USA Coast to Coast - Solo cycle ride 

Thanks, you too!

@@joelbookhammer7893 Hey! Good to hear from you! Hope all is good? … Really enjoyed the GAP!👍

⁠​⁠@@jasonrees7434all is good! Going to be doing the trail again in the autumn this time my brother will be joining me.

Thanks! I'm really glad you liked it!🙂

Do it!! 👍😃

Yep, the Mickelson was one of my favourites! 👍

Yeah, I wasn’t expecting zero punctures!!🙂 Big shout out to the Schwalbe Marathon Almotion tyres! 🙏 … fast and robust!!👍

@@davidkalvelage360 Great to meet you guys too! I really enjoyed the GAP!

@@evanlouis8853 OK… I’ll try and answer… Yep, hotels every night - I need good sleep! I’d planned the route knowing I wanted to use hotels/cabins/b&bs, and it worked out fine (c. $80/night avg). 42 days cycling + 3 rest/travel days. Food was fine - a lot of gas stations! 😁

@evanlouis8853 70 year old here, retired 2016, and cycle toured across the U.S. twice, once across EU since then. Using Adventure Cycling Association (ACA) maps for Northern Tier route, and the Southern Tier route. This trip is very manageable and safe. People are helpful and friendly when you're traveling by bike. I camped out most of the way, and stayed in hotels sometimes ($80-$150 per night). Food, water, camping, is easy in most areas. Average 60 miles per day. Don't over plan, over train, or worry. Pack light, one change of clothes, light gear, puff jacket, rain jacket, baseball hat. My gear weight is 18 pounds without food and water. Happy trails!☮

@@Mike-vd2qt thanks for the input. I’m hoping you can answer a couple questions for me. Do you know the total weight of your bike and gear? Did you use front and rear panniers? Thanks again.

@@evanlouis8853 My bike was a Surly Long Haul Trucker, 35 pounds with racks and fenders (too heavy). I used front and rear Tubus racks with Arkel panners. My base gear weight was only 20 pounds, total weight I did not check (about 55 lbs totl). The Surly Trucker is too heavy and stiff for a U.S. tour where you do not need to carry a lot of weight. Today I would use a gravel bike with hydraulic disc brakes, 1x12 gearing, no fenders. 1 person free standing tent, pad, 3 season bag, small backpacking stove. For panniers today on a U.S. tour or EU, I use Revelate Designs Nano Panniers, very light weight, total volume capacity is 40L for four bags, plus top of rack for tent etc.. I use Tumbleweed Chromoly racks front and rear (small and light). That is plenty of space for tours in the U.S. or EU. Skip the fenders for several reasons, use tubeless tires and take one spare tube for backup. Insta is, mikehikebike for photos of trips. ☮

No problem. I flew to Seattle, assembled my bike in the airport, took a train to Olympia, then rode to Aberdeen, Quinault Lake, and on to La Push. It took about 4 days to get there. There aren’t many travel options to get to La Push.

I've added a link to the description to a bunch of GPX files I used in planning the route. (I made a few changes in the trip, but didn't modify the files...)

@@evanlouis8853 I started at the end of April. I think that was really a bit too early… I had freezing temps on the west coast and 95F+ on the east. Are you rescheduling?

@@evanlouis8853 I started at the end of April. I think that was really a bit too early… I had freezing temps on the west coast and 95F+ on the east. Are you rescheduling?

@@jasonrees7434 Long story. I'm 67 and have wanted to do this trip for a long time. I have sleep apnea and need to bring along a cpap and butteries if I am going to camp. I bought all my gear, including camping gear, and it was so heavy that I bought a trailer. I put everything together about 10 days before I was to fly into seattle and I took a test run. I ended up straining a couple of muscles...one in my groin and the other along the side of my hip. The a heat wave came in and it was supposed to reach the mid to upper 90s in seattle and the norther areas. I bailed on my trip. I still want to do it, but now I am considering a credit card trip...not carrying camping stuff or cooking stuff. And I'm wondering how feasible that is. Thanks for your reply.

@evanlouis8853 Apologies, just saw your next questions and problem with heat. I started the Northern Tier from Anacortes, WA on June 1. I had one morning of light snow in Glacier Nat'l Park, and some rain in Whitefish, MT around June 18. Otherwise great weather, but did dodge a few rain storms in MT crossing the plains. Stayed in motels those nights. I also rode half of the GDMBR with some friends, much harder then a road tour, but no traffic and very remote in areas. I've done a lot of backpacking so my gear carry is based on that experience at 18-20 pounds maximum. Eg. one change of clothes, puffy and rain jacket, tent 2.5 lbs, bag 1.2 lbs, sleep pad 12 oz, JetBoil stove for coffee, one pair trail running shoes for flat pedals on bike. Navigate with phone and maps, road tours no need for GPS, or InReach. People carry too much stuff which makes life on the bike more difficult. Tools: 1 tube, patch kit, Allen key set, two extra spokes for rear wheel, no need for cables, brake pads, extra tires, etc. Good luck, happy trails.