I am a new bike tourer (but experienced road rider) planning a cross-country trip next year. I want to go east to west and be done at least by early July. Start in NC and finish in Washington or Oregon. I used Kamoot to plan the route in this link ([https://www.komoot.com/invite-tour/1350693708?code=n5mvq7-xsOFcqGItlt6UAr-Qqq0006okEBKR4HTcm3Ygn8j2F0&ref=&share\_token=aDVNU1E1FhZTftetlpc2xOP6CLb33xCDB0dYhYZaAzLfTG9NVe](https://www.komoot.com/invite-tour/1350693708?code=n5mvq7-xsOFcqGItlt6UAr-Qqq0006okEBKR4HTcm3Ygn8j2F0&ref=&share_token=aDVNU1E1FhZTftetlpc2xOP6CLb33xCDB0dYhYZaAzLfTG9NVe)). Considering leaving early to mid-April. Does this look feasible? Not sure how to determine if snow would be a problem on any of the passes at this time of year although they do not look particularly high. Any comments or suggestions on this as a route? Obvious challenges I am not seeing as a newbie? I would greatly appreciate feedback from the experienced community here. Thanks!
by bluesbranchbrewer
3 Comments
There’s a lot of gravel on that route that Komoot isn’t showing you, mostly because OpenStreetMap surface data isn’t great in the US and Komoot trusts it a bit too much. Try calling up Street View for a few places in MT and ND and you’ll see what I mean (most of the gravel roads themselves won’t be on Street View, but you can get a glimpse where they cross major roads).
Ride With GPS, is more US based then Kamoot. Adventure Cycling Association has multiple well traveled cross country routes that are well documented on [Cycleblaze.com](https://Cycleblaze.com) and [crazyguyonabicycle.com](https://crazyguyonabicycle.com) . The prevailing wind in North America travels west to east.
Looks to avoid a lot of earlier-in-the-trip passes, so I think you’d be fine.
A few things jumped out about the early portion of your trip:
Starting in Nags Head and riding into Virginia via the coast is going to mean riding on the beach north of Corolla. Tire width and gear weight might be a concern, plus getting all that sand grit in your drive train right at the start. Just want to make sure you are aware of this in case you aren’t already.
When you get to Jamestown, you might want to consider detouring east to Yorktown, the traditional start of the TransAm/Bikecentennial route. Not really essential or anything, and it’d add maybe 35-40 miles round trip.
In case you aren’t aware, at DC you could take the C&O/GAP and have a nice car-free multiday stretch.
You might want to consider trying to mostly follow ACA routes (Adventure Cycling), instead of relying on Komoot. https://www.adventurecycling.org/routes-and-maps/adventure-cycling-route-network/interactive-network-map/