Messages

1

Routes / southern tier: summer ok? Credit Card ok?

« on: April 28, 2007, 04:06:28 pm »

We did the Southern Tier last summer from St. Augustine to St. Francisville LA before heading up north on the Great Rivers South route.  We found the heat and humidity to be really tough (and we're from So FL), but we were riding in the midst of a really big heat wave.  We never found it a problem to get inexpensive hotels, especially using the ACA maps.  We found that many of the campgrounds were no longer in service, or had been taken over by clean-up crews from the hurricanes.  One idea for easy sleeping, with or without a tent, is to get a sleep-sack.  The humidity and heat were so high that we couldn't stand anything except a sheet at night.  Cotton is big no-no - it never dries.  Look on Magellan's website or REI.  Riders we met who had done the whole route rode really early and quit early.  We usually quit by 10:30 to noon every day and looked for air conditioning.  

2

Routes / Bike Around America

« on: April 28, 2007, 04:37:59 pm »

We combined the Western Express, the Transamerica, the Great Rivers South, and the Southern Tier last summer.  That got us a lot of states, and got us through a lot of the South and the mid part of the country.  We are now doing the Atlantic Coast and the Pacific.  I'd suggest looking at all the ACA routes and seeing what you can combine, depending on what you like.  We got an incredible overview doing it the way we did it.  You can circle the perimeter and then do a combination of the center routes.  You'll have an incredible time!!

3

General Discussion / Tech site for cheap equipment

« on: May 08, 2007, 05:56:35 pm »

That's a great site, but try www.cnet.com.  They have an incredible number of products that they review, and rate, and they have user reviews, too.  You'll get a really balanced overview.  In addition to the review aspect, they have educational articles, and you can compare products.  They also list all the online merchants who carry the specific product you're looking for, along with prices and the merchant rating.  I've been using them for all my research and purchases for anything electronic for nearly 5 years now, and I can frequently get better prices than tigerdirect prices (tigerdirect is one of the merchants listed).
Happy shopping
Rosemary