Anyone ever bike across the country? (1 Viewer)

[Dave Poehlman]

A few friends have done it, and two of my brothers have done it... and now I'm thinking about doing it.

I don't know if I'll ever be able to find the time, get off work.. or get the go ahead from the family to actually go off for a few months... but, I'd like to.

I'm just curious if anyone here has taken the trip? How long did it take? I think my brothers had planned 3 months but only wound up taking 8 or 10 weeks to do it.

>sigh<

Maybe I need to come up with a more practical mid-life crisis.

 

[Jason Kirkpatri]

Friend of mine did it from work two summers ago (across Canada, not the States).

Took him a month and a half. He started on the west coast, hit the mountains hard, and coasted (relatively speaking) all the way to the east coast.

One of the highlights of his life. Kudos if you can find a way to do it.

 

[Jon_Are]

My nephew did this one summer, I think it took him three months.



Mine was to run a marathon last fall - that took less than five hours.

Jon

 

[Jay H]

The RAAM guys do it in like 8 days...

Hook up with Adventure Cycling and their forums:

http://www.adventurecycling.org/forums/index.cfm

It really depends on how fast you want to go, how many days off the bike you want.

Most cyclists that I know who did the trip in a quick time, who had the option of taking their time, typically wish they did. So I would suggest that, unless time is a huge constraint and face it, it is for most of us, to definitely schedule some time off the bike to stay in places that interest you to "get off the beaten path" to renew, rejuvenate, etc. etc.

For me and a friend to bike to New Brunswick, fully unsupported, camping, about 8 days from NJ for about 750 miles or so.

So, basically, most people tend to plan for anywhere from 50-70mile days, with the occasional rest day in between.

Jay

 

[Garrett Lundy]

The trick is to get one of those bolt-on daewoo 2hp motors to help with those steep rocky mountains

But good luck, sounds like an adventure you'll be telling your grandkids about

 

[Hugh Jackes]

In the summer of 1976 (I was 17), I was part of a tour that biked most of the was across the country (Las Vegas to Philadelphia) as a bicentennial stunt. We went the southern route, through AZ, NM, TX, LA and then turning north. The tour organizer had established overnight stops in all sorts of interesting places: campgrounds, nat'l guard armories, high school gyms, even a cattle ranch in Texas. He provided a truck to carry our bags so we only had ourselves, a day pack, and water on the bikes.

It was an amazing experience. My first long term separation from my parents, travelling parts of the country I had never seen before (and, in some cases, haven't gone gack), and even experienced my first kiss (what can I say, I was a late bloomer).

My advice? If you can find the time, the $$, and the stamina, go for it!

 

[Dave Poehlman]

Thanks for the support guys. It's a bit of a pipe dream at the moment.

I've done a few of the organized state rides (Nebraska, Iowa, Kansas, Wisconsin), but those were years ago and like Hugh, we didn't have to carry our gear.

My brother's did take their time and stayed an extra day here and there. They met a few interesting people and came home with some great pictures.

What I really miss about riding is the zen-like experience of riding a country road and there's not another living person within miles.

 

[Jay H]

If you are looking at SAGGed rides or non-SAGged rides, Adv. Cycling does offer tours and also a marketplace so to speak to find companions if you want. Many of the routes take 90days for them but since it's guided, it's kind of on a time schedule. I personally, prefer the whim, if I feel like staying someplace longer, I do. Can't do that in a group.

Of course, the SAG'ed tours are more expensive but they offer self-supported tours too. Adventure Cycling Association used to be called Bikecentennial in the early 70s, so those old enough to be cycling back then might have heard them as that name. They're a great org, but then again, I'm a member.

They do publish three different routes, the traditional route which is something like WA to VA and there's a northern Tier (the longest) and a southern Tier too.

Jay

 

[Dave Poehlman]

Thanks for the info, Jay! I'll check it out.

I think my brothers used their Trans-am route from West to East when they took their trip.

I'm going to try and start riding to work this summer and maybe do a few weekend routes to see how things go. It might be a year or two before I can be serious about attempting it.

Since the wife is a school teacher... perhaps I could talk her into being my own personal sag-wagon along the way. Hmmmm.... I'm sure she wouldn't mind spending the Summer locked in the car with our son.

 

[Jay H]

That has been done before... The spouse can drive, have time to shop, visit parks along the way and meet up with you for camping time. If you have an RV or conversion van or something like that, you wont even have to carry a tent/sleeping bag.

Jay