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General Discussion / Re: Planning to go Portland > EAST somewhere
« on: August 08, 2018, 06:24:33 am »Hi there~!
I just signed up and on to this site and forum. I'm currently living near Portland, Oregon and wantin' to bike across country to the east coast somewheres. Where precisely, is TBD as I've a couple friends in different states that I wanna visit. Likely will be North Carolina.
I've always biked everywhere I live, never really considered it a joy of mine but rather a mode of point A -> B and back again. Some events in my life have led me to the choice of biking across country not just as a recreation, but a general .... live life thing. I want to see the country and do it by my own power.
That all said, I'm very new to this notion of extreme distances. I've been in the process of paring things down for months anyways now, and saving money. so I'll be pouring my all into my bike once I purchase it (next week! Eeeee!) I've gotten support from the friends I've told my plan to and have been looking over the Adventure Cycling site for checklists of what is good to bring with and what's just excess. My free time's to be spent at the apartment complex's gym on the exercise bike to practice long ride times and build up endurance AND I'm lookin' into bike maintenance classes to keep my babby goin'.
What are the realistic perils / needs / pros/cons of doing this? Mind you I'm generally a shuttered up hermit who just cringes at the notion of doing social things. .... But I love people, oddly enough. I just gotta find the right enthusiastic strange ones, I suppose.
ANYways. Any advice for someone looking to do such a feat for the first time? Wisdom? Where's the ideal places to pitch tent for sleep? Where/how to avoid bear maulings?
I look forward to adventuring (relatively)soon!
Welcome to the forums Alynx! I worked at Nike and lived in Beaverton (170th & Elmonica) until relocating to Denver last November. In 2016 I did a ride for cancer awareness called Portland 2 Portland. I took the MAX downtown and started at Pioneer Courthouse Square and rode 5,177 miles to the City Center in Portland, Maine in 96 days (71 days of riding and 25 days off). It was also my first long distance tour.
I've posted a link below of my route. I zigzagged around to visit friends and speak at hospitals for my charity so it wasn't the most direct route.
My favorite thing about bike touring is seeing the country better than you see it in a car. It's relaxing to me. The people you meet along the way are great too. There's just something about a loaded touring bike that makes people want to talk to you.
With that said, it's not all fantastic. You'll have nasty headwinds on days, hills that never seem to end, idiot drivers etc. None of those are things that should scare you away though. I'd say a majority of the days I've been on the road (I've since done two more long distance tours) are beyond great! If you can survive those occasional crappy days you'll be fine.
As for where to sleep? Some campgrounds have a hiker/biker area so that's a good place to start. If you're following a ACA route many of the towns along the way will have hiker/biker campsites in city parks etc. I've often contacted churches and asked to camp on their property. They're usually okay with it or will at least tell you another church to contact. If I'm really in a pinch I've camped at police and fire stations or in city parks but those definitely aren't my go to places.
As for bears? I wouldn't worry about them unless you intend to cycle through Yellowstone or Glacier in the summer. Even then you can rent or buy bear spray and carry it in a cozy in one of your water bottle cages. The reality is that bears want nothing to do with you and wont bother you. Your chances of getting attacked are slim to none.
If you have any questions feel free to ask. There's a lot of seasoned tourist on this website
Best,
Ty
https://www.travellerspoint.com/member_map.cfm?user=Ty0604&tripid=893835
Hello! Sorry for the long delay but THANK you for this! I honestly live extremely close to the same area in Beaverton haha! I'm excited for the ups and downs of the journey and will give your link a gander for sure! Thank you so much! :>