Advice on leaving NYC, and cycling through the Carolinas

[chiroptile]

Hey guys, posted a thread yesterday, might have been a tad convoluted. I'll strip it down to the bare essentials, would really appreciate some help.

Setting out south from NYC.. Would like to link up with the Adventure Cycling AC route.. Trying to decide between Crossing the George Washington Bridge, and hooking up with the trail in Pennsylvania, or taking the Battery - Sandy Hook, NJ ferry, then meeting the trail in Maryland. Would love to hear some experiences of folks who'd done Either one.. Which route would have better camping opportunities?

My other question was.. We'll be following AC route down to Richmond, then splitting off on the Greenway towards Durham, NC.. The final destination is Athens, GA

http://www.idcide.com/i/mc2/ga/athens.gif

If any Carolina friends could suggest a good route with camping opportunities to take to our destination, I would really appreciate it.

Thank You

[Jason]

Curious if you're riding the coast to Athens (my current residence - FYI). If you are then camping is relatively simple.  You could ride into statesboro ga then head west toward athens.  There are a fairly good run of campsites along the coast into statesboro.  Heading toward Athens you'll have rural enough areas to allow for camping for free.

Let me know what questions come up.

J

[chiroptile]

Yup.. Atlantic Coast route for a good chunk of the way. And what a place to call home, by the way, Athens! I have a friend who's a student at UGA.. Visit her regularly. She'll actually be meeting up with us in DC for the remainder of the tour. I was thinking of following the Atlantic Coast route into Georgia, and then heading up to Athens, but.. That makes for a substantial loop. The whole trip should take no longer than 3 Weeks, and taking a couple of days to camp out by a lake somewhere along the way sounds pretty sweet. Plus, a rest day here and there.. So, trying to balance out distance and time.. That's why I was thinking of a more direct route once we get through Virginia. When you say free camping in rural areas, do you mean that we can just pick a field and pitch our tent somewhere out of sight? I appreciate the help..

[Jason]

The stretch from statesboro to Athens allows for more side of the road camping, then say, in a random field - the trek shouldn't take longer than three days, tops.  As a point of reference, it wasn't until i got to the coast that I started staying in actually campsites, or "legal" places.  There's really not much between statesboro and Athens (the rolling hills of south-east GA), so with that, you'll have more than enough places to pull off to and set up a tent.

I agree about the more direct route, though in terms of landscape, etc, you're going to see a lot more elevation changes (especially coming into north GA); while it's loop, as you say, the ride down the coast is really super nice (south carolina is an experience in and of itself - the people are awesome though; and the Virginia/N Carolina coast (outer banks) is nice as well)

Too, the maps for the Atlanta route are good (some spots need some updating) so if you did the coast line to Statesboro, you'll at least have a true set of cycling maps to fall back on.

j

[chiroptile]

The time frame for the whole trip is 21 days.. Heavy gear, and a finicky left knee, so, trying to bank enough time. My plan originally was to take the route down to Savannah, then cut up to Athens. I guess this will have to be more of an on the go decision.. My north Carolina cycling maps came today. Another option.. Thank you, Jason.

[dreitman]

Last year biked from savannah to NYC.  Via cape hatteras ( via ferry), over chesapeake bridge (they will provide courtesy car to take you over bridge as long as you pay $22 toll.) Thence Lewes ferry to cape may, Atlantic highlands ferry to ny.  Great trip

[T520]

If you would like some info on North Carolina there is a LBS in Carrboro, NC which is near Durham,NC called ( Cycle 9 ).
Could look them up on the web and drop them an email. They may could help you in this section.