indyfabz

Probably because it's slang for a projectile firing weapon.

And it's the "GAP" (Great Allegheny Passage).

sexy cyclist

I did Surfside Beach TX to Florida, then swung NE towards Charlotte NC. Great trip. I cannot stress enough how beautiful the Mississippi coast is! I highly suggest riding through the Bay St. Louis / Biloxi area if you don't plan to, the beaches there are breathtaking, especially at sunset. There's also a nice wide sidewalk / bike path that runs along the coast, so you can get off the roads for a while. Super flat terrain too, I was doing centuries every day that trip. Here's a photo from the area I'm talking about:



If you have any interest I made videos of each day of the trip, I can link you to a playlist of the ones relevant to your route.

Ty0604

Interesting. Thanks for the clarification on the name.

Thanks for the information. We're doing a lot of side trips already so we'll see. We'll be biking into White Sands National Monument, Big Bend National Park, Baton Rouge, Gainesville and taking the ACA alternate route to Gila Cliffs Dwellings.

I'm going to Charlotte after my trip. If one of the guys comes through I'll be driving up with him. If not I plan to bike. If so would like to see your route. Did you ride any of the ACA's Atlantic Coast route? I haven't looked at a map to see if I can take it north towards Charlotte if I need to from St. Augustine.

Cyclist0108

I've got the itch to ride from CA to Maine, but I haven't toured since 1992 and would likely have to go by myself, since I am intensely disliked by all of my friends.

Squeezebox

And those are the ones you call friends?

sexy cyclist

I always make up routes on the fly each morning of my tours. Kind of an unusual approach but its part of the fun to me. I didn't go quite as far east as you'll be going so I doubt my route from FL-NC will be applicable. I only went as far as Marianna FL before I swung North / North East.

Anyways here's an image showing my route for the trip, I'd be happy to give you higher resolution versions of any particular day, give you cue sheet style turn by turn directions etc. It was a very fun trip.

https://i.sli.mg/WiaX6Z.png

jefnvk

What's wrong with that? In all my travels, I generally find I am happiest when by myself.

Cyclist0108

My previous touring partner was an ER physician. Nice to have along in case anything went wrong (never did).

Cyclist0108

Sorry, I guess that is kind of an obscure reference:

Let's talk about

cashen

https://rideweehoo.com/ was offering a 30% discount so I upgraded to the Weehoo iGo Venture. Couldn't pass it up.

Ty0604

Got it, thanks. I started doing that on my last tour. I had each day planned out and followed it for the first few weeks. By the time I reached Wyoming I was making it up as I went along for the most part. I still had certain places to be so I followed the same route but otherwise threw my daily itinerary out the window. I found it much more enjoyable.

cashen

When my wife an I used to backpack in Europe we always had the first night planned and other than that, it was wide open, we met people who told us to go here or there. It was awesome, stressful a couple times, but fun.

Biking with kids now requires some planning. We have not camped yet with them. If we camped I think we could pull something like that off.

We're planning a Europe trip with the kids in 2018 which we'll most likely have well planned out.


FYI, I went with the Weehoo child trailers. Weehoo has a 30% coupon right now which I could not pass up.

Ty0604

I camp most of the time. Only using WarmShowers when I can't find a church or a fire station to camp behind.

DXchulo

Yeah, it's a bit of a toss up. According to the DOT map there's about twice as much traffic on 93, but also twice as much shoulder. I usually prefer a shoulder in that situation. Then again, when they say 2-4 feet of shoulder that doesn't mean it's rideable. I'll do some more street viewing if I decide on finishing in Roosville.

indyfabz

The last time I did U.S. 93 from Whitefish to Roosville (2009) it wasn't bad at all, especially for a Friday. However, that was in mid-June, before the real tourist season had started. The side roads (e.g., Farm to Market Rd.) I mention were completely devoid of traffic and were most pleasant, especially the roads from Fortine into Eureka. If you do go to Roosville, make sure you stop at the Conoco in Fortine. Go use the bathroom and push open the swing door for a peak inside the attached casino. It was like the scene in "The Wizard of Oz" when Dorothy first opens the door after landing in Munchkin Land, only in reverse. Also, in Eureka you will ride past the law offices of Frampton & Morrison. (They also have an office in Whitefish in, interestingly, the last building Frank Lloyd Wright ever designed.) I like to think that when the two met they immediately decided they had to start their own firm.


Also, be advised that there isn't really anything in Roosville. You'd probably simply end up turning around and riding back to Eureka, where there is a motel. (Not sure if you can still camp in the city park.) We stayed at Blue Mountain RV Park, a few miles from the border crossing, and then rode to Sparwood, B.C. the next day, but the place no longer allows tent camping. Finally, I learned that there is going to be cheap, hiker/biker camping at Whitefish Lake State Park, but I am not sure if those campsite have been constructed yet.


Four Montana State Parks Getting New Bicycle Campsites | MTPR

Roughstuff

A repeat of a tour I made two years ago: start near San Diego, ride thru the Southern California mountains, the Sierra, into the Siskiyous/Cascades, all the way to British Columbia, where I will spend many weeks zig zagging thru that incredible province. Not sure if I'll do a quick zip back south to Eastern Oregon to see the total solar eclipse or not....I've already see a few. Finish in British Columbia in October. Then I hunker down in a cabin for the winter.

jefnvk

Where you going? You could easily "wing it" through Belgium and the Netherlands, even with kids, there are many accommodations all along the cycling routes. We left a few days completely open with no accommodation planned, and just planned that night's stay before we left the internet in the morning. It actually turned out to be beneficial, when I was injured and we shortened our riding to account for that, versus knowing we had to push on to make a certain stop we had reserved.

Roughstuff

Here is my camping spot in Sparwood!


Screen Shot 2015-07-21 at 11.42.52 AM.jpg

indyfabz

Is that the municipal campground on the edge of town? If so, we stayed there. Decent place. The bath house was nice, and there was free firewood from where they had cut down trees to make a few more campsites. We were there during the town's annual Sparwood Days. There was a woman staying at the campground who was a fire twirler from Lethbridge, AB. At home I have a photo of me flat on my back while she is standing over me spinning ropes with flaming ends around the sides of my head. No other adult would volunteer, and she didn't want a child because she was worried it might get spooked and move. Enough wine will convince you to do a lot of things.

Roughstuff

No. It is the sign on the right hand side of the road as you approach the town from the south on rt 3 from Fernie. It was early evening, I had some food already, so I figured I'd pitch my tent behind the wagons and no one would really see. Nice view of the sunset (And the lightning behind the mountains to the west, where I had camped the night before). I rarely stay in a formal campground, when there is so much available forest and woodlands almost everywhere ya go.

Ty0604

They're open. Since 2013 or so. Some of the nicest hiker/biker sites I've seen. They have outlets, bear resistant food lockers, covered area with picnic tables, potable water, fire ring and a bike repair stand.

Placid Lake and Salmon Lake are also getting new hiker/biker sites. Not sure if they're open yet though.

Hiker/biker sites at Whitefish Lake State Park.*



*(These aren't my photos. Couldn't find mine. Photos taken by Rob Gendreau at hipcamp.com)

indyfabz

That's odd, since the article is dated February of 2016 and says that construction will start in the spring.

https://mtpr.org/post/four-montana-st...sites#stream/0

And the photos you included were posted in August of 2016.

PMike

I'm doing my first tour next June (I'll do a series of over nighters when the weather warms to prepare). The tour (pilgrimage) is the first part of a sabbatical. I'm starting at my home in the Pittsburgh area and riding the GAP to DC (Fairfax). I'll stay at my brother's house for a few days and then continue on to Front Royal, VA and bike all of Skyline Drive and the Blue Ridge Parkway. On the last day, I'll ride up to Clingman's Dome and then to a car rental and drive home. I'll be doing a hybrid of some hotels/B&Bs/camping depending on location. Plus, I just want to have the flexibility to do what ever I want on a given day. I have a schedule, but don't feel that I need to be a slave to it. My only real timeline is to be home with family for the fourth of July weekend.

cashen, when are you planning on doing the GAP?

cashen

June. I have the last week of June and the 1st week of July off correctly. We're also trying to fit a beach vacation in so we might continue to the east coast after DC. We'll see.

PMike

Nice. I'll probably be hitting it during the second week of June. I've not done the whole GAP. From what I've read, we should be hitting it at a good time. Hope for no rain storms on the C&O. It can get to be tough sledding if wet.