What route [strike]would[/strike] did you take on a Cross Country trip across the US?
In that case,
“So bend your ear, and listen to my version
"Of a really solid cross-country excursion”
Back in 1977 my wife and I did a self supported cross country honeymoon ride from LA to Washington DC. We left LA in May 4, and had to be in Boston by July 1, We used state paper maps, and carried a USA road map to keep us on course. The Mojave Desert was pretty temperate that time of year, but did carry a gallon of water in the desert. In Goffs CA we were advised to avoid Las Vegas and steered through AZ. By the time we reached Colorado, we realized we were not making up enough time, so we veered to Washington DC.
We were from Michigan, and Day 1 was our very first Mountain Pass, As noted in a preceding post, the Rockies were not bad since the Federal Highways had gradient limits, and the stiffest hills were the secondary roads in the Ozarks, and Appalachians. We had one day of rain, in West VA, that kept us from entering DC on Sunday, but rather during Monday rush hour.
We naively rode French Road bikes with sew-up tires, and on two occasions had to hole up the bikes in a motel and hitchhike to a nearby city with a bike shop to buy more tires.
The major well-known points of interest were San Juan Capistrano, The Grand Canyon, Four Corners, Mesa Verde, Monument Valley, the Mississippi at St Louis, and eventually Washington DC. But also memorable were so many small towns that become so interesting on a bike.
That is a very brief description because the entire trip was of so full of adventures, I don’t have time to relate. Every May 4, I start to recall where we were on that particular day, and even hour on that trip. Because we were newlyweds, moving to a new city and careers, it was a watershed.
Even almost 30 years after our last tour, I still read the Touring Forum regularly. I note that a subscriber, @
jamawani is the go-to–guy for cross country advice.
Now though,