Author Topic: Contrasting the ACA route and any way you want to go.  (Read 842 times)

0 Members and 1 Guest are viewing this topic.

Offline Westinghouse

Contrasting the ACA route and any way you want to go.
« on: December 16, 2024, 01:40:52 am »
You can cycle many miles of interstate highways. You can expect many multiples of punctures in your tubes. They are punctured by radial wires. You will suffer far fewer flats on the mapped bicycle routes.

Mapped routes could ensnare you in the convenience-store trap. Multiple dinky little towns where cafes are closed, where only health-altering junk foods are available are irresistable to energy-hungry bicycle tourists.  Going your way gives freedom to chart a course where real nutrition is available

Using unknown roads could get you into a jam, e.g., extreme noise, pollution, fast and furious insane traffic, grueling long climbs, crumbling deteriorated road-surfaces, unanticipated complications. The ACA mapped routes are very well known. Those problems are solved for you before you spin your first revolution.

Using mapped bike routes, you are just another cyclist passing through. Same old, different day. Adventuring your way could take you to places where cyclists never travel, and here you are the talk-of-the-town. I cycled through a foreign country that showed on television secretly-recorded videos of me cycling there. I have no idea how they got those pictures. I had no idea until I cycled into these villages. People approached me in the streets. "American, American. You are on TV television."

Five times for me from Florida to California. Twice from FL to El Paso, Texas. Mostly I free-camped. Quite a few motels. Van Horn was my favorite. Used designated campgrounds only a few times. I took many routes not on the ACA maps. I took many that are on the maps. On a broad scale of equalities, I say using the mapped routes is the best way to go. But not always because of variables.
« Last Edit: December 24, 2024, 12:35:17 pm by Westinghouse »

Offline davidbonn

Re: Contrasting the ACA route and any way you want to go.
« Reply #1 on: December 17, 2024, 04:48:12 pm »
I think a lot of the adventure in bicycle travel comes from planning your own adventure and discovering stuff along the way.  Some of my very favorite places to tour aren't on any "official" routes.

Yes, sometimes the Route Gods smile upon you.  Sometimes They smirk.  Sometimes They sneer, and sometimes They snarl.  But if you remain flexible, patient, and keep a positive mental outlook you can get through most any challenge.

You can also go a long way on route planning with judicious use of ridewithgps heatmaps (or any cycling apps' heatmaps) and Google Street View.  I also like to block out some time every few days on tour so I can call around and do some research.  I've been burned often enough by a campground or local store being closed.  Worse, when a city park has its water shut off so I can't jug up or use the loo.

I think a lot of ACA routes were laid out decades ago in a country with far fewer people and far less traffic.

Offline Westinghouse

Re: Contrasting the ACA route and any way you want to go.
« Reply #2 on: December 19, 2024, 08:56:46 am »
People change, populations change, towns change, roads change, businesses change, conditions change, prices change. Routing maps for cyclists should flex and change with the times and the unstable conditions. If they do not change, they risk obsolescence.