One of the first planning decisions you must make is whether you plan to ride from east to west or west to east. It seems that the vast majority of people go from west to east. I remember when I would tell people that we were headed east to west, their next words were always about how bad the winds were going to be. Prevailing wisdom seems to say that most of the wind blows from the west to the east. I have to say that I was worried about winds, but I wasn't convinced that the conventional wisdom was correct.

Our reason for choosing and east to west route was primarily because of the easier logistics. But I'm happy to say that heading east to west was the best decision for us. Headwinds were never much of a problem. In fact we faced the worst headwinds when we had to travel north or south for a few miles. For every day we had a headwind I can think of another day that we had a nice tailwind. In fact my research and experience showed that, at the ground level, wind will blow in every direction. In other words, for a cross country trip, which ever way you travel, you will experience both head and tail winds, with about the same frequency. For those who want to do some more research, check out these two links which provide wind data for specific locations in the US.

http://www.wcc.nrcs.usda.gov/climate/windrose.html

http://www.rap.ucar.edu/weather/surface/

Some Reasons Why I Think the East to West Route is Better

There is something rewarding about experiencing America in the same way that so many early settlers did. Before embarking on your cross country trip I would recommend you watch Ken Burns' documentary about Lewis and Clark (http://www.pbs.org/lewisandclark/). It will give you a new-found respect for traveling across America. The progression of pine forests and rolling hills to plains and then craggy mountains and deserts and the ocean will take your breath away. I think you can understand the magnitude of the rockies, just as the early settlers did, when you spend the first 1500 miles biking across rolling hills and plains.

The scenery gets better as you go east to west. Growing up in Colorado I know I'm biased, but I enjoyed the scenery much more once we were in New Mexico. The Rocky Mountains make for a nice climax to the trip. Few things can compare to the sensation and beauty of seeing the Pacific Ocean from the mountains of the Cleveland National Forest. And the best thing is you have a nice descent of a few thousand feet that quickly brings you to the ocean. If you are headed to Savannah, GA you won't see the ocean until you are a few hunded yards from it. I found that the grandeur of the scenery provided a most fitting climax to the end of our cross-country bike ride.

Your body will thank you if you head east to west. Remember the few thousand foot descent that ends your cross-country ride if your headed west? We'll if your headed east, those 3-4,000 feet will greet you on the first day. In fact for the first 1/4 of your trip you will have a lot of climbing to do. I can only imagine that your body will be dreading the hills instead of enjoying the wonderful scenery. When you start in the east, the rockies come just when your body is starting to get used to riding on the bike day-after-day. Yes, the climbs might be difficult, but I believe they are much more manageable when you know you are close to the finish and are stronger.