My Tentative Bike Route Across USA

This is my planned bike route I am taking across the United States this summer. It is subject to change at any given moment due to a variety of reasons like weather or road construction etc…

I will be leaving on May 12th from Boston Pennsylvania (right outside Pittsburgh) heading eastbound on the Great Allegheny Passage (GAP) trail. This trail goes from Pittsburgh Pennsylvania to Cumberland Maryland. It has a steady 2% grade uphill most of the way but is on a rail to trails network and little to no sharing the route with cars. There is mostly free water and camping for hikers and bikers along this route. It is approximately 150 miles long.

Here is a pic-map of the GAP route:

From Cumberland MD I hop on the C&O Canal Trail still heading eastbound to Georgetown DC. This route is about 185 miles long and basically down hill all the way at a slow grade. The camping and water etc.. is the same as the GAP trail for the most part, only more it seems. This section will take me through Harpers Ferry WV where I received my high school diploma, started trade school and hiked through twice while on the Appalachian trail. It is one of my childhood memory spots and a favorite.

I hope to arrive in Georgetown DC on the evening of May 17th. Addie, my wife, will then pick me up and we will drive to Damascus Virginia for the Trail Days Event.

Here is a pic-map of the C&O Canal route:

Damascus Virginia is where the Appalachian Trail Days Event is held every year. This year it begins on May 18th-20th. I intend to arrive late night on the 17th or early morning the 18th. Addie and I will stay until the 19th mid afternoon Saturday. We will watch the parade then drive back to our home in Pennsylvania.

Here are some pics of past trail day events:

 

Once home from trail days I will assess my gear and inspect my bike thoroughly. I will tweak or adjust things as needed before heading out a few days later on the main cross America section of my journey.

Around May 21st-25th (the first day Addie is available to drive me) I will head to Belpre Ohio to hop on the American Discovery Trail (ADT). From there I will head westbound to St. Louis Mo where I change trails again. This section is about 571 miles.

Here is a pic-map of the ADT section I will be riding along:

A good friend of mine is hoping to ride with me through the 256 miles of Ohio section (Belpre to Elizabethtown) seen here:

Once I arrive in St. Louis MO I will leave the ADT and join with Historic Route 66 which is now a bike route. This route starts in Chicago although I will be starting it in St. Louis MO. It goes all the way to Santa Monica Pier in Los Angeles CA. My ride from Belpre OH to Santa Monica CA is going to be roughly 3000 miles!

Here is a pic-map of bike route 66 showing the whole route:

I cannot be certain of when I will arrive in Santa Monica CA or any town along the way at this moment. On average people take around 33-66 days to make this trip depending  on road conditions, weather, and reroutes etc… Once I start riding I will be able to give a somewhat accurate time line of where I will be each week and what towns I am going through. I will be posting regular on my website- fixedbydoc.com, YouTube- FixedByDoc OffGrid, and twitter- FixedByDoc, updates as I have cellular and WiFi service.

Here are the links where I will be posting:
Website: https://fixedbydoc.com/
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCZcw-7xex-c8c-swiJZuTIg
Twitter: https://twitter.com/FixedByDoc

If someone is interested in whether I will be heading through your town just leave me a comment or private message. Let me know what town you are in and I will let you know if I go through or near it and approximately when. If you want to meet up I can let you know when I get closer as to the exact time I will be passing through. I will just need your phone number.

Thanks for stopping by and your support! 🙂