September/October Boston to San Fransisco

[colinz0110]

Hello there,

I'm in  the earliest stages of thinking about a cross country trip and considering a September 1st start date as the most realistic. This gives me time to leave my job with plenty of notice, finish out my lease in Boston and get in the kind of shape I'd need to be in for this endeavor. This would be by far the longest tour I've taken on a bike.

Since this would be so late in the year, the routes I could take would be limited mostly by weather it seems. I've ruled out the Southern Tier because I've been down route 10 and know that stretch of Texas...I'd rather see some new scenery. My idea was to start in Boston, get to Atlantic Coast trail, ride to VA and connect with the Transamerica trail until Pueblo, CO where I'd connect with the Western Express and wind up in San Francisco. I'm not so worried about September, but possibly the stretch of CO to CA in October being too cold to bike comfortably. Temperature averages don't seem too bad for those states in October, but I think there's still a chance of snow and freezing temperatures around that time of year. Does anyone with experience have advice? Should I do what I can to start the trip earlier in the summer? Any wisdom would be greatly appreciated!

Thanks,
Colin

[jamawani]

You are new here and I don't know how much experience you have - from the sound  of it, not much.

I did my first x-USA starting on Sept. 1 - but from the West coast.
The weather changes much sooner and unpredictably in the West than in the East.
Also - it should ideally be Northwest to Southeast.

I live in Wyoming now and have for 25 years.
October can be positively lovely in the Rockies, then quite nice.
But the possibility of real blizzards is there, for sure.
Not to mention that all park and national facilities are closed by then.

Do you have to do it east-to-west?

J

[colinz0110]

I could fly out with my bike and tour back to Boston if it was definitely more advantageous weather wise. I'm more familiar with October weather in New England so maybe that would be a good idea. How many people are doing this route during the autumn? Just wondering if it is really a bad idea to tackle this so late in the year.

[jamawani]

On my fall tours, I have always run into a few folks - esp. in the West.
In the East, cyclists get pretty rare by October unless you are in Vermont or other fall locations.

Sept is really a lovely month in the West.
The Western Express is a tough slog across Nevada.
I love Nevada and have cycled it 7 or 8 times thru every county.
But many people find the remoteness and distances between services daunting.

Of course, there is no place like San Francisco - so that might be a requirement.
But you could also cut over to Yosemite - then into Nevada.
Can't believe Yosemite is not on the WX - but Tioga Pass is closed 6 months of the year.

Another option is to start on the Central Oregon coast and take the Trans Am across Oregon -
Save 400-500 miles by cutting across the Sawtooths of Idaho -
Then rejoin the TransAm in Jackson Hole, Wyoming.
Nevada and Utah are usually just scorched by late summer / early fall.
The more temperate northern regions have stunning river valleys and golden aspens.

There are lots of ways to do things.
If you time window is fixed - try for the very best tour within that window.

Best - J

Pic - September in the Tetons