Rick & MaryEllen's Wheelly Great Adventure


	LEARN MORE ABOUT THE ROUTE We decided on the route after studying Adventure Cycling (AC) bike touring maps (www.adventurecycling.org) and, more recently, discussing our trip with Jim Smith of Southington, CT, who traveled a very similar route last year. We put together a combination of AC routes and local maps to get us from the Pacific Coast in Oregon to the Atlantic Coast in Rhode Island. We’ll pedal approximately three million strokes to cover 16 states and an estimated 4000 miles. We plan to follow the AC Lewis and Clark route from the Oregon Coast along the Columbia River into Idaho and on to Missoula, Montana, the home of Adventure Cycling. After we leave Missoula, we’ll head east through Montana and connect to the AC Northern Tier Route following that through North Dakota, Minnesota, Iowa, Illinois, Indiana, Ohio, and Pennsylvania into New York. Around Buffalo, we’ll leave the AC route and take NY Bike Route 5 along the Erie Canal and on to the Massachusetts line. We’ll head southeast through the Berkshires (we’ll be in familiar territory by then), into north central Connecticut, down the Connecticut River to the Shore and east to Westerly, Rhode Island where we’ll dip our front wheels into the Atlantic. We’re excited that MaryEllen’s sister Barbara, her husband Keith and their son, Kieran, Portland area residents, will be able to see us off from the Pacific Ocean. We’re hoping that a few friends and relatives, including Rick’s mother and our daughter, Jessica, will be waiting for us with a beer and some fried clams when we reach the beach in Rhode Island. We’re also hoping to see friends, relatives of friends, friends of friends etc. along the way. If we’re riding near your home and you want to lend us your backyard to pitch our tent (or your spare bedroom) or want to meet us for lunch, please let us know. See “Contact the Riders.” Here is some more route detail: Start - Seaside, OR ( Pacific Ocean) (about 15 miles west of Astoria, OR), to Portland, OR, To Walla-Walla, WA, to Clarkston, WA (444 mile mark). Over LoLo Pass, ID to Missoula, MT (686 mile mark) to Great Falls, MT (1,166 mile mark) Into Williston, ND to Minot, ND, home of the ING Service Center (1,758 mile mark) to Fargo, ND (2075 mile mark). Cross into Dalbo, MN, to Minneapolis, MN (can we take in a Twins game?) Into Stillwater, WI and Muscatine, IA (2,698 mile mark). Across the Mississippi to Odell, IL (we’re practically in the East now) to Monroeville, IN (3,000 mile mark). To Cleveland, OH with a stop at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and through northeast PA, Into Buffalo, NY (3,402 miles), home of MaryEllen’s brother Ed, his wife Sue and their children, Jack and Lizzie. Along the Erie Canal Bike Route to Albany, NY (3,726 miles), Into New England, through Pittsfield, MA, to Avon, CT. Down the Connecticut River, then along Long Island Sound and FINALLY to the Atlantic Ocean at Westerly/Watch Hill, RI (4,050 miles)!

LEARN MORE ABOUT THE ROUTE

We decided on the route after studying Adventure Cycling (AC) bike touring maps (www.adventurecycling.org) and, more recently, discussing our trip with Jim Smith of Southington, CT, who traveled a very similar route last year. We put together a combination of AC routes and local maps to get us from the Pacific Coast in Oregon to the Atlantic Coast in Rhode Island. We’ll pedal approximately three million strokes to cover 16 states and an estimated 4000 miles.

We plan to follow the AC Lewis and Clark route from the Oregon Coast along the Columbia River into Idaho and on to Missoula, Montana, the home of Adventure Cycling. After we leave Missoula, we’ll head east through Montana and connect to the AC Northern Tier Route following that through North Dakota, Minnesota, Iowa, Illinois, Indiana, Ohio, and Pennsylvania into New York. Around Buffalo, we’ll leave the AC route and take NY Bike Route 5 along the Erie Canal and on to the Massachusetts line. We’ll head southeast through the Berkshires (we’ll be in familiar territory by then), into north central Connecticut, down the Connecticut River to the Shore and east to Westerly, Rhode Island where we’ll dip our front wheels into the Atlantic.

We’re excited that MaryEllen’s sister Barbara, her husband Keith and their son, Kieran, Portland area residents, will be able to see us off from the Pacific Ocean. We’re hoping that a few friends and relatives, including Rick’s mother and our daughter, Jessica, will be waiting for us with a beer and some fried clams when we reach the beach in Rhode Island.

We’re also hoping to see friends, relatives of friends, friends of friends etc. along the way. If we’re riding near your home and you want to lend us your backyard to pitch our tent (or your spare bedroom) or want to meet us for lunch, please let us know. See “Contact the Riders.”

Here is some more route detail:

Start - Seaside, OR ( Pacific Ocean) (about 15 miles west of Astoria, OR), to Portland, OR,

To Walla-Walla, WA, to Clarkston, WA (444 mile mark).
Over LoLo Pass, ID to Missoula, MT (686 mile mark) to Great Falls, MT (1,166 mile mark)
Into Williston, ND to Minot, ND, home of the ING Service Center (1,758 mile mark) to Fargo, ND (2075 mile mark).
Cross into Dalbo, MN, to Minneapolis, MN (can we take in a Twins game?)
Into Stillwater, WI and Muscatine, IA (2,698 mile mark).
Across the Mississippi to Odell, IL (we’re practically in the East now) to Monroeville, IN (3,000 mile mark).
To Cleveland, OH with a stop at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and through northeast PA,
Into Buffalo, NY (3,402 miles), home of MaryEllen’s brother Ed, his wife Sue and their children, Jack and Lizzie.
Along the Erie Canal Bike Route to Albany, NY (3,726 miles),
Into New England, through Pittsfield, MA, to Avon, CT.
Down the Connecticut River, then along Long Island Sound and FINALLY to the Atlantic Ocean at Westerly/Watch Hill, RI (4,050 miles)!