I'm cycling across the US March 21-May 17 with a group of 13 riders from around the US on a trip run by Adventure Cycling of Missoula, MT. This trip is on my bucket list and so here we go.
I am using this trip to raise some money funds for the Susan G. Komen for the Cure breast cancer charity, and information on giving is included.
The maps and itin are courtesy of ACA. I will post a bunch of summary stuff and maps now, with updates during the trip as often as we have time and internet access. Thanks, Bruce York
NOTE: The rest of this post is taken from the adventurecycling.org website
SUMMARY of TRIP and schedule:
Trip Dates: Mar 21, 2010 - May 17, 2010
Start - End Locations: San Diego, CA - St. Augustine, FL
Total Days: 58 Riding Days: 48 Orientation/Rest Days: 10
Level of Support: Van-supported
Miles: 3160 Average Miles Per Day: 65.8
Surface: Paved
Riders: 13
Type: Supported Meals: Shared cooking
Accommodations: Camping/Indoor
Elevation: highest point 8,338 ft.
WEEK 1
We’ll meet our leaders and group at the Point Loma Hostel, just a couple of miles from the coast in San Diego. From there, we'll begin a long, steady — but, unladen — climb from the urban environs up to the quiet, small-town charm of Alpine and Pine Valley, nestled in the foothills of the Laguna Mountains. We'll continue climbing through great pine and oak forests before a terrific descent to Ocotillo and other towns of the Imperial Valley and the Colorado Desert. We’ll spend evenings in the towns of Brawley and then Blythe, where you can check out the Blythe Intaglios, 400- to 2,000-year-old giant human, animal, and geometric figures carved into the desert surface by Mohave and Quechen Indians. Finishing up our first week, we’ll cross the Colorado River and ride into the state of Arizona.
WEEK 2
After threading our way between the Harcuvar, Harquahala, and Vulture mountain ranges, we’ll roll into the old cowboy town of Wickenburg. Here you can try your luck at gold panning in the “Golden Triangle,” one of the best prospecting areas in Arizona. We’ll swoop through the big city of Phoenix and park our steeds next door in Tempe, home of Arizona State University. We’ll spend our first layover day here and have the opportunity to explore the Valley of the Sun and all its culture, cuisine, and charm. Next, we’ll exchange friendly waves with saguaro sentinels as we head east through the desert before climbing to the copper-mining towns of Superior, Miami, and Globe. After descending to San Carlos Lake, we’ll start a long, gradual ascent along the Gila River that will bring us, ultimately, to the state of New Mexico. We’ll cap off the week with a layover in Silver City, a quaint and somewhat funky hamlet ringed by mountains, and a storied hangout for outlaws and renegades like Billy the Kid and Geronimo. From here you can set out on a hilly but rewarding side trip to the ruins at Gila Cliff Dwellings National Monument, home of the Mogollon people who populated the region over 700 years ago. Or, you can simply relax, off-bike, and take in some of the fine diversions Silver City has to offer.
WEEK 3
Rested and raring to go, we will next climb over the Continental Divide, zoom down into Mimbres, and then prepare for a long, scenic ascent of 8,228-foot Emory Pass, the high point of the Southern Tier Route. From there it’s smooth downhill sailing to our campsite at Caballo Lake State Park, located near Arrey. Then we’ll roll on through Hatch, the self-proclaimed “Chile Capital of the World” and home of the famous chile festival held every September. We’ll press onward to Las Cruces, the state’s second largest city and home of New Mexico State University, following the course of the Rio Grande River. After crossing the border into Texas, we’ll spend a night in El Paso, a boomtown that was so lawless in the late 1800s that it earned the moniker “Six Shooter Capital.” From here, we’ll stay within sight of Mexico, bedding down in Fort Hancock for a night. We’ll then move on to Van Horn, site of the proposed commercial space flight operation Blue Origin, situated in the high, rolling Texas plains.
WEEK 4
Continuing eastward, we’ll begin to appreciate what the popular western-swing song refers to as “miles and miles of Texas” — more than a thousand miles, west to east, in fact. After a long day’s ride to reach Fort Davis, the best surviving example of a southwestern frontier military post, we’ll enjoy a well-deserved layover day with time to explore Davis Mountains State Park and/or the famed University of Texas McDonald Observatory. Rejuvenated, we’ll cruise through sagebrush-covered hills and under the wide-open skies of West Texas where we’ll pass relatively closely to Big Bend National Park, so named because of the sharp turn that the Rio Grande River makes on its way to the sea. We’ll spend a night in Marathon, the filming location of Wim Wenders’ Paris, Texas and site of the state’s second largest earthquake, and then swoop into Sanderson, the Cactus Capital of Texas. Next, we’ll press on through Del Rio (site of a legendary UFO crash), Seminole Canyon State Park, and Bracketville. We will finish the week with a lengthy ride to Lost Maples State Natural Area, where we’ll camp among its thick woods, numerous streams, and limestone canyons.
WEEK 5
Moving now into the beautiful Texas Hill Country, we’ll ride along the Guadalupe River and take comfort in the town of the same name. Next, we’ll delight in the descent from Blanco to Wimberley and, finally, enjoy a long-awaited layover day in Austin. Known as “the live music capital of the world,” Austin is also a place that’s exceedingly rich in history and home to an inordinate number of fine museums and great eateries. After paying homage to the late Stevie Ray Vaughn at his statue located on Town Lake, we’ll spin from Austin through the town of Bastrop, nestled along the Colorado River (a different Colorado River), into Winchester, site of the largest mountain bike race in Texas. The next day we’ll continue riding downhill to our camp spot at Navasota — perhaps stopping in at the Burtin Cotton Gin, built in 1914 and still in operation. We’ll cap off the week by gliding through a beautiful stretch of woods within the Sam Houston National Forest, finishing in Coldspring.
WEEK 6
Continuing our journey eastward, we’ll head through the brushy Big Thicket Preserve, which historically served as a hiding place for outlaws and other rogues, and spend a night in Silsbee, nestled in the piney woods of southeast Texas. Come morning, we’ll cross into Louisiana and the town of Merryville, which skirts both the state border and the Sabine River. All of Louisiana lies within the geological province known as the Gulf Coastal Plain; we’ll spend the majority of our time here crossing the pine hills and prairies of the Louisiana Uplands. As we continue to Oberlin, with luck we might catch the Bundick Lake Cajun Cook-Off. Then, on the following day, we’ll pass through Mamou, the Cajun capital of Louisiana (and the world!), where we can treat our ears to authentic zydeco music and our taste buds to catfish and boiled crawfish. Paralleling the Mississippi River, we’ll ride first through Simmesport and then finish the week in St. Francisville, a community built on the crest of a ridge and known as “the town two miles long and two yards wide.”
WEEK 7
As the terrain gradually changes from level to gently rolling, we’ll visit Easleyville and Bogalusa, with a layover strategically scheduled for New Orleans. Here we can take in some of the best sights, sounds, and flavors the region has to offer. After recharging our batteries and jumpstarting our engines with zesty Cajun and Creole food, we’ll cross into Mississippi and the land of levees. We’ll camp in Perkinston — known far and wide for its spicy chicken strips — and then move on to the tiny, friendly town of Hurley. Before we realize it, we’ll cross into Alabama, where we can gorge on all the great seafood found along this part of the route. We’ll roll our bicycles aboard a ferry for a different sort of ride across Mobile Bay to the Fort Morgan Historic Site and Dauphin Island, which has, through the years, been under French, British, and Spanish flags. We’ll then pedal to our campsite in Gulf Shores, situated along the Gulf of Mexico. The next day we’ll find ourselves in Florida, where we’ll pedal past Pensacola and cruise the scenic Blackwater Trail on our way to Milton.
WEEK 8
We'll begin our last full week of the trip by cycling toward DeFuniak Springs, where we’ll have the option of taking a final layover day. This is the home of Walton County Library, the oldest extant library in the state of Florida. It contains an interesting assortment of antiquities, including an impressive medieval weapons collection and many first-edition books. Next, we’ll course through the Marianna Lowlands, just a stone’s throw away from Florida Caverns State Park. After an overnight in Midway and a final time-zone change at the Apalachicola River, we will take aim at Waukeenah, where we’ll pass through orange and lemon groves in a region that boasts the world’s greatest concentration of citrus growers. Forging onward, we’ll spend an evening at the Spirit of Suwannee Music Park, and then enjoy the shade of tall tulip poplars on our way to High Springs.
WEEK 9
On the penultimate day of the tour, we’ll bypass Gainesville in favor of the smaller communities of Hawthorne and East Palatka — where, it’s rumored, previous Southern Tier riders have tracked down some of the best milk shakes on the entire route. Our journey concludes in St. Augustine, the oldest city in America. Here we’ll find plenty of sand beaches (for that East Coast wheel dip), as well as fascinating historic attractions to keep us occupied for as long as we care to stay.
