Bike Across the US?

[Miette]

Has anybody on this site ever biked across the United States? It seems like it would be a great way to see the country. Anybody know of any good routes to take (i.e. the flattest route to travel)?

 

[IBRRHOBO]

Used to be maps dealing w/the transcontinental bike route. Try googling it. I rode most of the SE US on bikes. Posted some pics on it.

 

[Staralar]

My friend Billy attempted to do just this, only problem was that he had two other road dogs, one of which busted her ankle & they ended up having to pool their money together for a rescue mission.

He's actuily on here under the user name "Streetrat". I highly suggest speaking with him about your journey.

 

[Autonomyste]

I rode from Kansas city to Virginia and back. Went thinking I was goin on the Louis and Clark "bike" trail? Was just a connection of secondary and tertiary hwy sometimes with no shoulder whatsoever. That's when I discovered hitchhikin!

 

[MeatyMax]

Havnt done any LONG trips but keeping an eye out for a decent bike to be able to pull something off.

Anyways heres one of the maps IBRR speaks of, or at least one like it. http://www.tourdebocrie.com/blog/images/NBRNFeb07.jpg

 

[Kraken]

me and a friend just rodefrom lansing michigann to angola, Indiana, it was about 120 miles, we used google maps walking directions

 

[drun_ken]

nope...still want a buy 2 horses...one iron one not.....but a bike werks wonder in this sinking shit hole of fl...

 

[freepizzaforlife]

be a man, skateboard chicago to nyc.

 

[Mor]

You might want to check into America's Bicycle Travel Inspiration & Resource - Adventure Cycling Association

I wouldn't reccomend buying their maps ($60 for a set) but you can still get an idea of the different routes that are reccomended.

I did the Pacific coast from Vancouver to Puerta Vallarta a couple years ago and loved it. It is a really great way to travel.

I wouldn't do it again though. I'm a bit sick of being tailed and honked at and having shit thrown at me from passing cars. I'd suggest trying a route that cyclists aren't known to take... just go randomly across the country. Go down a ton of backroads. Ride a mountain bike.

Any more questions on anything feel free to ask.

 

[foak]

I bicked across south ontario, such a good way to travel. moving at your own pace, go where ever you want.

 

[lowerarchy]

I did a few solo trips, nothing like biking all the way across the states though. I can suggest you get some training in unless you're a pretty strong biker. I did 130 km in a day, thought I was up to it, by 5:00 I was so tired I could barely stand. Doesn't make getting to know a new town very fun when your legs are jelly and you're starving and ready for bed.

But as for routes, go to the liberry and copy some maps and things out of the million bike-touring guides they'll probably have. I bet you could put together a cross-country route from a few different books as most of them are local to one area.

 

[keg]

i biked across japan,but that was easy you could sleep anyplace and start fires,make camp,in the usa,i think you would get robbed and the pigs would fuck with you nonstop.anyone who travels by anymeans is usa has balls in my book.be it trains hitching biking.i went only from oklahoma to texas and fuckin almost died.i did drive from new jersey to florida and did not really have any problems except the pigs.they did not think a crusty dirty kid should be driving a new camaro with jersey plates with an asian girl in the other seat....

 

[Coffin Dodger]

There's a very rough trail across the states fer biking and walking, the American Discovery Trail. Getting information about it can be a bit of a chore- they are all about selling it to fund the next stages of solidifying the trail. I'm actually saving fer the guidebooks now, and will be making them public here just as soon as I do. Unless someone else has copies?

Anyway, you can find the route and some other shit online by googling ADT or American Discovery Trail. It runs from Cape Henlopen, DE to Point Reyes, CA. Splits fer a northern/southern route, north being shorter. The split is at Elizabethtown, OH. The southern route runs through STL.

 

[JerryCanada]

check this out....
American Discovery Trail Society - the only coast-to-coast, non-motorized recreational trail for hiking, biking, riding

 

[carlylanea]

I'm seriously considering doing this but it would be such a commitment...I've been settling down alot lately which is pretty much unlike me but let's just say if things don't go well...i'll be on the road in a heartbeat and this would definitely be my course of action. haha what better way to see the great US of A?

 

[crustythadd23]

That is some serious commitment youll be takin right there if yu do it. It would be hella fun fer sure though, id say do it!

 

[Mayor Cantrell]

I'm considering doing this once it warms up around the country a bit. I'm in NOLA right now, and I 've got a bike laying around in Richmond that I might pick up. It's a road/mountain hybrid frame, real small and light. I'd like to see about putting quick releases on the wheels so I could take it apart and put it on my pack at hop-out spots so I could put it on trains.. It'd be sweet...no more walking miles and miles to and from yards; less hitching, more freedom.

 

[Shakou]

Actually, my husband and I are going to do this with our dog this summer, starting from NH and ending in Oregon. We have a GPS we're going to use to help guide us.

 

[Contraceptron]

Biking the country was my first (and only, so far...) attempt to travel, and it was definitely the most rewarding thing I've ever done. I didn't make it very far due to somewhat poor planning and my buddy abandoning me after only a few days, but in 14 days I traveled from Cornwall, NY (an hour above the city) to the top right-hand of the state, then west to Scranton, PA. Unfortunately, I got stuck there and caught a ride back home shortly after. I'm planning on taking the whole next warm season to do it again, and trying to get to the west coast.
I'm definitely not an expert from a measly 14 days, but here's a few things I learned/was told by bikers I met:
1. pack lightly. make some panniers out of plastic cat litter tubs and secure them to your bike rack so they don't bounce when you ride. if you're doing this in the spring/summer, you really only need the outfit you're wearing, some extra socks, an overshirt, a tiny hiker's tent and sleeping bag, and a couple big water bottles (I think poland spring makes some particularly huge ones. try to refill them in deli/grocery store/convenience store bathrooms). you really don't need much more than that, and it makes it a whole lot easier to get up hills and rough trails. i ended up mailing almost everything i had home after 3 days. it's not necessary, but a camel pack is pretty great to have, too.
2. get familiar with basic bike maintenance (ie learn how to change a flat - it's hard as hell if you haven't practiced- and pack some tools to tighten things up.
3. get in great shape BEFORE you leave. my friend figured he'd scrimp on training and build up endurance as we went, but he ended up getting sick and hurt after only 5 days and headed back home.
4. start looking for somewhere to sleep 2 hours before the sun goes down. sometimes it's really difficult to find somewhere safe to stash your bike and set up
5. don't pack a lot of food. just some grain and dried food or even dry dog food. finding food as you go along isn't too hard

It's definitely liberating, and I felt like I could go pretty much anywhere at a reasonable pace without having to compromise much. I haven't hitchhiked or hopped any trains yet, so I can't really compare the two, but it's definitely a great experience on it's own.

 

[p0j0ey]

Ha fuckk bike routes, they start and stop where ever they want and just get you lost. Me and my friend rode from Buffalo ny down to florida. Well, he ditched out in Raleigh NC but i was not stopping half way. At first i was following the East Coast Green Way which got me lost for days. Then i picked up a normal atlas and followed Truck routes. I took route 1 the majority of the way and about three others. But ha like MOR said you deff get sick of cars and trucks and little shoulders ect. I would deff do it again though it was mad fun, took about a month to get down there.