Cyclist7537

Hi. We will be bicycling a century in the following states: Illinois, Missouri, Kansas, Nebraska, Colorado, New Mexico, Texas, Oklahoma, Arkansas, Wyoming, Mississippi, Alabama. Does anyone have suggestions for great rides in these states? Please specify the State, Route/Road number, town names, type of road (nice wide shoulder). It would be helpful to be sent routes that run parallel to I-70 and I-40. Actually, in the next five years we hope to ride a century in ALL states so any century rides you love please send. Thanks!

Wildwood 

Welcome to BF.

I would avoid the Katy Trail in MO (except maybe the first miles west of St. Charles) = flat, not scenic. You have much better alternatives. Around St Louis area (west of the City), search Babler State Park and the rides south toward Wildwood and out toward Labadie.

in CO, my experiences around Grand Junction have been great. CO National Monument loop, The rural roads around Mesa , just east of GJ allow for gentler hills and/or climbing to the 10,000ft Grand Mesa.

Recently biked the roads exiting and to the east of Yellowstone. Great but be prepared for long steady climbs.

The Badlands and roads around Rapid City South Dakota were excellent.



knowing nothing of you or your cycling preferences, other than long rides, route planning would be presumptuous.
sounds like a great trip - Have Fun!

Wildwood 

My five or six favorite centuries were across Washington State.

Neah Bay to Spokane, a northerly route, muchly on Hwy 20. Most scenic.

alcjphil

Are you looking for organized rides or are you looking for good 100 mile cycling routes?

delbiker1 

Nice challenge and goal. Maryland, eastern shore area has a route called View Trail 100. You can google it and I believe some local orgs and bike shops have brochures, which include a basic map. GPS or specific directions/map would be helpful as the last time I was on the route it was no longer marked very well. It is a very scenic, mostly rural, a lot of water views, and numerous small towns on the route. One of them, Berlin, MD was elected "The coolest little town in America" a few years ago, and they really play up to that. Very quaint with nice shops, good restaurants and seasonal activities. Very nice place to take a breather from the bike.

canklecat

You'll get more up to date and relevant info by following bike club pages on Facebook in every area you'd like to ride.

Sure, Google will suggest stuff like the Hotter'N Hell Hundred in Texas, but the heat is often brutal, especially for folks who aren't adapted to summer day rides in Texas.

But if you follow or join various Facebook group pages for cycling around Texas, you'll get updates on less publicized but equally fun century rides, and possibly more fun because the crowds won't be insane. Try getting a motel room near Wichita Falls the week of the HNHH.

For starters, check out Spinistry (mostly light gravel rides, not hardcore off roading), Fort Worth Bicycling Association and many others that sponsor long distance rides year 'round so you can choose a season compatible with your preference for weather and temperature.

There are zillions of similar clubs in every state. Once you start following one, Facebook with automagically suggest others. That's how I found my niche and favorite groups of cycling friends when I resumed cycling in 2015. I started following one cycling page and FB began to suggest others. After trying several I found my people and many have become real friends as well.

TheDudeIsHere

Aww, too bad you're missing California.

Breathless Agony. 114 miles, 12,000 ft total elevation gain,most of it in the first 72 miles. Google it, popular ride her in CA.





....and you get a free pair of socks!

bpcyclist

Far from where you will be, but Oregon is just breathtaking.

jwalther

Horsey Hundred

GadgetGirlIL

When you come to Illinois, consider the Z-Tour century in Princeton, IL (https://ztour.org/). It is in mid-July. I've done this ride 5 years in a row. Quiet roads through farm country and some woodlands. Not flat but all the hills are very manageable. Fantastic volunteer support. And it raises money to support the town's child enrichment center.

billridesbikes

Santa Fe has a nice century/ gran fondo in May
Santafecentury

Oldguyonoldbike

If you're looking for organized rides, I would suggest trying to time your ride through Oklahoma with the Tulsa Tough - two different centuries on Sat. and Sun., great atmosphere and two days of criterium racing (https://www.tulsatough.com/). Otherwise, a couple of websites you might want to look at when planning the Oklahoma leg of your trip are the maps on the Oklahoma Bicycle Society's webpage (https://okcbike.org/content.aspx?pag...dule_id=237284) and the Oklahoma rides and events page of the Kansas Cyclist page (2019-2020 Oklahoma Bicycle Rides and Events).

ted_major

The Alabama Backroads Century series does a number of rides throughout the state, with a wide range of topographies.

Gears & Beers in Mobile isn’t close to I-40, but it’s a lot of fun. It starts in downtown Mobile and runs along the bay, with brass bands along the way and at the finish as well as gumbo & fried shrimp sandwiches. It’s also in November, so the weather is nice and cool.

The Hot Hundred is in late July, so it isn’t cool (and can be brutally hot & humid if you’re not acclimated), but the roads are lightly traveled and the ride is well supported, with stops about every 15 miles and support vehicles patrolling the route. There are usually homegrown tomato* sandwiches, and last year the bread pudding was to die for. It also ends at the University of Alabama rec center and includes admission to the very nice outside pool. Also, the snow cones at the halfway stop may be the best snow cones I’ve ever had.

*As Guy Clark said, “ .”

frogmorton

Here is a ride I did this year in Illinois from Edwardsville to Greenville and back in a loop. The first half has stops ever 15 mi or so. The second half has a stretch of 30 mi or so with no stops. About a third of this is on paved trail or crushed limestone. The rest is on oil/chip low traffic roads.

https://ridewithgps.com/trips/40477306

If the timing is right, I’ll do it with you.

aplcr0331

How was this ride? When did you do it? Got any more, logistical, information about it?

Thanks!

Wildwood 

I was 60 at the time, a few years back. My daughter gave me a gift of a week of SAG, so I rode daily with only water bottles and bars. She ferried the camping gear and read several books as I never required assistance on the road.

Across the State of Washington (with a pre-ride day on Olympic Penin)
Sequim to Neah Bay - then transported by car to Port Townsend.
Port Townsend to Marblemount
Marblemount to Winthrop
Winthrop to Nespelem
Nespelem to Gifford across the Reservation (BridgeCreek Rd)
then to Spokane

If I can locate an old thumb drive, i will update with pics.

edit: How was the ride? July trip with no rain and no mechanicals or flat tires = a great start. Scenery is fantastic from coastlines (Strait of Juan de Fuca), mountains, along rivers, through the Okanagan, across the Reservation, etc. Starting at the Olympic Peninsula bit was backward as I rode West to Neah Bay and we camped there. Then a drive back East to the ferry at Port Townsend. From there it was straightforward following Hwy 20 muchly, but finding a couple of lower traffic roads paralleling. With adequate training, long days to ride, numerous daily breaks, an unloaded bike and breakfast and dinner prepared = unbeatable.

Some pics.
a rough planning map - follow the Letters (A -F) -- obviously does not include Olympic Peninsula 'pre-ride'

A NP that not many people (relatively speaking) visit

Lots of little valleys and falls in the "American Alps"

Washington Pass comes after Rainy Pass

I think the ballons were in Winthrop. just a couple, not a festival




By this point - this is supposed to be a pic of a tired old roadie

The water looked inviting after crossing Central WA

livedarklions

I ride a lot of solo centuries and longer in the Mass./NH area as I live in Nashua. Mine tend to be round trip in a single day, so I've rarely ridden 100 miles from point a to point b. But I have done all the parts of a ride that I think might be good for you in another year, and would knock three states off your list in one day.

Start in Portland Maine, end in Gloucester, MA, riding through Portsmouth, NH. You can do pretty much the whole ride hugging the seacoast, and lots of good places to get off the bikes and enjoy the food and views. It'd be a good one on a hot day as the sea breeze should keep things tolerable.

aplcr0331

Thank you, love to see the pics. Personalized SAG sounds amazing a great gift!

I appreciate it, I’m from Spokane and a little homesick so I’m dreaming of some epic rides around the area.

Bassmanbob

Just in case you are considering a side trip to Florida, the most popular ride is the Horrible Hundred in Clermont, FL. It's a hilly (4,700 ft of elevation) fun ride just before Thanksgiving (when it's too cold to ride in most of the country). I've also done the Intracoastal Waterway Century in Cocoa Beach, FL. It's at the end of October, a pretty ride and you go past the Kennedy Space Center too. If you're interested in an endurance ride, the Cross Florida Ride (Cocoa Beach to Spring Hill on the west coast of Florida) is about 170 miles at the beginning of April. There are one and two day options. I did the two day option in 2018 and plan to do the one day option in 2021. There is a shuttle bus to take you and your bike back to Cocoa Beach at the end of the ride.

If this doesn't help, I hope it helps someone else.

ironwood

The Twentieth was probably the best, The present century is going to H--l.

voyager1

Another vote for the Hot Hundred in Tuscaloosa. It is a very well put on event.

pdlamb

Sorry, I got hung up ad "nice wide shoulder." All the nice wide shoulder roads I've seen are on four lane divided highways in most/all of Mississippi/Alabama/Georgia, with lots of traffic, and lots of litter on that nice wide shoulder.

Now if you want some country roads with low traffic, there's lots of those around. But it sounds like OP couldn't handle riding without a separated lane or shoulder -- so they should probably on Silver Comet/Chief Ladiga. Pity; I've been on the Natchez Trace and seen fewer than three cars per hour, but they're going around bicycles since there's no where else for the cyclists to ride.

ironwood

Heidi hasn't answered this question, and I doubt she will; This will probably be her first and lastpos .If she is looking for organized centuries, she should go to the long distance forum.

1979schwinn 

Here is a link to Rides in the South East.
I know it says 2017 but it is updates periodically.

Century and Fun Rides for 2019 ? Ride Rome

BlazingPedals

I'm not going to pass judgment yet, but it's been several days and there's been no second post by the OP to clarify what she's looking for. Organized events or solo routes; one-way centuries or loops; just in the specified states or all states; roads or trails? It's pointless to post replies unless she gives some indication that she'll read them - which hasn't happened so far.