Messages

16

Mid-Atlantic / Youghiogheny Trail/Great Allegheny Passage

« on: November 19, 2009, 10:22:45 am »

Hi from the UK

Am cycling LA to NY with my brother in law in summer 2010 and am currently mapping out the route. We plan to cycle the Youghiogheny Trail from West Newton PA to Connelsville PA. However, the web sites I have visited seem unclear about whether you can continue from there to Confluence and then Garrett, Cassellman and Rockwood. We will be on road bikes so cannot deal with particularly rocky or 'demanding' surfaces.

Any advice greatly appreciated.

Richard

17

Rocky Mountain / Re: Zion National Park, UT

« on: September 04, 2009, 11:06:10 am »

Many thanks for your reply. Looks amazing. It will be mid summer so I expect more than enough traffic to ask for a lift.

Many thanks once again.

Richard

18

Rocky Mountain / Zion National Park, UT

« on: June 28, 2009, 07:10:24 am »

Hi

I am doing LA to NY summer 2010 with my brother-in-law. The planned route takes us from St George to Four Corners via Zion National Park. Webstie I have been on suggest the tunnels in Zion are out of bounds for cyclists, but also suggest you can get through them in convoy with rangers in some way. Has anyone ridden them? Any advice welcomed

Richard

19

Routes / Re: I'm looking for a route . . .

« on: March 29, 2009, 10:48:33 am »

Hi

My West-East planning for 2010 is only as far as Western Kansas at the moment. I kind of figure your options multiply as soon as you are East of the Rockies, in terms of the number of different routes you can choose.

However, I am hearing this advice about the Appalachians and would like advice about appropriate routes to NY from the Kansas/Missouri area. The most direct route seems to go through, or just south of, Springfield IL, Indianapolis IN, Columbus OH, and Pittsburgh PA. Is this sensible?

We are interested in a pretty direct route, and do not have the time to wander off on different trails. That can wait until I bring the wife and kids in 2012 and we hire a vehicle. If there is a pretty direct route that minimises the serious climbs, and/or picks up off-road trails, it would be handy to be aware of them now as it will affect which route through Kansas/Missouri we take.

Many thanks

Richard

20

Routes / Re: Theme based tours

« on: March 24, 2009, 09:41:39 am »

I am in the process of planning the route for LA to NY in summer 2010. I live in the UK and have only visited US once (San Francisco for a long weekend conference 1997) so I have no prior knowledge. However, I have spotted that, purely by accident, our current intended route goes through the burial places of three former presidents. These are Eisenhower in Abilene Kansas, Truman in Independence Missouri, and Lincoln in Springfield Illinois. A minor detour in the LA area would bring Nixon into the equation as well, and if you were heading through Washington DC towards the end of the journey, you could take in several more presidential graves. More again if you head from there up into New England.

Morbid/fascinating depending on your viewpoint.

21

Routes / Re: How much to save to do the TA

« on: March 23, 2009, 12:49:36 pm »

Thanks for the advice Russ.

100 miles a day is what we are aiming for. For work and family reasons, we can only devote about four weeks to it so that's an incentive to get on with it. We can average a comportable 15mph on middle-distance rides. Given the extra stuff (esp water in early stages) we will have to carry, I think an minimum average of 12mph is easily within our range. Possibly higher. Actual time in the saddle 8-9 hours a day and, other things being equal, we'll do 100-120. We just need to avoid major incidents such as illness, injury, major malfunction and having our bikes stolen, as these could throw our times out quite severely.

It wouldn't be a problem doing some road testing of particular bikes, gearsets etc in the UK and then order the required stuff well in advance. There seem to be plenty of decent bike shops within 5 miles of the place where we are starting. Also, I have read of cyclists being charged $200 each way to fly with their bikes, and then there is the time and money to buy two cases to pack the bike in. However, I am leaning towards taking my own bike. We have no serious hills in my area, and I have a gear-set that is more suited to flat/rolling terrain and not serious climbs. So I will need to get that sorted out.

Thanks once again.

Richard

22

Routes / Re: How much to save to do the TA

« on: March 20, 2009, 11:49:40 am »

I am doing LA to NY with my wife's brother in the summer of 2010 and am working on about £3000 (currently about $4000). However, this is to include the cost of flying from the UK to one US destination and then back to the UK from a different airport. In addition, we have yet to look carefully at the pros and cons of bringing our bikes with us and paying the baggage charges, buying two sets of bike carriers etc., or buying a new bike in Santa Monica and arranging a buyer willing to snap up a bargain in Battery Park! Then there is a long list of other things to think about including cell phones, insurances, consummables, camel backs etc.

We will be taking 28-30 days to complete the trip, and are planning for $75-$100 dollars per day to cover food and cheap motels. Emergencies will go on the credit card.

Richard