Hi . I am trying to decide whether to fly back to Australia from Spain via the USA. If so, should I fly into the west or east in May/June?. I will be by myself and am happy to camp. I guess I dont want busy roads and am not particularly interested in big cities. Any ideas about some fabulous rides?
Thanks
Dorothy
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A great tour I did was my 1st (20 yrs ago).; traveling from Washington state to LA,california down the 101 hy. It can be done in about 4 weeks. There are numerous state campgrounds along the way for a rest after a longs days ride. Good luck and tailwinds always. Chris - CEO
Dorothy, you might be interested in looking at these two links for the Atlantic coast of the US.
https://www.greenway.org
https://map.greenway.org/?loc=5,36.15562,-75.76172
Take care
I agree with Christopher. The West Coast USA is the premier route I've taken of my 8 cross country tours. Hwy 101/Hwy1 (Pacific Coast Highway) north to south. If you go north you are on the other side of the road and can't look down the cliffs. You can begin in Washington, Oregon or California. The must-do is between San Francisco and San Luis Obispo, the most gorgeous ride anywhere. Campgrounds in the State Parks every forty or fifty miles have Hiker/Biker sections with showers for $5 (maybe more now). Adventure Cycling has maps. Riders from all over the world do this route and you will see the same people each night going the same direction. Would love to do it again. https://www.google.com/maps/d/edit?mid=1RhWJ_TcuhkXNZ9HGdVE0y2iyNqc&ll=47.587419550431264%2C-123.48694996646128&z=8
I agree with Jack and Christopher! The Pacific Coast is a very popular bike route. Due to the distance between state parks, you almost always camp with the same people each night. There are also a lot of amazing WS hosts from Santa Maria to San Diego!
I am a bit surprised by the answer of the Coastal Highway. When we rode Colorado to California, we planned to add that route, but met several people who had been hit by cars on it. After riding part of it in a friend’s car, we decided against it. Windy, narrow, no shoulder, hilly. Having said that, would totally do Oregon, Wa and on to Vancouver. Also, love Florida to the Keys, and Maine up into Canada. State Park Campground seems in Florida are clean, beautiful and they always make space for bicyclists, even when full.
I cycled through Washington state into the Canadian Rockies (Jasper area) then south. Riding to and in the Rockies was fantastic and traffic not bad - May might be a bit cool though. A few hills of course so it is better if you are fit before you get there!
Thanks everybody for your comments. I have decided to fly into Portland as there seems to be lots of options from there. My sister and her husband will be joining me. One option is to head up to Canada and catch the inside passage boat to Alaska and cycle parts along the way. Any thoughts??
That sounds perfect! We planned on that exact trip (Portland to Alaska), for this year, but our plans had to change. Can’t wait to hear about it!
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