looking for LOT's of info
I'm in the preliminary stages of planning a coast-to-coast trip,
generally from San Diego to Jacksonville, probably in February, '07. At the moment I'm looking at doing it as a modified, of sorts, credit card tour. I say "modified" in that I'll need to carry quite a bit of clothing to account for the possibility of big weather swings. I'm planning on staying as southerly as possible, until I-10 & 1-20 intersect in W Texas, then I'll likely stay relatively along I-20 until I reach NE LA, where I'll head south again and then basically follow the coast. I've spent quite a bit of time riding in S. AZ in years past, and recall that for much of the time it's simplest to ride the shoulder of the interstate. I also recall from driving through W. Texas that most of the interstate has a perfectly good frontage road for almost the entire distance from El Paso to Ft Worth. I'm curious if anyone has any feedback on whether it is still legal to ride the shoulder of the interstate in most of the west. Also, if anyone has any suggestions of particular highways I may want to use, and more importantly, highways that MUST be avoided, I'd appreciate the feedback. I'm open to any hints, feedback, tips, warnings, etc... as I'm a novice at cross-country touring. I'd ask that you email me directly, but if you've got a really good tip that should be shared with everyone, please by all means post it to the group. thanks, Scott hendricks_scott AT hotmail DOT com |
looking for LOT's of info
Scott wrote:
I'm in the preliminary stages of planning a coast-to-coast trip, generally from San Diego to Jacksonville, probably in February, '07. At the moment I'm looking at doing it as a modified, of sorts, credit card tour. I say "modified" in that I'll need to carry quite a bit of clothing to account for the possibility of big weather swings. I'm planning on staying as southerly as possible, until I-10 & 1-20 intersect in W Texas, then I'll likely stay relatively along I-20 until I reach NE LA, where I'll head south again and then basically follow the coast. I've spent quite a bit of time riding in S. AZ in years past, and recall that for much of the time it's simplest to ride the shoulder of the interstate. I also recall from driving through W. Texas that most of the interstate has a perfectly good frontage road for almost the entire distance from El Paso to Ft Worth. I'm curious if anyone has any feedback on whether it is still legal to ride the shoulder of the interstate in most of the west. Also, if anyone has any suggestions of particular highways I may want to use, and more importantly, highways that MUST be avoided, I'd appreciate the feedback. I'm open to any hints, feedback, tips, warnings, etc... as I'm a novice at cross-country touring. I'd ask that you email me directly, but if you've got a really good tip that should be shared with everyone, please by all means post it to the group. Get the Adventure cycling Souther Tier maps. Save yourself time, trouble and the dangers of cycling on interstates. That's a bad idea. Another option would be one of Lon Haldeman's PAC Tours, unless you really want to go it alone. I find that quite understandable, although I'd like Lon's tours too. |
looking for LOT's of info
I'm curious if anyone has any feedback on whether it is still legal
to ride the shoulder of the interstate in most of the west. I'll second the suggestion you've already received about using Adventure Cycling maps. I rode the southern Tier in a San Jose to Jacksonville ride in 2001 and mostly followed their route (http://www.mvermeulen.com/oneyear/usa.htm). Most of those western interstates are legal for bicycles. However, a friend of mine who cycled most of the CA-TX distance on interstates had ~8 flats from the small wire beads from disintegrated truck tires. After he switched to smaller roads, many fewer flats. I'm open to any hints, feedback, tips, warnings, etc... as I'm a novice at cross-country touring. My biggest suggestion would be to make yourself a little less of a novice by making a 3-5 day shakedown ride or two before you do the cross-country ride. This gives you a chance to try out equipment and try out your credit-card light preferences. My second suggestion would be to assume you might have some days of tough weather (cold, headwind, rain) and plan with that contingency in mind - either by having some extra days or equipment or both... --mev, Mike Vermeulen |
looking for LOT's of info
Mike Vermeulen wrote: I'm curious if anyone has any feedback on whether it is still legal to ride the shoulder of the interstate in most of the west. I'll second the suggestion you've already received about using Adventure Cycling maps. I rode the southern Tier in a San Jose to Jacksonville ride in 2001 and mostly followed their route (http://www.mvermeulen.com/oneyear/usa.htm). Most of those western interstates are legal for bicycles. However, a friend of mine who cycled most of the CA-TX distance on interstates had ~8 flats from the small wire beads from disintegrated truck tires. After he switched to smaller roads, many fewer flats. I'm open to any hints, feedback, tips, warnings, etc... as I'm a novice at cross-country touring. My biggest suggestion would be to make yourself a little less of a novice by making a 3-5 day shakedown ride or two before you do the cross-country ride. This gives you a chance to try out equipment and try out your credit-card light preferences. My second suggestion would be to assume you might have some days of tough weather (cold, headwind, rain) and plan with that contingency in mind - either by having some extra days or equipment or both... --mev, Mike Vermeulen Thanks for the hints. I'd thought about the Adventure Cycling Southern Tier route, but (and there's always a "but...") I need to stay as far south as reasonably possible due to weather concerns in February, I'll have just enough time to make it if I average 100m a day, with two planned rest days and a possible third contingency day, AND (drum roll here...) I'm going to do it on a fixed gear. Yeah, I know... fixed is nuts and most folks think it's not doable, but I ride fixed gear all winter long for my base mile training (I race road and track) and will often ride 300-400 miles a week on fixed gears. I figure if I'm doing that WHILE working 40 hrs a week, then it shouldn't be too big a stretch to do a century a day if I'm not working. I'll do a bit of extra prep work in November/December to make sure before biting off more than I can chew. So, the hillier sections in Arizona, especially east of Phoenix through New Mexico to Silver City aren't really what I'm looking for. I suppose that the Southern Tier route from La east will work just fine. I've just got to get from San Diego to Dallas in early February without freezing. Scott |
looking for LOT's of info
On 31 Jul 2006 14:48:41 -0700, "Scott"
wrote: Mike Vermeulen wrote: I'll second the suggestion you've already received about using Adventure Cycling maps. I rode the southern Tier in a San Jose to Jacksonville ride in 2001 and mostly followed their route (http://www.mvermeulen.com/oneyear/usa.htm). My second suggestion would be to assume you might have some days of tough weather (cold, headwind, rain) and plan with that contingency in mind - either by having some extra days or equipment or both... Thanks for the hints. I'd thought about the Adventure Cycling Southern Tier route, but (and there's always a "but...") I need to stay as far south as reasonably possible due to weather concerns in February, I'll have just enough time to make it if I average 100m a day, with two planned rest days and a possible third contingency day, AND (drum roll here...) I'm going to do it on a fixed gear. Yeah, I know... fixed is nuts and most folks think it's not doable, but I ride fixed gear all winter long for my base mile training (I race road and track) and will often ride 300-400 miles a week on fixed gears. I figure if I'm doing that WHILE working 40 hrs a week, then it shouldn't be too big a stretch to do a century a day if I'm not working. I'll do a bit of extra prep work in November/December to make sure before biting off more than I can chew. Well, you certainly sound ambitious. Good luck! (Do you have any bail-out plans?) So, the hillier sections in Arizona, especially east of Phoenix through New Mexico to Silver City aren't really what I'm looking for. I suppose that the Southern Tier route from La east will work just fine. I've just got to get from San Diego to Dallas in early February without freezing. Dallas often freezes in February. I'm trying to imagine how you're going to get there without freezing, without much success. El Paso can be pretty chilly, too, and you can't get any further south while staying in the U.S. Have you considered doing the trip in reverse? If you took the Adventure Cycling route leaving out of Jacksonville in early February, you'd have the Gulf to mediate temperatures on the first part of the trip, and maybe things would warm up before you got to the mountains. Pat Email address works as is. |
looking for LOT's of info
Scott wrote:
I'm in the preliminary stages of planning a coast-to-coast trip, generally from San Diego to Jacksonville, probably in February, '07. .... A couple years back, a dad & lad pair did a similar route (on a Viewpoint tandem) around the same time of year. Google for Viewpoints and you'll probably find their website. Junior was about 8, and dad home-schooled him along the way. Really nice trip stories. IIRC they live in Chicagoland. HTH --Karen D. Counterpoint! |
looking for LOT's of info
After that, it's back to the Gulf Coast for the remainder of the trip. Just a thought. Last time I looked, the Adventure Cycling Route went through some areas of the Gulf Coast that were devestated by Hurricane Katrina. You may have to re-think your route through areas that are still not rebuilt. Janet |
looking for LOT's of info
Janet wrote: After that, it's back to the Gulf Coast for the remainder of the trip. Just a thought. Last time I looked, the Adventure Cycling Route went through some areas of the Gulf Coast that were devestated by Hurricane Katrina. You may have to re-think your route through areas that are still not rebuilt. Janet Janet, that's a great point. However, from relatives I have in the near vicinity, I understand that most of the essential infrastructure is workable now. While I won't be spending much money in any of the areas I pass through, I imagine they can use every penny they can get. So, I wouldn't dream of bypassing them unless absolutely necessary. Besides, I'd like to see first hand the remnants of the devestation. Scott |
looking for LOT's of info
A couple years back, a dad & lad pair did a similar route (on a
Viewpoint tandem) around the same time of year. I think you are thinking of this web site: http://www.cushwafamily.com/la2jax/ It was a fun read. --mev, Mike Vermeulen |
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