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Comment by kibwen | Hacker News Reader

Amazing to hear of this, I'd always dreamed of a coast-to-coast bike route and never realized that it's actually been in the works for decades. Curious to see how it deals with the Rockies, looks like it goes through Wyoming which has less extreme slopes but is still extremely elevated. I'll definitely be donating to this, even if I won't get to experience the full thing for another 20 years.

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If you look at the state by state maps, it looks as if there are basically no actual plans to build anything in Wyoming other than an existing short segment around Casper. More generally, rail through mountain ranges made use of scarce passes and built expensive tunnels and bridges. There are some examples of abandoned route segments that can still be walked (and maybe biked) on in whole or in part--for example near Steven's Pass in the Cascades. But I imagine the main routes through major mountain ranges are still in use. There are gaps in Montana too and a small one in Washington.

I assume it's the same reason people bike on I-5. If there's a good route through the mountains, either a major road or rail or both is likely using it.

The better example of an abandoned route through the Cascades is the old railway route through Snoqualmie pass, which connects the metro Seattle area to the east side of the mountains. It's now a state park, and you can hike or bike from one side to the other.

As technology improved, a longer tunnel was built lower down the pass to decrease the elevation gain for trains, and the old route became obsolete. I suspect that this is not a unique story, and the question would be whether the old railway routes are still safely navigable.

That's a similar story to the old Cascade Tunnel. Part of the route is at least walkable (which I've done) but it's apparently closed at at least one point. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cascade_Tunnel I think it's the Iron Goat Trail that you take to walk along where you can. https://www.wta.org/go-hiking/hikes/iron-goat-trail

You can see a similar story with Loveland Pass & the Eisenhower Tunnel.

The Eisenhower Tunnel is just an automotive tunnel. I believe rail always used the Moffat Tunnel since it was completed in 1928. The two aren't that far apart. (AFAIK it used the Rollins Pass--which had problems with grade/avalanche/etc. previously or just bypassed to the north or south.)

This happens a lot. But the new road/rail often shares the line of the old on the easy sections, so you may not get a continuous bike trail out of the old route. (Plus, as you say, old bridges/tunnels/steep slopes may be unsafe, or simply damaged & not repaired.)

Perhaps the plan is something like, finish the rest and then the feeling of "almost there" will put the pressure on to make it happen in Wyoming.

"Almost there" is doing a lot of lifting when you're talking about cutting through the entire state of Wyoming and much of Montana :-)

To a very large extent, that's probably true, but there are some situations where a route that's OK for one mode of transportation is unusable for another.

Trains need gradual inclines and really large radius turns. Cars can handle steeper inclines and sharper turns. If necessary, humans can do very steep inclines and very sharp turns. And they can handle narrow paths. You'd obviously want to minimize that, but it's possible.

Since the requirements are different, the possible routes may be different.

Fair enough although I assume that realistically a bike is going to want at least a 3-season 4WD road through the mountains--and even that may not really be suitable for someone doing distance cycling. And, to your point as well, there are certainly (usually 3-season) roads through mountain ranges that may not even be especially challenging but aren't suitable for high volume traffic.

There are also rare situations trains can handle, which road vehicles can't (safely): very long tunnels, extreme cross-winds, limited width for the track/road, steep ascent (rack railway).

Looking at the map:

https://gis.railstotrails.org/grtamerican/

It includes the Route of the Hiawatha:

https://www.ridethehiawatha.com/the-trail

Which is on the Montana-Idaho border way up in the mountains in a very sparsely-populated area. It's operated by the Lookout Pass Ski Area and one end of the trail is the ski lodge. Going on that trail is truly memorable:

> The Route of the Hiawatha mountain bike or hike trail is 15 miles long with 10 train tunnels and 7 sky-high trestles. The ride starts with a trip through the 1.661 mile long St. Paul Pass Tunnel, also known as the Taft Tunnel. It is a highlight of the trail that follows the crest of the Bitterroot Mountains near Lookout Pass Ski Area. The best part is.... it's mostly downhill with shuttle buses available to transport you and your bike back to the top.

https://www.traillink.com/trail/route-of-the-hiawatha/

Nice, that's a part of the old Milwaukee Road from Chicago to Seattle! In photos from your link, you can that some of the structures for holding the overhead catenary wire are still present. When that line was built, that section was the longest electrified train line in the world. I'm pretty sure they did it because of the grades.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Olympian_Hiawatha

I just rode the Hiawatha this summer! Really touristy, but lots of fun and so scenic. I would have guessed that more of the Trail of the Coeur D'Alenes would have been used as opposed to the Hiawatha. Or perhaps my geography is failing me, but I think you have to go a bit north off the Cd'A to get to Hiawatha.

You might be interested in the Adventure Cycling Association, which provides excellent printed weatherproof route maps for the continental USA:

https://www.adventurecycling.org/

As another commentor has noted in this thread, routes may not always be ideal because they often have to use existing available road infrastructure, so be careful and check road conditions in advance (and if you can, provide feedback to other cyclists and local communities) - but cycling can be a unique and self-determined way to explore that you'll rarely find in any other kind of travel.

In my experience, Wyoming was one of the most pleasant states to bike across (apart from the bits of interstate you need to take). Highways with wide shoulders and little traffic. Just get started early to avoid the afternoon wind.

I cycled New York to San Fransisco 5 years ago. Fantastic way to see USA.

How long did it take? How many miles per day?

What route? Describing it like that makes it sound like you rode alongside I-80 the whole way, which sounds rather unpleasant.

What's the cycling route through the Sierra Nevada? I've only ever done it via i80 by car, would love to do it by bicycle but definitely not on i80.

Also curious about this - Donner Pass Rd parallels I-80. Beckwourth or Walker passes are lower and less steep, but both add a lot of distance to connect to the I-80/Humboldt River corridor though which seems like the only sane route across Nevada.

Of course there are options to go around both the Sierras and the state of Nevada, Route 66 and up the San Joaquin valley being one example.

Numerous other roadways. For one, Highway 89 and 88 (Monitor Pass and Carson Pass) south of Lake Tahoe, which are both part of the annual Death Ride which I've done a few times. I suppose if I was coming from 50 I'd do 89 (Monitor) and then take 4 (Ebbetts Pass/Pacific Grade) into the Angels Camp area, which is a much nicer ride than 88.

Old railroad beds are 2% grade, so it's very doable as long as the tunnels are usable.

it's using rail tracks, so as long as there are usable tracks and tunnels, the route will be perfectly fine for bikes

Not entirely true, the old track beds need some serious work to be ridable on a bike after the rails and ties are removed.

In fact many miles of the trail they are showing are undeveloped and you gotta push your bike still.

right, i meant in terms of elevation. any converted rail track would not be to steep for bikes.

but obviously, just ripping out the rails is not enough. a lot more work id needed to make a rail track usable for biking.

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