Two Wheeling West

The Maps

Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, New York, Pennsylvania, Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Iowa, Minnesota, Wisconsin, North Dakota, Montana, Idaho, Oregon

I’m carrying a full set of road maps published by the Adventure Cycling Association.  Each fold-out map contains a number of short sections with turn-by-turn directions alongside a detailed map of the area.  Icons for cyclist-specific services litter each map, accompanied by phone numbers, rough directions, and emergency services in the area.  As of May, I haven’t used any of the maps while riding, but they look to be perfect to me!  I know I’ll miss Google when researching places to eat and stay, but these maps are certainly the next best thing.

Speaking of Google…  the ACA provides GPS coordinates for all of their cycling routes.  I’m not going to carry a GPS unit with me on the trip: I don’t own one already, they’re expensive, and I don’t want to deal with keeping the batteries charged.  Besides, I like flipping open maps and laying in my tent at night (since there much else to do) planning the next few days’ route, campsite, and breaks/food.  I downloaded the GPS coordinates for the 3 routes I’m using and converted them to KML for use in Google Earth and Google Maps.

KML file for entire route (For use in Google Earth)
Google Map of entire route: pan, zoom, explore!

A few details about my route:

1. (red) Northern Tier:  The mapped route starts in Bar Harbor, ME, but I’m going to start my ride in Portland, ME and head straight to Fryeburg, ME.  From Fryeburg I’ll follow the maps to Lyme, NH then deviate just a bit to pass through White River Junction, VT.  I’ve spent the better part of the last 4.5 years living and working in White River Junction, so I’ll ride by my office and wave to everyone.  With any luck a few people will come out to pull for the ride out Route 14 which can have a nasty headwind.At Ticonderoga, NY I’ll leave the maps again and turn south to Brant Lake, NY. After a night with my aunt and uncle, I’ll continue south to Schenectady, NY for my sister’s graduation at Union College. Rest day! From Schenectady I’ll follow NY DOT Bike Route 5 to Rochester, NY and pick up the mapped route again.
2. (green) Lewis & Clark Trail: I’ve removed options that I don’t plan on using (side trips, shortcuts, etc).  The maps contain side trips and alternate routes to visit notable sites.  No deviations from the maps planned at the moment, but I’m sure something will come up as I get closer…
3. (blue) TransAmerica Trail: As with the LC Trail, I’ve already removed options that I don’t plan on using.  I’ll stop in Bend, OR, just off my route before heading to the coast.  182 miles from Bend to Florence, where I plan on finishing… makes me wonder how many miles I can cover in a day…