Below is the route we followed. There were many corrections and side adventures! The formatting got a little funky copying it over.
| Day 0 | Ft. Stevens State Park – Astoria OR | 20 miles | Considering the starting point at Ft. Stevens State Park on the Pacific Coast, which adds 10 miles. Avoid Hwy 101 bridge. Take Bus 101 |
| 4/15 | Astoria OR – Kelso WA | 45 miles | Big Al Secret spotMt. St. Helens Ride right to Super 8 in Kelso WA |
| 4/16 | Kelso – Ethel | 37 miles | Narrow shoulders at times. Very slight uphill day. |
| 4/17 | Ethel-Packwood | 58 miles | Hwy 12 (good shoulders) all day. Fairly flat. |
| 4/18 | Packwood-Trout Lodge | 50 miles | Hwy 12 all day. 16-mile, 3000+ ft climb early. Yikes! |
| 4/19 | Trout Lodge-Yakima | 36 miles | Hwy 12 all day. Slight downhill. |
| 4/20 | Yakima-Othello | 83 miles | Manhattan Project National Historical Site – B ReactorStay on Hwy 24 (good shoulders) – avoid side road shortcut suggested by Google maps |
| 4/21-4/22 | Othello-Rosalia (2 days) | 118 miles | Replacement route. All paved, narrow, remote roads = OK.Go thru LaCrosse, Endicott, St. John, Pine City to Rosalia.HWY 26 |
| 4/23 | Rosalia WA -Harrison ID | 45 miles | First 30 miles on road to Plummer. Then Trail of the Coeur D’ Alenes 73 miles (most of ID) from Plummer to Mullen. Paved with trailheads.Map https://parksandrecreation.idaho.gov/wp-content/uploads/parks/trail-cda/TrailOfTheCDAsBrochureV4.pdfNo fee to use the trail. There is a fee if the vehicle enters a state park. Stop at beginning trailhead on the north side of Plummer. Next stop is Harrison, 16 miles by bike and 38 miles (55 minutes) by car. |
| 4/24 | Harrison-Wallace | 49 miles | May 2nd anniversary 1972 1 2– In WallaceTrail of Coeur D’ Alenes all day – very flat. |
| 4/25 | Wallace-St Regis MT | 50 miles53 miles | Detour for “less” climbing. Google Map Mullan ID to Taft via Northern Pacific Trail (NPT). First 11 miles is uphill until Lookout Pass Ski Area. Then downhill the rest of the day on the NP trail. Cross I-90 twice to enter Taft (area – no houses just an electic substation). At this point, take the I-90 outer road to Saltese. At Saltese exit, take 2 rights to get on Olympian Trail. Then 20 downhill miles to St. Regis. |
| 4/26 | St Regis-Arlee | 62 miles | 5 mile detourMichelangelo of Montana Churchfairly flat |
| 4/27 | Arlee-Ovando | 58 miles | 20-mile climb to start the day. REMOTE roads – pack a lunch. First 40 out miles is probably gravel. |
| 4/28 | Ovando-Silver City | 68 miles | Avoid 23 miles of (climbing) gravel. For paved (and 300’ less climbing), stay on MT 200 when leaving Lincoln. Then turn right on MT 279 (Flesher Pass Rd (max grade 7% mostly in a 5-mile climb)). |
| 4/29 | Silver City-Helena | 16 miles | Big Medicine – Stuffed White BuffaloShort & flat We could go further to make up for the last 20 miles tomorrow. B2 |
| 4/30 | Helena-GMCTownsend-WSS | 59 miles 42 miles | Last 20 miles is 3000-ft climb. The last major climb. 1 mile of gravel to cabins. |
| 5/1 | GMC-Harlowton WSS-Harlowton | 70 miles 57 miles | Downhill on US 12 all day!I’ve heard that before! B2 |
| 5/2 5/5 | Harlowton-Lavia 11 miles past Livina Junction | 46 miles | Downhill on US 12 all day!I’ve heard that before! B2 |
| SECOND 1/3 | |||
| 5/3 | Lavina-Melstone | 59 miles | Skeleton on a MotorcycleDownhill on US 12 all day! Narrow, but low traffic |
| 5/45/6 | Melstone-Forsyth | 67 miles | US 12 all day – slight morning climb then downhill again. No shoulder at times, but low traffic. |
| 5/5 | Forsyth-Miles City | 48 miles | Glendisaurus – Dinosaur StatueStart with outer road of I-94. Small 3 climbs. Cross Yellowstone River (narrow bridge, but low traffic) FUDGE! 25 miles of gravel. No good alternative (Hwy 12 joins I-90). No services. Take lunch for gravel road picnic. Narrow bridge into Miles City. |
| 5/6 | Miles City-Baker | 79 miles | Town of Joe, MontanaHwy 12 all day. No towns or services for 65 miles. Pack a lunch! |
| 5/7 | Baker MT -Scranton ND | 60 miles | Lifesize T-RexHwy 12 all day. |
| ⅝5/10 | Scranton ND-Lemmon SD | 53 miles | Noah’s BirthdayHwy 12 all day – very flat. |
| 5/9 | Lemmon-McLaughlin | 68 miles | 1 2Hwy 12 & slight downhill all day. |
| 5/10 | McLaughlin- Roscoe | 89 miles | 1 2 15+ miles of gravel to get to Hosmer (and more gravel the next few days) Major rerouting. Just stay on Hwy 12 all day. Use Google Maps McLaughlin to Roscoe on CAR mode. Still have 1 long, narrow bridge to cross MO River. |
| 5/11 | Roscoe – Aberdeen | 45 miles | Just stay on Hwy 12 all day. Downhill all day! |
| 5/125/14 | Aberdeen – SummitWebster SD | 73 miles | Just stay on Hwy 12 all day. Flat-long uphill. |
| 5/15SUNDAY | Webster SD-Ortonville MN | 76 miles | Just stay on Hwy 12 all day. Ignore Google “Shortcuts”. Downhill then extreme flat. |
| Hwy 9 thru Sibley State Park to New London. Then Glacier Lakes State Park Trail to Paynesville. Uphill morning then flat. | |||
| 5/17 | Wilmar-Hutchison | 64 miles | |
| 5/18 | Hutchison-New Prague | 68 miles | |
| Follow MS River. Very flat. 4 miles in, instead of River Rd, use Trail on left side then on right side. Camden (1st) bridge – use ramp to get to left-side ped-crossing (vs. stairs on right); at end, loop left under the bridge to go right on trail. Plymouth Ave (2nd) bridge – use right-side bike lane, take first left after crossing. W River Rd intertwines with trails – use either. Ford (3rd) bridge – use either left of right side bike/ped sidewalks. It seems like a trail parallels nearly every road. May run into a dead end if following trails. 70th S St – busy, use left sidewalk. US-10 (4th) bridge – shorter, but no bike lane, 2 lanes, suck it up! Squeak into WI to end the day. | |||
| 5/19 | New Prague-Red Wing | 57 miles | 1 2 3WI-35 all day. Varying shoulders. 3 small climbs when it strays away from MS River.PREP!!! Cyclists need to purchase a Trail pass ($5/day or $25/year). Any vehicle stopping in a WI State Park needs an admission sticker ($11/day or $38/year) |
| 5/20 | RedWing-Fountain City | 64 miles | 1 2 3 |
| 5/21 | Fountain City-Sparta | 57 miles | Black Squirrel CapitalWorld’s largest Bicycle at SpartaWI-35 for 1st 11 miles. The entire 24-mile length of Great River State Trail. Then entire 22 miles of La Crosse River State Trail. |
| 5/22 6/9 | Sparta-Reedsburg0930 breakfast drive to Reedsburg | 57 miles | First 32 miles on Elroy-Sparta State Trail. Then 25 miles on 400 State Trail. |
| 6/10 | Reedsburg-Madison (Brunsell Lumber on Beltline) | 57 miles | 1 2 3Hwy 33 has okay shoulders. Divided hwy US-12 for 12 miles, great shoulders, but busy! Great Sauk Trail, stay on trail along WI River until bridge. Cross bridge on right-side sidewalk. After bridge, take trail on right. Head East to bypass Hwy-12 on remote blacktops (Y, KP, V). Briefly back on US-12, then catch city trail on Left. Switches to Right side after a few miles. Hit Pleasant Branch Trail to enter Madison proper. Zig-zag thru suburbs. End at Brunsell Lumber (near SW Comuter Bike Trail). |
| HOME STRETCH | |||
| 6/11 | Madison-Poison Ivy Pub, Roscoe IL | 66 miles | Depart Madison on SW Comuter Bike Trail and Badger State Trail and Sayles Trail. Zip-zag thru narrow, remote country roads. In Albany, hit Sugar River Trail (narrow, sparse gravel and weedy. Try it. If needed, bail to Route E & Hwy 104). In Rockton after crossing over divided Hwy 2, use city trail on Right side. Mostly flat, but more downhill overall. |
| 6/12 | Beloit-Elgin IL | 61 miles | Depart on Stone Bridge Trail (crushed rock) then Long Prairie Trail (paved). Zig-zag on county roads. In Woodstock, at Lake & Eastwood (Marathon station), take bike path on left that parallels Lake. Basically trails (unnamed city trail, Prairie Trail and Fox River Trail) to downtown Elgin. |
| 6/13 – 6/14 | Elgin IL – LaPorte IN Kingsbury Elementary, LaPorte INMidpoints:“Wheaton Prairie Path Trail Head” (17 miles)“Extra Value Liquor, Woodridge IL” (13 miles)“Joilet Iron Works Historic Site” & then “Old Plank Road Trail – Washington St” (19 miles)“Queendom by Romance, Matteson IL” (18 miles)“Forest Preserve Parking Lot, IL-83” (14 miles)Griffith-Merrillville Airport (10 miles)Trailblazers Bike Barn (9 miles)Dogwood Park, Chesterton IN (11 miles)Kingsbury Elementary, LaPorte IN (22 miles) | 132 miles (2 days) | Fox River Trail, Illinois Prairie Trail to “Wheaton Prairie Path Trail Head” (17 miles).Then follow ‘good’ streets – most have a bike path on one side to liquor store. First bridge over Des Plaines River has dedicated bike bridge via Veterans Memorial Trail. For the 2nd bridge, use bike path on left side (Centennial Trail). After bridge, circle left back under bridge to hit Illinois/Michigan Canal Trail until “Joilet Iron Works Historic Site”. Short street ride to Old Plank trailhead.Old Plank Trail to Queendom. Old Plank Trail to Main St or Glenwood Lansing Rd (use trail on left after Cottage Grove Ave). Arrive at Forest Preserve.Roads to airport. Join Oak Savannah Trail on left and take to Bike shop. Trail changes names to Prairie Duneland Trail. Mostly trail to Dogwood Park in Chesterton. Then mostly remote paved roads to the school. |
| 6/15 | Kingsbury Elementary, LaPorte IN – New Paris (Landmark Bar & Grill) | 51 miles | Mostly remote paved roads – flat. |
| 6/17 | New Paris-Butler | 54 miles | Mostly remote paved roads – flat. |
| 6/18 | Butler IN-Perrysburg OH (Vito’s Pizza and Subs 118 W South Boundary, Perrysburg OH) | 69 miles | Crazy flat day. Roughly patched blacktop roads until OH (5 miles). Google maps has us starting on Wabash Cannonball Trail in Libertyville, but it’s a grass path. Instead, continue East (2 miles) on Route T until it dead-ends. Turn left (N) on Route 4 for 4 miles. Turn right (E) on Route A/W for 3 miles. Before entering Neapolis, turn left on Fulton-Lucas Rd. The ‘real’ (paved) Wabash Cannonball Trail begins shortly on the right. Take it (15 miles) to Toledo-suburb, Perrysburg. Follow Google map directions through city to Vito’s. When crossing Maumee River, use bike path on right side. |
| 6/19 | Perrysburg-Monroeville | 59 miles | Adventure Day! At least it’s very flat. Within the 1st mile, it’s a tight, narrow overpass over I-75. First 18 miles on road, then hit the North Coast Inland Trail. OhioBikeways says it’s completed, but from Google’s Streetview, it looks like a grass path. Try it.See directions below. |
| 6/20 | Monroeville-Brunswick | 49 miles | Mostly flat day. Remote roads with moderate traffic – especially on OH-303. |
| 6/21 | Brunswick-North Benton(choose 60.2 mile option which uses the Freedom Trail for 3 miles leaving Akron) | 62 miles | Remote roads with moderate traffic – especially near Akron. A couple of small climbs. |
| 6/22 | North Benton OH- Point State Park, Pittsburg PA | 77 miles | Fairly flat with small rolling hills. Remote roads with moderate traffic until close to Pittsburg. In Columbiana, the ”Turn Right” off Parkway uses a narrow sidewalk for 500’ to reach Firestone Park. Better shoulders in PA. In Beaver Falls, to cross the Beaver River, use the right sidewalk very early (at Bowser Chevy). Be wary of drainage grates after the bridge! To cross the Ohio River, use LEFT sideway 2 blocks early (after Rochester Time Capsule monument). After crossing Ohio River, roads/traffic will be crappy for 5 miles. Use Google Maps. It does a good job of using bike routes close to Pittsburg. For the final mile or so, at Station Square (across the river from Heinz Field), take sidewalk on LEFT to cross the final bridge. Google marks this turn as “left for 30 feet”. No freaking idea where to park. Street parking is packed. It’s $10 to use the State Park lot. Maybe stop early at Station Square. |
| STOP using Google Maps!!! Follow trails to DC! | |||
| 6/23 | Point State Park, Pittsburg PA – Connellsville PA. GAP Trail Day 1 | 59 miles | GAP Trail all day.Use map at https://gaptrail.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/2021-Printable-Map-Front.pdfOr interactive map https://gaptrail.org/map/ |
| 6/24 | Connellsville PA – Frostburg MDGAP Trail Day 2 | 75 miles | GAP Trail all day |
| 6/25 | Frostburg MD – Hancock MDGAP Trail Day turns into C&O Towpath Trail Day 3 | 76 miles | GAP and C&O trails all day |
| 6/26 | Hancock MD – Brunswick MDC&O Towpath Trail Day 4 | 70 miles | C&O Trail all day. Man! Official parking lots are 25 miles apart. |
| 6/27 | Brunswick MDC&O Towpath Trail Day 5 | 59 miles | C&O Trail all day. Then final 2 or 3 miles on Rock Creek Trail |
| Circle around the Lincoln Memorial and maybe the Reflecting Pool. Call it a success! |
NumbBuns 
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