Does anyone have experience with Illinois to Florida tours?

[Anakritis]

Hi,
I'm planning a tour in spring from Central Illinois to Cape coral Florida.
This tour will be self supported and i will camp and stay at supporting church locations.

I have two routes to consider,

• Illinois to the lower third of the UGRR route connecting with the Southern tier to DeFuniac Florida and then on to Cape Coral
• A modified Google map with "Walking" directions

The Google route is fairly sound through Illinois, as I have experience there, but I am lost from Kentuck on through to Georgia. The Florida route seems good as well with just a few modifications. The google route also is the shortest by far. I must admit that the Tennesee region scares the heck out of me... LOL!

I am getting from reading this forum that the UGRR and Southern tier are nice but present a few challenges as well. I have ordered the approriate maps from Adventurecycling .org and become a member as well.

If anyone has advice or knowledge on these routes and would care to share... I would certainly appreciate all that you can give.

Peace.

[Anakritis]

This is the link to the basic Google Maps "Walking route"
http://maps.google.com/maps?f=s&utm_campaign=en&utm_source=en-ha-na-us-bk-gm&utm_medium=ha&utm_term=google%20maps

[Westinghouse]

You will find highway 90 in north Florida fine for cycling. It is hilly, yes. It also has a wide shoulder in most extents. It is clean and smooth. Towns and sources of good food are easily available relieving you of carrying extra weight in water and snacks and food. If free camping is what you are doing, there are plenty of good opportunities for that. Around towns you might find various kinds of barriers between yourself and your chosen sleepsite. You may find drainage ditches between you and the wooded areas. Perhaps places away from any town are more readily accessible.

[litespeed]

I have bicycle toured Cairo IL to my home on the west coast of Florida.

US60 to Paducah is a bad bicycling road. You might try 286 instead. From there to Land Between The Lakes US62 has shoulder as I recall. "The Trace" south through LBTL is hilly but very, very lightly trafficked.

In Tennessee I picked my way through Dickson and Columbia (Dismally poor town) to Manchester where I got on US41. Not a bad cycling road as it parallels the interstate which takes the traffic. I followed 41 (tough climb to White City) to Chattanooga and on south. I got off 41 at Calhoun to skirt Atlanta to the west. I went through Rome and Thomaston and finished up Georgia on secondary 33. Once in Monticello I was on US19 - familiar road which takes me home.

Georgia has the unpleasant habit of often having narrow shoulders on their major highways and filling them with rumble strips. You have to either get shaken to pieces or ride along the white line. Stick to secondary roads when you encounter this. I think there is a bicycle route down the west side of Georgia on the internet. You'll have to hunt it up - maybe on the Georgia DOT.

[Indianacharlie]

Information on routes in KY might be answered by Johnny Bertrand of the Bluegrass Cycling Club in Lexington.
http://www.bgcycling.net/
Johnny has done extensive mapping of interesting and low traffic count roads throughout Kentucky. More than likely he has a route and maybe information on a contact in Tennessee.
Should your routing cross any of Indiana I would be happy to provide you with a good route through the state. Maybe Vincennes to somewhere between Owensboro and Louisville. In Indiana you can count on nice roads and scenery in most areas South of Indianapolis or along the Wabash River.

Charlie Myer
Author "Back Roads of Indiana"

[Westinghouse]

Litespeed's comments about Georgia's road shoulders and rumble strips echo my own thoughts, for I too have cycled across that state south to north and vice versa. The way the rumble strips were placed in some stretches of road showed that whoever put them there had not given much if any thought for cyclists. First you have the white line circumscribing the side of the driving lane; next were the rumble strips; then came the edge of the paved surface which met the grass. The beginnings of the rumble strips began in from the white line at such distances that the strips took up nearly the entire shoulder, with not quite enough free shoulder-surface to cycle on comfortably, or at all. Had the rumble strips been emplaced near to the white line, there would have been plenty of room for cycling nearer the edge of the paved surface. The roads were built only with motor vehicles in mind.

[Anakritis]

Thank you all for such wonderful input. It has been very helpful.
I am still undecided as to which route to take however.
I am certain that both will be very scenic and I am also certain that both will have their bad points.
I am very concerned about the terrain in Tennessee and Kentucky. I can climb just fine, I'm just worried about safe camping in this area.
It will all work out soon enough.

Thanks for all of the help.

[litespeed]

If you are worried about camping you might pick up a KOA directory - the MacDonalds of camping, plenty safe and consistently well maintained. Also, in out-of-the-way, non-touristy towns in the deep south you'll find the motels are relatively cheap, particularly if there is a friendly Indian face behind the counter.