Cross-US Cycle Trip | Avoiding Highways

Quoted message said:

I'm planning a cycling trip across the U.S. as the starting leg of an
around-the-world trip.

I'm guessing that the road rules across the U.S. are pretty much the
same everywhere -- that is, you can't cycle on the highway.

Actually the rules vary considerably. Bicycling is allowed on almost
all highways with the exception of limited-access freeways. On the
latter the rules vary by state. In California and many other western
states, cycling on the shoulders of limited-access freeways is allowed
when there are no other reasonable alternatives. California law states
that bicycling is allowed on such roads *unless* they are explicitly
posted indicating that cycling is prohibited. In practice you'll find
that they are posted except where alternate roads would take you at
least a few miles out of your way. But that still leaves many such
highways open to cyclists although you're frequently required to exit
and re-enter at interchanges. Eastern states are generally less
permissive, but usually have more alternate routes. And policies still
differ - New Jersey had a policy of allowing cyclists on quite a few
freeway shoulders provided they obtained a readily available permit (not
sure if this program is still in effect).
Major bridges, especially toll bridges, can also be a problem for cyclists.

Quoted message said:

I'm using
Microsoft Streets and Trips but I don't see a way to tell the program
to never route highways.

The Garmin maps I use with my GPS units allow me to specify the vehicle
type and will route accordingly. But they won't necessarily pick the
best streets. For example, looking at a map of a nearby town, 'Seven
Hills Rd.' looks like a nice fairly direct way to get across town and
the Garmin maps will usually choose this for bicycle travel as an
alternate to the prohibited freeway. However, the name is quite
descriptive and it's certainly not the fastest or easiest cycling route.

Some states put out cycling-specific maps and you might check with the
tourism and transportation departments. Also check the routes of
organizations like Adventure Cycling that promote cross-country cycling
tours.

Hi Peter, thanks for the very quick reply.

I'll check with the tourism depts. for the states I'll be in. Good
idea.

I have three follow-up questions...

1) I'm doing an around-the-world fundraising cycle for Oxfam and so I
want to keep this as financially sane as possible. Put another way, I
want 100% of the donations to go to Oxfam, not my ride, but I also
certainly don't have enough $$ to stay at a hotel every night.

How feasible is it to simply find a spot outdoors and camp? I have
zero problem with this method, I just don't know what the experience of
the people who may have tried it in terms of whether or not I'd run
into local ordinance issues, etc. Can I assume an out-of-the-way spot
well off the road will be kosher 99% of the time?

2) Do you happen to know of anything online that'll tell me what the
average temperature for a given spot on the planet? Being
around-the-world, there is a "don't want to be in Norway in the dead of
winter" factor here and I've had zero luck tracking down this info
myself.

3) Do you know of any well-documented shoestring budget
around-the-world journals/logs?

Thanks again,
Jason

Quoted message said:

Hi Peter, thanks for the very quick reply.

I'll check with the tourism depts. for the states I'll be in. Good
idea.

I have three follow-up questions...

I'd recommend Ken Kifer's website archive at:
http://www.kenkifer.com/bikepages/touring/index.htm
for lots of useful information on bicycle touring in the US and
particularly on camping and other options to reduce expenses while cycle
touring.

Sorry, can't help you on the global weather website.

Quoted message said:

I'm guessing that the road rules across the U.S. are pretty much the
same everywhere -- that is, you can't cycle on the highway. I'm using
Microsoft Streets and Trips but I don't see a way to tell the program
to never route highways.

Actually I've found many of the US numbered highways to be good routes
for bicycling, particularly in the western USA.

I use TopoUSA to give me first approximations to routes. I make the
following types of settings:
* Avoid interstates and ferrys
* Major US highways 12mph
* Major state highways 11mph
* Minor roads 10mph
and it frequently picks a reasonable road to start with. I then
adjust for situations such as crossing huge rivers with limited
bridges (e.g. Mississippi), going along or through larger cities,
following railroads/rivers where I think they might be flatter, etc.

Another resource you can check out is Adventure Cycling
(http://www.adv-cycling.org) which sells a set of route maps including
cross-USA routes. These maps provide useful information for cyclists
such as amenities in towns, elevation profiles. They also tend to go
on smaller routes. I mostly followed their "Southern Tier" in 2001
and it had reasonable choices.

Quoted message said:

Can anyone offer tips on navigation, or how they (or someone else)
planned a trip sight-unseen when a non-highway route might take a
person way off the path and completely muck up the schedule.

That is part of the adventure :-).

I typically do a fair amount of advance planning of possibilities and
to establish a rough time budget, pick seasons and major stops. I
then adjust things from day to day as I find out more about routes
from locals, adjust to weather and any mechanical issues.

Before setting off on a cross-USA trip, I would still recommend taking
a mini-tour or two as shakedown trip. This gets you more comfortable
with some of the preferences you make for a trip like this, try
different types of road and work out equipments lists and others in
more detail.

--mev, Mike Vermeulen

p.s. http://www.fietstocht.com/usa.htm shows an overview map of USA
routes I've bicycled and have trip reports for. I've essentially
bicycled both Atlantic and Pacific Coasts and am most of the way
across on a third crossing of the USA. My default choices have
occasionally put me on unpleasant roads but never so poor that I
couldn't adjust.

Quoted message said:

2) Do you happen to know of anything online that'll tell me what the
average temperature for a given spot on the planet? Being
around-the-world, there is a "don't want to be in Norway in the dead of
winter" factor here and I've had zero luck tracking down this info
myself.

Where in Norway are you looking for? Many weather sites will have a
link that lets you find averages. For example, if you start at
http://weather.yahoo.com/regional/NOXX.html and pick one of the
Norwegian cities, you'll get current weather. Now pick "Records and
Averages" link you'll frequently get average temperatures and
precipitation.

I realize Norway was just an example, but if you start at
http://weather.yahoo.com/, you can pick continents/countries/cities.

I'll also browse the Lonely Planet books at the local bookstore to
read climate information and recommendations...

--mev, Mike Vermeulen

Mike Vermeulen said:

Quoted message said:

2) Do you happen to know of anything online that'll tell me what the
average temperature for a given spot on the planet? Being
around-the-world, there is a "don't want to be in Norway in the dead of
winter" factor here and I've had zero luck tracking down this info
myself.

Where in Norway are you looking for? Many weather sites will have a
link that lets you find averages. For example, if you start at
http://weather.yahoo.com/regional/NOXX.html and pick one of the
Norwegian cities, you'll get current weather. Now pick "Records and
Averages" link you'll frequently get average temperatures and
precipitation.

I realize Norway was just an example, but if you start at
http://weather.yahoo.com/, you can pick continents/countries/cities.

I'll also browse the Lonely Planet books at the local bookstore to
read climate information and recommendations...

--mev, Mike Vermeulen

Or try the Weather Chanel website www.weather.com.

Janet

Quoted message said:

How feasible is it to simply find a spot outdoors and camp? I have
zero problem with this method, I just don't know what the experience of
the people who may have tried it in terms of whether or not I'd run
into local ordinance issues, etc. Can I assume an out-of-the-way spot
well off the road will be kosher 99% of the time?

no you should not. for one thing, if the area is dry, there may
be camping and/or fire restrictions, even on public land.
camping on farms without permission can result in the owner
confronting trespassers with a firearm in many rural areas.

if you are doing this for oxfam, you might ask them for lists of
contributors/contacts in the areas where you will be travelling;
i'm sure many of them would be happy to let you camp somewhere,
arrange showers/meals/beds, help publicize your trip, etc.

Quoted message said:

2) Do you happen to know of anything online that'll tell me what the
average temperature for a given spot on the planet? Being
around-the-world, there is a "don't want to be in Norway in the dead of
winter" factor here and I've had zero luck tracking down this info
myself.

you also don't want to be in the southern arizona desert in july.

each of the regional offices of the national weather service has
a "climate" or "climatology" page for that area. you can reach
them via http://www.nws.noaa.gov/ then just click on the map for
your area of interest.

Quoted message said:

Greetings,

I'm planning a cycling trip across the U.S. as the starting leg of an
around-the-world trip.

I'm guessing that the road rules across the U.S. are pretty much the
same everywhere -- that is, you can't cycle on the highway. I'm using
Microsoft Streets and Trips but I don't see a way to tell the program
to never route highways.

Can anyone offer tips on navigation, or how they (or someone else)
planned a trip sight-unseen when a non-highway route might take a
person way off the path and completely muck up the schedule.

The highways you can not cycle on are called Interstate highways (like
Autostrada, Autobahn, Motorways). Basically, east of the Mississippi
river you can not usually ride on them. West of the Mississippi, you
often can.

That said, there is almost always a better, more preferable route. (If
nothing else, Interstates are noisy. And the exit and entrance ramps are
a big safety hazard.)

Adventure Cycling has a few Trans America routes and excellent maps
covering them.
http://www.adventurecycling.org/routes/network.cfm

I prefer, when I can, to find my own routes away from the well traveled
routes, as there is more "adventure." I do this by getting state highway
maps and picking out state highways (two lanes) and county roads.
Following rivers or railroads is one good way to begin (the grade stays
reasonable). Then ask locals - but remember to ask more than or two
people. Advice and remembered details vary.

As an example, I enjoyed crossing the plains of Nebraska on highway 30
(runs parallel to Interstate 80).

--
*****************************
Chuck Anderson • Boulder, CO
http://www.CycleTourist.com
Integrity is obvious.
The lack of it is common.
*****************************

I can force the DeLorme programs to use or avoid interstates by
adjusting the speed rating for the various types of roads. Streets and
Trips might allow similar influence.

Secondly, note that west of Minnesota and in other western states,
bicycles are legal on interstates. In other states, bicycles may be
barred from divided, limited access highways but otherwise allowed on
older highways.

ACA publishes three different east-west cross-US routes, plus
variations. They carefully avoid busy roads. The internet has personal
accounts with routes.

See e.g. http://www.cliffallo.us/Cycling/JuneJuly2003/

From your question, I have difficulty discerning whether you prefer
highways or just want a short distance. For me, the real trade offs
are between traffic volume and shoulder quality. MT 200 has little in
the way of shoulders and little traffic. Great way to cross a wide
state. I 90 in Washington has heavy traffic but great shoulders. That
works for me as well.

Tell us your starting and ending points and we can share our specific
opinions. Also, how many days can you afford for the trip and will you
camp or sleep in motels?

Quoted message said:

Greetings,

I'm planning a cycling trip across the U.S. as the starting leg of an
around-the-world trip.

I'm guessing that the road rules across the U.S. are pretty much the
same everywhere -- that is, you can't cycle on the highway. I'm using
Microsoft Streets and Trips but I don't see a way to tell the program
to never route highways.

Can anyone offer tips on navigation, or how they (or someone else)
planned a trip sight-unseen when a non-highway route might take a
person way off the path and completely muck up the schedule.

Thanks,
Jason

<[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Can anyone offer tips on navigation, or how they (or someone else)
planned a trip sight-unseen when a non-highway route might take a
person way off the path and completely muck up the schedule.

Both Washington State and Oregon (and possibly other states) put out a free
bicycle map for that state, available from the state highway department.
This map shows not just what routes are open to cycling, but average daily
traffic, so you can avoid the busier routes.

The Washington State one is available at http://www.wsdot.wa.gov -- select
"Bicycling Information" from the site index, or go directly to:
http://www.wsdot.wa.gov/bike/Planning_Maps.htm.

--
Warm Regards,

Claire Petersky

Personal page: http://www.geocities.com/cpetersky/
See the books I've set free at:
http://bookcrossing.com/referral/Cpetersky