East Coast Bike & Hike & Bike: The Plan

Long distance hiking and adventure cycling seem to go hand in hand.  I met a lot of people on my first biking trip that were in the process of, planning to or had completed hiking the Appalachian Trail, Pacific Crest Trail, and/or the Continental Divide Trail.  In El Paso, Texas, for example, I met a young couple that was on their way to Maine by bicycle to hike the AT.  That got me thinking.

So this summer I am going to try to ride to Georgia from CT, about 1,000 miles, hike the AT, about 2,200 miles from Georgia to Maine, and then ride back to CT, about 450 miles.  I had lots of ideas from my first trip, so this time I am going to try a few new things.  Many of which involved hours and hours of time with my sister's sewing machine.

First, I am taking my road bike instead of the Surly cyclocross/touring bike. The road bike weighs about 10 lbs lighter and greatly limits what I can carry, so hopefully will be faster riding.  I constructed a frame pack for between the down tube and top tube and modified a compression sack for under the saddle.  I also changed the cassette to an 11-32  (works fine with Shimano 105 derailleur despite some things I read online) and put a 38 tooth chainring on the front for easier pedaling on hills.   I put on some higher spoke count wheels and hoping that durability in general won't be an issue.

Lastly, I broke down and bought a fancy Brooks Cambium Saddle, which I paid about $130 for.  After a few 15-30 miles rides I was impressed, but after back to back 50+ mile rides I had bad saddle sores.  I've decided to give it a 1,000 miles before I definitively say that high end saddles are a waste of money.

While riding I had a number of ideas about creating a tent that could be used as a hammock and also a backpack.  So after a few hundred hours of sewing I put together something that does that.  However, I haven't had a chance to test it extensively other than a few short hikes, which makes me a bit nervous.  Worst case scenario I'll have my backup non-homemade gear shipped to me.  Details and pictures of hiking equipment to follow.  For now, I will say I've got everything to about a 12lb pack, not including food and water.

Leaving today, Saturday April 18, 2015 (Madeline's 6th Birthday).  First stop, New Haven.

A Map and Some Numbers: 15,200 Miles Around the US & Canada on a Bike

 

My route in its entirety.  I have GPS data for every ride, except for one in the Yukon/BC where my GPS failed for some unknown reason. Click on the map to open in Google Maps and explore.  Figuring out how to make this map was a pain in the ass, so please click on it, zoom in/out/around!  If anyone ever needs to merge and filter a large number of GPX files, I can help.

Sault Ste Marie, Ontario to Connecticut (Home)

The Velorution bike shop in Sault Ste Marie has a wall sized map of bike routes heading east. I was advised to stay off 17, the trans Canada highway, as much as possible.  Unfortunately, the roads in Ontario are quite bad for riding as shoulders are a rarity.  Most of route 17 is a two lane, no shoulder, very high traffic road.  I decided to try the road less traveled (above) out of The Soo, which was hillier, dirtier and slower, but scenic and no traffic.  

Minneapolis, MN to Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario

After a few days of planning, blog updating, resting, eating, and bike fixing at Rich's place in the Roseville suburb of Minneapolis, the time arrived to hit the road for the ~1,600 mile homestretch.  There were a few route options through the Great Lakes, but I long (since Wyoming?) had it in my head to go through the Upper Peninsula of Michigan and Manitoulin Island, Ontario,  places I heard are beautiful and both looked interesting on a map.  The route turned out not to have the best roads for riding, but I discovered some beautiful places indeed.

My last night in Minneapolis Rich invited me to join him at a friend's annual block party, somewhere on the south end of the city.  The live band,  dancing in the streets and happy people left me with the impression Minneapolis is a good place to live.

Moran, WY to Minneapolis, MN

I didn't have high expectations for good riding once out of the Tetons.  My impression of WY away from the Tetons was based on driving across the southern part of the state on I-80, which is a barren and boring landscape.  So I am still surprised that central and northern WY turned out to be awesome riding, and made WY one of my favorite states.  Nearly every road I was on had huge shoulders and low traffic (WY is the least populated US state).  People were extraordinarily friendly and I discovered previously unknown mountain ranges in my final two big mountain crossings.  

From Moran I rode southeast on route 26 toward Dubois for my actual final crossing of the Continental Divide, via Togwotee Pass (the W is silent) through the Absaroka Mts. They are part of the Rockies. I had never heard of them, but I think they were higher than any other mountain crossing I have done. I did a few thousand feet of climbing over 20 miles.  The climb seemed to drag on as it would flatten out and then go up again.  

Looking back at the Tetons in the clouds on the way up Togwotee Pass.