Messages

1

Corridor 66 Implementation / Re: West End of NBRS Route 66

« on: August 03, 2012, 11:07:46 pm »

I live in Orange County, California and I've bicycle toured between Huntington Beach and Victorville. Santa Ana River trail from HB to Corona, streets to Devore, old 66 and part of I-15 to Victorville. I'm very familiar with the Cajon Pass area of I-15 and the alternates.

I've also done a route from Huntington Beach to Palm Springs. Santa Ana River Trail to Corona, streets to Riverside, Moreno Valley, Beaumont, Banning, Palm Springs.

I'm definitely interested in seeing long distance touring routes through the area, and I'd be happy to answer any specific questions.

2

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

« on: August 03, 2012, 10:46:20 pm »

This great article on the route appeared today! http://grist.org/living/the-mother-of-all-rides-biking-across-america-on-the-old-route-66/

3

Bicycle Route 66 / Re: Has anyone ridden any parts of route 66?

« on: August 03, 2012, 10:44:45 pm »

Earlier this week, I went on my business trip to Gallup, NM. I thought of bringing the bike and riding to Flagstaff, AZ or Albuquerque, NM but I was unable to do so conveniently. But after seeing the horrible pavement on the I-40 shoulder east of Gallup, as well as construction on I-40, I'm glad I left the bike at home.

4

Bicycle Route 66 / Re: Route 66

« on: August 03, 2012, 10:31:10 pm »

A couple of years ago I rode from Flagstaff, AZ to Barstow, CA on old Route 66: http://www.bikingbrian.com/tag/route66tour2010/

I eagerly await your story on the California Highway Patrol in Needles. On my long Needles to Ludlow day, I started riding west on I-40 out of Needles very early in the morning all the way to the US95 exit with no problems.

5

Bicycle Route 66 / Re: Has anyone ridden any parts of route 66?

« on: May 10, 2012, 07:01:40 am »

I ran most of route 66 on my run across America in 2010 www.runforliberty.com
Route 66 was amazing and I have TONS of great pictures. Running and riding is NOT permitted on the interstate in CA. At least that was my experience. It IS permitted in the rest of the states that 66 goes through, which is good since many sections of the mother road are not intact. I love to talk about it if anyone has any questions. I feel like I became very intimate with it only cover about 25 miles a day on my feet.
I am now planning an epic bike tour of some sort. Cycling sure gives you more freedom to see more things, but to be honest, it moves a little too fast sometimes for my liking

Nice running trip!

Actually, cycling is permitted on the shoulder of about 1000 of the 4000 interstate miles in California. It just so happens that very few of these allowed sections coincide with Route 66. But all of these 1000 miles allowed by bike may be off limits to those on foot. On my Route 66 tour, I had a climb on I-40 westbound out of Needles for about 20 miles, before existing at US95 and returning to the old Route 66.

On another note, I may be going to Gallup, NM sometime on business and might have the opportunity to ride Route 66 from there to either Flagstaff, AZ or Albuquerque, NM. Thoughts?

6

Bicycle Route 66 / Re: Has anyone ridden any parts of route 66?

« on: December 01, 2011, 10:32:29 pm »

I've recently cycled parts of Route 66 in California and Arizona:

Flagstaff, AZ to Barstow, CA: http://www.bikingbrian.com/tag/route66tour2010/
Barstow, CA to the Cajon Pass: http://www.bikingbrian.com/bicycling/touring/mojave03.htm
Cajon Pass then leaving route 66 to head to Orange County, CA: http://www.bikingbrian.com/bicycling/road/cajontooc.htm

7

General Discussion / Re: Flying with Bicycle on Small Planes

« on: June 13, 2011, 04:27:02 pm »

Thanks for the tip. I called United about the Skywest flight on the EMB-120. They said there's a limit of L+W+H of 80" on their smaller planes. If I had a cardboard box the size of an Iron Case, it would be 46" x 30" x 10", for a total of 86". I doubt it would be refused at checkin, but I searched online and found stories of bike boxes being first to not get on the plane if they had to keep the weight of the plane down. So I'll probably find someplace at my destination to ship it, I checked with FedEx and it should be about $50 provided it's one of the smaller cardboard boxes, otherwise it will be about $110 (though still not bad considering United's $100 fee).

8

General Discussion / Re: High Visibility - Always Good or Not?

« on: June 12, 2011, 04:51:04 pm »

One downside of relying on visibility on your person rather than the bike/gear is if you need to add/remove layers due to changes in the weather. Similar situation with gear, you might find yourself riding unloaded for some reason. Therefore, I always focus on the bike. Even if I don't plan to ride at night, I always have a rear LED flasher and a small front LED lights, and they are useful for tunnels too. Though hi-vis jersey and gear in addition to front/rear lights can't be a bad thing.

9

General Discussion / Flying with Bicycle on Small Planes

« on: June 11, 2011, 11:36:14 pm »

I will be taking a jet to on the first leg to my tour start, but the final leg is on a regional turboprop (Embraer 120 Brasilia). With this small plane, would I have any issues with taking a boxed conventional bicycle as checked luggage?

10

Routes / Re: Pacific Coast - Rain or RV's, which is worse?

« on: June 06, 2011, 10:14:09 pm »

My tentative plan is to fly into Crescent City on Friday, July 1 and ride south from there the next day. How's that? - I don't know which way the holiday traffic goes. If I had to, I could fly up the Wednesday before instead, though for some reason the flights from SF cost $320 on the Thursday rather than the $160 on Wednesday and Friday.

11

Routes / Re: Pacific Coast - Rain or RV's, which is worse?

« on: June 06, 2011, 07:52:18 pm »

I have a last minute opportunity to ride the stretch from Crescent City to San Francisco soon, though part of the ride would be over the July 4 holiday weekend. How is the traffic over that weekend compare to other times? I am experienced and comfortable with using a mirror and probably have a higher tolerance for traffic than many other tourists, but on the other hand steady heavy traffic would be no fun either. Also, any issues with hotel availability and/or hiker/biker campsites over the holiday weekend?

12

Connecting ACA Routes / Alternate Southern Tier Routing Between Ocotillo, CA and Globe, AZ

« on: June 04, 2011, 09:52:59 pm »

Instead of getting from Ocotillo, CA to Globe, AZ via the ST routing of Blythe, CA and Phoenix, AZ - has anyone had experience using Calexico, Yuma, Gila Bend, Maricopa, Florence as an alternate?  I found this blog where they had done parts of that route.

http://www.crazyguyonabike.com/doc/?o=RrzKj&doc_id=2407&v=8q

Brian
Facebook: http://facebook.com/bikingbrian
Twitter: @BikingBrian

13

Connecting ACA Routes / Re: LAX to Southern Tier

« on: June 04, 2011, 09:47:00 pm »

I realize this post is a bit dated, though I am replying to help others who may do a search in the future.

Another option is to take an airport shuttle to a hotel about 40 miles south in Huntington Beach, then leave the area on the Santa Ana River Trail, eventually reconnecting with the ST in Blythe.

http://ridewithgps.com/routes/289468
http://www.bikingbrian.com/tag/crosscatour2011/

Brian
Facebook: http://facebook.com/bikingbrian
Twitter: @BikingBrian

14

Routes / Sierra Cascades - Winter Closure West of Wrightwood, CA

« on: June 04, 2011, 09:39:14 pm »

A portion of Highway 2 west of Wrightwood (between Vincent Gap and Islip Saddle - maps 63 and 64) is regularly closed in the winter after the first snowfall, as that section of road is not plowed due to avalanche concerns. It is typically reopened by the last weekend in May, although it is often passable before then.

An alternate route would be to take N4/Big Pines Highway on map 64, Valyermo Road, Fort Tejon Road, Mt Emma Road, Cheseboro Road, Barrel Springs Road, and then the route can be rejoined in Palmdale.

Brian
Facebook: http://facebook.com/bikingbrian
Twitter: @BikingBrian