Messages

1

General Discussion / Re: Newb, feeling over whelmed by planning process. where/how to start???

« on: January 18, 2014, 06:15:38 pm »

Thats similar to how i felt when i started the northern tier in 2010.  I tried planning out the first week or so.  With in the first day that all went out the window.   If your going west to east i would do a really long first day to get close to the base of mt washington or two short days to get there, since its a really long climb to the top.  The first day i cycled to concrete and then cycled up mt washington from there and it ended up taking much longer than i anticipated it was 5pm and i still had 30 miles to go to reach the top which doesnt seem like much but when your only going 4-6 mph that takes a looooong time.  Didnt reach the top till the middle of the night and was a freezing ride down the other side.  Towards the base of the mountain right before spokane theres a nice little farm that has a sign out front for touring cyclists to camp there.  They have a nice little set up with an outdoor shower and plenty of space to camp.  They even invited me in for some juice and chips while we shared cycling stories.  After the weeks went on youll learn sense when its ready to stop.  Half the time i would just ask a farmer on the side of the road where a good place to camp was if i was out in the country and most of the time they would let me pitch my tent in their yard.  Majority of all the small cities you go threw have parks that allow camping so its really never hard to find a place to camp, unless your staying in hotels and such.

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Routes / Re: Planning route from Anchorage to San Fransico

« on: December 02, 2013, 07:43:01 pm »

I have a small water purifier that i will be bringing with me and i plan on picking up a water sack that i can strap to my bike or keep in one of my panniers that can hold about a gallon plus ill have 3 water bottles then probably a couple extra strapped to the rear rack thinking that will be sufficient.  My last tour i tried getting several friends to come along for the ride but all of them backed out.  Its just hard for most people to drop their work and commit to something like that.  I feel more than connfident taking on the challenge solo but it would be nice to have someone to ride and share the experience with.  Nice to see another person from mn into touring.  I havent met anyone else into it around me im from st. cloud

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Routes / Re: Planning route from Anchorage to San Fransico

« on: December 02, 2013, 04:57:56 pm »

Hey Paul
Checked out your website from your 2005 tour looks awesome.  Just makes me that more excited for when i can finally do it.  You guys ever do any wild camping or mostly just stay at actual camp site if so how much were they to stay the night.  My last tour way i saved so much money was avoiding campsites and just camping in city parks or just somewhere hidden off the road.   Only fear of doing more wild camping up in alaska and canada is all the wild life and making sure to take all the right precautions that one wont come stumbling around my campsite looking for food.  I ordered the milepost but im currently on deployment in the middle of the ocean so it will take a month or so for me to get my hands on it and really start planning a route.

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Routes / Re: Planning route from Anchorage to San Fransico

« on: November 28, 2013, 07:09:40 pm »

I will more than likely do another crazyguyonabike journal again like i did with my first tour.   I wont be doing this one till the spring of 2015 just planning ahead

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Routes / Re: Planning route from Anchorage to San Fransico

« on: November 26, 2013, 05:57:57 pm »

Looks like something worth looking into.  Ill order it than probably just scan the important parts i want into my laptop or iphone.  I will more than likely have a gps to help navigate along the way as well

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Routes / Planning route from Anchorage to San Fransico

« on: November 25, 2013, 07:34:17 pm »

In the planning stages for my next tour once i get out of the Navy and plan on cycling from Anchorage to San Fransico.  As far as the route goes i will be using the aca maps for the west coast but curious if anyone has any tips or previous routes they have used for a similar ride.  I know the ACA has the north star tour from missolua to anchorage havent seen any maps on their site for that specific route.  Mostly want to find a good route that will have places with food and water, not worried about hotels as i will be camping and cooking the majority of my meals.  This is my second bicycle tour so im not to new to the touring game any help would be greatly apreciated

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Routes / Planning my first bike tour

« on: March 20, 2010, 05:26:26 pm »

Last summer i decided i was gonna finally chase my dream of a long distance cycling trip and now after researching what i need and how to do it over the winter i am torn as to what route i want to take.  My original plan was to take the northing tear from Seattle to Minnesota mostly cause of the aca maps and the great information they include with them.  But now with this google maps cycling routes i have made a slightly different route to more accommodate places i wanted to see and people i want to visit.  The main thing i worry about with using google is it will be harder for me to find places like grocery stores and places to stay like the aca maps would show me.  Would you suggest i take the norther tier or take a chance do a bit more research for hopefully a more rewarding route.  I will include the route that i have created using the google maps, check it out and give me some feedback! 
Time and money arent really all that much of a factor. 
http://maps.google.com/maps?f=d&source=s_d&saddr=st.+cloud,+mn&daddr=US-14+Alt+W+to:US-310+E%2FWY-789+S+to:N+Fork+Hwy%2FUS-14+W%2FUS-16+W%2FUS-20+W+to:Grand+Loop+Rd%2FUS-20+W+to:John+D+Rockefeller+Jr+Pkwy%2FUS-191+S%2FUS-287+S%2FUS-89+S+to:S+4th+Ave+to:Iron+Horse+State+Park%2FIron+Horse+Trail+to:WA-99+N&geocode=FUWqtwIdNUtf-im7Sfr6nFS0UjG0BiimkOocFw%3BFQ4hqwIdvlaX-Q%3BFcC9rAIdIP6I-Q%3BFTQTpwIdhq58-Q%3BFZQxpgIdLO9o-Q%3BFfounQId5Itp-Q%3BFS7EjQId0J5M-Q%3BFZ7A0wId1hK--A%3BFQr_0AIddk-1-A&hl=en&mra=mr&mrcr=0&via=1,2,3,4,5&dirflg=b&sll=45.06626,-104.943835&sspn=25.697725,57.084961&ie=UTF8&z=5&lci=bike