Originally Posted by
Trueblood
Would there be too much of the sort of thing shown in indyfabz's photo, in one form or another, tree tunnels, great plains, etc.? Is it any better on roads in terms of monotony? I don't know, I have never done the TA.
I'll pipe up on that one. Rail trails may be a way to stay off of roads to avoid traffic and so on, but I seriously doubt they are less monotonous. I guess what you perceive as monotonous is a very individual thing though.
As far as the TA goes, it is a great route in my opinion. Not perfect or anything but I'd ride it again without question before even thinking about something like " The Great American Rail Trail". Actually I plan to ride the TA again for It's 50th anniversary and probably will never do a tour on rail trails.
FWIW, some people like riding some portion of their ride in "tree tunnels". The shade can be quite nice on a hot summer day. Here in Tallahasse we have roads with huge oaks complelely covering the sky on some roads. We call them canopy roads and consider them an scenic attraction.