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General Discussion / Re: Is a TransAm Ride Coast-to-Coast
« on: December 04, 2021, 10:46:33 am »
Do it any Way you want. Dipping wheels is Nothing.
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17
General Discussion / Re: Florida coast to coast dedicated bike path. C2C.
« on: December 03, 2021, 02:15:34 pm »
They do have a map online. Just this moment I saw a YouTube video that said the sea to sea coast to coast bicycle path in Florida has been done. Meaning finished and complete. I did not open the video.
18
Routes / Re: Brit riding across the US
« on: December 03, 2021, 06:40:25 am »
The first three posts on this thread are in line with information I recently got on crazy guy on a bike.com. He detailed the entire route from Santa Monica to the Windy City. He also posted detailed maps of the route. Go to that site and search Route 66. Like they have told you, plan ahead carefully. You could end up in high temperatures in areas where surfaces are spaced out long distances, I mean long distances by bicycle travel. Other than that it looks like A decent ride. If you do it, good luck.
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General Discussion / Re: Southern Tier in Winter
« on: December 02, 2021, 11:21:07 pm »
As for myself, I got the highest daily mileage in winter, and the lowest in summer heat. The cold is invigorating. The heat can beat you down like a hammer. That is speaking only for myself. On one crossing of the southern tier, Florida to California there was extreme heat and also the beginning of cool weather. In the heat I struggled to get 60 miles in a day. I mean this was really hot, 100°F perhaps as much as 110°F. We all know what that means cycling out there over the hard top. West of San Angelo Texas a cold front moved in. What a relief that was. I started knocking out 80 mile days like a walk in the park. Extreme heat can take the wind out of your sails. Shorter days in winter I suppose or whatever you want them to be. When the temperatures allow and the wind isn’t howling in against you from all the wrong directions, Night cycling is quite pleasant and cool. You can make up for the day light hours that way. Of course there may be disadvantages to doing it that way. Setting up camp at night and eating and are preparing food could add to some disadvantage of convenience. It seems like whatever you do there will be some positive and some negative value to It. You just have to make whatever you consider to be the best choice for yourself based on the information you have. If you ever pulled into a campsite, stealth or official, on a cold cold night you know one of the last things on your mind might be preparing food. All I ever wanted to do was set up the tent or tarp or whatever And get inside that warm sleeping bag and go to sleep.
20
General Discussion / Re: Southern Tier in Winter
« on: December 02, 2021, 08:34:26 am »
In my opinion you are doing it the right time of year. The cool weather is much to be preferred over summer heat. Most of the time that far south it is pleasantly cool. It can get to extremes, so you might want to keep that in In my opinion you are doing it the right time of year. The cool weather is much to be preferred over summer heat. Most of the time that far south it is pleasantly cool. It can get to extremes, so you might want to keep that in mind. I slept out one night and it was 10°F. Another night it was 7°. That did not happen often, but if you are unprepared it only has to happen once. I got up on the morning of the 7° night and made my way to a waffle house. Someone told me one person had died of hypo thermia. They said he had been drunk. He fell down. He passed out. And that was that. Hi got me to a motel for two days. I was chilled to the bone. Most of the time though it is really just kind of cold and very cool. During the days it is often just cool.
21
General Discussion / Re: Finding accommodation
« on: December 01, 2021, 12:04:35 pm »
There seems to be a consensus that warm showers might be more trouble than it is worth. Then again, I just watched a bicycle tourist on YouTube. He praised warm showers.Not sure of the extent of his experiences by the time he said that.
22
General Discussion / Re: Finding accommodation
« on: November 30, 2021, 09:29:36 pm »
Warm showers might be useful. It would not hurt to try it. What I heard is it is kind of a problem. I was a member for a while. Hey cyclist on the Atlantic coast route contacted me for a place to lay over a while. I was perfectly willing to let him stay here and rest. The problem was I was getting to takeoff on a tour of my own. I did not want to alter my schedule. I told him that. In the course of our correspondence he told me I was the only person from warm showers who had answered him when contacted. There is another psych a list on YouTube. That is The Bicycle Touring pro. He said March the same thing about warm showers. He said it took a lot of time to contact members. Some do not even respond. He said it was such a time-consuming thing that he just gave up with it.
23
General Discussion / Re: Tent camping Florida Keys - January
« on: November 30, 2021, 09:21:19 pm »
I bicycled the length of the Florida Keys 6 times. In winter it will be crowded. Tourists are everywhere. There is a state park, perhaps more than one where you can camp on the beach. They might let you tent in some RV parks. Prepare to spend a lofty sum. The Florida keys are not particularly known for accommodating camping in tents. For a few hours sleep at an RV park you can rent a very nice motel in some other parts of the country. I could not find a reasonable place to tent in the Keys. Stealth camping is possible and quite limited.
24
Routes / Re: Interstate Alternatives
« on: November 29, 2021, 01:06:46 am »In my experience, you are much more likely on interstate shoulders to get flats from the wires from exploded truck tires. They are common, nearly impossible to see, and seldom stopped by even the best tires. Besides, nothing interesting ever happens on the interstate, and interesting things happening are one of the best reasons to tour. Few people do a bicycle tour just to get from point A to point B.
A truck tire exploded in front of me once. It blasted shrapnel wires everywhere. It made one hell of a noise. It was about 200 feet away.
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Routes / Re: Interstate Alternatives
« on: November 29, 2021, 12:48:08 am »
McDonald's? Motel 6? Muzak? Those are irrelevant to cycling the interstates on the southern tier. McDonald's only in emergency or coffee. Never slept in a motel 6. As for music, each to his own. As for privately owned restaurants, plenty are to be found. Mom and pop for the homey connotation. Nutrition is nutrition. Far better getting it at a real-food store. The interstate route is quite good. It is not perfect. In a world built for motorized transportation, what roads are ideal for cycling safely? Interstates are safer than back roads, highways and byways. Are there drawbacks? Of course there are. Everything has positive and negative values. Personally, I do not allow for being routed onto narrow two-lane roads with trucks and cars tearing along at break-neck speeds. If I had to use such roads I would, but I would not seek them. They cause stress after a while. On an interstate highway with wide shoulders, the chance some distracted motorist would veer into you at the precise point of your location would be almost nil. There were twelve cyclists in Texas recently who might see the point on that. And so would many others if they were alive. I never had any traffic stress on an interstate. I think that is perhaps a main advantage. It is stress-free.
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Routes / Re: Southern Tier- San Diego to El Paso - a few notes from ride just completed
« on: November 28, 2021, 04:59:48 pm »
You are exactly right. The dirt path to the side of the road was better for cycling than The road. You described it perfectly. I know it has a name and the names I gave it Are not fit for publication.
27
Routes / Re: Interstate Alternatives
« on: November 26, 2021, 09:23:25 pm »
Kuralt's emotionalism lamenting the demise of small towns bypassed by interstate highways has its place in American nostalgia. Considering the tangible realities of the matter places it opposite of fact. Consider interstate 10. I have bicycled it a few times between Florida and California. Highway 90 west out of Beaumont runs near it. Many small towns are there to see and visit along the way. The I-10 service roads and 90 and other roadways can be cycled all the way from Huston to San Antonio. There are many towns along the way. I-10 going northwest out of San Antonio, TX goes through many small towns. There are hills and mountains and broad vistas, and very wide shoulders in many or most stretches. The climbs are gentler because the road cuts through the hills and does not go over their tops. Look at the map. You will see many interesting small towns along the way. I-10 also takes you to larger cities--- Houston, San Antonio, El Paso, Las Cruces, Tucson. I-8 going west from Casa Grande, AZ has wide shoulders and excellent scenery. You must exit 8 approaching Yuma, AZ.
Going due west from Yuma, unfortunately, puts you on the highway from hell. It is terrible for quite a distance. I did not measure its decrepitude but whatever its distance, it is too far. It smooths out and runs you alongside I-8 to Ogilvy or Ogilby Road. It takes you north to highway 78 where you again go west. Follow my route and you get to Ocotillo, CA. Before getting to Ocotillo there is a worse road from hell. And even along this route there are quite a few cool little towns and agricultural communities.
Going west from Ocotillo, I-8 is a long steep climb to where you must exit to hysterical highway 80. 80 is hilly and a bit rough in places. It is a super highway compared to the fore mentioned roads from hell. It runs along the I-8 corridor. On 80 you can visit a gambling casino. There is the town of Jacumba with hot springs if you can afford it. You will go through the very pleasant little town of Pine Valley. Here is a small restaurant of American nostalgia. I love looking at old photos from the past and memorabilia. Get ready to climb a bit. When you get to Alpine you can get an espresso at Starbucks if it is still there. It on the side of the road in plain sight. After a while you enter the megalopolis and thread your way into San Diego.
When Charles Kuralt said taking the interstate you will see nothing at all, it should be understood for what it was, an emotionalism.
Going due west from Yuma, unfortunately, puts you on the highway from hell. It is terrible for quite a distance. I did not measure its decrepitude but whatever its distance, it is too far. It smooths out and runs you alongside I-8 to Ogilvy or Ogilby Road. It takes you north to highway 78 where you again go west. Follow my route and you get to Ocotillo, CA. Before getting to Ocotillo there is a worse road from hell. And even along this route there are quite a few cool little towns and agricultural communities.
Going west from Ocotillo, I-8 is a long steep climb to where you must exit to hysterical highway 80. 80 is hilly and a bit rough in places. It is a super highway compared to the fore mentioned roads from hell. It runs along the I-8 corridor. On 80 you can visit a gambling casino. There is the town of Jacumba with hot springs if you can afford it. You will go through the very pleasant little town of Pine Valley. Here is a small restaurant of American nostalgia. I love looking at old photos from the past and memorabilia. Get ready to climb a bit. When you get to Alpine you can get an espresso at Starbucks if it is still there. It on the side of the road in plain sight. After a while you enter the megalopolis and thread your way into San Diego.
When Charles Kuralt said taking the interstate you will see nothing at all, it should be understood for what it was, an emotionalism.
28
Routes / Re: Interstate Alternatives
« on: November 26, 2021, 01:21:54 am »
On one trans continental trip east to west, Florida to California, using Schwalbe marathon tires, I had eight punctures total. That was using the interstates. There was a road that must’ve had many of those little wires on one trip because I had five or six punctures within 5 miles but that was a different matter. That was not an interstate highway that I remember. When it comes to noise, earbuds with music and earplugs eliminate that. When it comes to pollution it is a matter of which way the wind is blowing. If you are going west and the wind is blowing from the north to the south you get no pollution. If it’s blowing from the south to the north then you have to breathe it in. If you are going west and the wind is behind you you will probably not get much pollution at all. And the traffic is not really all that thick and fast until you get nearer the cities. I’ve used interstate Highways quite a few times. They are OK.
29
Routes / Re: Southern Tier- San Diego to El Paso - a few notes from ride just completed
« on: November 26, 2021, 01:12:55 am »
The last time I cycled that way I got interstate 10 from VanHorn into El Paso. I went north on side roads to Las Cruces New Mexico. I took interstate 10 West from Las Cruces to Casa grande Arizona. There I got eight interstate eight to Yuma Arizona. After that I went west through winter haven California onto an extremely bad road which brought me to Oglebay which I took north to 78. 78 going west with other roads brought me to Ocotillo California had just before Ocotillo was another very bad road. How to book a TO I got interstate west to hysterical Highway 80 and it took that into Pine Valley and other roads into San Diego.
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Routes / Re: South Louisiana Ride
« on: November 26, 2021, 01:06:47 am »
My first trans continental US tour was the winter of 1984, 85. I took 90 to New Orleans going west. I took 90 W. out of New Orleans. In those days it was OK. Nowadays it is choked with commercial traffic, dirty and littered with all kinds of debris. That is unless they cleaned it the last time I used it. I would not use 90 again. Not in that area anyway.