hxkim

Hello guys, I am starting my tour from Seattle,WA to Portland,ME in a month. I have roughly created the routes on ridewithgps app.(https://ridewithgps.com/routes/14310502)


I am hoping to get some feedback from anyone about,

-better routes alternatives
(My only important checkpoints are Yellowstone National park, Rushmore park, Chicago, Washington DC, Manhattan, Boston. I am flexable to any suggestions)

-cities to avoid
I will be using campgrounds, stealth camping, warmshower.org mostly

-any head-ups?; weather, people, culture, road conditions, cities, etc

-better app for planning?

-any other suggestions?


Thank you guys

Roughstuff

Remember....a bad day touring beats a good day working! I have crossed the US a number of times, twice on this northern route. I enjoyed the Great Lake States, their sense of civics (clean parks, shelters, picnic tables, water, fishing access, etc). I found "wild" or "stealth" camping pretty easy everywhere I was. I did the UP of Michigan and loved it. Go to the Source of the Mississippi; Enjoy the incredible hill country of Wisconsin near the Dells. I found frequent thunderstorms and showers in this region....have a food tent and spunk to get thru them. I am not prone to biking through cities any bigger than 50,000 people...so I'll leave the Chicago/NY Boston stuff to other bikers.

suburbanbeat

Adventure Cycling Association's "Northern Tier" route does exactly this. Those maps will address all of your concerns by putting you on the best roads, through the best towns, and labeling any and all resources available to you. The gold standard in cycling maps.

https://www.adventurecycling.org/rou...northern-tier/

jefnvk

Only advice I can offer is from Chicago through Northwest Indiana (roughly mile 2570 to 2670) is going to be mostly urban, industrial, busy traffic if you are on roads, and rather ugly. Not much option if you are insistent on Chicago, though.

If you aren't so much insistent on Chicago, the UP as previously mentioned is beautiful and calm, or there are ferries from Manitowac to Ludington, which then meets up with US Cycle Route 20 across Michigan, and from Milwaukee to Grand Haven.

IceNine

Do you have a good way to get though Chicago and Gary IN?

I'd be inclined to take the ferry across Lake Michigan. I've used the one in Milwaukee, and there's another one in Manitowoc. You could include a tour of the Avery Salvage Yard if you did that one.

fietsbob

Seattle ? Cross the Canadian border and go across Canada to New Brunswick Province then turn south.

Doug64

Riding through Chicago from the west is relatively easy. When you hit the Lake Michigan trail, head southeast along the lakeshore to Gary Indiana.

There are several streets that are a straight shot across the city.


The lakefront gets a little crowded at times, especially if there is an airshow going on.

Turkey222

I would ride either I-90(mix with frontage roads/bike paths) or US 2 to Spokane, I-90 (bike paths) to Missoula. Use the Transamerica route to Yellowstone. Take the north loop to the west side. Find a good way to the Northern tier. Your route hits almost all of Yellowstone though. I ended up missing old faithful last year, but wasn't disappointed since it is hyped up way more than it should be. Note: Iron Horse Trail in Washington can vary in gravel depth and parts of it even suggest using I-90 instead. Washington, Idaho, and Wyoming allow Bicyclist on the interstate. (may be restricted near metropolitan areas). The police in Montana did not say anything for the I-90 stretch from Idaho to Missoula, but I wouldn't get on it after that.

Doug64

He might consider US Highway 20. I-90 "replaced" it, and it is a much better road to ride on. My wife and I rode it from Newport, OR to Boston, MA.

indyfabz

Why are you getting off the Mickelson Trail and looping around. Stay on it until Hill City and pick up Hill City-Keystone Rd. from there. Some of the road option after Rochford you have chosen is dirt anyway.

As for the east. I would get Adventure Cycling's Atlantic Coast route map(s). Your route through PA sucks. Another person was just hit with a stray bullet in Chester. PA 291 through that area is called Industrial Highway for a reason. U.S. 13 north of Philly is going to suck. Have fun getting through Newark on a weekday. NJ is the most densely populated stat in the country. Newark is the most densely populated part of NJ. That industrial area you have routed yourself through should be chock full of trucks and other traffic on a weekday. Jersey City will be, too.

Roughstuff

WOW! Incredible! How was it riding on the beach with all those crazy beachgoers! How long were you on the water. That looks like one funky bike path.

Roughstuff

I like your overall route, especially across the northern rockies. You might want to exit Yellowstone through the Northeast exit (Big Bear mountains, I believe) rather than the east route to Cody WY...but the latter is beautiful also and is NOT a part of the park many people see. There is NO CAMPING for a ways through that part of the park AND OUTSIDE of it because of the thermal features, and I would strongly discourage wild camping in this area for that reason plus the ubiquitous grizzlies.

Like a writer above, I strongly discourage your area of riding around Chicago. You can do the UP...or head further south into Illinois and turn east. The agricultural country has a tremendous Zen feeling to it, the sky is big and wide and dark at night, and the people are fantastic.

Gary

jobtraklite

Had you though about the Erie Canal from Buffalo to Albany, NY. It's 75% bike trail and the rest low traffic state highways with wide shoulders, not to mention very scenic and historic.

ERIE CANAL 2009
ERIE CANAL 2015

I see you are taking the Great Allegheny Passage, a fantastic ride through some of the most remote country east of the Mississippi. But it's a small portion of your dip to the south, and as someone else mentioned, the rest will be very bike unfriendly.