Columbus OH to Yorktown VA or Cape Cod help with routes.

[Stringcat]

Hi. I live in the UK and am cycling USA coast to coast this summer. I have friends in Columbus OH. Does anyone out there have any tips or advice about riding from there to Yorktown VA or a similar area? Good cycling roads, terrain, accommodation? Really just whether it's a sensible journey.

Another option if I have time is Columbus to Cape Cod. Any similar tips etc would be great.

Thanks guys.

[indyfabz]

One option is to go from Columbus to Pittsburgh, PA and ride the Great Allegheny Passage (GAP) trail to Cumberland, MD, the C&O Tow Path from Cumberland to D.C. and then pick up ACA's Atlantic Coast and then TransAm routes to Yorktown.

The GAP is a nice ride. It's popular and well supported by the communities is passes through. Plenty of places to find food and lodging/camping. Surface is primarily crushed limestone. It's mostly on former railroad rights of way, so the grading is easy. Mileage is about 150 to Cumberland. Very gradual net elevation to the eastern continental divide at around mile 125 and then an easy 25 miles down hill to Cumberland. I did it in under three full days of riding with a full load on 32c tires with little tread.

While I have never ridden it, it's my understanding that the C&O is more rustic. Most of it is dirt, and it can be very muddy after a period of heavy rain.

There is a good amount of information, including maps and services lists, for both trails here:

 http://www.atatrail.org/

There is also an official National Park Service web site for the C&O Tow Path:

http://www.nps.gov/choh/index.htm

Pennsylvania Bike Route S uses part of the GAP:

ftp://ftp.dot.state.pa.us/public/pdf/bikes/state_mapS.pdf

If you don't want to ride into Pittsburgh, you could ride from Columbus to West Alexander, PA, pick up PA Route S, which joins the GAP in West Newton, PA and then stay on the GAP when Route S leaves it in Rockwood, PA. Google Maps bike directions gives a route from Columbus to West Alexander that's 178 miles with 3,888' of climbing, which is not bad.

[Stringcat]

Thanks for so much info. That's great.

Anyone have an opinion of Columbus to Cape Cod?

[indyfabz]

Cannot be of two much help there other to suggest that you make your way from Columbus to the PA border just west of Bessemer (About 190 miles according to Google Maps bike directions) and pick up PA Bike Route V:

ftp://ftp.dot.state.pa.us/public/pdf/bikes/state_mapV.pdf

That will take you all the way to Delaware Water Gap, PA. From there, you could take ACA's Atlantic Coast route to somewhere like Windsor Locks, CT. You are on your own from there.

Last year I rode Route V from Emlenton, PA (Map 5) to Catawissa, PA (Map 21). It's not a bad ride. There are not a lot of long, hard climbs, but there are several sections over a couple of days with sections of constant, short, steep ups and downs. Decent private campgrounds and a nice state park with camping along or slightly off route.

The ACA route north from Delaware Water Gap through Worthington State Forest and the Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area to Port Jervis, NY is a splendid stretch that I try to do at least once/year. You might even catch a glimpse of a bear as there is a pretty healthy population in that part of NJ. Healthy enough for the park to have bear proof trashcans and a bear box at the nice campground in Worthington, which you pass by. Every October there is an organized century out of DWG. Nearly every year there is at least one bear siting. A few years ago the event photographer was taking shots of riders when two bears wandered out of the woods and photobombed a shot.

It's been over 15 years since I did the portion of the ACA route above Port Jervis, and it has changed some since then, so I am reluctant to comment, but I do remember CT being very hilly in places.