Messages

16

General Discussion / Re: Stupid Hotel Question

« on: October 26, 2011, 06:14:10 pm »

I rode the Transam E-W in 2006. I camped most of the time until I got to the middle of Kansas. It got hot and I headed indoors, mostly. I camped only 5 times from Kansas to the coast, including 2 days in Yellowstone. I never made any reservations ahead of time but there was always a camping option at the city park in town if the motel was full. They were never full.

In 2009 I rode the Northern Tier W-E to North Dakota and then found my own way to home in Iowa. I camped, with a few motels, until ND and then stayed in motels all the way home. Once again with no reservations.

I wouldn't make a reservation more than one day ahead unless it was a real popular tourist area like mentioned before. If you are doing ACA routes or similar roads I can't imagine that these motels in small towns fill up very often. If you are carrying camping gear then you always have that option.

17

Routes / Re: Great Rivers?

« on: October 17, 2011, 01:35:18 pm »

I rode with a with another guy from Grand Rivers, KY to just into Alabama and back in 2005. Most of this portion was on 2 Parkways with no commercial vehicles. There were campgrounds along the 2 parkways that as I remember were reasonably priced. We camped at a motel in between the parkways, I believe it was the Southernaire. It was located about 25 miles north of Waverly, TN and they charged $5 a person with a shower. There also was a restaurant at the motel. We rode in heavy rain on the way back north and stayed at the motel, rather than camping. I don't think the price was too bad.

There were no towns directly on this portion of the Parkways but there were towns just off of them. We did not camp in any of these towns but did go off for lunch and groceries. The riding on the Parkways was very enjoyable, much like the Blue Ridge Parkway. There were rolling hills in the north and little traffic. As we traveled south the parkway became less hilly. Like the Transam in Kentucky, the roads in between the parkways had some steeper climbs and some loose dogs.

The only city park campgrounds that I see listed on the map set are in the section north of St. Louis. On a different tour in 2005 I rode a portion of the Great Rivers in Illinois and Missouri. Typical of most ACA routes, quiet roads through small towns. We even had a cyclist come up to us in a grocery store in Cape Girardeau, Mo and offer us a camping spot in his yard and a shower. We stayed in a couple of motels in  southern Missouri and Illinois small towns and they were priced very reasonably.

18

Routes / Showers in Tonasket, WA

« on: July 15, 2011, 10:25:08 pm »

I was contacted, through my journal guestbook, by a city councilman from Tonasket, WA.. Tonasket is on the Northern Tier and is the town west of Wauconda Pass. He said the pool there is in bad shape and will be closed next year. He wanted to inform riders that showers are not going to be available at the pool.

When I stayed there in 2009 the pool had not yet opened for the season but you could get a shower at the laundromat for $3.75. While in Tonasket I camped at Shannon's Ice Cream Parlor and RV Park. At that time she had been hosting cyclists for 27 years.

So, I showered, did laundry and camped at an ice cream parlor. Life was very good that day!

19

Routes / Re: Lincoln,Ne heading east through Iowa

« on: July 14, 2011, 08:55:57 am »

When I read about people not liking the cycling in Iowa it always is the result of them choosing the wrong roads. The state bike maps are the key to an enjoyable trip across Iowa.

It would helpful to know where you are going, at least your destination in the next state. The Northern Tier crosses the Mississippi at Muscatine, which might be useful, depending on where you are going.

20

Routes / Re: Lincoln,Ne heading east through Iowa

« on: July 09, 2011, 09:29:53 am »

If you just want to go straight across Iowa and keep it simple Hwy 2 would be a much better option to Hwy 34. If you end up crossing the Missouri on 34 because of the flooding, you can catch a crushed limestone trail 6 1/2 miles east of Glenwood that will take SE to intersect with Hwy 2 by Shenandoah.

If you want to travel across farther north than Hwy 6 and the county roads that are old Hwy 6 is a good route. An Iowa Bicycling map would be helpful, check at Iowa bike shops (if there are any) along the way.

 It's a shame but there are very few roads with shoulders in Iowa but there are a lot of county roads with light traffic. Once again the map would be helpful and it's free.

21

General Discussion / Re: Cross Country Trip: Money, What To Do?

« on: May 08, 2011, 09:38:27 am »

I use a money belt like the Eagle Creek for Id's, CC, receipts and money, it works well for me. I would wear this around my waist, with the pocket under the shorts and the in the back. The cash in the belt was kept in a snack size ziplock, In addition to that I carried my normal cycling wallet, with a days worth of money, in a jersey pocket. That way I would not have to get the money belt out during the day, unless using an ATM.

http://www.rei.com/product/617988/eagle-creek-undercover-deluxe-security-belt

22

Routes / Re: Route Help Please

« on: March 08, 2011, 10:28:28 am »

I rode part of the Natchez Trace in 2005 and thought it was a good and safe cycling road. It does not have shoulders but is restricted to no commercial vehicles and I believe a 50mph speed limit. Sorry I can't help with your route question.

23

General Discussion / Re: Iso butane canister availability on Pacific coast

« on: March 05, 2011, 10:33:06 am »

Sorry, obviously you were wondering about Iso butane canisters.

24

General Discussion / Re: Iso butane canister availability on Pacific coast

« on: March 05, 2011, 10:10:29 am »

Are you talking about iso butane canisters? Are you riding Pacific Coast Route while in the US? If so, then Fred's search doesn't appear to be of much help. Hope the thread continues so you can find some useful answers.

25

Routes / Re: Help across Wyoming

« on: August 22, 2010, 10:57:42 pm »

Here's a link from the Wyoming DOT website. Looks like it could be useful.

http://www.dot.state.wy.us/webdav/site/wydot/shared/Wyoming%20Bike%20Route%20Map.pdf

26

General Discussion / Re: Recovery drinks and Cytomax.

« on: July 15, 2010, 03:23:05 pm »

Westinghouse, this is interesting. Are you talking about Cytomax Recovery ? They make several different products, this appears to be the one that has protein.

27

Gear Talk / Re: Front rack for Arkel bag

« on: May 10, 2010, 08:45:51 am »

I've used the Tubus Duo rack with the Arkel GT18's for several years and it has worked great. The Tara is a very nice rack and should work as well. The clip attaches to the bottom of the rack with a screw. There are some photos here:

http://www.thetouringstore.com/TUBUS/Tara/TARA%20PAGE.htm

28

Gear Talk / Re: Will a racing saddle work for touring?

« on: May 08, 2010, 12:46:16 pm »

If I were him and could do those kinds of rides comfortably, I would stick with the Arione. I think with saddles, whatever works is the right choice.

29

General Discussion / Re: General Question

« on: May 06, 2010, 05:56:04 pm »

I've done two ACA self contained tours and the Transam and part of the Northern Tier solo. It always seemed to me that ACA's number one concern was to keep riders out of heavy traffic if possible, sometimes to a fault. I don't like ride in heavy traffic, just too stressful. On the Transam the only places I noticed the traffic being real heavy was in Yellowstone, where most of the route did not have a shoulder, and a short stretch north of Richmond ,VA. I never had a problem with either, it was just heavier traffic than I like.

I really think that if you choose to tour with ACA, or use their maps, you will be very comfortable with the routes. If you want to plan your own route a lot of states have bike maps or routes which are usually color coded as to traffic density. Some also have shoulder maps which can be helpful. These can both be found on those states DOT website.

30

Routes / Re: Transamerica - First timers need help

« on: May 01, 2010, 12:07:11 am »

You can get bicycle maps for Illinois from the Illinois DOT. Here's the link.

http://www.dot.state.il.us/bikemap/STATE.HTML

You would probably only have to buy 2 or 3 of the Illinois maps and then use them to connect with the Northern Tier section 8, which passes through Illinois and Indiana, and could get you to about 30-35 miles south of Plymouth.