Schedule and Route
Here is a rough estimate of my schedule for the ride:
- Washington: August 7th - August 12th and a rest day in Spokane after 6 days of riding 421 miles. Four significant passes crossed: Washington Pass (5477'), Loup Loup Pass (4020'), Wauconda Pass (4310'), and Sherman Pass (5575').
- Idaho: August 14th - August 15th (two partial days). About 72 miles in Idaho and I'll just spend the night of August 14th in the state.
- Montana: August 15th - August 28th and a rest day in Great Falls; total distance through Montana is 845 miles in 14 days. One significant pass: Logan Pass (6664') is the Continental Divide in the middle of Glacier National Park on Going-to-the-Sun Road.
- North Dakota: August 28th - September 3rd and a rest day in Bismark, ND; total distance through North Dakota is 406 miles. Flat and straight and I hope I don't have headwinds.
- Minnesota: September 3rd - September 6th; total distance through Minnesota is 284 miles. The distance and duration through Minnesota didn't look right, knowing that it's a big state (14th largest). But I'm crossing diagonally in a fairly direct line from Moorhead to Taylor Falls on the Central Lakes State Trail, Lake Wobegon Trail, and Lake Wobegon Spur/Soo Line Trail from Fergus Falls to Bowlus; if my calculations are correct, that's 138+ miles on bike path! (I hope most of it's paved.) No rest days planned for Minnesota; sorry Minnesota.
- Wisconsin: September 6th - 14th; total distance through Wisconsin is 492 miles, ending with a ferry boat ride from Manitowoc, Wisconsin, to Ludington, Michigan. I have a rest day planned for somewhere in Wisconsin.
- Michigan: September 14th - September 20th; total distance through Michigan is 320 miles. And as I sailed into Michigan, so too shall I depart: by ferry from Algonac, Michigan, to Walpole Island, Ontario. But instead of a 4-hour crossing of Lake Michigan, it's an 8-minute crossing of the St. Clair River. Another planned rest day in Midland, Michigan.
- Ontario, Canada: September 20th - September 23rd; total distance through Ontario is 264 miles, mostly riding along the north shore of Lake Erie. Cross back into the USA at Niagara Falls on September 23rd.
- New York: September 23rd - September 30th; total distance through New York is 381 miles. In order to avoid riding through the Adirondacks on a weekend during leaf-peeping season, I'm planning to take a couple rest days in New York. I leave New York via another ferry from Ticonderoga, New York into Vermont.
- Vermont: I pretty much pass through Vermont on October 1st as it's only 86.5 miles across the state. There is one significant pass: Brandon Gap (2178').
- New Hampshire: I will spend the night in New Hampshire and two partial days (October 2nd and 3rd) covering about 82 miles. I'll cross the Appalachian Trail and one significant pass: Kancamagus Pass (2855').
- Maine: The final state! I have decided to end my transcontinental bike adventure in Portland, Maine, rather than Bar Harbor, Maine. First, Portland has an international airport, so I could fly home from there if necessary. Also, it cuts a couple days of riding compared to going to Bar Harbor. And Portland is on the Atlantic Ocean as much as Bar Harbor is. Anyway, Maine's mileage is similar to Vermont and New Hampshire; that is, about 80 miles through Maine on October 3rd and 4th.
Here's an approximation of what that looks like on a map:
I used Google Maps to map this out and it was hard to capture the exact route. Still, I think this is a pretty close approximation.

Very curious on your nutritional approach. I presume you have SAG support? And what are you doing for overnight sleeping (camping vs hotel/motel?). Bets of luck to you!! As they say ‘tailwinds’!!!!!
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