So You're Riding Cross Country, What's the Route?

Hello. Sam here.
I wanted to give you a cartographic depiction of the proposed route, and introduce the beautiful map of the U.S. I just bought: the map is from Allan Cartography of Medford Oregon (www.ravenmaps.com).

This map is the same map that is framed in the hallway of the Ohio University Geography Dept.; I have spent countless hours gazing at the map and envisioning our route. When people want to know about the trip, I take them to the map. I am going to roll this map (3'x5') up, place it in a polyurthethane tube, strap it to the back of my bike, and travel the entirety of the trip with it. Every night I will mark the route traversed and then take a picture of the map and post it on this blog. When we are in some diner in Kiawatha, Kansas, I can roll out the map and allow any inquirious soul to imagine our trip across space.

This map is regarded by the cartographic community as one of the best. I am fortunate to have been given permission from the cartographer, Stuart Allan, to use the map during the trip and then afterwords when creating an interactive map. Also, I am using his Benchmark Atlas series for planning our route through Wyoming, Idaho, and Oregon. The Benchmark series (www.benchmarkmaps.com) are invaluable tools for exploring the country; however, are currently only available for 10 western states.

So anyway, how about that route? Well... we are leaving from Athens, Ohio on June 16th. We will hold a fairly steady line of latitude from Athens to Denver, only deviating probably 20 miles north and south. During the trip we will blog in much deeper detail about crossing the midwest and the plains, but for now, I will leave you with simply the mileage: Denver is ostensibly the half way point, at least in terms of mileage, at 1,600 miles. In Denver, we plan to rest for a good day or two, spending time with some family: my Uncle Scott, his wife Bronwyn, their sons Lowell and Fletcher, my brother Zach and his wife Audrey.

After some good time eating, sleeping, and tuning up the bikes, we will head north (possibly with Zach and Scott) to Laramie Wyoming. From Laramie, we will head northwest across the state of Wyoming to Yellowstone. From Yellowstone, we will head south to Jackson, WY and see the Grand Tetons. After the Tetons we will follow the Snake River Valley through Idaho. The Snake River Valley, also called the Banana Plain, is where you find the dense agriculture and population of Idaho. On our way out of Idaho we will pass through Boise; we will then be positioned about at the southern 1/3 of Oregon. We will pass through Bend Oregon and then Eugene. Our final Pacific destination is Florence Oregon. Depending on what time we reach Florence we may head north or south up the Pacific Coast HWY. Also, we hopefully will have enough time to go and see Crater Lake.

Nick and I have purchased plane tickets to leave from Eugene on Friday August 29th--Luke is currently unsure of his departure time. If we average 50 miles a day (ranging 30-100) I imagine we should arrive in Florence around the 20th of August.

I have received requests for some biographical context. So hopefully soon, along with a gear list we will post them.

Cheers
SAM