Pretty positive I am going to end up with a hybrid Cross Country Route. The base for the start is going to be the Heartland America Route by Neil Hanson. Sections of the American Discovery Trail look appealing, but this route doesn’t seem to be super complete, and more research is going to be needed.
The route from Annapolis to Cape Henlopen is possible but there is also a very well documented ride from Kent Island to Ocean City by a local cycling group who rides it one to two times a year.
Adventure Cycling Association will certainly be the other resource that I lean on heavily for planning. Quickly I learned that not all routes were available in a paper map format. It was my hope to use paper for planning and the information they provide. Ultimately transferring them to gpx files for the actual route and ride. For now I am going to use RideWIthGPS for planning purposes and explore Komoot which has come highly recommended in a touring Facebook group I am a member of.
Sunday, I downloaded my first set of GPX files for the route planning from Adventure Cycling. Sections were downloaded from:
Then as a test I uploaded a set of GPX files to RideWithGPS. What was initially disappointing is that the route amenities, such as food, lodging and bicycle shops aren’t here. Hopefully with a little deeper digging they will be there. Somewhere I thought I read that they would be. The paper maps have them, which would be a huge timesaver for research.
After barely getting started I realized that a Route Excel Document will be super essential. It will contain all of the reference information that will be needed along the way, turn by turn directions, lodging, food, bicycle stores and likely things I haven’t thought of yet. Bringing the RV will add a whole additional set of information needed.
While adding a layer or two of complexity, having the RV along will be a huge asset for so many reasons. Likely making other components of the trip easier to plan. The RV wouldn’t be used as a follow vehicle per se. Amanda will go off and explore on her own, meeting me along the way. Being able to explore areas together and share this adventure is one of the things that attracts me to the concept of the RV.
Looking forward to digging into the planning more.
