Messages

1

Routes / Re: Riding west to east along the northern tier

« on: June 12, 2013, 03:35:45 pm »

if you don't mind crossing the border you can have a slightly easier start to your trip.  Fly into Vancouver or even better Victoria and make your way east to Hope.  This first part is very flat and can easily be done in two days.  From Hope to Princeton the climbing can be difficult but it can also be divided into three parts to get through the Cascade Mountains.  The toughest part is Hope to Hope Slide (Sunshine Valley). You climb about 2300 feet in just over 10 miles, with the last 3.5 miles being the toughest at a steady 7+%.  There is a brand new, probably expensive, RV site at Sunshine Valley.  The next day you begin by losing a few hundred feet of elevation over an 8-9 mile warm-up ride before the climb to Alison Pass begins. You again climb about 2300ft but over about 15 miles this time so not as difficult.

A little past the summit there is Manning Park Lodge where you can get something to eat and buy some groceries (not a great selection).  You can stay at the lodge or one of the campsites in the park if you want to take this slowly.  Energetic types carry on to Princeton.  However between the park and Princeton there is one more significant climb, Sunday Summit.

From the Lodge you once again lose some elevation, this time about 750 ft over 10 miles before the climb to the summit begins. This again is fairly steep but not too long; about 950ft over 4.25 miles.  After the summit there are a couple of little hills and then downhill to Princeton, which has motels, campgrounds and groceries.  These are three pretty short days. 13, 29 and 42 miles.  When I did a cross Canada ride I divided the climbing this way over three days but I tacked the first day's climb on to the end of a ride from Chilliwack and on the third day I went well past Princeton.

From Princeton to Tonasket, through the Nighthawk border crossing,  it is a relatively easy ride of 90 miles and about 1300 ft total elevation made up mostly of rollers. This route gets you past Rainy, Washington and Loup Loup passes but of course does not get around the next passes on the route. The two main benefits are less climbing, about 2200ft, and no long gaps between places with at least basic facilities.  However you will probably add some mileage to your ride depending on where you start.

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Routes / Re: Need advice cycling South West from Montreal to join the TransAmerica trail

« on: June 11, 2013, 04:26:19 pm »

I assume you have already begun your journey from Montreal but if you have not here are some suggestions.  Use the Waterfront Trail along the St. Lawrence and Lake Ontario from Quebec to Niagara Falls.  At Niagara Falls use the Underground Railway ACA route, it travels nicely southwest, to get you to the TransAmerica trail.  They meet just north of Marion, Kentucky.

I second the recommendation about the crazyguyonabike site. It is more of a site to post journals but if you find a journal that covers some of the same areas that you are interested in most of the authors would be happy to answer questions posted in the guestbook section. Bike Forums at http://www.bikeforums.net/forum.php can also be useful for specific questions.

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Routes / Re: Riding west to east along the northern tier

« on: June 11, 2013, 03:52:48 pm »

I have only ridden a small part of this so I can't give any info on the eastern parts.  The section I rode between Sedro-Wooley and Tonasket is beautiful but can also be very difficult. But first a tip to save some time.  The ACA maps have you using an alternate route to Hwy 20 between Sedro-Wooley and Concrete and another between Rockport and Marblemount.  You can certainly use the alternates routes, and other may say they are great, but I found the ride along Hwy 20 to be easy and very enjoyable.  There were some shoulder issues between Rockport and Marblemount but the traffic was so light that it did not become an issue.

It is after Marblemount that things become more difficult.  Some stop there and ride the passes in one day.  I wouldn't suggest that, you are still about 90 kilometres from the top with a great deal of tough climbing to do. I stocked up on food and continued 40 kilometres to Colonial Creek Campground at Diablo Lake.  The next day I took on Rainy and Washington passes.  They are seriously tough climbing.  I have mountain bike gearing on my Trek 520 and used the granny gear all day.  Make sure you have enough food and water for this climb.  I ran out of water well before the top and had to get it from the streams coming off the mountain, luckily without any issues.  Loup Loup Pass next day was a bit of a challenge but not as difficult.

If you are planning on doing this during the summer be prepared for hot weather in the Okanogan region of Washington.

One final piece of advice.  If you have not already visited the crazyguyonabike site do so.  Search for Northern Tier and you will find lots of journal entries.

4

Routes / Re: Cycling the Pacific Coast Highway this summer

« on: June 10, 2013, 09:39:14 pm »

If you get to an area that does not have a state park there are many county parks as well.  They are a little harder to find but are often very good.  You will even get some decent deals from private campgrounds.  I stayed at Manchester Beach State Park, which was awful, and then found out later that the KOA next door had a $10 hiker/biker rate.

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Routes / Re: Across North America

« on: May 06, 2013, 04:29:54 pm »

- go to Ottawa, ON on the Trans Canada Trail (300 miles)...

- and finish with the Trans Canada Trail again that will take us to Vancouver (720 miles)

I did a cross Canada ride last year and found the Trans Canada Trail to be almost useless.  For the ride to Ottawa I would use Route Verte. I did some riding on the Waterfront Trail and found the road sections to be quite good.  The actual trail sections that I rode on were not as well maintained as Route Verte in Quebec. I used information from Brian Hedney for the trail but cannot get the link to him to work anymore. The official Waterfront Trail site (http://www.waterfronttrail.org/index.html) is decent but I found his site more useful.

I live in BC and would definitely not try to get from Jasper to Vancouver using the TCT. There are sections between Kamloops and Hope that only exist on paper. I recommend that you use Highway 16 and 5 to get you to Kamloops. This route is relatively quiet and has some beautiful scenery. From Kamloops I would use the Trans Canada Highway (Hwy 1) to Hope. It can be busy at times but most people use the Coquihalla (Hwy 5) for this portion of the route so the ride along Hwy 1 is less busy, quite enjoyable, and has great scenery. There is a series of tunnels between Boston Bar and Hope but only two of them are long and they each have warning lights. If you are worried about riding through these tunnels you can walk your bikes on the narrow walkways at the side of the road.  Just before Hope I would turn onto the Lougheed Highway (Hwy 7) and use it to get to Vancouver. It doesn't get very busy until you get to Maple Ridge. Check on Bike Forums - Western Canada to find a good route into Vancouver. They have done lots to make cycling in the greater Vancouver area safer and more enjoyable but I haven't ridden in the area so have no recommendations.

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Routes / Re: Eastbound from Washington/Oregon

« on: March 06, 2013, 03:16:31 pm »

Last, we have read about the difficulties biking through North Dakota; is anybody using an alternate route up through Canada instead of the Bismarck reroute?

I would not suggest that you go north through Canada. I did a cross Canada ride last summer and the route through southern Manitoba was the worst riding conditions of the whole route.  The roads are crappy and, because of a boom in oil and natural gas drilling, busy with trucks in a hurry.  It is my understanding that the same drilling is happening in northern North Dakota.

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Routes / Underground Railroad or Great Rivers

« on: February 05, 2013, 12:29:44 am »

I plan to do a southeast to northwest crossing of the USA. To get from the Southern Tier route up to Cave-in-Rock and the TransAmerica route I plan to use the Underground Railroad route for most of the way.  However I noticed that the UR crosses the Great Rivers route twice before they join south of Cave-in-Rock.

My question is: Between the southern crossing point, near Tishomingo,  and the northern crossing, near Waverly, which is the better route to use? In particular ease of riding, traffic, food stops etc.

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Routes / Re: USA Corner to Corner

« on: January 30, 2013, 06:18:26 pm »

It is likely that I will not do this trip this year.  But I think I will be ready for an early May start in 2014. If that is the case it will be a east to west ride. With that timing I hope that the first half of the trip will be not too hot.  I would likely be riding through the Rockies in late June, early July.

After some research I still intend to use Hwy 2 for parts of Washington state. I know that Hwy 20 is favored by many but I have already ridden it so I am looking for something new.

The proposed route would be Hwy 200 from Missoula to Sandpoint, south on Hwy 95 to Coeur d'Alene, and then a trail to Spokane.  Next I would use Hwy 2 until I can go north on Hwy 174 to Grand Coulee Dam, continue on to Brewster and then south to Chelan. Continue south on Hwy 97 to Wenatchee and then use Hwy 2 to get me through the Cascades. Then I would use a variety to back roads to get me to Mukilteo.  The finish would be at Cape Flattery.

I figure this should take me 80 to 90 days.

9

Routes / Re: Canada mortorists

« on: January 27, 2013, 03:30:32 pm »

I did a cross Canada ride last year and found the professional truck drivers, in particular long haul drivers to be fine. I was more worried about the large RVs.

The Sault Ste. Marie area was a bit of a problem on Highway 17. One section was particularly bad. However that was very short and then I got back to the usual narrow shoulder on the Trans Canada. A section of Hwy. 17 through SSM can be avoided by taking a trail (John Roswell Hub Trail) and then riding on alternate routes. On paper this route looks much better than Hwy 17 but I can't be sure because I used Hwy 17 through the whole area.

Once you get to Massey, about 135 miles (215km) east of SSM get off Hwy 17 and use Lee Valley Road to get you to Espanola.  From there the ride to and over Manitoulin Island is very nice. The top half of Hwy 6 on the Bruce Peninsula is newly paved and has a nice shoulder. South of Lion's Head the road reverts to poor shoulders but I didn't have any problems getting to Owen Sound. If you can avoid going down into Owen Sound do so.  Once you get to the old part of town any route out entails climbing a steep hill.

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Routes / Re: USA Corner to Corner

« on: December 17, 2012, 04:55:22 pm »

You also mention you wanted to be done in 80 days @ 60mpd, or 4,800 miles.  Isn't your route closer to 5,500 miles or 69mpd?

Actually when I did my estimate it came out closer to 4400 miles. That still might be too far to get in 80 days but I am not restricted to doing it in 80 days. The only limits I have are what the travel insurance company will allow and my own willingness to live in a tent.

11

Routes / Re: USA Corner to Corner

« on: December 17, 2012, 12:50:13 am »

How you gonna do it in the fall?

If I decide to go northwest to southeast it would be a mid to late August start, with the remainder of the ride finished in the fall. A spring start would be in the opposite direction with the finish in June or early July.  I know the northwest and its weather quite well.  What I am not as certain of is what to expect on the TransAmerica route through the Rockies and the middle of the continent. Also what kind of weather would I likely face in Florida with a April or May start or an October finish?

What are the big issues with Highway 2 between Spokane and the coast?  Can some of those be avoided by taking some of the minor highways nearby?

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Routes / Re: USA Corner to Corner

« on: December 16, 2012, 05:24:56 pm »

Some people don't mind riding on the interstate, but I prefer to avoid it like the plague. I don't like either of your two routes through Washington. I'd jump from the TA at Missoula, go up to Glacier NP and then stay on the Northern Tier to the coast.

I plan to end the ride on the Olympic Peninsula so I was looking for a route that gets me to the northwest part of Washington. I have already ridden the Northern Tier and Pacific Coast routes through the state so I was looking for a different route.

75-80 days is doable but a fairly tight schedule.

When I rode across Canada this summer I averaged 90 to 100 kilometres (55 to 60 miles) per day and did not take many rest days. So that is why I figured this timeline would work. However I will plan for something in the 90 day max range.

Are there any other alternatives for the ride through Washington?

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Routes / Re: Route from California to Canada - WIND DIRECTION?!

« on: December 15, 2012, 09:17:45 pm »

We also thought about doing the route from North to South. However our favorite months are June and July (more daylight, no holiday time, less people) and we would like to combine the US and Canada. Starting in June in Canada might be very cold and still some snow in the mountains.

If you plan to start in Vancouver it will not be particularly cold in June.  It might however be wet.  There are no significant mountains in the northern section so there will be no snow worries. When I rode the route in the fall the wind was almost always from the north or northwest.

14

Routes / USA Corner to Corner

« on: December 15, 2012, 07:11:24 pm »

In the fall of 2013 or spring of 2014 I plan to do a corner to corner crossing of the USA. Most of the ride will be on the following ACA routes: Atlantic Coast, Southern Tier, Underground Railway, TransAmerica and either Highway 2 or I 90 through Washington. Time is not an issue, I am retired, but I would like to know which direction is the most wind friendly and what time of the year is best to start.  Also, is either one of these two routes through Washington better than the other.

I figure a max of 75 to 80 days should do.

15

Routes / Best Route St. Louis to Missoula

« on: January 18, 2012, 04:17:43 pm »

As part of a self supported trans US trip I will be going through this  section.  I will be going through the St. Louis area, not specifically through the city. I have looked at both the Lewis and Clark Route and the TransAmerica Route and can see positives in both.  At the moment I favor the TA route but am open to other ideas.  I am more interested in scenery than difficulty but if one is dramatically more difficult it could make a difference.  I will be riding southeast to northwest, from late spring to early summer.