Cross country advice?

[Bikezmore]

planning a ride across the US (done other big rides before, none this big though) and most probably will go West to East…can you think of any reason I should start on the East Coast (other than the softshell crab)?

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[DismalScientist]

The standard reason to go west to east is prevailing wind. Going east to west may avoid late snow in the Rockies. Of course, climate change changes all this logic.:rolleyes:

[vern]

No…I’d think you’d want to get the big mountains out west out of the way early while you’re still relatively strong, rather than leaving them for the latter portion of the journey. Good luck.

[DismalScientist]

Wrong. The hills in the East are much harder. Roads out west are newer and better graded. You have 20 mile gradual climbs rather than 3 mile soul sappers out East. Of course, information is 25 years old.

[kwarkentien]

True. I did a multi day ride from Columbus OH to DC. Once we hit the hills in Eastern OH and WV, I got my butt kicked. I got SAGed every day. The worst was the day we crossed the Eastern Continental Divide. I was out over three hours and only covered 16 miles or so. I never even made it to the first rest stop. I literally got off my bike and cried. I crested my zillionth hill, dismounted, and called SAG to come get me. I’ve never been so discouraged in my life. The other riders who had done the entire crossing from Seattle all said the Western Continental Divide was so much easier by comparison for the reasons stated by Dismal.

[Rootchopper]

Go to Crazyguyonabike.com and search the journals. It will tell you everything you’d ever want to know. Here’s what I know: I confirm that the hills in the east are brutal. The winds on the plains can be equally so. Dogs are a problem in Kentucky. The roads are narrow and hilly in the Ozarks. Consider when tornado season and the thaw in the high mountains will occur and plan accordingly. Eat a healthy diet. By that I mean eat a healthy amount of ice cream, pie, and pancakes. Don’t worry about what can go wrong. Feast on what goes right.

[Bikezmore]

@Rootchopper 110075 wrote:

Go to Crazyguyonabike.com and search the journals. It will tell you everything you’d ever want to know. Here’s what I know: I confirm that the hills in the east are brutal. The winds on the plains can be equally so. Dogs are a problem in Kentucky. The roads are narrow and hilly in the Ozarks. Consider when tornado season and the thaw in the high mountains will occur and plan accordingly. Eat a healthy diet. By that I mean eat a healthy amount of ice cream, pie, and pancakes. Don’t worry about what can go wrong. Feast on what goes right.

thanks for the advice! will go see the crazy guy blog
have been planning to start in sanfran, but wondered
def on that diet

[Author]

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