cyclists: have you ridden the U.S. coast-to-coast?

Haven't done it but that's really my dream vacation. I wish you the best!

Couple questions @amandaeve. Where do you ride now? Do you get to do much rural riding? Do you like it if so? And are you going to camp or sleep in hotels if you do the tour? If it's camping, have you done much?

My husband did a cross country ride in 2012 with me driving the support camper van. I'm sure he'd have more advice than could be covered in one of these posts. Crazyguyonabike is a good information resource - a lot of people to journal their mega-bike ride experiences there. My husband was addicted to the site before his trip.

https://www.crazyguyonabike.com/doc/?o=te&doc_id=10873&v=HM

A part of me thinks this sounds like an exciting adventure...another part of me is like no friggin' way...

I have never cycled across the US, and I have to say, I've never had the desire to do so.

However, I have done some long cycling tours ...

3 months in Australia
1 month in Europe
8 months around the world, a mixed bag of cycling and other methods of transportation

On those tours, I did not have to replace my chain or brake pads, but I did go into the tours with my bicycle all tuned up.

I also went into most of those tours with quite a bit of cycling in my legs, in preparation.


And I would like to cycle across Canada ... and maybe across Australia too.

amandaeve wrote: »

@NorthCascades Seattle (Everett) to Boston, northern route. From my research there is a main northern and a main southern route, the northern being easier and west-to-east being easier. We'd camp in campsites designated by the tour. https://www.cycleamerica.com/cc-tour.htm

@ajwcyclist2016 YES! I would definitely journal. I have a biking blog that I plan to update with a Bluetooth keyboard and my phone each evening. Journaling for me is almost as much part of the travel as the raveling. Also thinking about keeping a headset mic on so I can dictate thoughts while I ride. I imagine it will get pretty boring, so stuff like that would help.

It would start in June. I'd love to do it in 2017 as it would be a good milestone to hit since I turn 40 this year, but I'm not sure if I still have time to get the unpaid leave of absence from work approved and whatnot. I haven't committed to the idea yet.

Wow! 3 months that includes 55 days of riding 68-86 miles per day, and only 8 rest days. Having done RAGBRAI many times averaging that kind of mileage for 7 consecutive days in the July summer heat riding across Iowa, as well as a week of riding that daily mileage in Italy this past summer in the July summer heat - I don't know how people do it for an entire three months. Even after a week of doing it, my mind and body were shredded and needed some good recovery time. Taking care of "down under" to prevent saddle sores and irritations would be a never ending routine of goodies.

Sounds like a great Bucket List dream trip for the $7K base fee and what is included with it (even includes a bike mechanic to take care of any issues that might arise with your machine). If it were me, I would definitely pay the extra fee for a massage a few times a week. And grab a motel at least a few times each month for the AC and fresh bed.

Have you done a week or two of consecutive daily mileage like that before? I do like to do that kind of riding a week at a time each year (I usually like to do a week in March down in southern Utah of intense daily mountain biking, and a week or two in the summer on some road biking trip somewhere) to get my annual fill. Have you considered doing a one week segment or two with that tour group to get your feet wet first before committing to the entire 3 months?

My wife and I used this group out of Oregon for our week of riding in Italy this past July, and they have nice tours in the US as well: http://www.lifecycleadventures.com/

We liked the self-supported aspect of riding through Italy. It was just my wife and I as the tour company simply hauled our suitcases to each hotel (and we booked all the overnight lodgings with them as well as a couple of dinner reservations). They provided the cue cards for our routes, and the rental bikes, but we were on our own for the week outside of being picked up in Florence on day one, and hauled back there on day 7 after our final day of riding. We liked all of that, but I could easily see doing that all on our own next time if we went back to Italy - or any country (all we would need is to hire out a service to haul our luggage). I hate hauling my own gear on a bike, so I definitely am one who is in favor of the way to cycle on these long trips is for a tour group or company to haul it for you as the way to go.

What we loved about the Life Cycle tour we did this summer is dropping in at places to eat for lunch and dinner of our own choosing. Of course, a week of riding in Tuscany in the Chianti Region included the opportunity to have a great bottle of wine every night. ;-) I only had one flat tire during the week on a long mountain descent due to my rims overheating from the braking as I tried to keep it under 60 KPH, and the front tube popped just as I approached the edge of the town at the base of the mountain. Us luck would have it, there was a bike shop right on the corner as we pulled into town. Rather than use my spare tube and change the tire myself, I had the bike shop put a new one in, used their restroom - and we were on our way 10 minutes later after paying him 10 Euros for the tube and service.

I can understand the need for the water stop, and picnic lunch from the tour group you linked as you'll be out in some pretty remote, desolate areas with miles and miles and miles between civilization. It at least removes the worry of where you are going to get fueled and hydrated. Are there reviews of Cycle America?

amandaeve wrote: »

Interesting. I replace my chain every 1500 miles. The couple of times I waited I ended up having to replace my rear cassette too, however, I don't have a bike specifically designed for touring. @Machka9 what components do you use? Maybe I can swap to some hardier options.

SRAM chain, if I'm not mistaken.

And I use mtn bike gearing and components on my road touring bicycle.

I do also try to make an effort to keep everything clean.

I go 6000+ km between changing my chains, and longer between changing cassette rings.