Planning my US Coast-to-Coast cycling - Spring-Summer 2020

[graz_lag]

Wilmington, NC to Bellingham, WA

This will be my longest riding so far abt. 4,500 miles, 90 or so days in total at 65 miles per day average, including 15 resting days.

IMO, there’s a special flavor abt. a C-2-C: inland tours do not offer the same sense of slicing across the country between the two endpoints.

My coast-to-coast cycle tours over the past 6 years:

Spain-Portugal (Mediterranean Sea-Atlantic Ocean)
Italy (twice) (from W to E and vice-versa)
France (twice) (from N to S and vice-versa)
England (twice) (Northern once, Southern once)
Japan (twice) (from E to W and vice-versa)
South Africa (Atlantic Ocean-Indian Ocean)

Looking for suggestion abt. any particular segment I should include in terms of towns or wilderness ...
I can consider different endpoints, however would like to stay within 2-hrs. driving from my Charlotte, NC base and Seattle-Tacoma, WA airport for my return trip to Charlotte, NC.

 

[Dave Zan]

IMO, there’s a special flavor abt. a C-2-C: ...

Absolutely, you have a wonderful list and I have done several of them, also Wales, Ireland, Scotland, Denmark, Sweden and, best surprise...Norway.

In the USA try to spend some time in Colorado.
Boulder is a university town and cycle mecca - just a lovely place.
You can ride across the Rocky Mountains, (the continental divide?).
Ride to top of Mt Evans ~4,300 m, road closed to car traffic late in the season which is even better.
But it can snow on such summits even on a mild day so be prepared, a 40 km steady descent is an easy way to hypothermia.
Oregon is also lovely- Eugene is another nice university/cycle town, like Boulder.
In California San Francisco and nearby area is also recommended.
South is the cycle friendly town of Palo Alto area, as usual near a university.
Then north of San Fran is Sausalito, mountain bike mecca.
So perhaps hit the coast below SF and ride North to Tacoma.
It spoils the purity but I would even consider to skip some of the middle bits if it meant more time in Colorado and the West Coast.
That's what I did, a ride across Arizona in >40 c/ 105 F seemed like a poor use of time compared to Colorado and California.
Of course if you have the time and enthusiasm then do the whole C to C.
I know the East coast less well, Boston was fun (another university centre, I see a trend).
I would recommend the francophone parts of Canada too but you probably don't need more french culture
One place I wanted to visit but couldn't fit onto my route was Madison, Wisconsin.
Yet another university town that is a cycle mecca.

Should be an excellent trip, my best wishes
David

 

[wgscott]

If you haven't played around with the Adventure Cycling Association interactive route planner, you should:

https://www.adventurecycling.org/ro...ycling-route-network/interactive-network-map/

Also, you might want to consider going West to East.

 

[Speedskater]

Are you taking camping and cooking equipment with you on the bicycle?

 

[daftcombo]

Do you plan to visit any audiophiles to listen to there setup?

 

[graz_lag]

Absolutely, you have a wonderful list and I have done several of them, also Wales, Ireland, Scotland, Denmark, Sweden and, best surprise...Norway.

In the USA try to spend some time in Colorado.
Boulder is a university town and cycle mecca - just a lovely place.
You can ride across the Rocky Mountains, (the continental divide?).
Ride to top of Mt Evans ~4,300 m, road closed to car traffic late in the season which is even better.
But it can snow on such summits even on a mild day so be prepared, a 40 km steady descent is an easy way to hypothermia.
Oregon is also lovely- Eugene is another nice university/cycle town, like Boulder.
In California San Francisco and nearby area is also recommended.
South is the cycle friendly town of Palo Alto area, as usual near a university.
Then north of San Fran is Sausalito, mountain bike mecca.
So perhaps hit the coast below SF and ride North to Tacoma.
It spoils the purity but I would even consider to skip some of the middle bits if it meant more time in Colorado and the West Coast.
That's what I did, a ride across Arizona in >40 c/ 105 F seemed like a poor use of time compared to Colorado and California.
Of course if you have the time and enthusiasm then do the whole C to C.
I know the East coast less well, Boston was fun (another university centre, I see a trend).
I would recommend the francophone parts of Canada too but you probably don't need more french culture
One place I wanted to visit but couldn't fit onto my route was Madison, Wisconsin.
Yet another university town that is a cycle mecca.

Should be an excellent trip, my best wishes
David

Hi David:

Thanks for all the suggestions.

Finally, this is how my C-2-C will look like, so reduced down to 3,250 miles - or so, from the original 4,500 planned ones ...
If everything goes well, I will plan a more southern route to cycle on 2021, so that the Boulder, CO's area can be included.
Currently, putting together the segment lengths with the related hotel bookings.

For Quebec, Canada, although I do not have much of a French culture (I'm not French but I live in Le Mans, France since 2016) I travel regularly to that French-speaking part of Canada, and you're right, it's a fabulous region in which one should spend some time cycling around.

Denmark is fairly easy and quick to cross I guess, but Sweden & Norway ... ohh my gosh! I wonder how one can overcome the Norwegian rules forbidding the cyclists going thru the many tunnels they have up there ... (I know a bit as I have a customer located in Molde, Norway, paying them a visit twice a year). My current bike setup is not suitable for the several segments of unpaved roads I imagine one has to cover up there.

I am a pure 700c 23c 8 kgs setup road-bike biker looking at the closest perfect balance between performance and comfort for the long hours in the saddle our passion requires us to do. I may consider one of the latest 700c 33c - or so, gravel bikes to tackle some of the trails along the road, they look to be a good all-in-one compromise.

Stay safe on your side, the catastrophic bushfires related news are truly scaring,

Graz

 

[graz_lag]

If you haven't played around with the Adventure Cycling Association interactive route planner, you should:

https://www.adventurecycling.org/ro...ycling-route-network/interactive-network-map/

Also, you might want to consider going West to East.

Yeah, that's a great cycling organization, a friend of mine in Charlotte, NC, he's with them.
Getting leads from them to connect with other riders that might be sharing some segments on my route.
Sure West to East is the alternative option I may consider, however keeping the endpoints I have already picked up. (Wilmington, NC & Bellingham, WA)

Thank you so much for posting,

Graz

 

[graz_lag]

Are you taking camping and cooking equipment with you on the bicycle?

No no, I want to stay as light as possible.
Energetic bars and drinks to cover the 5 or 6 hrs. riding per day, lodging at the Motel 6 / Super 8 / or whatever budget hotel on my road I could book in advance. (Confirmed booking ...)

 

[graz_lag]

Do you plan to visit any audiophiles to listen to there setup?

Hahaha! No but I have a nice little boom-boom bike FM radio * to mount on the handle, so radio stations will be a great meaning of distraction!
(By keeping the requested carefulness and attentive riding attitude one must have when sharing the road with cars and other vehicles.)
* From Venstar, the S404 one I think, but not sure, need to double check the model, which I keep charged with my 20,000mAh power bank.
But pls. don't ask me abt. the frequency response of that thing!

Edit: yes, S404 from Venstar

 

[MRC01]

... Finally, this is how my C-2-C will look like, so reduced down to 3,250 miles - or so, from the original 4,500 planned ones ...

I am big into cycling, both road & MTB, always wanted to do a coast to coast ride like this. When are you making this trip? I live in Seattle and can host you or offer other assistance if you are in the area. You can contact me via PM.

PS: a road bike with the right kind of 700x32 tires can take a lot. But some racing road bikes don't have enough frame clearance to run those larger tires. People doing big gravel rides usually ride 29ers without suspension: more efficient than MTBs, more robust than road bikes. I don't have a dedicated gravel bike, so on long gravel rides I put different tires on my MTB which is an all-purpose dual suspension.

 

[Ron Texas]

Stay north because it's too hot in the south.

 

[Willem]

I am an avid cyclist as well. Last summer my wife and I toured in central Italy (with a tent and mostly cooking our own meals, but with as little weight as we could). Since I have lived and worked in the US (including north Carolina) as well I agree with Ron: the South will get hot in summer. After very hot summer tours in Germany in 2018 and in Italy in 2019 I have now added additional water carrying capacity (Velo Orange Mojave cage with the large Nalgene stainless bottle). I would also suggest the widest possible tyres that you can fit in your frame. I use a bike with 52mm 26 inch tyres. I loved the Compass Rat Trap Pass tyres but they were too fragile in Italy.
Enjoy - still planning my own rides for the summer

 

[Dave Zan]

Finally, this is how my C-2-C will look like, so reduced down to 3,250 miles...
I will plan a more southern route to cycle on 2021, so that the Boulder, CO's area can be included.

Your route is very different from mine, into areas I know very little about, please post updates- it looks like fun!
For sure do the southern route when it's a bit cooler, Boulder was my favourite place in the US.
It's probably different now but I expect still fun.

...but Sweden & Norway ...thru the many tunnels they have up there ... (I know a bit as I have a customer located in Molde, Norway, ...

I only did West to East, not the vast South-North route, so not too far.
You are better informed about the tunnels than I was at the time!
First tunnel was a complete surprise, an incredible corkscrew ascent in solid rock from the base of a fjord to the plateau on top.
Absolutely no alternative to even carry the bike around it, just a sheer rock face hundreds of metres tall and a now departed ferry.
So I asked the last car off the ferry to motor-pace me thru the tunnel.
But in the complete blackness he had no horizon and probably didn't realise how steep the road was so kept a steady pace of perhaps 30 km/hr.
To ride at that pace while I climbed hundreds of metres vertically was as hard as I have ever ridden in my life, motivated by fear that if he lost patience and drove off then I would be under many metres of solid rock and in complete blackness because the corkscrew road did not permit even a tiny spot of sun in the distance.
That ride will remain etched in my memory until I die, at the time it seemed possible that moment could be quite soon...
Now I always carry a back-up torch, even in Scandinavian summer when it's never totally dark.

I am a pure 700c 23c 8 kgs setup road-bike biker looking at the closest perfect balance between performance and comfort ...

Excellent! I too rode an 8 kilo road bike with minimal equipment.
Titanium is hard to beat for balanced performance, comfort and practicality, even my tool kit and spoon were Ti.
I used 23/25 front and back, really hard to obtain fast but wider road tires back then.
Now it's hard to buy thin ones, it's tedious the way fashion restricts your choices, some times one way then the other.
It's perfectly possible to ride off-road without a official "gravel bike" of course.
I rode the trails of the source of mountain bikes, Mt Tamalpais, on my road bike, people were surprised as I went by them, on the uphills at least!
Not sure what I would recommend for your route, it's not like Europe, probably 28 mm road tire on the back should fit and still be fast.
I assume you are not heavy, I am <70 kilo.

Stay safe on your side, the catastrophic bushfires related news

Thank you, not nice to ride here at the moment, even with a protective mask.

Best wishes
David

 

[graz_lag]

I am an avid cyclist as well. Last summer my wife and I toured in central Italy (with a tent and mostly cooking our own meals, but with as little weight as we could). Since I have lived and worked in the US (including north Carolina) as well I agree with Ron: the South will get hot in summer. After very hot summer tours in Germany in 2018 and in Italy in 2019 I have now added additional water carrying capacity (Velo Orange Mojave cage with the large Nalgene stainless bottle). I would also suggest the widest possible tyres that you can fit in your frame. I use a bike with 52mm 26 inch tyres. I loved the Compass Rat Trap Pass tyres but they were too fragile in Italy.
Enjoy - still planning my own rides for the summer

Indeed, the Compass Rat Trap Pass is a super-top made in Japan quality tire. Unfortunately, the smallest width is 26, which is still too large for my frame.
I am currently using the Vittoria Rubino Pro G+ (700c 23c), an all-round tire, quick with a reliable grip and a quite good puncture resistant performance.
I try to follow the comments here abt. the rolling resistance and puncture resistance: https://www.bicyclerollingresistance.com/the-test

For the hydration, I can take up to two x 3.0 liters Camelbak reservoirs in my backpack, plus 3 x 650 ml water bottles in the frame cages.

I did crossed Italy twice, Pompei to Otranto for my 1st tour and Venice to Genoa for my 2nd one. Yeah, the road pavement was really bad in some segments, with holes, some of them dangerously depth, and cracks. I had some hard time trying to avoid them especially on trafficked narrow roads. It is a pity as the country is super beautiful to tour.

 

[RickSanchez]

It looks like you're passing through Madison, WI? That's a great city. (I grew up in Milwaukee and have spent a decent amount of time in Madison.)

Worth noting that in that area around Madison and to the south there are a number of bike trails that are on decommissioned railroad lines. For example, the Elroy-Sparta Trail. I think most of the trails are crushed limestone so pretty firm. That said Wisconsin has had some serious flooding the last couple of years so you'd want to double-check the conditions beforehand if you were interested in riding on them.

 

[MRC01]

Speaking of old railroad trails, the John Wayne / Iron Horse trail goes E to W across the state of WA. You might consider this alternative route.
http://wabikes.org/2016/04/14/john-wayne-pioneer-trail-an-incredible-experience/
I've ridden the section from Seattle to Easton, it's all gravel, easy railroad grades in good condition. It has a narrow tunnel at Snoqualmie pass about 2 miles long which is dark & spooky fun to ride.

 

[Willem]

I would not put too much trust in those rolling resistance tests on a steel roller. On those, narrow stiff tyres do quite well, but on real roads with lots of bumps and holes wider more flexible tyres are faster, and sometimes considerably. The problem with the best of those like the Compass tyres is that they can be fragile. I had no problem using them on our tour from Beaune to the South, passing along the Massif Central, but as I said, they were no match for Italian conditions. They were superbly comfortable, however, and I will continue to use them in less demanding conditions. I have now put a pair of 52 (nominally 55) mm Schwalbe Almotion tyres on the bike. These are far more robust, but still pretty fast and comfortable. Right now, I think these are the best compromise if a fairly sturdy allround tyre is needed. But they are not availabe in narrow sizes.
I also cycled in Norway, and it was beautiful but at times demanding. The best were the long stretches of gravel road, sometimes pretty high up on desolate plateaus. I was pleased with my 48 (nominally 50) mm Marathon Extremes with their fairly coarse tread. They were not that fast, unfortunately. At times I could also have done with an even wider tyre. I had a map with the tunnels, and I did indeed have to use one (against the law, but there was no alternative). That was very scary indeed, even though I have a powerful Son headlight. You move from bright sunlight into a dark unlit 'cave' with terrible broken road surface and since your eyes cannot adjust fast enough you really see very little. But boy, was it beautiful. We were quite lucky with the weather, but you have to be prepared for the worst (we were camping).
Nice to find that there are bicycle tourists here.

 

[digititus]

Good luck with your trip. I used to cycle in the Appalachians. Amazing place to ride.

 

[wgscott]

I ride with 38mm Compass (Rene Herse now) tires and they don't slow me down. I just built up a new bike with a Soma Saga touring frame that can accommodate 55mm tires. I was thinking of going for the 700C x 55 Antelope Hill endurance version.

 

[Willem]

Sounds like a good idea. Wide tyres are more comfortable, give better grip, and on real roads they are faster. Whether any of these Compass/Herse tyres are sturdy enough depends on conditions, of course. I would consider the Schwalbe Almotion as well. Not as fast, not that comfortable, but the difference is not enormous, and they are a lot more reliable.