Routes

May 2, 2008

Current Route Page Status: this page is being revised (3/29/09)

Notice the red line headliner on the top of this page. This was essentially the route. Note how the red line differs from the blue. The blue was the planned route and the red was the actual route taken.  More specifics soon… 

Planning/Routing

Dan started the routing with basic road maps and layered information from bicycle specific maps and traffic density. I often looked to Google Earth for terrain and pavement. If substantial climbing was obvious I used DeLorme Topo USA 6.0. Usually I finalized the route in Microsoft Streets and Trips. Streets and Trips has some excellent advantages in searching for needed services. You cannot search for bike shops but nearly everything else. It’s going to help a lot to know locations and phone numbers of motels, groceries, gas stations, hospitals, restaurants, campgrounds etc. etc. On the bike, we will use paper maps. I ride with a Garmin 305 GPS-enabled computer for cyclists. It has way too may functions but I have found a few that are unique, very helpful and perhaps even invaluable.

The West;

Routing the west (Oregon to Iowa) was either simple or difficult. Simple because there are few roads to choose from. Difficult when there exists traffic or climbing concerns. Much of the western route came from Preston Hunt’s site http://prestonhunt.com/raam/ or advice from members of GEARS http://www.eugenegears.org/index.htm.

Midwest;

We have not specifically mapped Iowa to Ohio. We do not think it needs to be either because; a.) there are many options for roads ( this part of America is where Thomas Jefferson’s survey created a basic one-mile grid road network), b.) population traffic densities make major highways ill advised for cyclists, and c.) having lived in this part of the country I know if one county/state trunk is not satisfactory simply go south or north one mile and turn east!

East;

Ohio routing was originated as stated in the overview above. Then greatly enhanced and adjusted by Ohio DOT (Sharon.Todd@dot.state.oh.us).

Pennsylvania was a big issue. We have heard that secondary roads compound the already steep grades in the Allegheny’s. So we selected a combination of rail-trail and Penn DOT recommendations. Delaware is not entirely routed as of this writing.

Oregon Reedsport to Eugene