Messages

1

Bicycle Route 66 / Re: Welcome to Bicycle Route 66!

« on: May 15, 2013, 06:37:49 am »

Jennifer,
I won't take issue on the principal route choice. Given that the ACA route will follow the historic Rt-66 as close as possible, I hope that there will be suggested alternates for the noise, smells and spoiled views on the roads running in close proximity of I-40. Between Elk City and Clinton-OK there is a 30 miles long quiet paved backcountry road. On Google Maps it is signed as E1120 Rd, but all local road signs that I saw had EW-112 on it. Sorry, if this duplicates suggestions already made, but I have not seen any proposals for Oklahoma.

2

Bicycle Route 66 / Re: Welcome to Bicycle Route 66!

« on: May 03, 2013, 09:26:13 pm »

Hi Melissa,
There is a very recommendable dirt road between Winston and Holbrook to bypass about 30 miles of the I-40.  It has a top-quality surface and is very quiet. See my notes and pictures in www.crazyguyonabike.com/doc/page/?o=1&page_id=323372&v=2i

Today I cycled the section between Gallup and Grants-NM. Having cycled fearlessly through LA, I have to say that I found the I-40 in New Mexico between Exit-36 and Exit-44 very scary. The shoulder is almost unrideable, so you have cycle close to the white line. Big trucks are passing in touching distance. Either the shoulder should be repaired or ACA should opt here for a safe but long bypass. Between Exit-44 and Exit-47 the shoulder was OK. From Exit-47 the very good and quiet road NM-122 runs to Grants.

3

Routes / Re: running route 66

« on: April 26, 2013, 07:50:40 pm »

I don't know what ACA has planned for the route between Ash Fork - AZ and Williams - AZ. As far as I know the original Route 66 is completely replaced by Interstate 40. To bypass this 19 mile long section involving 1600 ft of climbing, I took today County Rd 142, also signed as Double A Ranch Rd, out of Ash Fork. After 4.8 mi the road changes to FR-124 but keeps its name Double A Ranch Rd. It soon becomes a dirt road with a good red-brick surface, until it gets paved again a couple of miles before Williams. It is a rolling, very scenic road. Of course it also involves at least 1600 ft of climbing and totals 29 miles, but in a quiet setting without diesel fumes. Dirt roads are also less risky for punctures than the shoulders of Interstates. Part of FR-124 runs along the Santa Fe railway. I saw 8 freight trains passing in the 2 hours I was on this road, more than cars and motorcycles. There is no way of getting lost if you keep the two numbers County Rd 142 and FR-124 in mind, because the main road is much broader and much better maintained than the side roads ending on it. While a dirt road may not be liked by all cyclists, I would recommend it at least for eastbound Route 66 travel. Westbounders might try to outpace the heavy trucks descending on the Interstate.

4

Bicycle Route 66 / Re: Welcome to Bicycle Route 66!

« on: April 26, 2013, 07:42:44 pm »

I don't know what ACA has planned for the route between Ash Fork - AZ and Williams - AZ. As far as I know the original Route 66 is completely replaced by Interstate 40. To bypass this 19 mile long section involving 1600 ft of climbing, I took today County Rd 142, also signed as Double A Ranch Rd, out of Ash Fork. After 4.8 mi the road changes to FR-124 but keeps its name Double A Ranch Rd. It soon becomes a dirt road with a solid red-brick surface, until it gets paved again a couple of miles before Williams. It is a rolling, very scenic road. Of course it also involves at least 1600 ft of climbing and totals 29 miles, but in a quiet setting without diesel fumes. Dirt roads are also less risky for punctures than the shoulders of Interstates. Part of FR-124 runs along the Santa Fe railway. I saw 8 freight trains passing in the 2 hours I was on this road, more than the number of cars and motorcycles. There is no way of getting lost if you keep the two numbers County Rd 142 and FR-124 in mind, because the main road is much broader and much better maintained than the side roads ending on it. While a dirt road may not be liked by all cyclists, I would recommend it at least for eastbound Route 66 travel. Westbounders might try to outpace the heavy trucks on the Interstate.

5

General Discussion / Re: North Nevada & Utah in summer

« on: March 23, 2013, 04:59:42 am »

Andrea, sorry I misjudged your cycling prowess. I can understand that you want to see magnificent Yellowstone and Tetons, although in summer the narrow Yellowstone roads filled with traffic jams of huge recreational vehicles and distracted drivers are dangerous to cyclists. I admit that I am running out of my area of competence, but it seems that after continuing the TransAm towards Lander-WY, you could turn east to Riverton, Casper and into Nebraska to pick up the Lewis and Clark route near Bonesteel. I still believe that a mapped route offers a lot of benefits.
See http://www.adventurecycling.org/routes/RouteNetwork.pdf .
Others might have better suggestions to get you as straight as possible to NY.

6

General Discussion / Re: North Nevada & Utah in summer

« on: March 21, 2013, 08:32:22 am »

Hi Andrea! I am from The Netherlands. I have done several bike trips in the US, including the TransAm. From your question I guess that you are new to biking in the US.
Here is some advice.
1. In any case, take an ACA mapped route. This will save you a lot of time in navigation and keep you away from awful, busy roads, e.g. Interstates. The maps also provide information on services ahead, which are vital in sparsely populated areas. You will also meet other bikers going the same way.
2. If you want to start in San Francisco, the only ACA route to the east is the Western Express. It connects to the TransAm at Pueblo-CO. As others have commented, it is exceedingly hot in summer. Compared to the full TransAm, it saves about 500 miles, but your riding hours will be less too because of the afternoon heat. Buy the ACA maps asap to make up your mind. They give you an idea about the distances you should cover each day to get to required services. Maps also have information on Climate, e.g. temperature statistics.
3. The full TransAm took me 60 days, including rest days, in May/July. This amounts to 80 miles/day. With your time plan, you need to cover 80-90 miles/day. To get a more relaxed scheme, you may consider to start your bike trip in Denver-CO.
4. Think well how you want to travel with your bike to New York. When you follow the TransAm to the east, you get to Richmond-VA from where you can take a train to Washington and New York. However, Amtrak requires to box the bike. A boxed bike is nice for air travel, where ground personnel does the handling, but it is a millstone around the neck for rail travel, as you have several other bags to care for. It is easier to send the bike home by mail, but this is a lot more expensive than the charges of airlines for bike transport  (I got quotes of about $600).       

7

Routes / Re: Great Parks

« on: March 12, 2013, 03:16:33 am »

Last year I rode a big part of the Great Divide route together with a retired navy seal. He was a fanatic on lightweight equipment. When I wondered somewhere in Colorado why he didn't dispose of his bear spray can, he smiled and said that it was not only about bears. He carried it up to the Mexican border. So why need a gun?   

8

Routes / Re: great divide road after Banff

« on: February 22, 2013, 06:06:13 am »

Generally I would counsel against using a TWO-wheel trailer on the GDMBR! You will have problems on most single-trail sections. These sections are usually short, but you will hate this type of trailer soon.
For the route between Banff and Whitefish, from memory, the first single trail already occurs some twenty miles south of Banff where you traverse the Spray Lakes Reservoir, but you could omit this section by keeping on the Smith-Dorrien Rd east of the Reservoir. I don't remember single trails between the Kananaskis Lakes and Elkford and between Elkford and Sparwood. If I remember well, there are no single-trails in the Fernie Alternate, but the Flathead route would give you problems, especially the section along the Wigwam River and the connector to Galton Pass.         

9

Routes / Re: Eureka MT. to Helena, MT. days?

« on: November 22, 2012, 04:37:33 pm »

I am a fit, 64 yrs old cyclist. It took me 6 days; two rather short days with only 3-4 hrs cycling and four days with 7-10 hrs in the saddle.

10

Routes / Re: Alternative to Interstate-- Great Divide

« on: October 29, 2012, 01:49:53 pm »

I want to make a correction to what the initiator of this topic stated. The route from Basin to Butte is about 28 miles long. About 13 miles from these are dirt roads, close to the Interstate, mainly a rail-trail with many more ups and downs than the Interstate. About 10 miles is on a quiet, level paved road parallel to the Interstate. Only the last 5 miles to Butte are on the Interstate. These final miles are an exhilarating finish, an 800 ft descent, for southbound riders who have struggled and mostly pushed their bike over the gnarly Lava Mountain Trail earlier the day. I liked the philosophy of exertions and rewards that the GD route designer certainly had in mind for the stage.     

11

Routes / Re: BENELUX / Mosel

« on: April 09, 2010, 04:11:26 am »

Hi. I am Dutch. I did the TransAm route in 2009 and met many helpful Americans. It is nice to give some help in return.
The Netherlands has a very dense netwerk of bike roads or quiet rural roads. To prevent that you have to consult the maps very often, you better select a few
"Landelijke Fietsroutes" (national bike paths). It is easy to follow the LF sign boards. Set your cursor on the LF number on the map in the following link and you see it highlighted

http://www.landelijkefietsroutes.nl/routes/
 
From Haarlem to Urk you might pass via Alkmaar to follow LF15 - Boerenland (Farmers land).
From Urk to Arnhem you follow LF3 - Hanzeroute
From Arnhem to Maastricht, follow LF4 - Maasroute.

A bike route from Maastricht to Luxemburg and Trier you will find in the guide "Onbegrensd Fietsen deel 1a - Maastricht - Luxemburg - Nancy" (last book on the page):
http://www.opdefiets.net/fietsgidsen/nederland.htm

I do not know if this route enters Liege, but this is certainly a very worthwhile place to visit. They have a new, spectacularly beautiful railway station designed by Santiago Calatrava.
I guess between Trier and Koblenz you can't go wrong by following the Moselle/Mosel.

   

12

Routes / Re: Great Divide New Mexico Secitons (5+6) - MTB required?

« on: April 08, 2010, 02:05:40 pm »

Hi,
I also plan to do the GD route starting from Antelope Wells in May (about May 25) and ending in Banff or Jasper at the end of July. We are two Dutch cyclists. Probably an American will join us. Regarding the question: my bike will have front suspension, but my companion rides on a hard front&tail. Regarding the present snow conditions high up, it might be more appropriate to discuss the need for studded tires and crampons. Hope to meet you on the trail!