map help

[fastrog]

HELP? Anyone have a full or partial set of the ACA Atlantic Coast route they would sell or rent for the spring/early summer? I tried to buy from ACA, but many not available. thanks.

[Westinghouse]

ACA had an interactive map online the last time I looked. I have all details and directions written down from Neptune Beach in north Florida to around Washington, DC. The online map gives only the routes to travel and towns and such and nothing more.

[fastrog]

ACA finally got most of the maps in, except for No. 5. I ordered and they arrived. They believe they will have No. 5 in stock soon, so I've got about 5 weeks before I had planned to start.

[Westinghouse]

According to a journal on crazyguyonabike.com you will travel considerably longer distances following ACA than by taking more direct routes. But there again, distance is only one matter. The map is not the road. Less trafficked, more peaceful, less polluted smaller roads are more life enhancing. Life is a tradeoff if you want to call it that. Take the longer route and there is less stress. Follow the shorter route and be prepared for smoke, stress, and precariousness. There is nothing like stress to add to an arduous adventure to take off the edge off benefits you attain.

[fastrog]

absolutely. finished the transamerica route last year, faithful to ACA  maps. ready for the atlantic coast in a month or so,  but ACA's map 5 is missing. suppose i will fake that one, based on the links with map 4 and 6. still hoping to find map 5.

[staehpj1]

absolutely. finished the transamerica route last year, faithful to ACA  maps. ready for the atlantic coast in a month or so,  but ACA's map 5 is missing. suppose i will fake that one, based on the links with map 4 and 6. still hoping to find map 5.

You can probably come pretty close to the ACA route by using the "Atlantic Coast Section 5 Detail Image" they show in the description online and other maps like google maps.  The detail is limited, but you can make pretty good guesses based on it if you look at the two maps side by side.  Plus I think you can get the GPX data for $9.99 (USD) per map section and their app is free.  That way you'd have full details.

Personally I love all the detail and great info on services, but find that the ACA routes tend to go out of the way for what often looks like no apparent reason to me.  I guess they are avoiding traffic or going more scenic, but to me it often looks like they go 10 extra miles to climb a bigger uglier hill.  So I like and use ACA maps, but often shortcut the routes to make them more direct.  Less often I do make longer detours to see an attraction, visit friends, or something else, but far more often I shorten the route to make it more direct.

[fastrog]

thanks. i'm very loyal to the ACA maps, but of course i often wonder the same things you do about distance an hills. yes, i may buy the GPX. i just love the paper maps. old man.

[staehpj1]

thanks. i'm very loyal to the ACA maps, but of course i often wonder the same things you do about distance an hills. yes, i may buy the GPX. i just love the paper maps. old man.

I love ACA paper maps too, even though they tend to go less direct than I'd like a lot of the time.  Paper is still a nice way to go if it is well done for a mapped out route like the ACA routes or the Oregon ODOT Pacific Coast route map (which I actually liked better than the ACA map for on bike map for while riding).