trip from georgia to southern ontario

[susan lipscomb]

I am interested in planning a trip from alpharetta ga to port bruce ontario(southern end of lake erie) any ideas on route planning. I am brand new to planning my own trips and would appreciate any advice. especially on how to plan the route.
thanks susan

[paddleboy17]

You might see if any of the Adventure Cycling map sets take you close to where you want to go.  The Underground Railroad route comes to mind, but you would have to work out a way to connect to it.  Google Maps bicycle option is a good way to do that. 

[misterflask]

Seconding Paddleboys advice.  Unless you just have an absolute passion for doing things your own way, you can't beat an Adventure Cycling map.  A bad route choice with conventional maps can set you up for days of traffic and misery, and a lot of uncertainty about services.  And from where you're at, the Silver Comet/Chief Ladiga trail would get you about a third of the way to the Great Rivers or Underground Railway Route, which would make for a nice relaxed start.

[geegee]

The folks at WaterfrontTrail.org have recently added the Erie shore to their route. You can download free maps from site which should get you to Port Bruce from either the Niagara or Windsor end of the lake.

[jcostanz]

If you use the Underground railroad route, one option is to use the Pelee island ferries to go from Sandusky, OH to Leamington, ON.  There are no bike allowed crossings at the Detroit/Windsor border crossing.

[spininin]

Be aware that Google Maps bicycle routing can take you onto a lot of dirt roads.  You can use these routes to get started in route planning but then adjust for your preferences. 

[John Nelson]

Not only dirt roads, but sometimes hiking trails and sometimes private roads. Whereas Google bicycle directions might be good for getting you to the supermarket, I prefer Google driving directions with the "Avoid Highways" option for getting you longer distances. Bicycling directions might have a hundred times as many turns as the driving directions, and some of the directions are things like "turn left" without specifying the name of the thing you're turning left onto (because it doesn't have a name).