Author Topic: Underground RR Route in fall  (Read 4890 times)

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Offline lindagould

Underground RR Route in fall
« on: April 01, 2017, 06:28:29 pm »
Information in this forum is at a minimum on the  URR.  Please give thoughts on going from Cincinnati to Mobile starting in early September. 
Hurricanes?, tornadoes? temperatures? etc.

Are dogs indeed an issue in these states??  I have biked in KY on the TA.
going solo - a woman- not first time

Offline Pat Lamb

Re: Underground RR Route in fall
« Reply #1 on: April 01, 2017, 07:03:04 pm »
Hurricanes are usually limited to really bad within a hundred to a couple hundred miles of the coast.  North of that, expect 1-2 days of heavy rains; you might want to hole up in a motel, but then it'll blow through and you'll have great riding.

Tornados come with fronts.  October-November are usually the worst months in the fall.  Get inside a sturdy structure if one's coming your way (the locals will probably tell you about that likelihood two days in advance!).  Unless it's a really bad tornado or outbreak, you probably won't know it until you ride past the site of one.  If there is an outbreak like the other year, you'll want to get out of there because all the available housing and camping will be taken.

One other note about the fronts.  Expect a day of stiff, southerly winds before the storm front hits.  When the wind starts shifting to the west, storm's a-comin'.  After that you'll get 24-36 hours of magnificent northerly tailwinds -- push it and enjoy the ride!

Temperatures you can expect to be great.  Late November you may get some frost, but late September through October are the best times to be riding down south.  Put on warmers if you need them in the morning, and you'll be taking them off by 11:00.

Offline spininin

Re: Underground RR Route in fall
« Reply #2 on: April 27, 2017, 02:08:44 pm »
Rode Section 1 from Mobile to Fulton, MS last October (2016). Great weather. Only one day of rain. Logging trucks were the major problem in this section. We were told by locals that a drop in wood products demand had reduced the number of trucks on the road but there were still a lot of trucks in some areas. You can hear them coming so you have plenty of time to react. Several times we had both oncoming and passing trucks closing in so we pulled off the road until they passed. There are generally no shoulders and lots of rolling hills. We had no problems with aggressive drivers. A few dog encounters but not many. Found that the small air horns sold in the Walmart boating section scared dogs away. Mosquitoes were a problem in riverside campgrounds. Folks along the route were very friendly. Someone, we don't know who, paid for our breakfast one morning. Really enjoyed our stay with the Warmshowers hosts in Gainesville, AL.

We are starting Section 2 in a couple of days and will post another reply when finished.

Offline spininin

Re: Underground RR Route in fall
« Reply #3 on: May 12, 2017, 12:12:28 pm »
Completed Section 2 and part of section 3 on May 9th. Temps ranged from low 40's at night to 80 one day. Dealt with 2 strong weather fronts. Threats of strong winds and possible tornado resulted in one 12 mile day and a motel stay. Weather apps, including radar, are essential. Dealt with winds a lot because of the weather fronts. Variety of head, tail, side winds, sometimes gusting over 30 mph. Mostly from North and West. Rode in rain 1 day. I've done transamerica so it's definitely no worse than that.
We encountered dogs a few times each day but most of them did not come out into the road. The few that did come out were easily scared away with our Walmart boat horns so we had no dog encounters that were a problem. btw, the small Walmart horn lasted through sections 1 and 2 before it ran out of gas going into Corydon our last day. The usage also included tests and demos at home. I've tried pepper spray, squirting water, sticks and some sort of inaudible to humans dog repeller but nothing is as easy and effective as the boat horn.
We had no problems with drivers on Section 2. In fact, we were surprised by how courteous and friendly KY drivers were.
Scenery and road conditions were great on section 2, much better than section1.
Very few warmshowers so camped most nights. If you call Cloverport, KY police (listed on map) they will let you camp at "boat ramp" but there are no restrooms. Make sure you camp at the one in the downtown waterfront area. The boat ramp camping off Hwy 105 is very sketchy. Heard stories of meth labs, gunfire and other problems around that boat ramp.
Overall, Fulton, MS to Corydon, IN was a fantastic trip. Great scenery. Very friendly people. Lots of history along Ohio River.