The biggest decision for this tour was probably what route to take. Lots of people have bicycled across the country and there is a considerable number of resources online to help with planning. Crazy Guy on a Bike is a great source of information for bike touring. It has a fantastic collection of travel journals to learn from other folk’s experience. Adventure Cycling Association (ACA) is another great resource. They have a large catalog of maps available of different cross country routes .
John and I spent a lot of time discussing what route to take. Ultimately, I felt it was John’s decision to make since it is his trip. We considered 3 main routes to get across the Western US –
1) Northern Tier
2) Transamerica
3) Western Express
The Northern Tier route goes from Washington State to Bangor, Maine. The Transamerica is probably the oldest cross country route and goes from Astoria, Oregon to Yorktown, Virginia. The Western Express route does not cross the country. It starts in San Francisco and ends in Pueblo, Colorado. The main advantage of the Western Express is that it is the most direct route and saves about 500 miles of riding compared to the Transamerica, but as the ACA says it “challenges the rider with extreme weather and riding conditions, as well as logistical obstacles.” Specifically, the route goes over the Sierra Nevada Mountains through Nevada, Utah, and Colorado. The route in Nevada uses U.S. Highway 50 which has been described as “The Loneliest Road in America”. In Nevada and Utah, services are sparse and most towns are a day’s bike ride apart.
After much discussion, John decided he will take the Western Express route to Pueblo Colorado and pick up the Transamerica trail and follow it to Kentucky where he will pick up the Underground Railroad trail. He will follow the Underground Railroad trail to Buffalo and from there he will create his own route thru upstate NY and Massachusetts to Boston.
I plan to ride with John from San Francisco to Cedar City Utah. This will be about 800 miles and the plan is to do 12 days of riding over 13 days. Cindy will meet me in Cedar City and we plan to spend a few days in Bryce Canyon and Capital Reef National Park. I will use a local bike shop to pack my bike up and ship back home.
An overview of the route I will ride with John –
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