Okay, so, I made a post earlier about this, but I have opened up to the idea of doing it either direction so I figured it best to make a separate post for it. I'm planning on doing the Great American rail trail this year, and, I'm having trouble figuring out what the best time of year is to do it. And which direction to do it in. My main concern is avoiding the heat (say 85F – 30C and up) as I do not do well in the heat. I am happy to do east to west or west to east, whichever ends up getting me more out of the heat. Right now I'm planning on taking roughly 110 days as I'm new to cycling and want to give myself time to build up the mileage, and check stuff out off the route if I decide to. Any info or experience is welcome! Starting later is nice as it gives me time to get ready, but, I am happy to do either!
by Professional-Dot5098
13 Comments
you’re new to cycling, period? you should start smaller. some of these stretches (the ex-milwaukee road across washington for example) are extremely sparse and you’ll be carrying your own water in addition to everything else.
Go west, if you go east you will have the sun in your face 99% of the time, also this trail isn’t anywhere near complete I believe, large parts of it in the west are just on roads I think?
American Cycling Association Golden Gravel Trail. Digital maps available in MarchÂ
https://www.adventurecycling.org/anniversary-events/50-route/
There’s no way to avoid 85 degree temperatures over that kind of range unless you’re willing to deal with freezing temperatures instead. You gotta pick your poison.
It might help to remember that when the forecast calls for a “90 degree day”, that temperature is only going to exist for a few hours in the afternoon. You can get a full day’s ride in and be napping under a shade tree before the thermometer gets above 85.
East to West 100%. Trans Am 2017.
You’ll see racers or pros go west to east. They do it in a short time period.
Start in humidity and head towards the mountains!
Gentle reminder that if you ride east to west you will have prevailing head winds to deal with. In a lot of the western states these are no joke. I agree with the comments that the western state routes are NOT smooth, paved roads or dedicated bike paths. Chances are good that you will be riding on logging or forest service roads. If you start on the western side the earliest would be maybe second week of June. Hope this helps.
https://bikepacking.com/gawr/?fbclid=IwdGRleAQIKq9leHRuA2FlbQIxMQBzcnRjBmFwcF9pZAo2NjI4NTY4Mzc5AAEeiLPH8AoC-17KyN7l9i5f-PUZtwtHIFIU0KxABzxVwVZTLqhGOMZlCmKLKCY_aem_9CQqEnh5fLC2FL3NANlqsg
This route was just released this week on bikepacking.com.
I went Maine to Seattle forty years ago. Strong headwinds on a little part of Ontario we cut through, but overall great. New England and New York State were very hilly, but we were young and the hills got us in great shape for the west.
Is this a legit trail? Like dedicated, no-sharing-a-path-with-vehicles trail?
Ages and ages ago I did OR to NY, using the adventure cycling northern route maps. Left mid May and was on the road for 72 days.
I got caught in a snowstorm on the Continental divide and 2 weeks later I was in a heatwave where it was over 100f.
Given this, I would suggest east to west and time crossing the Continental divide mid-july or August.
If you want to climb a considerable amount in the beginning go west to east.
I feel the best would be east to west starting in Seattle and go down the coast to LA and cutover from there. Less elevation.
I’d choose West to East due to the prevailing winds. As you would be starting in the temperate PNW, you could start in late summer without overheating there, and finish in the late fall in the areas that are hot in the summer.
You could avoid some risk of nasty weather by putting a few more miles in daily. Right now you’re targeting 32 miles a day.