Has anyone biked the east coast?

[Pat Lamb]

Now, if the OP is dead set on touring closer to the coast, then heat, humidity, heat, more humidity, traffic, etc. will have to be dealt with.
I offered an alternative that includes a national park, virtually no traffic and for sure no truck traffic, what traffic there is is held to 35 mph, numerous small mountain towns and much cooler temperatures than the coast.

The BRP is an alternative, but it does have its downsides.  Unlike Skyline Drive, the speed limit is 45 mph, and there are sharp curves that limit sight lines on the Parkway.  Traffic is locally awful (Roanoke at rush hour or Boone on a weekend, for instance).  Most of those small mountain towns are 1,000 feet down from the Parkway, and there are some fairly long stretches between them (like Linville to Asheville), so resupply needs to be carefully planned instead of found.  Relative humidity is often as bad, or worse, on the Parkway than down in the Piedmont, in my experience.  The views from the Parkway are tremendous, as are the occasional 6% for 6 mile climbs required to see them.  It rains more on the Parkway, and you have to deal with fog on the mountains sometimes that reduces visibility to zero.

While I haven't ridden the Atlantic coast, I expect it's a different experience than the Parkway.

[Venchka]

Disregard previous transmission. I was never here. 

Wayne

[litespeed]

I have biked up the east coast many times at all times of the year except the dead of winter. The weather in summer has never bothered me much but I have lived on the west coast of Florida since 1976 without A/C - just bedroom units for guests.

As I tell everyone: Don't worry about the heat, cold or rain. Wind direction rules. Strong headwinds are the pits. Heading south you should get NE winds behind you on the Outer Banks but it's not guaranteed. I once had S winds going north there but more often fought the NE wind.

Northerly winds tend to follow rain. As you get further south balmy weather brings south winds. I camp whenever possible. If you camp bring a tent with plenty of vents or one with a removeable rain fly. Stick as close to the coast as possible to enjoy the sea breezes.

[neil]

Yes
Sarah and I did it on a Tandem in 1996, before it was 'officially routed'
Frankly you're doing it the wrong way round, head North from Georgia back home
We started in the spring and it was spring/early summer all the way up
Also the prevailing winds on the east coast are southerly
Finally, unlike where we live in England, you pedal on the right, so you'll have the ocean along the Outer banks next to you rather than across the traffic, much nicer.

As Kevin Bacon says in an ad for a UK phone company when he's trying to imitate the English, this decision really is a 'no brainer'

   Good luck it's a fabulous ride and I'm leading  CTC Tour (Cycle Touring Club) ride along a section in September 2016

      Neil

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