The Great Race

[DOC BOLM]

Dale just called me and said you will need to transport the bikes through large citys like la etc.Drivers in big citys will run over you.There are very few side roads.HD

 

[DOC BOLM]

google coast to coast bike trails there is a lot of them.HD

 

[Brains]

Good information Doc, I am leaning towards trying to see exactly what is entailed by simply doing the Route 66, I have been told it pretty much can be all done, with only a few rough patches of road & the traffic conditions are superb for MB.

I have to check this out more thoroughly though

Cheers

Brains

 

[lennyharp]

This Year RAAM leaves Oceanside CA and goes to Annapolis MD. Route Description The course has a low of 102 ft at Brawley, CA and a high of 8205 ft at Eagles Nest, NM and covers 3021 miles. Some peddle powered records for ultra marathon cycling are here.

When I went it was from Huntington Beach CA to Atlantic City NJ. It is traditionally done west to east with the prevailing winds. Different routes have different degrees of difficulty, for instance our route went thru Vail CO and then over Loveland Pass at 11,990 ft (3,650 m). We went thru Las Vegas, St Louis at the Mississippi River, Philedelphia and lots more. The bicycle rider who won slept between 1 and 2 hours a day and rode 22 or more hours, doing almost everything from the bike. The record is about 8 days 3 hours. I am not a fan of that extreme of a crossing but more of a rally than a race would make it more sane. I might be interested in a repete crossing, with me riding this time.

RAAM
2305 Canyon Blvd, Suite #103
Boulder, CO 80302
Phone: 866-460-4288 or 303-956-7226
Fax: 303-317-3246


[email protected] route info, I will see if they will share their research as they do ride every mile of the crossing. They have done this I believe every year since 1982 and have various routes with the current one being researched that year. Construction can always mess a route up from year to year.

 

[Brains]

Hi LennyHarp,

Some mighty information you have posted, I was thinking of more of a rally actually, that way I reckon we would get more people who would participate in the event, riders could jump on for as long as they like, be it half a day, full day or whatever.

One of my mates has given me a DVD about the Long Way Around, he reckons it would be good to watch it, to get an idea of what they went through to get organized, though what we are tying to attempt to do is by no means on the same scale of their magnificent venture, but all in all our rally would still be cool thing to do, and especially if we can get heaps of riders joining along as we travel

Cheers

Brains

 

[thatsdax]

I would love to do that !! I guess we could stop at the NY state line and say we still made it to NY. Just not into NY. If I can not make the run since I have wife and kids to be with and support, I might be interested in supporting someone with a Titan setup to keep and use for the Ride.. I am sure I could do it on my recumbent and pull a trailer with Tent and supplies... It would drop my mileage down to 110mpg or so and wear my tire. Something to consider, once you get to the end of the ride, you realize it just started since you do have to get back home.. But.. I must say.. I can not think of a better way to see the country than traveling the back roads of the USA. If we could avearage 20mph, we could knock out 200 miles in a day.. That is high I know.. But.. Then the ride would only take 10 days... No .. Wait.. How far is that? That is closer to 3000 miles.. or? Wow !! Might wear a tire out on that ride.. At any rate.. I would love to do something like that.. What a dream and a blast !!!

 

[mabman]

Here is a well mapped route that has been in use for years: TransAmerica Trail - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

 

[lennyharp]

I emailed Peter from RAAM and he does the route planning for them. He brings up a few interesting points and his 24 year involvement is continuous and started in 1985, the year after I crewed for Jim Elliott. Here are a few things he said I thought you all might want to consider...

You can have the 2009 RAAM route in all its splendor by downloading the directions and maps from the web. The version posted there now is very close to what we'll use in June - if we don't find any roads closed for stimulating construction between now and then. While most of the route is open for moped-type vehicles we still use some 30 miles of I-10 shoulder to cross the Colorado River and get to the first connecting through highway in Arizona from which you would be banned without special approval from both states. RAAM also involves over 180,000 feet of climbing, most of which is east of the Mississippi.

Were I in your position I'd use any, or all, of the mapping software packages to plan your trip rather than the RAAM route. You will probably want to be using GPS to stay on the route anyway so you'll have to get into the game sooner or later. All the many companies who have jumped on the GPS bandwagon have software for telling their gadgets where you want to go and what kind of roads you like. Some will even give you elevation profiles to let you know what you're up against.

If you want a route that is within the motor's capacity you can stay south. Why must you go from LA to NYC? Sure, you want it to be a media event but why deal with all that anger and traffic? RAAM 92 was our shortest and easiest route, Irvine to Savannah....

 

[lennyharp]

The Bikecentennial route is a great one. Drugs interfered in my plans to do that trip in 1976. Below is the one used last year and this in RAAM. Again the course starts at Oceanside California and ends at Annapolis Maryland

NAME TS(mi)/(km) So Far(mi)/(km) Elev(Ft)/(M)
TS 01: Lake Henshaw, CA 54.7/87.9 54.7/87.9 2757.0/840.3
TS 02: Brawley, CA 88.6/142.6 143.3/230.5 -101.7/-31.0
TS 03: Blythe, CA 89.6/144.2 232.9/374.7 269.0/82.0
TS 04: Salome, AZ 61.1/98.2 293.9/472.9 1864.0/568.1
TS 05: Congress, AZ 52.6/84.6 346.5/557.6 3049.7/929.5
TS 06: Prescott, AZ 50.4/81.1 396.9/638.6 5458.8/1663.8
TS 07: Cottonwood, AZ 41.2/66.4 438.2/705.0 3346.8/1020.1
TS 08: Flagstaff, AZ 53.3/85.7 491.4/790.7 6840.1/2084.9
TS 09: Tuba City, AZ 72.0/115.8 563.4/906.5 4825.1/1470.7
TS 10: Kayenta, AZ 71.8/115.6 635.2/1022.1 5712.8/1741.3
TS 11: Mexican Hat, UT 44.6/71.8 679.8/1093.9 4181.0/1274.4
TS 12: Montezuma Creek, UT 39.6/63.7 719.4/1157.6 4462.2/1360.1
TS 13: Cortez, CO 50.1/80.7 769.6/1238.3 6166.4/1879.5
TS 14: Durango, CO 44.7/72.0 814.3/1310.2 6474.9/1973.5
TS 15: Pagosa Springs, CO 70.1/112.8 884.4/1423.0 7619.1/2322.3
TS 16: Chama, NM 50.1/80.6 934.5/1503.6 7782.0/2372.0
TS 17: Antonito, CO 49.0/78.8 983.5/1582.5 7900.4/2408.0
TS 18: Taos, NM 60.9/97.9 1044.4/1680.4 6975.2/2126.0
TS 19: Eagle Nest, NM 53.1/85.5 1097.5/1765.9 8205.1/2500.9
TS 20: Springer, NM 43.2/69.4 1140.7/1835.3 5971.3/1820.1
TS 21: Clayton,NM 88.8/142.8 1229.4/1978.1 5055.8/1541.0
TS 22: Elkhart, KS 82.3/132.5 1311.8/2110.6 3628.5/1106.0
TS 23: Plains, KS 82.4/132.5 1394.1/2243.1 2759.1/841.0
TS 24: Greensburg, KS 77.7/125.0 1471.8/2368.1 2234.1/681.0
TS 25: Pratt, KS 31.9/51.4 1503.7/2419.5 1865.6/568.6
TS 26: Colwich, KS 72.9/117.3 1576.6/2536.8 1383.6/421.7
TS 27: El Dorado, KS 38.1/61.4 1614.8/2598.1 1351.7/412.0
TS 28: Yates Center, KS 64.5/103.8 1679.3/2701.9 1105.8/337.0
TS 29: Ft Scott, KS 59.0/95.0 1738.3/2796.9 796.5/242.8
TS 30: Weaubleau, MO 66.3/106.6 1804.5/2903.5 980.5/298.9
TS 31: Camdenton, MO 49.1/78.9 1853.6/2982.4 1023.8/312.1
TS 32: Jefferson City, MO 58.5/94.1 1912.1/3076.5 617.1/188.1
TS 33: Washington, MO 75.7/121.8 1987.8/3198.3 546.9/166.7
TS 34: Mississippi River 72.2/116.1 2059.9/3314.4 416.2/126.9
TS 35: Greenville, IL 46.0/74.0 2105.9/3388.5 527.4/160.8
TS 36: Effingham, IL 50.2/80.8 2156.2/3469.2 593.8/181.0
TS 37: Sullivan, IN 74.2/119.4 2230.3/3588.6 457.5/139.4
TS 38: Bloomington, IN 65.1/104.7 2295.4/3693.3 790.7/241.0
TS 39: Greensburg, IN 63.2/101.6 2358.5/3794.9 946.5/288.5
TS 40: Oxford, OH 49.7/80.0 2408.3/3874.9 895.6/273.0
TS 41: Blanchester, OH 50.3/81.0 2458.6/3955.9 964.6/294.0
TS 42: Chillicothe, OH 58.1/93.5 2516.7/4049.4 604.4/184.2
TS 43: Athens, OH 59.1/95.1 2575.8/4144.5 613.9/187.1
TS 44: Ellenboro, WV 66.6/107.1 2642.4/4251.7 802.9/244.7
TS 45: Grafton, WV 64.8/104.3 2707.3/4356.0 1191.1/363.0
TS 46: Gormania, WV 44.5/71.6 2751.8/4427.6 2321.2/707.5
TS 47: La Vale, MD 46.0/74.0 2797.8/4501.6 974.4/297.0
TS 48: Hancock, MD 43.8/70.5 2841.6/4572.1 424.6/129.4
TS 49: Rouzerville, PA 48.8/78.6 2890.4/4650.7 732.1/223.1
TS 50: Hanover, PA 38.5/61.9 2928.9/4712.6 666.0/203.0
TS 51: Mt Airy, MD 38.3/61.7 2967.2/4774.3 788.7/240.4
TS 52: Odenton, MD 39.4/63.4 3006.6/4837.7 172.3/52.5
TS 53: Annapolis. MD 15.2/24.5 3021.9/4862.2 10.1/3.1

Web By eFYI | Copyright 2007 Race Across America, LLC
Race Across America
You can also get free downloads of the maps there

 

[Dan]

I really like the rally idea. Have the last 100 yards to race in maybe timed heats? For tents, supplies and spare parts, I was thinking a van leapfrogging riders. Dunno, just thinking out loud.

 

[Bikeguy Joe]

I might be interested in supporting someone with a Titan setup to keep and use for the Ride..

I wished that offer was open last year....I was trying to get a Chinese scooter company (any) to sponsor me for a coast to coast ride, and had no takers....I had magazine and book offers, and more to do if I completed the ride.

Now I have a job cleaning toilets....

 

[mabman]

A gps loaded with the route and one of these would be a good platform to use. SPOT SATELLITE MESSENGER :: HOME PAGE

The logistics of traveling across 3000 miles and the time it would take off from the rigors of keeping it realistic on a $$ scale might be too high of a goal for a first time event effort? Besides the country has been crossed already on MB's and so it is a known quantity. But I don't think anyone has circumvented the US yet........

A slightly shorter option that would still be plenty of challenge located here: Atlantic Coast Bicycle Route - Adventure Cycling Association and the mileage is still 2670. I have never heard of this being done on a MB before but it probably has.

You also can follow Rte. 101 from the Canadian border to the Mexico border and many cyclists do that route each year so it is all mapped out with good access to info on camping etc. Pacific Coast Bicycle Route - Adventure Cycling Association. It is the shortest route at 1855 thereby putting it in to the least amount of time necessary. Plus it is really a scenic route all the way with many vistas of the Pacific. I would like to think it possible to do both of these routes in the next few years personally.

 

[eDJ]

What I'd like to see is an ultra high fuel milage run with some record setting mpg numbers.
Having international participation would draw alot of attention to it also. I could see getting
World Band Radio companies like VOA/USA, RCI/Canada, BBC/UK, ABC/Radio Australia, Deutsch Wella/Germany, Radio Netherlands, SRI/Swiss, Radio Japan, and any others whose reporters would cover the story involved.

Would it be possible to get a 250 mpg bike together and run it some distance to test it's
endurance ? Could a 300 mpg barrier be broken ? Last summer when gas was $4.00 a gallon would have been perfect for capturing the news media's imagination and have the public wandering where they could get one. I can just imagine the backing that would have gotten motor bicycling as a cause.

But those days of $4.00 a gallon may return in the near future.

My question about any race across the USA is the varying displacement/horsepower/gear limit/
insurance/speed limit regualtions etc from state to state. If you travel across Ohio you'll have to
do it at 20 mph. (can you keep a support van from overheating while running that slow ? Would
an old air cooled VW van be best for that ?)

Here's a link to the states laws regarding mopeds. In Ohio a moped has to be factory built and
approved by the Ohio BMV. A motorized bicycle is considered a bicycle with a helper motor and
there are plenty of restrictions covering it.

Moped Laws 50 States

 

[mabman]

So let me get this right. You want to showcase mileage of the MAB but have a support vehicle also? Wouldn't that count against the mileage of the MAB? That kind of queers the green aspect right there, also the spirit of adventure.....I was thinking more mano y machino personally. A credit card and some gear is all that would be necessary. The Great Divide Race http://www.greatdividerace.com/pages/home.html is a prime example.

It would be a good thing for the entrants to keep track of their own fuel consumption and post as often as possible via a blog with a central blogger to keep daily updates. Using SPOT trackers allows the blog to follow the racers across the country, and also the racers to follow the racers too! It is done with the Great Divide Race now and makes it more available for the media and brings many more people in to the mix via the www..

 

[Dan]

So let me get this right. You want to showcase mileage of the MAB but have a support vehicle also? Wouldn't that count against the mileage of the MAB? That kind of queers the green aspect right there, also the spirit of adventure.....I was thinking more mano y machino personally. A credit card and some gear is all that would be necessary. The Great Divide Race Great Divide, The Original Divide Race is a prime example.

It would be a good thing for the entrants to keep track of their own fuel consumption and post as often as possible via a blog with a central blogger to keep daily updates. Using SPOT trackers allows the blog to follow the racers across the country, and also the racers to follow the racers too! It is done with the Great Divide Race now and makes it more available for the media and brings many more people in to the mix via the www..

I think a van is prudent. The weight of tents, camping gear and spare parts would have an effect on mileage and fatigue. Then the inevitable catastrophic failures and God forbid if some one gets hurt. I doubt that MBs are going to overtake interstate travel as the preferred mode of transport.

Say a rider folds a rim. The whole group stops and waits while a bike shop is found. Then repairs. The next day a piston arm breaks... Or, we call the van to pick up the stricken MB and rider and get them going again. The van could also scout ahead and secure camping for the night. The van need not follow at MB speeds but leap frog ahead of the riders.

 

[mabman]

I guess I misunderstood as the title of the thread was the Great Race and I wasn't thinking it was a group tour. That is a different story altogether.

Not sure where the interstate reference is coming from? MB's aren't and never should be allowed on them. I thought the idea was to travel secondary roads?

 

[Dan]

Yes, as in traveling from one state to another. On secondary roads, interstate. I could have worded that better. My bad mab

 

[eDJ]

I see what Mabman is saying about everyone just packing lite and going for it. Sort
of a "Gumball Rally" go for broke style scramble.

I once drove from here to visit my former neighbors who moved out near Fort C Colorado.
I drove about 2 18 hour days to get there and probably averaged 75 mph on the trip.
That was about a 2000 mile trip and when I realized how wide a place the USA was.
My car was comfortable, dependable, air conditioned, with a good radio etc. When I got
there I still felt like I'd been ran over by a truck. I drove plenty of it after dark and just
missed being in a tornado in Kansas City. The lightning was just going around in circles
overhead and when the rain hit it looked like it would flash flood. I had pulled off onto a
graveled parking lot with a downhill slope figuring if it flash flooded I'd be in a higher location
risking the lightning. All this was along in mid summer.

After that was over I pulled into a truck stop to get some coffee and calm my nerves. While
there I was talking to a guy from that area who worked there telling him about my experience.
He asked where I was from and he shook his head with concern when I told him Ohio. He said
east and west coast people don't realize what you are getting into out here in the plains.
(I didn't think Ohio was east coast but he did) But he encouraged me to not to think I was as
safe and secure from the elements where I was as back home.

When I got to my friends place I was telling them about it. He said it's why they wanted me to
come at that time of the year when it was safest. Going home there were very strong winds
and I must have counted 25 tractor trailers that had blown over. It felt like the wind was
blowing me back to Ohio. I was just thankful I wasn't having to drive into it imagining the fuel
it would have cost me to fight it.

For those who haven't covered a cross country run in a car like I did, as a greenhorn, I'd
encourage them to heed my story. In that part of the world cities of any size are hundrreds of
miles appart. I could only imagine having been in the middle of nowhere in that storm trying to
ride it out in a sleeping bag with a tarp or puptent for shelter and motorized bicycle to try to run from it on. Seriously.

If there are any other members of the forum from Colorado, Kansas, Oklahoma, Iowa, Missouri or any other state in that area please offer some thoughts on this.

 

[Dan]

Mabman, is a great thought. As you said "mano y machino" alone cross country. From 15 to 18 years of age, I hitch hiked around the country. Cold, hot, wet, weeks with out a shower and days with out food. I really do miss doing crazy like that.

ZnsaneRyder's rig would be awesome for a trip like this. lots of power and cargo space. (man, I want to build one of these some day)

http://motorbicycling.com/f14/hello-znsaneryder-4724.html

 

[eDJ]

Ya know, as I thought about this I remembered something interesting to compare the idea of a cross
country run with.

I bought this book about 10 years ago titled "The Flight of the Gin Fizz". (a Library Review from Amazon is at the bottom of this) The writer studied an early effort in aviation in 1911 when a soft drink bottler Vin Fizz sponsored a stick n rag airplane to fly cross country with it's own support crew on the ground following the pilot and craft.

One evening when I was at a Captain D's fish house I noticed an older fellow walk in wearing a well worn A2 and "pinks" and carrying a small satchel with camera case. I smiled and ask if he'd been flying any and he laughed and explained that he sure had. Turned out he was from the west coast and was wanting to fly to the east coast and back. He looked to be in his late sixties or early seventies. I asked him if he had heard of the book "Gin Fizz" to which he said he hadn't. Being finished with it I told him about it as I didn't have it with me. I got his address and told him I'd mail him the book after a week or two. (providing him time to get back home) He said he always wanted to fly across the USA low and slow but it was really proving more than he thought it would be in stress and strain on him. He was flying an older tail dragger 170. He was tied down across the river at the little FBO airfield and had wanted to walk thru the town and see some of the place. I told him about the part of the town about 4 miles up the street as being the only town attacked twice in the same day in the Civil War. Once by the Union and once by the CSA later that day. That should be on his list of things he could talk about having seen on his trip. We went our ways and a week later I sent him the book and got a thank you card for the kindess I extended.

I mention this via way of support of the notion of doing something big with these HTmotors
but I wonder how far any one of these motors could travel without service. If some group
wanted to stage an enduro just running a bunch of them across Kansas, that alone be a test of men and machines. (I'll never forget my drive across Kansas....I think I crossed into it around 3am in
that storm and crossed out into Colorado near 4pm and I drove most of that around 80mph)

But it may be interesting just to set up a well preped group of HT bikes and turn them loose just to see how far they can travel on an endurance run. Those who are young enough and have the endurance could make some history and have something worthwhile to look back on and recount to
the grand kids. But they should research their trip, have a weather radio, cell phone, and some support people following with tools, parts, etc.

As for eariler intrepid young aviators:

From Library Journal

The author, a book editor for the Chicago Sun-Times, decided to enliven his middle years by learning how to fly. But he wanted an additional challenge, and when he read about the cross-country flight of C.P. Rodgers aboard the Vin Fizz in 1911, he knew he'd found it. In this book, he recounts his experiences learning how to fly (it was difficult to find an instructor willing to teach a deaf person) and buying a Cessna 150 (which he named the Gin Fizz in honor of Rodgers). He intersperses his tale with accounts of Rodgers's historic flight, giving a feeling for how aviation has remained the same and how it has changed throughout the years. The memoir includes lots of details about buying, maintaining, and flying a private airplane and an appreciation for trying something new in midlife. Recommended for popular aviation collections.