Southern Tier Route

[adventureguy]

  My husband is riding from San Diego to St. Augustine, leaving March 1st. I will be pulling a trailer as his support. We have our maps from AVC and for anyone who has done this route in the past, can you tell me if the roads that he will be traveling on be roads that I can take also(minus some of the in town bike trails)

[aggie]

Other than the bike trails you mention you shouldn't have a problem driving the roads.  You'll be fine as long as you pull over to wait for him.

[adventureguy]

Thanks. I appreciate all the help we can get. All new to this, but excited.

[FredHiltz]

OK, here's a thought. Seek church suppers when you pull into town. Enough good food for a touring cyclist, plus a chance to meet the local folks. This comes easily when riding unsupported, but takes a bit of initiative with a support vehicle.

If you do this often, you may have to watch your weight <grin>, but he will not.

Fred

[tonythomson]

Hey keep us posted please as to how you get on, particularly interested in you as support diver.  This is something I have considered with my wife, but she wonders just what she will do all day especially out in the middle of no where.  It takes me all day to ride 50/60 miles but only just over an hour to drive, so please tell us just how or what you do everyday for the other 6/7 hours over 2 or 3 months.

[adventureguy]

Like Fred said, I may end up gaining weight over this time while my husband loses. I will be traveling with four dogs so that will keep me busy. Lots of sight seeing along the way. I am nervous about the long trip but it will also be exciting. We are setting up a blog so all our friends can keep up with us also. Maybe I will post the site here.

[Blackbear]

I plan to do the Southern Route eastbound hitting Murphyboro, Il about May 15. You will be 30 - 60 days ahead of me .  Any "heads up" advice would be appreciated.  Blackbear

[adventureguy]

I will try to do as much posting as I can on this site while we are on the road. As I said I am also going to have a blog that will keep everyone updated. 

[wendellp]

Hi,
My wife and I did the Southern Tier last fall. She supported me with our van, so it was a very similar experience to your plan. We found that our daily plan was heavily influenced by our choice of where to spend the night. We were tenting when we could, and using motels otherwise. I was hoping to avoid putting the bike in the van again until reaching St Augustine, but two mechanical problems, and concern about our schedule changed that. As a result, there were several times that I started out on the side of the road where I had loaded the bike the night before. If you decided to do that every day, it would make your choices of overnights much more flexible. Also, you could avoid many of the less appealing locations and situations.

I did a blog as I went: http://wendell-tripfall2010.blogspot.com/.

We decided at the beginning to take a rest day every 4-6 days. Most of the time, we did things like laundry on our rest day. But we also visited the Blythe Intaglios, a museum in Tempe, Gila Cliff Dwellings, McDonald Observatory...

Four dogs will keep you busy!

There are lots of campgrounds in the southern states that cater to the Snowbird people. In Oct-Nov-early-Dec, the Snowbirds hadn't arrived yet, and there were lots of campsites. In March, they may have left for home, but I don't know. But, the campgrounds were sometimes full on Fridays and Saturdays, especially near large cities.

Enjoy your trip!

[adventureguy]

I read your blog, it was very interesting. We are hoping to be able to find rv campgrounds along the way. If I know we are going to be in the certain area at a certain time that well help. Mike is planning on starting out doing 60-70 miles a day. The high mountains coming out of San Diego will be a challenge and so after that and he gets his legs under way he plans on doing  100+ a day. Our plan is for me to go ahead of him and set up camp and have dinner ready for him when he gets in. We will be able stay in communication with each other via cell phones, when we have service. If he needs me to come back and help him out he can (hopefully) call me. With me having the trailer  he will not need to pack a lot of extra stuff on the bike so that will help on the hills:-)). He can still stop along the way and pick up snacks or lunch if he wants. It's like going on a ride by yourself but without having to haul the extra gear.  We are on a tight time frame as he has to be back at work by a certain date.  I have the computer to keep in touch with friends and helping him write the blog. I will throw some books in to read and I will always have the dogs ( 4 Golden Retriever) to keep me company. Thanks everyone for advice and encouragements. Everyday I get more excited about the trip. Never been south so this will be an adventure for me also. [/color]

[Westinghouse]

No problem whatsoever with the vehicle. I have done the ST a number of times. Don't worry about it.

[adventureguy]

Left Montana to get out of a big snow storm. On my way to San Diego for our journey across the southern tier. SNOW here. Thought I left that in Montana. Weather looks better for the next day.  Our blog is http://micyclecrosscountry.blogspot.com  for anyone wanting to keep up with us. Hope to be able to post everyday.
Mike

[B-52]

When you get to Mobile Al....give me a call

DG