California to Maine Bike Trip

[EDKALMEY]

NEED ADVICE =  4 men (in their 60's from KY.) starting in San Diego riding to Bangor, Maine for chariable causes. Planned route takes us thru: Az.,NM,Tx,Ok,Ks,Mo,Il,In,Ky,Oh,Pa,NY,Vt,NH,Me

We will have an RV and support person along.

ANY SUGGESTIONS WOULD BE APPRECIATED regarding best and safest routes.

Ed Kalmey

[FredHiltz]

Hi Ed,

I'd say your best bet for bicycle-friendly roads on a trip this long is to adjust the route to use the Adventure Cycling maps. We individuals cannot begin to match the research that goes into those routes.

Have a ball!

Fred

[Sailariel]

You will probably be coming up route 1 and going through Belfast Maine. Contact Belfastbicycleclub.org so that we can be of assistance. Contact me (Alex) at Ariel310@verizon.net. I have a complete repair facility for cyclists to use for free. Can also find a place to park an RV for free.

[wanderingwheel]

I agree with Fred.  I'm most familiar with the western end of your route and can give you a little advice there.  There are only a few places to cross the COlorado River from California to Arizona, and I think the Southern Tier picked the best choice.  Once in Arizona, head up to the Grand Canyon if you want, but I'd suggest heading back to the middle of the state before getting into New Mexico.  The Navajo Nation in the northeast corner of Arizona has some very interesting and scenic riding opportunites, but very challenging also.  Regardless of what the maps say, it is very desolate and the towns are literally 100 miles apart.  Now you're well into New Mexico and at the edge of my experience.

On the other side of the country, you have many more potential routes.  The Eastern Coast route is a fine choice once you get into New York.  It is a touch to urban for me at times, but not bad.  I've also had fine luck simply picking roads off the map in upstate New York, Vermont, New Hampshire, and Maine.  As long as they weren't major highways, the riding's been great.

Sean

[EDKALMEY]

Thanks to everyone that has offered advice on our biking adventure from San Diego to Maine so far. We are still planning our route, so more suggestions are welcome.

Ed Kalmey ( "4 Old Guys,Over The Hill, But Still
              Pedaling" bicycle team)

[JayH]

I've done the ACA route from New Paltz, NY to about Wells Beach, ME. After that, I just used Maine's DOT map to go to different locales and to get to New Paltz, I was already familiar with the cycling route from where I live in NJ.   If you have any questions about the route and or alternatives, feel free to email.  The ACA route was nice with the lodging/campsites nicely layed out by the ACA.

Couple of pointers:

1)Contact the state's DOT for bike maps, online or phone, most states have free cycling maps that will help you with alternate routes off the ACA if you want.

2)Riding across Dutchess Cty NY is hilly, but rolling.

3)Get used to camping at private campgrounds with big large RVs next to you in your little one person bivy or similar

Jay

[TCS]

Ed,

I don't know what your goals or riding style (smelling roses?  ultra matathon?) will be, but I'll take a stab at your request.

If you're planning more of a scenic, leisurely bike tour through the states you've listed, you could take AC's Southern Tier to about Kerrville, Texas, and I can send you a quiet back roads route I have that goes through central Texas to the Oklahoma border.  Some day I hope to map this route all the way across beautiful eastern Oklahoma to Girard Kansas and join AC's TransAm, but for now I can only offer suggestions.  From there you could pick up AC's Great River and Northern Tier all the way to Maine.

Let me know if I can help further.

Tom

[Turk]

A good way across Missouri is the Katy Trail, which goes from KC to St. Louis.

http://www.bikekatytrail.com/

[litespeed]

I agree that the Katy Trail is a fine way to cross Missouri. It actually goes from Clinton to St. Charles - even better for you. This would unfortunately put you a bit north of your home state of Kentucky -not a bad bicycling state but US60 in eastern Kentucky is a really bad bicycling road - two-lane, shoulderless, narrow and heavily trafficked.
Avoid Cairo IL at all costs. To find out why go to: http://users.stlcc.edu/jangert/cairo/cairo.html.
You might consider a southern route and pick up the Natchez Trace Parkway in Natchez MS and on to Nashville. But your planned northern route would be a lot more scenic.

This message was edited by litespeed on 1-27-07 @ 1:55 PM

[FredHiltz]

Avoid Cairo IL at all costs. To find out why go to: http://users.stlcc.edu/jangert/cairo/cairo.html.

Dead link. Don't leave us in suspense, Lite!

Fred

[litespeed]

I don't know why the link doesn't work. If you type it out you'll get it. http://users.stlcc.edu/jangert/cairo/cairo.html