I’ve been having fun looking at this.
https://gis.railstotrails.org/grtamerican/
https://gis.railstotrails.org/grtamerican/
Interactive Map of Proposed Intercontinental Bike Trail
- Thread starter ForbinsAscynt
- Start date
Gonna need a cross bike to do the Iowa section. That trail from slater to collins is pea gravel. It is excellent on a gravel or cross bike.
So basically Wyoming is screwing this up for everyone.
It'll be interesting to see how much traffic this will get. There's a lot of cities through Iowa that could benefit if this thing really takes off.
It'll be interesting to see how much traffic this will get. There's a lot of cities through Iowa that could benefit if this thing really takes off.
basing the trip off of ragbrai being a week I’d say this journey would take maybe 3 months? I could see this becoming a thing similar to the Appalachian trail or PCT hikes. How many people attempt one of those two a year?
Imagine all the things you would see crossing the country on a bike.
I'm getting pretty into hiking and going to do 7 day High Sierra trail in Sept.
The time involved with AT, PCT or CD is a killer to me although I think it might be fun to break it into parts. I hike parts of PCT all the time and run into section hikers who have been doing sections at a time over many years. Guessing this bike path could be the same way where people do a different 1/4 of it four years or something.
- That section between LaPorte City and just southeast of Center Point is in very poor condition when last I checked (yup, more than a season ago).
- I doubt that any section where a lot of unnecessary N/S travel is included will survive (see links from Marshalltown to Waterloo then back through Cedar Rapids).
- The section south out of Cedar Rapids toward West Branch only exists to Ely Iowa. At Ely, one must choose either a gravel road, or a very narrow county road that has no shoulders. A death trap is you ask me.
- I certainly agree that the trail must travel to a latitude that is generally south of Chicago by the time it gets to the Mississippi River (to avoid the 'all roads go to Chicago' issue).
- I would like it to include Boone and Ames, then continue westward perhaps toward Blair Nebraska, where people could choose to visit the mess that is Omaha/Lincoln, or bypass it heading toward Fremont and Norfolk in Nebraska.
The American Discovery Trail seems to have a more logical western terminus.
- I doubt that any section where a lot of unnecessary N/S travel is included will survive (see links from Marshalltown to Waterloo then back through Cedar Rapids).
- The section south out of Cedar Rapids toward West Branch only exists to Ely Iowa. At Ely, one must choose either a gravel road, or a very narrow county road that has no shoulders. A death trap is you ask me.
- I certainly agree that the trail must travel to a latitude that is generally south of Chicago by the time it gets to the Mississippi River (to avoid the 'all roads go to Chicago' issue).
- I would like it to include Boone and Ames, then continue westward perhaps toward Blair Nebraska, where people could choose to visit the mess that is Omaha/Lincoln, or bypass it heading toward Fremont and Norfolk in Nebraska.
The American Discovery Trail seems to have a more logical western terminus.
There are a reasonable number of people that will bike from San Diego to the Atlantic Coast somewhere in Florida, Georgia, or South Carolina. I have a friend that did it a few years ago, a couple months worth of riding.
My sister in-law is a travel nurse, and can take 6 months off at a time she's completed the AT, PCT, Arizona trail, and started the CDT at the start of April. We will be joining her for a week to do a section in Colorado.
Before doing the AT, she was very reclusive, and not an outdoor person at all. Those things can be life changing.
I would definitely consider spending my summers doing a cross country rail trail.
RAGBRAI is also a slower paced ride for most and averages under 80mi a day. most people who might attempt this would maybe be in the 120mi+ a day range. Id say maybe 2 months time for an average avid biker.
https://www.raceacrossamerica.org/about.html
professional racers take 8-12 days to cross the US on a bike. and the race is grueling to, I helped a friend attempt the Race Across the West portion a few years ago.
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You might be right. I was estimating on the high side due to slower paced adventure bikes, gear and the fact that mountains must be crossed. I think a good portion would be gravel too.
Nahh, you could do it in 11 days!
https://www.desmoinesregister.com/s...ooper-conquers-race-across-america/425530001/