Chicago to San Francisco - Felix Rode


Yosemite National Park

In the spirit of our recent story on Riding with Rilke we selected Felix Rode's ride from Chicago to San Francisco as our August '08 Editor's Choice winner. You know you're in for a long haul when you're categorizing national parks.

"Must see/ride: Badlands, Mount Rushmore to Custer National Park, 120 through Yosemite and before, Highway 1. Nice to see/ride: Yellowstone, Grand Tetons, Jackson Hole to Idaho Falls."

Here's a few thoughts from Felix:

Sunday Morning Rides: What is the level of difficulty of this particular ride?
Felix Rode: The many segments of this ride range from easy (long stretches of empty roads in Nevada) to moderately difficult (Custer National Park)

SMR: What level/style of rider would enjoy this route?
FR: An intermediate rider with some experience that enjoys touring. This is a good ride if you don't mind riding 350-450 miles a day over multiple days and a little more for the easy segments.

SMR: Are there any key lookouts/scenic stops that you would recommend?
FR: Badlands, Mount Rushmore to Custer National Park (US16-Alt), Big Horn Ntl. Park (US14A), Yellowstone, Grand Titons, Yosemite, Highway 1 from Monterey to Cambria.

SMR: Can you briefly elaborate on why this ride is recommended? Is it the scenery, the technicality, the quality of the road, all of the above?
The ride was put together with the idea to have many scenic elements combined with moderately challenging roads that would allow for some enjoyable rides. In addition it allowed for some hiking along the way.

Click here to goto the ride mapper to download the GPS file and view photos from Felix's ride. We've also published his ride as a "Ride Report" in our articles page.

Like all Editors' Choice winners - Felix will receive over $200 in merchandise and gift certificates from our sponsors as well as a fancy SMR T-shirt! The Editors' Choice competition is our way of expressing our gratitude for your great contributions. Keep on sharing your rides and your pics. You may be next winner!