MarkJ1

Hi,

I have just joined and wanted to ask your advice to help start my research for a proposed trip in October from somehwere middle of USA down to New Orleans somewhere.

I am Australian tourist in the USA for 6 months and bought a bike shop basic commuter bike and am doing about 15 miles per day flat terrain at about a tourist sort of pace. I'm 55 years old and fairly fit (for 55!). I have not otherwise ridden since I was a brat.

Dunno where the stupid idea came from to take a ride through the flatter parts of the USA to New Orleans stopping at hotels each night and taking lay days often and in larger cities.
The basic map route of Omaha, Kansas, St Louis, Memphis, Natchez Trace to New Orleans seems to be flatish and has some good tourist potential. Its about 1,000 miles.

Start would be Beginning of October till beginning of November at about 33 miles per day plus 5 or more lay days. If the whole thing became too horrible I would just jump a train, rent a car and head for civilization

Budget isn't a problem.

The advice I would like is:
Does this sound achievable or inherently stupid for some reason I dont know.
Google Maps seem to have lots of hotels splattered all over America. Could I expect to get a vacant room every 30 miles aprox without booking ahead?
Is 33 miles per day realistic for a gentle, fun, lets not sweat till death adventure?
By stopping at hotels each night could I do it with just a day pack and change of clothes?
October climate seems to be about 75F daytime max at the beginning of the month and plummeting as November gets closer. Problems?

Thanks for your help. Sorry if these are all newbie questions, I did try to search the forums.

Mark

fietsbob

Researched Cycle route maps sold here , like this one
Great Rivers South | Adventure Cycling Route Network | Adventure Cycling Association

Pick up a pay as you go cell phone to call ahead if insecure about having rooms scheduled vacant
you may look up each town's chamber of commerce and see if they have a Popular Festival weekend
that tends to fill up the motel Rooms

16 miles before and another 17 after lunch seems like a nice pace..

mstateglfr 

33mi per day is more than realistic and will allow you to stop and smell the roses a lot...while eating plenty of Midwest pies too.

I would want some panniers or storage on my bike even if I were staying in hotels each night to account for food, water, extra clothes, and rain gear. Itll rain a bunch that time of year. But you certainly should be able to travel relatively light if you stay in hotels. There are certainly tons all up and down the middle of the country, but from 100mi south of St Louis to Memphis it is rural. I mean like Coober Pedy rural. There is nothing but crops and rice if you stay in Missouri and Arkansas. If you ride from St Louis to Memphis via Illinois, Kentucky, and Tennessee there will be more towns.

In Mississippi, there is a Blues trail along the western half of the state called the Delta(northwest part of the state). It documents historical Blues events, locales, and birthplaces. If you are into blues, its really cool. https://www.imtrails.com/mrtsouthern/

The Natchez Trace, at least in Mississippi, is a great trip. Its a typically quiet highway(the speed is strictly enforced), there are a lot of hotels and B&Bs along the route, and the road itself is in good condition. You will get some great southern hospitality all along the way. I went to college in that state and rode the Trace a couple times- good stuff.

MarkJ1

Great guys! That gives me good info to work with.
The Mark Twain stuff is just excellent. I am sure I can stuff Huck Finn in my back pocket.
I shall report back on my research

mark

texbiker

33 miles a day is not very fast. If you ride 10 mph for 5 hours that would be 50 miles per day. Depending on how many hours a day you ride this distance can vary. This could get you through some areas that are rural. Look at crazyguyonabike.com: Bicycle Touring: A place for bicycle tourists and their journals for some ideas of what other people have done on rides like this. You could mail some packages ahead of you along the route. This would lessen what you need to carry. Two changes of riding clothes, a tire and 3 or 4 tubes might be what you carry with you. Patch kits too.

MarkJ1

Thanks for that link.
woe if I need 3 or 4 tubes... I dunno how to change just one! I think I better learn

boomhauer

Take the Katy trail through Missouri. October is the best month! Very scenic. Lots of places to stay.

alan s 

If it were me, I'd ride the West Coast, but to each their own.

BigAura

Here's the Great Rivers South and the Mississippi River Trail maps, from my map site. You can download the gpx routes too.

JerrySTL

For the Kansas to St. Louis segment, I highly recommend getting on the Katy Trail. Great scenery and little traffic. I'd recommend 700x28 tires or a little wider.

https://mostateparks.com/park/katy-trail-state-park
Katy Trail Missouri Trail Maps, Businesses, Events, Mileage, and more

You can pick up BigAura's suggestion of the Mississippi River Trail not too far from the Katy Trail end.

nfmisso

++ to the Katy trail I would suggest wider tires than 28.

You will need something to clean up your bike before most places will let you in. The Katy trail will put a light coating of white powdered limestone over EVERYTHING. A cheap 2" wide paint brush will work fairly well. Fenders are strongly recommended.

jonc123

MarkJ1

Greatadvice from everyone! Thanks! I am downloading and researching

mark

MarkJ1

I tried to reply to a pm but can not till I have 50 posts!
to that person : thanks for the advice. Duly noted!

Jadesfire 

Hi MarkJ1,
Just found this thread, so pardon the late information. If you're still planning this trip, couple of notes:
Don't count on 75 degrees around the New Orleans area. High heat (90s) and humidity are still considered normal, even closer to November.
I've not ridden south of Lake Ponchartrain before, but you will have to go a very long way around to reach the city as none of the major bridges allow bikes over them. You can ride Airline Hwy from Baton Rouge into New Orleans, but that is several hundred miles of not very interesting scenery (speaking as a native Louisianian). You would be following the Mississippi River, but the levees are over 20ft high and obstruct the view for the entire length.
The Natchez Trace is very nice, and once you get into Louisiana the area around St. Francisville has some great riding (still somewhat hilly, though). And there are some nice B&Bs and plantation tours in this area.
St. Francisville to Baton Rouge, though, takes you along a road humorously named the "scenic highway" where you get a great view of chemical plants. Avoid that route.
I lived in Baton Rouge for 7 years. Those are some terrible drivers. If your route takes you in that direction, be careful. And if it's raining when you get there, be REALLY careful. They are also not known for their ability to navigate roads safely in inclement weather.
It's worth considering taking a car south from Baton Rouge. This perhaps violates the spirit of adventuring, and admittedly I've not tried to ride that path before. Just my two cents. On the other hand, Baton Rouge does have a strong cycling community from what I remember. There are links on the web (sorry, I don't have them available at the moment). That would probably be a good source to look into for routes to New Orleans.
Laissez le bon temps rouller!