Messages

1

Routes / Re: Notes on Great Western Express Map 3

« on: June 05, 2017, 11:00:52 am »

I am planning on riding this route in August. Were there places  that offer shade in Utah, or do you go through long stretches where there is no shade? Do you think I will be able to ride through Nevada and Utah during August, or will it be too hot? Thanks!

August would be a really difficult time to do this.  Even now it's getting pretty warm.  I wouldn't recommend it unless you plan to ride only very early mornings and late evenings.

For most of the ride finding some shade somewhere is not a problem.  We didn't do Nevada, so I don't know about there.  Most of it goes places where there are juniper trees.  They're short but tall enough to get out of the sun.  The worst section without shade is from Hanksville to past the Colorado River.  You drop below the juniper tree elevation so there are only short bushes.  We wound up taking lunch under a road bridge just to get out of the sun for a while.

Your biggest problem will be carrying water especially considering the very steep climbs.   The section from Hanksville to Monticello in particular is very scarce on water.  We actually drove the route in advance and cached several 2 L bottles of water at many locations along the way which helped a lot.

 If you get a headwind it may be very strong and you may have real difficulty making the miles you expect.  So you'll need even more water.  Also by August any creeks that are flowing now may be dry by then.  So you'll probably want to carry a minimum of 1 gallon per person per day from each reliable water source.  That can be one heck of a load especially when climbing out of such places as the Escalante River crossing.

All in all you may want to consider a cooler route for August and save this route for a spring or fall trip.  If you do try for August plan your water very carefully.

Best if luck and may the winds be at your back.

2

Routes / Notes on Great Western Express Map 3

« on: June 03, 2017, 06:08:24 pm »

My hubby and I just finished the Great Western Express Map 3 from Panguitch, UT going straight into Cortez, CO.  Here are some notes on what we found that doesn't match the maps.  These should hopefully eventually get added to the addenda.

Western Express Route, Map 3 notes
Corner hwy 12 + 89-. There is a limited Convenience store, Red Canyon Village Store.  Snacks, drinks, microwave sandwiches, donuts, chips, cereal, some canned goods and cold drinks are about all that's available.
Tropic - The map needs a camping symbol added.  The campground is in the notes but not shown on the map.

Panel 35-
Escalante - There is tent camping at Shooting Star Campground and Drive In about 2  miles west of town.  Yes it is a drive in theatre.  Another campground that allows tents is just being completed directly across from visitor center called Grand Staircase Resort.
About 1/4 Mile west of the bridge crossing the Escalante River is the Kiva Coffeehouse.  Looks like you can get meals there.  About Mile 73.5.

Panel 37-
The hotel and restaurant located just east of Terry on RT 24 about 1.5 miles out of town also has a small C-store.

Panel 38-
There is Sleepy Hollow campground at the match line where road crosses Fremont River.
The Rodeway Inn at Caineville has just a very few food items for sale.  It'd be real hard to put together a good meal but you can at least get frozen burritos and cold drinks
Mesa RV park, camping, cafe is at Mile 100.5.  It doesn't look overly popular so it may not last.
Mesa farmers market is shown on wrong side of road on the map.

Panel 43 –
Bar TN RV park is actually the Old West RV park.  It is open.  It has tent sites as well as cabins.  348 S. Main St.  435-459-1327

Panel 44-
At the UT/CO State line is State Line Bar and Grill.  Open TH - SU at 11AM

Panel 45-
There are no stores between Dove Creek and Lewis.
There is a good C-store, P.O, and Restaurant in Lewis at the intersection of 491 and 184

3

Classifieds / Re: FS: Southern Tier, Great Rivers South, and Underground Railroad maps

« on: May 31, 2014, 02:56:25 pm »

I'm sorry I can't do it right now.   We're in Europe for the next 4 months on our own bike tour and the map is sitting in Utah at this time.  Again, I am so sorry I can't help right now.

4

Classifieds / Re: FS: 21 Old ACA maps, South & north tier, Great Rivers, east coast, more

« on: March 21, 2014, 10:05:58 pm »

We've found similar situations when we've updated our maps.  A newer map will take us on a different untried route.  Sometimes we like the new route better.  Sometimes we liked the original better.  But in the end it all adds up to more variety.  Then again, sometimes we pick our own route not doing either.  It's fun to experiment.

I'll bet you had some good laughs that evening as you compared your different routes and if you were in a hurry for that day you probably got some snarls as well.

5

Classifieds / Re: FS: 24 Old ACA maps, South & north tier, Great Rivers, east coast, more

« on: March 18, 2014, 07:06:22 pm »

That is true.  However, we find that having old maps can be useful depending on what you're doing.  If you're a stickler for staying right on the route, then they're probably not the best.  However, if you just want them for a general approach to follow they work fine.  We've had an old set of the GDMBR maps that we still use even though often we don't follow the route for the entire length.  In addition, for a lot of places out in the middle of the country the roads change so infrequently that old maps aren't all that different from new.  And, if you have 2 people riding the second set makes for for a great inexpensive copy for your partner.  Plus for planning they're also great.  Combine these with new phone data that can find services and GPS capabilities and they can work out fine.  Again, it depends on what you're doing.

So let's not disparage old maps just yet.  They still have uses and it'd be a shame not to recycle them if someone wants a good deal.

6

Classifieds / FS: 21 Old ACA maps, South & north tier, Great Rivers, east coast, more

« on: March 11, 2014, 06:32:42 pm »

Save big bucks buying old maps.  We have a bunch of old maps just gathering dust.  Yes they are quite old.  But the route data should still be reasonably accurate and combined with new GPS and internet data these could be quite useful.  They all are in very good condition.  In general the last 2 numbers represent the year of publication.  Here's the list plus what addendum we have:

Washington to Minnesota Section 1 Anacortes, WA to Sandpoint, ID, #BC-1121-95L Plus addenda to Jan 1998

Iowa to Maine Muscatine, IA to Monroeville, IN Section 1, #BC-1101-94L, plus addendum for spring 1994
Iowa to Maine Monroeville, IN to Corry, PA Section 2, #BC-1102-94L, plus addendum to spring 1994

Maine to Virginia Section 1 Barharbor, ME to Hartford, CT, #BC-1441-L93, no addendum
Maine to Virginia Section 2 Hartford, CT to Philadelphia, PA, #BC-1442-94L, plus addendum for spring 1994
Maine to Virginia Section 3 Philadelphia, PA to Richmond, VA, #BC-1443-94L, no addendum

Virginia to Florida Section 1 Richmond, VA to Wilmington, NC, #BC-1401, plus addendum to spring 1994
Virginia to Florida Section 2 Wilmington, NC to Statesboro, GA, #BC-1402, plus addendum for spring 1994
Virginia to Florida Section 3 Statesboro, GA to Ormond Beach, FL, #BC-1403-94D, no addendum
Virginia to Florida Section 4 Ormond Beach, FL to Ft. Myers, FL, #BC-1404, plus addendum for spring 1994

Canada to California Section 1 Vancouver, BC to Astoria, OR, #BC-1611-96D, no addendum
California Coast Section 3 Santa Barbara, CA to San Diego, CA, #BC-1623-93D, no addenum

Great Parks North Section 1 Missoula, MT to Elko, BC, #BC-1211, plus addendum to Jan 1998
Great Parks North Section 2 Elko, BC to Jasper, AB, #BC-1212, plus addendum to Jan 1998

Great Rivers South Section 1 Muscatine, IA to Cape Girardeau, MO, #BC-1811-03L, no addendum
Great Rivers South Section 2 Cape Girardeau, MO to Tupelo, MS, #BC-1812-02L, no addendum
Great Rivers South Section 3 Tupelo, MS to Baton Route, LA, #BC-1813-02L, no addendum

Southern Tier Section 1 San Diego, CA to Mesa, AZ, #BC-1710-L94, No addendum
Southern Tier Section 2 Mesa, AZ to El Paso, TX, #BC-1711-94L, No addendum
Southern Tier Section 3 El Paso, TX to Del Rio, TX, #BC-1712-94L, No addendum
Southern Tier Section 4 Del Rio, TX to Navasota,  TX, #BC-1713-94L, No addendum
Southern Tier Section 5 Navasota, TX to St. Francisville, LA, #BC-1714-94L, No addendum
Southern Tier Section 6 St. Francisville, LA to De Funiak Springs FL, #BC-1715-94L, No addendum
Southern Tier Section 7 De Funiak Springs, FL to St. Augustine, FL, #BC-1716-94L, No addendum

We are offering these at $3.00 each plus whatever it takes to ship them either slow media mail rate or USPS flat rate priority, your choice.  The Great Rivers South maps sold.   So now get the whole pack of 21 maps for $44.

Contact me if interested by either posting here or sending an email.

7

Classifieds / FS: Southern Tier, Great Rivers South, and Underground Railroad maps

« on: March 10, 2014, 09:56:05 pm »

We have a variety of recent ACA maps available for sale.   They are

Southern Tier map number 6 from DeFuniak Springs, FL to St. Francisville, LA year 2010, map number BC-1706
Great Rivers South from Cape Girardeau, MO to Tupelo, MS, year 2011, map number BC-1812
Great Rivers South from Baton Rouge, LA to Tupelo, MS, year 2011, map number BC-1813
Underground Railroad section 1 from Mobile, Al to Fulton, MS, year 2012, map number BC-5001
Underground Railroad section 2 from Fulton, MS to Owensboro, KY, year 2012, map number BC-5002
Underground Railroad section 3 from Owensboro, KY to Milford, OH, year 2012, map number BC-5003

We're asking $7.50 each plus whatever it takes to ship them.

If interested post here.  List the maps you're interested in and your zip code and we can calculate a shipping cost.  It also helps if you have a paypal account.

8

Classifieds / FS: Europe biking maps and Lonely Planet Canada Book

« on: March 10, 2014, 09:42:33 pm »

I have 3 European Bike Line books for sale.  These are all fairly recent editions.  If you're not familiar with the Bike Line map books information can be found at esterbauer.com  They produce excellent maps.

The three we have are:
Danube Cycling Guide part 4 from Budapest to the Black Sea, 2008 edition (English)
Danube Cycling Guide part 3 from Vienna to Budapest, 2006 edition (English)
Po Radweg following the Po river in Italy from Venice to Milan, 2012 edition (German)

Even though the Po river map is in German these maps are easy to follow and have a lot of good cycling information.  We'd like to sell each for $10 plus whatever it costs to ship it to you via a priority flat rate envelop or box.  Or buy all three for $25 plus shipping.

We also have a March 2011 edition of Lonely Planet Canada guide book.  We offer this at $15 plus shipping.  We'll send it the cheapest way possible and let you know what that costs or send it via a priority flat rate box, your choice. 

If interested post here and we like to use PayPal for this sort of transaction.

9

Classifieds / Re: European BikeLine maps (Danube and Po rivers) for sale

« on: April 04, 2013, 08:26:59 pm »

Yes they are.  Sorry about the late reply.  I've been touring.  Which are you interested in?  If you are still interested send me a private message with your zip code and the maps you want so I can get an exact shipping cost.  I take payment via PayPal.

10

Classifieds / Re: Old ACA maps for sale, large variety

« on: February 14, 2013, 06:37:16 pm »

Sure are.  Give me your zip code and I'll get you a shipping price.

11

Classifieds / For Sale - Bicycling the TransAm companion guide book - SOLD

« on: February 11, 2013, 05:08:45 pm »

For Sale, The Complete Handlebar Guide to Bicycling the TransAm Virginia to Oregon/Washington, 3rd Edition published 2009 by Ager Kirz.  This is the companion guide to the TransAm maps.  $10 plus shipping to your address.  If interested give me your zip so I can calculate shipping costs.  It is used and in good condition.

12

Classifieds / European BikeLine maps (Danube and Po rivers) for sale

« on: February 04, 2013, 08:20:36 pm »

We had 3 maps from Esterbauer Bikeline for sale for $12.00 each plus whatever it costs to put them in the mail.  They're in very good condition.  They are:

Cycline cycling guide, Danube Bike Trail (in English) from Vienna to Budapest, 1st edition dated 2006
Cycline cycling guide, Danube Bike Trail (in English) from Budapest to the Black Sea, 1st edition 2008

Po- Radweg in Italy (German is the only language available) from Milan to the Po-Delta, published 2012

13

Classifieds / Old ACA maps for sale, large variety

« on: February 04, 2013, 08:14:11 pm »

We have a bunch of old maps just gathering dust.  We are offering them for $4.00 each plus whatever it takes to put them in the mail.  Here's the list plus what addendum we have:

Washington to Minnesota Section 1, #BC-1121-95L Plus addenda to Jan 1998
TransAm Section 4, #BC-1521-L93, Plus addenda to Jan 2000
TransAm Section 5, #BC1522-94L, Plus addendum for summer 1995
Maine to Virginia Section 1, #BC-1441-L93, no addendum
Maine to Virginia Section 2, #BC-1442-94L, plus addendum for spring 1994
Maine to Virginia Section 3, #BC-1443-94L, no addendum
Virginia to Florida Section 1, #BC-1401, plus addendum to spring 1994
Virginia to Florida Section 2, #BC-1402, plus addendum for spring 1994
Virginia to Florida Section 3, #BC-1403-94D, no addendum
Virginia to Florida Section 4, #BC-1404, plus addendum for spring 1994
Iowa to Maine Section 1, #BC-1101-94L, plus addendum for spring 1994
Iowa to Maine Section 2, #BC-1102-94L, plus addendum to spring 1994
Canada to California Section 1, #BC-1611-96D, no addendum
California Coast Section 3, #BC-1623-D93, no addendum
Great Parks North Section 1, #BC-1211, plus addendum to Jan 1998
Great Parks North Section 2, #BC-1212, plus addendum to Jan 1998
California to Florida (Southern Tier) Section 1, #BC-1710-L94,  no addendum
California to Florida (Southern Tier) Section 2, #BC-1711-94L, no addendum
California to Florida (Southern Tier) Section 3, #BC-1712-94L, no addendum
California to Florida (Southern Tier) Section 4, #BC-1713-94L, no addendum
California to Florida (Southern Tier) Section 5, #BC-1714-94L, no addendum
California to Florida (Southern Tier) Section 6, #BC-1715-94L, no addendum
California to Florida (Southern Tier) Section 7, #BC-1716-94L, no addendum

14

Classifieds / Wanted Underground Railroad Route Map Set

« on: February 04, 2013, 07:49:01 pm »

We are looking for the complete Underground Railroad map set.  If you'd like to sell yours let us know.

15

International / Re: Extended Solo European Tour on the Cheap

« on: March 23, 2011, 08:28:33 pm »

One thing most folks don't mention are the visa requirements.  Most of western Europe is now in the Shengen group.  While that means you don't need to worry about passport inspections at each country border it does mean that it's far more difficult to stay for a long period.  The rule is you can stay within the Shengen region for no more than 90 days out of a 6 month period.  You can go in and out all you want, but your stay in that 6 months cannot total to over 90 days.  Shengen countries now include all the way from Portugal to Scandanavia to Hungary, Italy and even Greece.  Croatia is one exception.

Pratically speaking, it's very rare that you'll get caught especially if you've been in and out a lot.  Each time you enter you get a passport stamp that shows where you entered and how; i.e. plane, boat, or car.  It's not likely that even when departing that the border guard will go back and look for any more than your last stamp nor will they add up all your time if you have a lot of enter and leave stamps.  As yet it doesn't appear that it's all computer linked.  I expect someday that will change.  But in theory you cannot restart the clock simply by going out of the Shengen region for a few hours or days and then coming back in.

If you get caught it means a very big fine, we've heard something like 500 euros, and you may be barred from going back for many years.  Different countries are more or less picky about this issue.  In some cases you can get a temporary residence permit allowing you to stay longer, but it can be a pain to get, again depending on what country you want to get it from.  We did it last year and aren't sure it was worth it.

One thing that can help is England is not in Shengen and US citizens can enter and stay for up to 6 months.  So in theory you can spend 3 months on the mainland, 6 months in the UK, and then return to the mainland for another 3 months.  Or you need to head toward east Europe into countries that are not as yet in Shengen such as Turkey, Bulgaria, Serbia, Croatia, etc.  But these countries aren't quite as bike friendly as those further west.

Just make sure you're fully aware of your visa requirements before buying your tickets.