing from left to right handed roads is the turns --- at
first you will have a tendency when turning to go into the wrong
lane, which will be cured the first time you face a big bus or 18
wheeler.

IMHO the various Lonely Planet guides, published by your fellow
Aussies, are pretty reliable regarding low-budget touring,
although they are not bike specific.

Going from west to east, as you will be doing, is going *with*
the prevailing winds, which is good. In much of the far West and
Rocky Mtn region, cycling on the interstate freeways is allowed
outside of urban areas, but you have to check the laws in each
state separately.

Each state has its own highway or transportation dept., and many
of them publish bike maps at the local or county level that show
which roads are paved or unpaved, which have shoulders, and those
that don't allow bicycles. I have obtained such maps for
planning trips in Wisconsin, Illinois, California, and
Washington. In most cases, I was able to order them by email or
from the state's web site.

You can find the state web sites by searching on google (try
something like "State of California"😉. Most state also have
official tourism web sites which can offer a lot of info, too.

The American Automobile Association (AAA) sells county level road
maps to members, and has local offices all around the country.
They have reciprocal member privileges with auto associations in
other countries, so if you're a member of the Aussie equivalent
check with them.

And don't forget the 49th, and largest, state --- Alaska! We see
a lot of Aussies here.

Thanks for all this info. It has been great help

Regards,

Roger

On Oct 3, 5:22 pm, [email hidden] (Dennis P. Harris)

Quoted message said:

On Mon, 01 Oct 2007 00:37:00 -0700 in rec.bicycles.rides, roger

Quoted message said:

I am now keen to ride across the US. I would like to start from San
Francisco (my one lives there.)

Quoted message said:

I would really appreciate some guidance as to road rules with
bicycles, routes and any other tips. I am also looking for a good book
to assist with planning. I am an Australian hence the dumb questions!

Other folks have pointed you to Adventure Cycling...

Of course, we ride on the other side of the road here, and I
found when cycling in Britain & NZ that the worst problem with
changing from left to right handed roads is the turns --- at
first you will have a tendency when turning to go into the wrong
lane, which will be cured the first time you face a big bus or 18
wheeler.

IMHO the various Lonely Planet guides, published by your fellow
Aussies, are pretty reliable regarding low-budget touring,
although they are not bike specific.

Going from west to east, as you will be doing, is going *with*
the prevailing winds, which is good. In much of the far West and
Rocky Mtn region, cycling on the interstate freeways is allowed
outside of urban areas, but you have to check the laws in each
state separately.

Each state has its own highway or transportation dept., and many
of them publish bike maps at the local or county level that show
which roads are paved or unpaved, which have shoulders, and those
that don't allow bicycles. I have obtained such maps for
planning trips in Wisconsin, Illinois, California, and
Washington. In most cases, I was able to order them by email or
from the state's web site.

You can find the state web sites by searching on google (try
something like "State of California"😉. Most state also have
official tourism web sites which can offer a lot of info, too.

The American Automobile Association (AAA) sells county level road
maps to members, and has local offices all around the country.
They have reciprocal member privileges with auto associations in
other countries, so if you're a member of the Aussie equivalent
check with them.

And don't forget the 49th, and largest, state --- Alaska! We see
a lot of Aussies here.

Ron Wallenfang said:

5. Crossing the Mississippi River can be an issue. Many bridges are
closed to bicycles. Investigate before committing!

There's a web page somewhere that has a detailed list of Mississippi River
crossing info for bicycles, but I can't find it.

I do know that I-72 at Hannibal MO is open to bicycles (used it this
summer). There are also bridges in the St. Louis area at Alton (and farther
south, at Chain of Rocks). In the St. Louis area there are also two bridges
allowing bicycles that cross the Missouri (370 and 364). There are ferries
at Winfield, MO and Golden Eagle, IL

According to this, http://www.liveri.com/backyard/BikePaths_53.html there's
a bridge at Quad Cities IL-IA.

I went across the bridge at Clinton, IA many years ago, but don't know its
current status.

Ron's comment is certainly well taken. Plan ahead and check. (Or, you can
sit and look pitiful until somebody in a pickup truck offers you a ride.
This probably wouldn't take long.)

roger wrote

Quoted message said:

I would really appreciate some guidance as to road rules with
bicycles, routes and any other tips.

Much of the terrain crossing the USA is kinda boring to ride, I suspect
based on car-driving I've done and cycle-touring stories I've read. I don't
think you'll have any trouble finding route sections which verify that
guess, so I think what does merit planning consideration is how to get to
some non-boring (or at least less-boring) riding.

Some thoughts:
* Mountains can sometimes be interesting. And USA does have some big
mountains. But most are not as spectacular as the Dolomites, so I think it's
worth encountering them in their prettiest circumstance. And I think most
mountains are more pretty with some _snow_ on them -- you get nice contrast
of bright white with dull dark rock or green trees. So the best season is
late spring, after the mountain roads open but before most of the snow in
view from them melts away. (Springtime is also good for mountain flowers.)
Therefore if starting from the West coast, for that purpose it's good to
start around May. (possibly earlier if planning to use non-high passes over
the Sierra + Rocky mountains). If starting from SF, then an important
question for non-boring riding is "When will Tioga Pass open in 2008?"

Some ideas for interesting riding:
* seacoast of Oregon. (might try to get Kirkendall + Spring: "Bicycling the
Pacific Coast".)
* various places within 200km of San Francisco. In addition to regional
websites, might consider getting the Lonely Planet guidebook by Gierlich +
others: "Cycling USA West Coast".

* Tioga Pass road across the Sierra mountains.
.. (The two items listed above could be used to fill time while waiting for
Tioga Pass to open).

* Route 395 in California south from Bridgeport or Lee Vining to at least
Big Pine, perhaps Lone Pine. If it's a good snow year, should be spectacular
in early May.
* national parks in Southwest Utah (e.g. Bryce Canyon), and in Southeast
Utah (also famous for mountain biking, if you can pause for a couple of
days).
* southeast Colorado: the road across three passes between Durango +
Silverton + Ouray.
* Colorado's western half is generally full of "highest X" and "highest Y",
so if you want to "check off" some of those, e.g. highest paved road,
highest paved pass crossing, highest year-round inhabited town, most
pretentious over-priced ski resort, etc.
* what's the highest paved-road crossing of the Continental Divide? (or
perhaps better, what's the most _interesting_ high crossing of the Divide?)

Between western Colorado and eastern Pennsylvania, I don't have any
suggestions - (except consider using bus transportation to get you closer to
whatever special points of interest you think you want to hit). If it were
me I might try to spend a few days in the deep South -- because I've never
been there, and I've heard it's so different from the coasts and the western
mountains.

The eastern USA mountains are mostly not very interesting after seeing the
Sierras and southern Utah and southwest Colorado. I wish I could recommend
some place along the eastern seacoast, but it's hard to think of a place
with continuous good riding that stays close to the ocean. (It's a good
thing you're coming to USA first, before getting "spoiled" by some of the
spectacular riding on the Mediterranean coastal roads). Maybe could try a
day on Cape Cod (with a ferry thru Provincetown) and half a day of riding on
Martha's Vineyard island.

In my other post I mentioned the mid-Hudson valley in NY and New York City
as interesting riding places. Sharon and I have tried some riding in other
northeast states, haven't yet found another area that offers a riding
experience much different in the sense of "better", though we have found
lots of New England riding that's less interesting and with a lower
percentage of pretty sights. So I'm left feeling that Columbia county in
eastern NY is the easy place to get the feeling of "New England" riding.

Quoted message said:

some guidance as to road rules

Road rules around northeast USA where I live seem pretty much like most of
(non-UK) western Europe.

Quoted message said:

I am also looking for a good book to assist with planning.

Other than Adventure Cycling materials, I suggest trying web searches -- not
just for overall coast-to-coast routes, but also for suggestions about
routes for particular regions. e.g. here's a discussion of long-distance
riding thru southeastern New York:
http://roberts-1.com/bikehudson/r/m/long_distance
btw I've noticed that in the last couple of years, New York state Dept of
Transportation has added several new long-distance routes marked by road
signs. So for those riders (not me) looking for routes with that important
characteristic of minimizing the mental distraction deciding what turns to
make, New York state has been thinking of you.

Ken

Ken Roberts said:

* Colorado's western half is generally full of "highest X" and "highest Y",
so if you want to "check off" some of those, e.g. highest paved road,
highest paved pass crossing, highest year-round inhabited town, most
pretentious over-priced ski resort, etc.

Whew? Choose just one from so many? Aspen? Vail? Telluride?

Quoted message said:

* what's the highest paved-road crossing of the Continental Divide? (or
perhaps better, what's the most _interesting_ high crossing of the Divide?)

Highest, I believe, is Trail Rider Pass in Rocky Mountain NP. Most
interesting is IMHO a three-way toss-up: Trail Rider, Loveland, or
Independence.

Bill

__o | There are no Republican folk songs.
_`\(,_ |
(_)/ (_) | --Utah Phillips

Mike Kruger said:

Ron Wallenfang said:

5. Crossing the Mississippi River can be an issue. Many bridges are
closed to bicycles. Investigate before committing!

There's a web page somewhere that has a detailed list of Mississippi River
crossing info for bicycles, but I can't find it.

I do know that I-72 at Hannibal MO is open to bicycles (used it this
summer). There are also bridges in the St. Louis area at Alton (and farther
south, at Chain of Rocks). In the St. Louis area there are also two bridges
allowing bicycles that cross the Missouri (370 and 364). There are ferries
at Winfield, MO and Golden Eagle, IL

According to this,http://www.liveri.com/backyard/BikePaths_53.htmlthere's
a bridge at Quad Cities IL-IA.

I went across the bridge at Clinton, IA many years ago, but don't know its
current status.

Ron's comment is certainly well taken. Plan ahead and check. (Or, you can
sit and look pitiful until somebody in a pickup truck offers you a ride.
This probably wouldn't take long.)

FWIW, I've crossed the Mississippi at Bemidji (where the river is a
brook), the Twin Cities, Prairie du Chien, Dubuque, Cape Girardeau and
Helena. I learned I couldn't cross at Memphis or Vicksburg.

On Oct 4, 10:04 am, "Ken Roberts" <[email hidden]>
wrote:

New York City is one of the most interesting bicycling places in the
USA.
Central Park at mid-day might be the best urban cycling loop in the
world.
And there's a set of cycle paths most (but not all) of the way around
Manhattan island. And how could "riding the USA" be a complete
achievement
without including a demonstration of handling the "streets of New York
City"
.. . . Fifth Avenue, Broadway, Wall Street, the Brooklyn Bridge -- how
can
you claim to have "ridden the USA" without riding those?

What is a more fitting conclusion to a ride starting from San
Francisco than
to finish by riding across the George Washington Bridge across the big
Hudson river into New York City?

Very eloquently stated. I've biked all of those except Wall St.
There's one minor detail. To enjoy Manhattan, you either have to
start and end there or else cross either the CT or NJ suburbs and
exurbs for 50 or so miles. I did both, in order to cross metro NYC on
my 2004 ride. And both are a real bummer.

Quoted message said:

Ken Roberts said:

* Colorado's western half is generally full of "highest X" and "highest Y",
so if you want to "check off" some of those, e.g. highest paved road,
highest paved pass crossing, highest year-round inhabited town, most
pretentious over-priced ski resort, etc.

Whew? Choose just one from so many? Aspen? Vail? Telluride?

Quoted message said:

* what's the highest paved-road crossing of the Continental Divide? (or
perhaps better, what's the most _interesting_ high crossing of the Divide?)

Highest, I believe, is Trail Rider Pass in Rocky Mountain NP. Most
interesting is IMHO a three-way toss-up: Trail Rider, Loveland, or
Independence.

No bid deal, but since I live here ....

It's Trail Ridge Road, and it's the highest *continuous* paved road as
well as the highest paved pass (Mt. Evans is the highest paved road, but
it ends at the top and doesn't take you anywhere else).

Independence Pass is indeed interesting - and very scenic - especially
when it reduces to a lane and a half. ô¿Ô¬

Here's more than you probably need to know:
http://cyclepass.com/t_e_colo_passtables.html

And my favorite (paved on the east side, dirt on the west) is Cottonwood
Pass:
http://cyclepass.com/t_p_Cottonwood_Sawatch.html
It is little traveled and makes for a wonderfully serene climb on
pavement to over 12,000 feet.

--
*****************************
Chuck Anderson • Boulder, CO
http://www.CycleTourist.com
The world is my country,
Science, my religion.
*****************************

Ron Wallenfang wrote

Quoted message said:

To enjoy Manhattan, you either have to
start and end there or else cross either the CT or NJ suburbs and
exurbs for 50 or so miles.

Yes I think the nicest way in or out of NYC is the north (with the most
popular on-road route running on the west side of Hudson River). Which sorta
leaves East or West as the other directions for planning a long-distance
route _through_ NYC.

But there's a new refinement: There is now on the east side a rail trail
going most of the way (mostly off-road, with some gaps which might require
local knowledge to connect) from a New York City subway terminal in the
Bronx thru Van Cortlandt Park and Westchester county to northern Putnam
county, and after a few miles which might have substantial traffic (on Rt
22, parts of which might have been incorporated into an official road-signed
bicycle route) or navigational complexity, then connects with some quiet
pretty roads in farmland (? or alternatively on Rt 22 ?) in Dutchess county
which connect to northern CT (or to Columbia county NY and then western MA)
for going east toward Boston. (I think the riding on east side and west
side of the Hudson are kinda different, so a trans-continental rider could
perhaps consider the "east north" and "west north" access to NYC as a route
continually progressing into new terrain, but with a "hairpin" turn at NYC.)

Quoted message said:

And both are a real bummer.

Actually I think New Jersey has lots of pleasant riding. The problem is that
finding that pleasant riding -- and connecting enough pieces of it to go
a long distance in some desired direction -- usually requires detailed local
knowledge and a complicated route. (I recall I thought you did pretty well
at finding a crossing of the Hackensack River).

So I can see how a long-distance cycle-tourist would get easily frustrated
trying to cross northern NJ east-west to connect NYC with PA. And I don't
have a simple solution to offer. (Though I now feel pretty comfortable with
connecting across northwestern NJ between upstate New York and PA.)

Ken

Thanks to Bill and Chuck for those ideas for Colorado.

Once in late May, Sharon and I were skiing the backcountry, with our car
parked at Independence Pass, and a solo cyclist arrived at the top of his
climb from the west. He was from Italy and asked us to use his camera to
take his picture with the pass marker sign. I remember being surprised that
he had no panniers on his bike -- everything was in a (non-large) backpack.
Lotsa snow around close to the road.

Chuck Anderson wrote

Quoted message said:

my favorite (paved on the east side, dirt on the west) is Cottonwood Pass:
http://cyclepass.com/t_p_Cottonwood_Sawatch.html

Some of my most memorable pass crossings in Europe have been on roads
unpaved on at least one side. I usually try to arrange my route to climb up
the unpaved or rougher side, so I can enjoy the less-bumpy descent. (For
reports from a guy who really got into taking his racer road bike across
little-known unpaved passes of the Alps, see
http://www.cycloclimbing.com
I just noticed that he's added a recent Colorado tour, and he indeed hit
Cottonwood Pass (with photos different from the link above), and some others
.. . .

Ken

On Wed, 03 Oct 2007 20:03:30 -0700 in rec.bicycles.rides, Ron

Wallenfang said:

4. The loneliest stretch on I-80 is in Utah west of SLC. The first
99 miles of Utah offered only a single gas station at mile 71.

this area is the salt flats, a famous area used for setting
automotive high speed records because it's so flat. also VERY
hot, and the white salt just reflects the heat, so you really
bake.