Author Topic: My first x-country!  (Read 7183 times)

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Offline justinL

My first x-country!
« on: December 06, 2009, 03:33:33 pm »
Hi,

I'm starting my first cross-country with my wife this summer.  We'll be leaving Portland, OR in June with the goal of getting to New York City in October.  We have to get to Park City Utah by July 17th, Knoxville Tennesse (whenever) and Washington, D.C. (whenever).

As for planning my route, I figured I would just find the applicable maps from the Cycling Association and figure it out!

We'll be taking a tandem bike.  I'm sure there are lots of people that will try to talk us out of that but its a necessity.

Any advice would be most helpful!  Panneer's vs. Trailer?  Food? (I was thinking of rice and beans and a camping stove...).  Spots to avoid in the Rockies?

Thanks!

-justin-

indyfabz

  • Guest
Re: My first x-country!
« Reply #1 on: December 07, 2009, 10:01:29 am »
If you are strong enougn, a tandem won't be a problem.  I spent a week on the Trans Am route between Lander, WY and Fairplay, CO riding with a couple who were pedaling a BikeFriday tandem pulling a BikeFriday trailer.  They dropped me going up Hoosier Pass, which is the highest point on the Trans Am Trail--11,500+ ft.

If you follow the Trans Am route, ride Yellowstone early as the map suggests.  The traffic can be horrible.  And when I was there 9 years ago, there were no shoulders on some busy roads, including the road between Yellowstone and Teetons.  Hope they have improved things since then.

There is a good chance you will have to stop in Jeffrey City, WY.  Somewhere at this forum a traveller who stayed at the motel in town had mushrooms growing in his carpet.

As for food, there is a good discussion on this page a few topics down.


Offline staehpj1

Re: My first x-country!
« Reply #2 on: December 07, 2009, 10:53:04 am »
If you follow the Trans Am route, ride Yellowstone early as the map suggests.  The traffic can be horrible.  And when I was there 9 years ago, there were no shoulders on some busy roads, including the road between Yellowstone and Teetons.  Hope they have improved things since then.

I think day of the week may matter too, but we didn't find the traffic all that bad.  We entered the park late in the day on Sunday and I suspect that most of the weekenders had left.  Folks who were there on Saturday said it was pretty bad.

There is a good chance you will have to stop in Jeffrey City, WY.  Somewhere at this forum a traveller who stayed at the motel in town had mushrooms growing in his carpet.

If you are camping you can stay in the old abandoned Lion's Club Pavilion in Jeffrey City.  A nice roof and flat concrete surface with tables is all it has, but the restaurant across the street has rest rooms and water and they will point out the pavilion.   The town is nearly a ghost town, so I'd say give the restaurant some business.  We bought drinks there and bought breakfast in the morning, but cooked our own dinner.

BTW just buying the AC maps and figuring it out as you go worked very well for us.  I'd say to be familiar with your gear, pack carefully, and pick an appropriate departure time, but once on the road pre-planning is pretty unnecessary especially with the AC maps.

Offline bogiesan

Re: My first x-country!
« Reply #3 on: December 07, 2009, 11:03:29 am »
I admire your conviction but question your wisdom (joke, it's a JOKE). But. Seriously. Have you ever spent this much time alone with your spouse where you are utterly dependent upon each other for everything? If you are leaving in June, your training schedule started a few months ago. It's about 800 miles to Utah.

The boy-girl tandem teams I have met on tours refer to their steeds as "relationship acceleration systems;" wherever your marriage was meant to go, it will get there much faster on a tandem.

I hear conflicting recommendations on independent pedaling systems but they seem logical and necessary to me if a bit expensive.

There is a large tandem community in the northwest, try to find those people quickly. They will give you the best advice. 

http://www.portlandtandemclub.org/
http://nwtr.org/
http://www.bikeride.com/calendar/event.asp?id=16291

A good captain understands and appreciates the stoker's position and viewpoint on a long ride and for this reason I always recommend shoppers carefully examine recumbents. If you live in Portland, visit Coventry Cycles and try all of their recumbent tandems.

http://www.coventrycycle.com/

http://www.hostelshoppe.com/cgi-bin/readitem.pl?Bike=1139691860
http://www.hostelshoppe.com/cgi-bin/readitem.pl?Bike=1025384633
http://www.hostelshoppe.com/cgi-bin/readitem.pl?Bike=984500773

david boise ID
I play go. I use Macintosh. Of course I ride a recumbent

Offline justinL

Re: My first x-country!
« Reply #4 on: December 08, 2009, 01:32:10 pm »
Hi everyone,

Thanks so much for your help.  Hope to see you on the road this summer!

-justin-

Offline mikedirectory2

Re: My first x-country!
« Reply #5 on: December 08, 2009, 10:37:46 pm »
Hi everyone,

Thanks so much for your help.  Hope to see you on the road this summer!

-justin-

Good luck!
May the skies be blue and the road be flat... Happy Riding.

Offline DaveB

Re: My first x-country!
« Reply #6 on: December 09, 2009, 05:54:14 pm »
  Food? (I was thinking of rice and beans and a camping stove...). 
Do you think both you and your wife could (or want to) survive for four months on rice and beans over a camp stove?  Unless you are both into self-flagellation I'd vary the menu way beyond this and plan restaurant stops at reasonable intervals.