Ways to get out of Houston towards Southern Tier proper

[nick.bonnell]

Any route ideas on getting out of Houston?
I'm thinking of a nice Sping ride between Houston and New York.  The general route I have is Houston to St Francisville, LA.  Then along the the Natchez Trace to Tishimongo and the Underground Railway.  Turn east in Kentucky and follow the Trans Am into Virginia where I'll head north along the Atlantic Coast into NYC.
I want to start in Houston as has luggage service for bikes, but more importantly I really want to see the DeMenil art collection and the Rothko cathedral/temple/gallery.
I just hear horrible things about riding in such a physically large metro region.

[masoncw]

If you are still looking for route out of Houston.  There are plenty of people that ride regularly and even commute in Houston - just a matter of choosing your route carefully and riding properly.  I commute to work by bike and scouted out routes prior to starting.  Vast majority of drivers are very considerate but like anywhere there are always a few crazies out there.   Here is a link to Houston bicycle infrastructure map.  Some are much better than others so check routes out beforehand if possible.  The link to PDF is a huge map that can be zoomed in dramatically for fairly detailed view. 

http://edocs.publicworks.houstontx.gov/documents/divisions/planning/bikeway/bikeways_map_network.pdf