I was to pick up my partner, Ryan, who was arriving at Bangor a few days after my arrival. All 13 spots were taken at the beginning of the tour.Īs usual, I made plans to travel to Portland, Maine to pick up the van from the airport and then drove it into Bar Harbor, Maine. Looking out towards Lake Michigan, Michiganīecause this trip is not offered every year, it easily fills up for those who want to ride it.The section between Fargo, North Dakota to Glacier National Park was probably where we encountered the most wind and weather. We had days of headwinds and days of tailwinds. They commonly cited the prevailing winds and how they blow from West to East, so we’d be riding in headwinds the entire time. ![]() When I talked to many people before the tour, and even travelers going in the opposite direction during the tour from West to East, they’d say that we were going the wrong way. From a highlight standpoint, both directions had something people can look forward to. Whether it was Niagara Falls in Ontario or Glacier National Park in Montana. I personally liked the fact that on both coasts, we had a lot of things to look forward to. Theodore Roosevelt National Park / Medora, North Dakota.White Mountain National Forest / Kankamangus Pass.There were several highlights on this route. If you want to follow or recreate this route, use the following map sets. Not that we didn’t get to go through small towns and farmland when we rode through Michigan and Ontario, but I can see the appeal of riding into and out of Canada and through Michigan. The original route takes you into Iowa, Illinois, Indiana, Ohio, and Pennsylvania (Northern Tier Sections 7-9), but much of that is through farmlands and some other typical small town settings. The reason for that is this tour has been led by several leaders in the past and through the aggregate information from each trip, we have altered it to maximize on better sights to see. You are correct! We did not follow the exact Northern Tier route. You might be saying, “But Johnny, this is not the original Northern Tier route that Adventure Cycling mapped out.” We would cross 11 states and 1 Canadian province from the East to the West. This was my opportunity to finally lead from the start, beginning from Bar Harbor, Maine to Anacortes, Washington. Not exactly our route but you get the idea The Route However, many times finding these accommodations proved to be challenging. ![]() Our layover days usually coincided with towns to maximize the touring aspects of the trip, as well as allowed folks to do their laundry and run errands. The longest day was over 90 miles, but it never exceeded 100 miles. It broke down to roughly 45 miles a day of riding (average includes non-riding days). The timeframe for this tour was from Jto September 9, 2019, a total of 87 days, which included about 11 layover days for folks to rest their legs and sight-see. Not only was I given the opportunity to lead it, I was going to be the experienced leader helping to coach a new leader. Naturally, I slowly moved this trip up on my bucket list until I was assigned to lead it in 2019. ![]() Over and over, people who have crossed the country multiple times have said the Northern Tier is the best cross country tour the United States has to offer. Through the years of leading tours, I always ask other riders one question: Why the Northern Tier?Īt the time, this was my dream tour. Yes, I did help lead the Trans Am (2016) and Route 66 in 2018 ( Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3) but I only did half of the Trans Am from Pueblo, Colorado to Florence, Oregon and Route 66 is actually 2/3 of the country from Chicago, Illinois to Santa Monica, California. With the many opportunities to lead with Adventure Cycling since 2015, I finally had the opportunity to go from start to finish on an epic journey for the first time. In 2019, I was given the opportunity to lead a group across the country on one of bicycle touring’s highly coveted routes across the United States, the Northern Tier.
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