Canada to Mexico - USA touring advise needed

Hi guys,

For a few years I've been itching to do a West Coast Tour of the USA, and 2014 feels like the year. Canada to Mexico seems like the most 'epic' route, but time and logistics might suggest Portland to San Diego is more sensible (considering borders and airports etc.).

Keen cyclist as I am, I have never done any sort of touring - so this will be a baptism of fire. I have done a few MTB races, The occasional 100mile+ Road Ride and I commute about 100 miles a week, so my fitness is pretty good - But alas, I am utterly naive about distance cycling.

I must admit: until recently, my impression of a touring cyclist was a balding 60 year old, wearing socks with SPD sandals, creaking up hills at 3.5pmh on a Dawes Galaxy... Is there such a thing as a modern touring cyclist?

So to my questions...

1) Has anyone undertaken a similar sort of tour in the USA?

2) What sort of Bike could I get away with?*

3) Would it be easier to buy (and sell) a bike when I get there - rather than building one up and getting it shipped there and back?

4) Any advice whatsoever regarding camping / hostels / equipment / fighting off Bears

*I would like to be able to dump the panniers and ride some trails so a CX bike or MTB might be more suitable than a road bike

My current commuter might be suitable(?)

Thanks for any pointers

http://www.lfgss.com/thread76902-9.html#post4192900

This is highly relevant to your needs!!

http://www.lfgss.com/thread76902-9.html#post4192900

This post was deafenatly helpful, thanks.

This is highly relevant to your needs!!

This post was definitely helpful!

Buying and selling no. Buying and keeping= win.
JB is currently cycling SF to LA.
I've been dreaming of Seattle to SF for the past year, so between us we may be able to give you some semblance of a route.

You can tour on any bike. A CX bike is probably one of the most sensible options, but the market for touring (of the kind your thinking of with trails etc) has exploded recently.

Buying and selling no. Buying and keeping= win.
JB is currently cycling SF to LA.
I've been dreaming of Seattle to SF for the past year, so between us we may be able to give you some semblance of a route.
.

Sweet. What time of year did you have in mind for your trip? I was thinking early Sept might be nice

I was going to go late May, as it coincided with my holidays this year, but I can't make it over there sadly. Its on the back burner, but there's tonnes of advice on the web.

As you saw from the map and brief description on my Orlowski thread I've done the exact route (plus some extra ;) ) I'll try to answer some of your questions but tbh could talk for hours about every aspect of the trip.

Firstly Canada to Mexico is indeed an epic route and I wouldn't say it's logistically any more difficult than Portland to San Diego would be (possibly even easier)… I flew to Vancouver from London (A. I had friends there, B. It was cheaper, C. Epic) (check out http://canadianaffair.com for cheap fares - I paid £160 plus £35 for the bike).

If you're arriving in America by plane or boat you need to have an ESTA which cost $15 and must be done in advance, however if you arrive at a land border (i.e. from Canada) you just fill out the forms upon arrival and pay $6 (must be in cash) for your 90 day tourist visa. All you have to do is convince the border agent that you plan to leave the country (much easier if you have already booked your return flight i.e. San Diego to London, but not impossible if you haven't, like me)

Tijuana and San Diego sit up against each other with the USA-Mexico border in-between. You can walk (or cycle, but head for the walking entrance rather than queuing with the cars, it's way quicker) into Mexico without any kind of visa (if you want to stay longer than seven days then you need a tourist visa, obtained from the consulate in Tijuana or Ensenada, which is valid for six months. That said I was never asked for my passport or visa in two months of cycling around Mexico.) So long as your 90 day American visa hasn't expired you can re-enter America, though this will take a lot longer than entering Mexico. Mexico don't enforce their border (you just walk through a gate) but America (obv) take it pretty seriously. If you do plan to go to Mexico (further than just visiting Tijuana) let me know and I'll give you some more tips.

You're bike looks pretty perfect for that kind of trip. It looks more than capable of handling a few trails whilst still being fine on the road (which is where you'll be spending the vast majority of your time). I'd much rather have a road-orientated bike than an MTB for a trip that'll be 90%+ on the road….but I did it on a track bike and still had a blast so whatever you'll have fun riding really. For me in was no stress taking my bike there and back. I took it on both flights with me (just in a cardboard bike-box) for a small surcharge.

4) Any advice whatsoever regarding camping / hostels / equipment / fighting off Bears
It's much harder to wild camp in America than in Europe, everywhere is fenced off and people are much less forgiving about trespassing. There are state-parks all along the cost which usually have camping/showering facilities though. There's less up north (Washington State) and they charge more but in Cali they're pretty regular and give a discount if you've arrived by bike. It's usually less than $10 ($5 in Cali). Depending on your ethics/financial necessity you can often get away without paying (more details on request). I would chose State Parks over KOA (Kampgrounds of America) as they're cheaper and usually super nice locations (hence why they're state parks). I didn't stay in any (or even see many) hostels but there's motels a-plenty which are usually under $40 per night if you feel the need for a night of luxury. Most big cities will have a city mission where you can stay for free but you have to queue for a few hours and share a dorm with the down and outs who: A. don't make for the best roommates and B. probably need it more than you.

As for fighting off bears… you're more likely (don't read as unlikely) to encounter Mountain Lions and much more troublesome Racoons (little fuckers!) but basically if you don't keep your food in your tent and you're unlikely to be disturbed by anything. Campgrounds will have bear-proof lockers to keep your food in. I had bears, lions and racoons all coming to visit me in the nights and only the racoons caused me any bother as they come in groups and work together to distract you while others nick your chilli con carne and Haribo! Be warned! ha

Anything else you wanna know, just ask

Some beautiful sights you're likely to see along the way:

Absolutely brilliant advice - Just what I was after!

But another couple of questions if you don't mind - ?

• What sort of mileage per day was typical / comfortable, for riding day after day?

• What did you eat? Stuff bought from shops that are 200 miles apart?

60 miles a day, 6 day a week is a good rule of thumb for working out time frames/distances but it really depends what kind of shape you're in and what you'll enjoy (suffering vs fun). I wasn't doing that much at the start of the trip but was doing a lot more than that later on. I did stretches in Mexico where I rode over (sometimes way over) 100miles a day for a week or more straight and thoroughly enjoyed it but met other touring cyclist (in good shape) who wouldn't ride more than 50 miles per day because that's not what it was about for them.

I think the most important thing with touring is not to set (unrealistic) goals for yourself and just to go with the flow.

My staple foods were porridge, green tea and later in the trip (wish I'd done it from the start) eggs for breakfast, sandwiches during the day and quinoa with some kind of campfire curry or chilli for dinner. Supplemented by Cliff bars and Arizona ice teas, don't really know how to express my passion for those two products but trust me they're awesome! Both are sold in every grocery store, supermarket and gas station in America, both cost a buck and both come in loads of different flavours so you don't get bored. The coast route isn't so desolate that you have to stock up too much on food, there's a few bits in Oregon that feel pretty out there and Big Sur, south of SF, ain't exactly populous but I doubt you'll get your self into trouble.

While I'm here, I would highly recommend AAA (an American insurance company, there's branches in every decent sized town) maps if you can get your hands on some. They're free (to customers) but you might have to sweet-talk (in your finest British accent) the employees into giving you some. They'll let you know where the state parks are and if they have camping facilities, and, in the sparse stretches, where gas stations are.

This is getting a reboot.

2014 didn't happen but April 2015 will.

Flying out on the 15/04/2015

One thing we kept being told when we were cycling across Canada was that there is nowhere to buy food and stuff. This is down to most highways bypassing towns and villages so people don't really register that they're there. You'll probably find that at most you'll be a whole day between towns but no more than that.

We started off carrying quite a bit in spare food but ultimately we weren't eating it because we were able to buy fresh along the way which is preferable. As long as you have a single, emergency meal in the form of something dried you should be safe. In a way this is good because it draws you into the small towns to top up supplies along the way. These little communities show a very different side of Canada and America and by cycling you'll be moving slow that you get the rare opportunity to see and experience this. Generally though, we found it was a good idea to pick up lunch before setting off in the morning because that meant if you found a great stopping place you could do that instead of having to push on in search of food. More realistically is the issue of water. Unlike the UK, where almost every tap is safe to drink from, the treatment infrastructure in the US can be patchy. One of the best things we took with us was a ceramic pump filter. Strips out almost all impurities except salt and, even though we only used it 5-6 times in the three months we were travelling, we were really glad of the times we did.

Certainly I'd support the recommendation of municipal and state park campgrounds. They tend to cater more to the outdoorsy people than commercial ones which focus more on being holiday camps. The latter weren't always that keen on people taking up a pitch for just a single night. If you do find yourself too far away from a campground, there are a couple of options available to you. First is tourist information centres. They usually keep a couple of parking spots available for RVers and as a consequence aren't too bothered if you camp on a handy patch of grass at the side. In small communities, toilets are often left open through the summer months for passing traffic. In the absence of this, you can usually get away with a night at a municipal park or secluded riverbank. Try and keep well away from children's play areas, dog parks, running tracks etc. If possible ask for local advice first. Tourist info and Police are the best bet for this and don't hesitate to play the "Bumbling European" card early on. If they think you're just stopping one night and are likely to drop a bit of money at a local diner/bar then they'll probably be free with advice on the best place where you a) won't cause any trouble and b) won't receive any trouble.

This is fantastic. I've been planning a trip along these lines for this summer, and have bought a surly cross-check as my steed.
I've been trying to figure out a way to visit the east coast and tour the west in the same trip, but solutions aren't coming easily!

Are you planning on dipping into the rocky mountains at all?

Thanks for the tips Mr.Killer(!) I hadn't really thought about water purification, but I shall look into those filters.

No Rockys for me! - I only have 3 weeks to ride the whole 2000 miles, so it'll be a whistle stop tour of Portland, San Fran & whatever else interests me. I'd love to ride the Divide race along the Rocky's but that will have to wait a couple of years until I'm better tooled up.