Preparations continue apace for my cross-country cycling trip starting in two weeks. Over the past year, I have spent considerable time staring at Google maps and casting about for advice from other cross-country cyclists about the best route to cross the US.
My route will take me westward from New York City across the northern US culminating at the mouth of the Columbia River in Astoria, Oregon. The first part of the journey takes me through Appalachia and the Great Lakes states, traveling from New York to Pittsburgh to points south of Cleveland and then to Chicago.
From Chicago, I turn north to Milwaukee and the west to Madison eventually following the Mississippi River to Minneapolis. East of the Mississippi, population density is higher with numerous small towns along the route every 15-20 miles.
West of Minneapolis comes a daunting 800 mile stretch traversing the Great Plains through South Dakota and eastern Montana. Population density thins out and the distances between towns lengthens. My route here takes me along US-12 due west through Minnesota and then west northwest in the Dakotas.
From Billings, Montana westward, I follow the route taken by Lewis and Clark in 1804. The Adventure Cycling Association provides routes for long-distance cycling tours. I will follow their Lewis and Clark bike trail through western Montana, Idaho, Washington and Oregon. Two mountain passes must be scaled in Montana before following the Snake and Columbia rivers to the Pacific. It's a real life version of classic computer game, Oregon Trail.
One question is why travel westward instead of eastward given that winds typically blow from west to east. Aside from a desire to follow the nation's westward expansion, it turns out that wind direction on any given day is just a matter of luck. While coastal winds tend to blow west to east, in the middle of the country, winds typically blow from the south. This US wind map provides a great visualization of wind patterns across the country, and a resource I will use frequently during my travels.
My route will take me westward from New York City across the northern US culminating at the mouth of the Columbia River in Astoria, Oregon. The first part of the journey takes me through Appalachia and the Great Lakes states, traveling from New York to Pittsburgh to points south of Cleveland and then to Chicago.
From Chicago, I turn north to Milwaukee and the west to Madison eventually following the Mississippi River to Minneapolis. East of the Mississippi, population density is higher with numerous small towns along the route every 15-20 miles.
West of Minneapolis comes a daunting 800 mile stretch traversing the Great Plains through South Dakota and eastern Montana. Population density thins out and the distances between towns lengthens. My route here takes me along US-12 due west through Minnesota and then west northwest in the Dakotas.
From Billings, Montana westward, I follow the route taken by Lewis and Clark in 1804. The Adventure Cycling Association provides routes for long-distance cycling tours. I will follow their Lewis and Clark bike trail through western Montana, Idaho, Washington and Oregon. Two mountain passes must be scaled in Montana before following the Snake and Columbia rivers to the Pacific. It's a real life version of classic computer game, Oregon Trail.
One question is why travel westward instead of eastward given that winds typically blow from west to east. Aside from a desire to follow the nation's westward expansion, it turns out that wind direction on any given day is just a matter of luck. While coastal winds tend to blow west to east, in the middle of the country, winds typically blow from the south. This US wind map provides a great visualization of wind patterns across the country, and a resource I will use frequently during my travels.
