I have been a voyeur at EBR since I retired in 2021 and bought an ebike, Specialized Turbo Vado sl 5.0. I have since given that bike to my niece, as I am contemplating a new adventure, and for various reasons I know the VADO would not work for me. Has anyone ridden The Great American Wheel Route? It’s a route put together a few years ago for a race that would maximize rail trails and back roads, and minimize large towns and auto traffic. I don’t intend to compete, just follow the route at a slow pace. My plan would be to ride an ebike, starting in Seattle in early June and ride my bike to the eastern seaboard, exact destination undetermined at this time. I have committed four months to the journey. I would welcome the input of the EBR community to help me plan all the components of this grand adventure. I’ve already done some of the Rail Trails (Katy, Mickelson, GAP and C&O) but nothing more than 7 consecutive days and nothing through the wilderness or over steep mountain passes. I'm open for questions, suggestions, ideas and comments.
Touring - Planning a long journey
- Thread starter pem
- Start date
6zfshdb
Well-Known Member
- Region
- USA
- City
- Northeast Pennsylvania
Are you bikepacking & camping or staying at hotels?
Are you riding with a group or shadow riding with a vehicle?
Lots of advance planning will be required to eliminate places that are not e-bike friendly.
How do you plan on charging batteries?
Adding this information will help us give you more specific information.
Welcome to the forum and keep us posted with your planning.
Are you riding with a group or shadow riding with a vehicle?
Lots of advance planning will be required to eliminate places that are not e-bike friendly.
How do you plan on charging batteries?
Adding this information will help us give you more specific information.
Welcome to the forum and keep us posted with your planning.
Thanks for responding. I will be bikepacking and intend to do both camping and some lodging. I've budgeted for up to 45 nights of lodging, with the balance of nights in fee or free campsites. It will be a solo, self-supported ride; no sag. I will have to develop a hunting dog's scent for public outlets and be smart about when to seek out hotel/motels. What do you mean by "places that are not e-bike friendly"?
6zfshdb
Well-Known Member
- Region
- USA
- City
- Northeast Pennsylvania
I transport my e-bike all over the east coast riding mostly rail & canal trails. I gave up camping years ago and now stay in hotels. Some I frequent regularly now have "no E-bikes or batteries in room" signs posted. I always comply with a posted sign but otherwise use a don't ask don't tell policy. If I ask, I'm almost always told no. To get around this, I carry multiple batteries and charge in vehicle when possible. Obviously, this isn't an option for you. To further complicate the issue, I have heard of, but not personally seen, campgrounds with similar restrictions. However, I found these restrictions to be far less common in campgrounds than hotels. They are also less common in rural locations than in larger cities.
It isn't always possible to know in advance where these e-bike unfriendly hotels & campgrounds are. This prohibition is rarely posted when booking online. If you try and call to ask about e-bikes, you will most likely be told they aren't permitted.
One trick I use is to book motels with outside room doors. If I don't see a sign, I'll "smuggle" the bike and or batteries into the room. It's not so easy to do this in hotels with interior hallways. I also carry an extension cord for situations where it is possible (and permitted) to charge just outside the room. I also make my bike as stealthy as possible around these places. I use panniers and stuff bags to cover parts that make it obvious it's an e-bike. No sense in drawing attention if it can be avoided.
In my bikepacking days, I used to scope out my route using Google Earth and make waypoints for possible charging locations. Town parks with bandstands or gazebos sometimes have AC outlets. With the popularity of EV's now, some here are using adapters at EV charging stations. This is problematic though since it is necessary to carry several different adapters. It also ties up a charging station which can aggravate EV owners. On a few occasions, I've given a gas station owner a couple of bucks to let me charge while I go across the street for a bite to eat. The same could be done at a bike shop.
Some bike trails have installed charging stations for e-bikes. The GAP, one of the trails you mentioned, is my favorite and now has chargers along it's length. Pine Creek in PA and the WMRT in Maryland also have them. You may find others along your route that have them as well.
I quickly discovered that "charging anxiety" could be avoided by simply carrying enough battery for a full days ride. 100 miles is my limit, and I could easily do this by carrying one or two extra batteries. That way, all charging can be done wherever you spend the night. I found it helpful to carry two chargers to avoid having to charge while sleeping.
Some bikepackers use "seeding" by mailing clothing, food, etc to places along the route. Friends, relatives and even UPS stores can be used to do this. Not so much an option for batteries though.
There are many more bikepacking tricks out there. do a little searching on the forum and you'll find a wealth of information.
Good Luck!
Lots of good information. Thank you. As I prioritize the likely challenges, battery recharging, mechanical problems and weather are my top three. Regarding battery charging, I spend a lot of time each day studying 50 mile route segments. Your daily mileage max is much higher than mine. I will be delighted to get 50 mile days. Of course, I may have to ride up to 100 miles in a handful of spots to get to the next outlet. I go back and forth between the RideGps 2025 GAWR route map and Google maps. I’m building a spreadsheet of all identifiable outlet sources in each 50 mile segment (town parks, rec centers, pools, libraries, volunteer fire stations, Starbucks, McDonalds, gas stations, convenience stores, rv parks, hotels, motels restaurants). I don’t do this for towns of significant size as I will likely grab a hotel there (being mindful now of “less friendly” inns). I also won’t need to do this once I get to the GAP, as I have already ridden the GAWR route from the GAP to DC. The recharging challenges will be the greatest in western Washington, throughout Montana, and southern South Dakota (end of Mickelson Trail) to Valentine, Nebraska. After that, towns come up every 20-30 miles which will make charging more of a daily chore and less of a big challenge. Hopefully, someday there will be a good solar option, as I do expect to have plenty of sunshine! Perhaps the data I gather pre-ride and during my tour will be useful to other cross-country ebike riders. It has helped my anxiety re battery recharging to recognize that there will be sections that I will have to ride without battery assist. I hope to continue to reckon with that likelihood on my winter/spring training rides, on my very heavy analog bike. One of my mantras is: “sometimes it’s nice to stretch one’s legs and hike a bike”. Choosing the right bike is crucial. It needs to be strong enough to carry the load, powerful enough to get the load over steep mountain passes and light enough for me to walk it, or unpack it to move/carry it over obstacles.
The second “challenge”, remote trailside mechanical problems, is one I have not yet strategized successfully. My other multi-day tours were on well supported rail trails where a trailhead, shuttle, Uber, or passing helpful cyclist was generally never far away. I won’t have that cushion through much of the first 2000 miles. Any tips/ideas?
The second “challenge”, remote trailside mechanical problems, is one I have not yet strategized successfully. My other multi-day tours were on well supported rail trails where a trailhead, shuttle, Uber, or passing helpful cyclist was generally never far away. I won’t have that cushion through much of the first 2000 miles. Any tips/ideas?
Curious what area of the country are you from? I've done some few day rides, nothing extreme with max distance in a day of 73 miles and had ~30% left on a Yamaha 400wh battery but it depends on route and weather conditions. I did walk some on a long (miles) steep section, the bike didn't have walk assist activated by the manufacturer and pushing a loaded bike on a hot day was an unpleasant chore. I don't think I'd want to tour on a bike without walk assist feature again.
dblhelix
Well-Known Member
Hi. I attempted (only 52% complete at the time) this route in 2021. I am from the DC area, but started in La Push, WA, with home as the end goal. The largely completed portion between DC and Weirton, WVA is something I've done 10+ times as it is local.
There have been improvements/additions since then. At the start, I was negotiating loggers in some parts of the ODT as the bike trails come along, segment by segment. I think the trails are close to fully implemented now. At the time, I carried 4x500w Bosch PowerPacks + a 110W solar panel on a trailer, so I did not experience charging issues until the eastern half of the PCTC. The western side (up to Snoqualmie Tunnel) is easy, passing thru tourist traps areas like North Bend. East of the Columbia River, this trail gets remote. The Beverly bridge has since been completed. A few observations. Loved the state park (Wanapum) on the western bank of the Columbia, right before Beverly. Beverly and further east gets a bit hardscrabble here and there. I remember registering online to get a combination to the locks on periodic gates ... not all of them unlocked. It was a hassled to unload/unhitch to get past them. Also, I seem to recall signing in at an unattended booth and asserting citizenship to cross portions of the Yakima Training Center. Given the current climate, I would research to anticipate changes.
So, locks that would not open, sections of trail that went to nowhere w/ backtracking required (battery!), homeless encampments and 'infrastructure' that no longer exists were features along the way. For example, in Rosalia, I found a city park with camping sites, but the pedestals had been pulled out of the ground. I was told the city was getting rid of camping due to yahoos from Spokane tearing up the place on weekends. OTOH, it looks like it is allowed now with reservations in advance. I loved the site in Ralston. Camping was not a thing back then, so my unofficial sleeping on the grass was sprinkler-interrupted. I found an outlet on a pole nearby. Looks like they welcome campers now.
Eastern WA sets the tone for the entire way. Research, research, research, and do not assume nothing has changed. The small towns are mostly agricultural. Many public outlets are locked off. If not explicitly available for public charging, I ask the city and offer to pay when businesses are non-existent/unavailable. In one town in Idaho (and off-trail excursion) my formula for finding camping at a county-seat fairground failed. No lodging in town. I called the city, and they gave me permission to camp in their city park with bathroom access, electric, and most important: instructed the local police to leave me alone. The city stated explicitly that I was accorded this hospitality because I asked instead of making myself welcome to their resources. Price of electric is spiking everywhere, so I'd be even more mindful now.
Idaho panhandle section is back to the world of finished bike trail w? bike shops, tourists etc. Lovely scenery, wonderful people, new business were springing up to take advantage of the bike traffic.
Montana - challenging, which goes for all of the mountain west. The trail sections are dominated by ATVs which go fast and do not expect you. Many portions are rutted due to this use and barely bike-navigable. Outside of major areas like Missoula, Bozeman, etc, I bought bear spray and started talking to locals about where to camp/overnight. Everybody seems to know/track bear sightings "oh, there's one that comes down for the cherries getting thrown out every night back here" so I relied heavily on local tips. This will be the first state where you start to customize your route to compensate for lack of trail.
WY - hopeless. I don't even understand how they will implement the trail as planned given the lack of pre-existing rail in the proposed areas. There are long stretches without any services at all. In past trips, I managed sections like this in NV/UT up to 150 miles, but this exceeded my capabilities. I'm talking about the section that drops south for a while before you head east again. I took advantage of a truck ride for part of it. Also, once you hit Cheyenne and points east, you are fighting wind all the way into Western Nebraska. You can't even roll down a hill. If I were to do this again, I would really carefully plan from Yellowstone to the Cowboy Trail in NE.
The Cowboy Trail is always a mixed bag, research before you go. Trestle detours, goats heads; you'll be jumping on the paved road as needed. Once you hit Omaha, and Pottawattamie County, Iowa, you are golden. For the non-trail portions of Iowa, well, you have 99 counties, each with county parks set up for camping with amenities. Expect a lot of RVs. I love Iowa, people are so nice.
The eastern half of the US is much easier except for sections of Appalachia, but nothing that is not manageable. Feel free to ask questions and jog my memory.
There have been improvements/additions since then. At the start, I was negotiating loggers in some parts of the ODT as the bike trails come along, segment by segment. I think the trails are close to fully implemented now. At the time, I carried 4x500w Bosch PowerPacks + a 110W solar panel on a trailer, so I did not experience charging issues until the eastern half of the PCTC. The western side (up to Snoqualmie Tunnel) is easy, passing thru tourist traps areas like North Bend. East of the Columbia River, this trail gets remote. The Beverly bridge has since been completed. A few observations. Loved the state park (Wanapum) on the western bank of the Columbia, right before Beverly. Beverly and further east gets a bit hardscrabble here and there. I remember registering online to get a combination to the locks on periodic gates ... not all of them unlocked. It was a hassled to unload/unhitch to get past them. Also, I seem to recall signing in at an unattended booth and asserting citizenship to cross portions of the Yakima Training Center. Given the current climate, I would research to anticipate changes.
So, locks that would not open, sections of trail that went to nowhere w/ backtracking required (battery!), homeless encampments and 'infrastructure' that no longer exists were features along the way. For example, in Rosalia, I found a city park with camping sites, but the pedestals had been pulled out of the ground. I was told the city was getting rid of camping due to yahoos from Spokane tearing up the place on weekends. OTOH, it looks like it is allowed now with reservations in advance. I loved the site in Ralston. Camping was not a thing back then, so my unofficial sleeping on the grass was sprinkler-interrupted. I found an outlet on a pole nearby. Looks like they welcome campers now.
Eastern WA sets the tone for the entire way. Research, research, research, and do not assume nothing has changed. The small towns are mostly agricultural. Many public outlets are locked off. If not explicitly available for public charging, I ask the city and offer to pay when businesses are non-existent/unavailable. In one town in Idaho (and off-trail excursion) my formula for finding camping at a county-seat fairground failed. No lodging in town. I called the city, and they gave me permission to camp in their city park with bathroom access, electric, and most important: instructed the local police to leave me alone. The city stated explicitly that I was accorded this hospitality because I asked instead of making myself welcome to their resources. Price of electric is spiking everywhere, so I'd be even more mindful now.
Idaho panhandle section is back to the world of finished bike trail w? bike shops, tourists etc. Lovely scenery, wonderful people, new business were springing up to take advantage of the bike traffic.
Montana - challenging, which goes for all of the mountain west. The trail sections are dominated by ATVs which go fast and do not expect you. Many portions are rutted due to this use and barely bike-navigable. Outside of major areas like Missoula, Bozeman, etc, I bought bear spray and started talking to locals about where to camp/overnight. Everybody seems to know/track bear sightings "oh, there's one that comes down for the cherries getting thrown out every night back here" so I relied heavily on local tips. This will be the first state where you start to customize your route to compensate for lack of trail.
WY - hopeless. I don't even understand how they will implement the trail as planned given the lack of pre-existing rail in the proposed areas. There are long stretches without any services at all. In past trips, I managed sections like this in NV/UT up to 150 miles, but this exceeded my capabilities. I'm talking about the section that drops south for a while before you head east again. I took advantage of a truck ride for part of it. Also, once you hit Cheyenne and points east, you are fighting wind all the way into Western Nebraska. You can't even roll down a hill. If I were to do this again, I would really carefully plan from Yellowstone to the Cowboy Trail in NE.
The Cowboy Trail is always a mixed bag, research before you go. Trestle detours, goats heads; you'll be jumping on the paved road as needed. Once you hit Omaha, and Pottawattamie County, Iowa, you are golden. For the non-trail portions of Iowa, well, you have 99 counties, each with county parks set up for camping with amenities. Expect a lot of RVs. I love Iowa, people are so nice.
The eastern half of the US is much easier except for sections of Appalachia, but nothing that is not manageable. Feel free to ask questions and jog my memory.
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