Best 5 day solo newbie ride?

[Siriato]

Hi...New to this forum...what a great find for a soon to be new adventure cyclist!  I retire in 30 months (but who’s counting?) and plan to ride across USA solo.  Being a somewhat coddled guy, my wife and family think I’m crazy (but supportive) for being obsessed with this goal.  So...I offered to take a solo 5 day test drive in late spring to test the idea.  I am looking for ideas and recommendations.  Happy to fly me and my bike anywhere in the USA for the right kind of experience.  Would love to try some climbs (not too crazy), camping (some), motels (more) and beautiful scenery.  I’m ready to learn!  Please send along any routes that may be a great way to get into long distance adventure cycling...Thanks!

[John Nelson]

Ride from home. Pick a campground or motel about 50 miles from home for your first night. Then find another campground or motel 50 miles from there. Make it into a loop if you can, or an out-and-back if you have to. Another idea is to pick some place 250 miles from home, have a family member drop you off there, and then ride home.

Keep it simple. Your mission is to find out if your gear is suitable.

[Nyimbo]

Just a few minutes before reading this post I saw a nice short article  linked on the adventure cycling bike bits  email. Here is a quote of these guys in the story taking a practice ride. “The duo took a couple of shorter bike rides to prepare for the trip. They spent five days biking about 300 miles around Lake Champlain.”
https://www.reformer.com/stories/good-friends-good-ride,588128#top-carousel


I did my first practice ride doing an 2 night ride around Lake Tahoe & Donner Lake in Northern CA and NV - about 110 miles. My second practice ride was a credit card ride  across the state to the coast where I met up my wife for a nice weekend at the ocean. I did exactly what John suggested and start riding from my house and picked a motel to stop at every 40-50 miles across the state.

[Pat Lamb]

John's suggestion is a good one.  It gives you (and your wife) an option to be rescued with minimal trouble if you have major problems.

On the other hand, major problems are unlikely.  And you might want to go some place you haven't been before, if you and your family haven't traveled the country extensively.  I hesitate to recommend the Blue Ridge Parkway for a first try at loaded touring because of the long, steep grades -- and they're mild compared to what's off the Parkway!  But the scenery there is magnificent, especially if you can time it so the Catawba rhododendron are blooming.  You might think about a loop in Montana, Butte through Twin Bridges to Bannack, and back through Wise River.  If there's a lot of snow this winter, and spring is late, you want to go to the southwest.  Perhaps start in Tucson, to Benson, down to Sierra Vista, over through Sonoita to Nogales and back north to Tucson through Green Valley.

[Smudgy]

Ohio to Erie Trail from Cleveland to Cincinnati takes about 4 or 5 days.
Erie Canal from Buffalo to Albany is another great 5 day tour.
I did both of these rides in summer of 2019. Great short tours. Videos coming.

[TCS]

Don't know how many miles/day you're considering, but I can recommend Adventure Cycling's own Texas Hill Country Loop.

https://www.adventurecycling.org/routes-and-maps/adventure-cycling-route-network/texas-hill-country-loop/

No crazy climbs but some scope to test your lower gears, opportunities to camp, a plentitude of motels and B&Bs, lovely in the spring.  Bonus for newbie: that time of year, almost certain to run into other cycle tourists for 'cross-pollination'.  Great map & researched route by our forum host, so you won't have to mix in 'trailblazing' with your first time experience.

[fahrrad]

  John's suggestion is a good one. If you'd like to travel to a different region perhaps the Natchez Trace would do. At a bit over 400 miles it can be done in five days and has all the amenities nearby. I think doing a rail trail might not prepare you for cross country roads adequately, as they are flat and traffic free. Good luck and have a great ride!

[UncaBuddha]

Where do you live? We might be able to point you in some better directions!