Best route from SC to Cali?

[stiker]

Hello,
I plan on riding west from Anderson, South Carolina to California. I dont have an exact city in California but San Fransisco is the general idea. I have a Trek 7.5 FX. I am wondering what the best route would be to ride during the summer. I have 3 months before I have to be back at school. Any help on this question, advice about gear to buy, and what maps to get, will be greatly appreciated!

[Pat Lamb]

Check out the Howto section off the main Adventure Cycling magazine pagehttp://www.adventurecycling.org/features/howto.cfm for some introductory information on what to take, training, etc.  Then come back here with specific questions.

Your route question is an interesting one.  I'd suggest you head north to Virginia to start on the TransAmerica trail, possibly connecting with the Western Express.  AC has done a good job of laying out a route, and locating places to stay, services, and points of interest.  Maps are well worth the price.  It's a good way to take your first tour; later, if you wish, you can strike out on your own route.

Alternately, I'd suggest you cut northwest to pick up the TransAm somewhere in Virginia or Kentucky.  You'll cross some of the highest mountains east of the Mississippi on this route, where roads over the ridges tend to be sparse, and therefore relatively highly trafficed.  (Another good reason to take the TransAm, at the risk of seeming repetitive!)

[stiker]

Check out the Howto section off the main Adventure Cycling magazine pagehttp://www.adventurecycling.org/features/howto.cfm for some introductory information on what to take, training, etc.  Then come back here with specific questions.

Your route question is an interesting one.  I'd suggest you head north to Virginia to start on the TransAmerica trail, possibly connecting with the Western Express.  AC has done a good job of laying out a route, and locating places to stay, services, and points of interest.  Maps are well worth the price.  It's a good way to take your first tour; later, if you wish, you can strike out on your own route.

Alternately, I'd suggest you cut northwest to pick up the TransAm somewhere in Virginia or Kentucky.  You'll cross some of the highest mountains east of the Mississippi on this route, where roads over the ridges tend to be sparse, and therefore relatively highly trafficed.  (Another good reason to take the TransAm, at the risk of seeming repetitive!)

The TransAm to Western Express looks great to me because it ends right in San Fransisco. I would probably have to ride up to Damascus, VA or Berea, KY to hop on the TransAm. The Western Express + TransAm East package looks like it will cover most me most of the time. Are there maps that would cover my route from SC to KY or VA? If not are there any ideas on how to plan that on my own?

[JHamelman]

The TransAm to Western Express looks great to me because it ends right in San Fransisco. I would probably have to ride up to Damascus, VA or Berea, KY to hop on the TransAm. The Western Express + TransAm East package looks like it will cover most me most of the time. Are there maps that would cover my route from SC to KY or VA? If not are there any ideas on how to plan that on my own?

I suggest you take a look at the routes we have mapped to see which parts you could potentially use:

http://www.adventurecycling.org/routes/network.cfm

Once you get to that page, in the right side navigation bar there is a link called Map of All ACA Routes that is a download of a pdf that clearly shows our network and how it intersects with itself.

The next step is to get in touch with the bicycle coordinators for the states in which you will be traveling through and need routing. Many have online resources as well as printed materials. Nearly every state publishes a bicycle map of some sort that they will send out for free and the coordinators often have more information they can distribute for no charge as well. And while the maps aren't as detailed as ours, they generally offer suggested roads for cycling through their state. Here is a link to the contact information for all of the bicycle coordinators:

http://www.walkinginfo.org/assistance/contacts.cfm

Hope this helps!

.Jennifer.