What Is The Best Winter Cycling Route In The United States?
Apr
“What is the best place to go bicycle touring in the United States during the wintertime?”
That’s a good question, because for much of the United States, winter means cold weather, rain, ice and even snow. And while it’s possible to go bicycle touring in cold weather winter conditions, riding through the snow is probably not what George is asking about.
What I assume George is asking, is, where in the United States is it best to conduct a long-distance bicycle tour… in warm or relatively warm weather.
The answer is, there is probably no other long-distance bike touring route more popular for winter cycling than the Adventure Cycling Association’s Southern Tier bike route, which traverses more than 3,000 miles across the southern portion of the United States from San Diego, California is the west – to St. Augustine, Florida in the east.
If you were to start in California, you’d pedal east away from San Diego and quickly find yourself riding through dry, sparsely populated deserts where every town will be a welcome sight. Texas dominates the Southern Tier bike route, taking up an entire third of the mileage. Louisiana is like no other state in the United States due to its history, language, culture, and food. Mississippi offers great rural riding all the way into Alabama, where the route crosses a bridge over to and island. From there it’s a ferry ride across the bay to Gulf Shores and some of the whitest beaches in the world. Then finally, the route finishes in scenic Florida.
Because of it’s location in the southern part of the country, The Southern Tier Bicycle Route is the most popular long-distance bike route in the United States… and it’s also the shortest cross-country bicycle route in the nation. But ever if you decide to travel this famous bike tour during the winter months, you need to be prepared for both hot and cool weather. Temperatures can be extreme during the day, and drop down to sub-freezing temperatures at night. So you need to be prepared for a little bit of everything.
Additional Links & Resources
For more information on the Southern Tier bike route and to learn more about winter cycling, be sure to check out the links provided above. And if you have a question you’d like me to answer in a future Bicycle Touring Pro video, leave a comment below.
Is there group ride south for the winter? I don’t want to go alone so when it start and end?
Yes. Try contacting the Adventure Cycling Association and ask about their wintertime tours on the Southern Tier: https://www.adventurecycling.org/guided-tours/self-contained-tours/2016-southern-tier/ It looks like there is a tour scheduled for Sep 11, 2016 — Nov 14, 2016
September and October are not even close to being winter! And its still over 100 degrees in most of southern Arizona during this time. Winter, December 21st.
Darren, I am going to be doing the Souther Route and then the Atlantic Route from St Augustine for Unified Warrior Foundation starting December 18th from Adams Cycles in Sand Diego. Would love some tip. george@unifiedwarrior.org
A 5600+ mile ride for a veteran memorial and Veteran/Civilian Suicide awareness. Yes I am veteran.