The Route

Somehow I am finding it hard to justify spending $120 on maps from the Adventure Cycling Association for my route across the US. The budget for this trip will be extremely tight- I may have enough to spend one night in a hotel but that's it. Several hours worth of googling came to fruition when I stumbled upon a southern route mapped out on google earth! Free.99 hell yes.

Damn you, Oceans.

I haven't figured out a way to post a link to the actual google earth file yet, but you can click on the picture to see it better. I also need to figure out how to measure the routes.. All together I'm guessing about 6,600 miles. The Atlantic leg from Virginia is turning out to be about 975 miles long- longer than I thought. And in February will probably be colder than I think. The entire bike route will go through many major cities along the way (Tallahassee, New Orleans, Houston, Austin, Phoenix, San Diego etc..) and I'm hoping I can at least shoe horn my way through the most crowded areas, if not I can always skirt around them, and I'm hoping the coast will be mostly tourist free during the winter.

And also, thanks to the Adventure Damascus bike shop and "yard sale Larry" for the free bottle cages!

I still need a few key items before I can say that I'm ready to leave in Feb: My handlebars are still waiting to be ordered by the bike shop in Abingdon, I need some sort of cycling computer to track mileage, waterproof shoes of some kind (Keen?), rain shell pants, armadillo tires, a small dry sack, extra spokes and.... probably a few other things I won't think about until I've already left.
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The leaves are already changing in the higher elevations up near Mt. Rogers and the spirit of fall is here now- that ancient feeling that you hope you've stockpile enough nuts and berries to last you through the winter. It is a sense much like that of preparing to settle into a deep sleep at the end of a long day, and yet there is an urgency in the cold winds that will soon bring the forest into its annual quiescence.