Need help planning tour

I need some tour-planning help:

My Seattle daughter is going to be getting her PhD this July in Seattle (happy proud Mom, here). My bike, William, has informed me that since I have nothing else, not even a steady job (drat it all) planned for this summer, I should go, do the proud mother thing and then ride back home to Lincoln, NE from Seattle.

William doesn't seem to care that we will be on a tight budget, that we are glacially slow up hills, or that getting his Long Wheel Base recumbent self to the start will be a logistical nightmare. None of this matters. I have been commanded to make it work.

To take the problems in order:

1) I'm thinking of shipping William by FedEx, or some such to a bike shop in Seattle so he can be put back together and be made ready to ride. My daughter suggests Recycled Bicycles (I don't think that's the name, but it's something like that), as they have a good reputation and are just down the bike path from her house. Any feedback on that?

2) Routing. My vague idea is to follow Adventure Cycling's TransAm route to Yellowstone, then head off across northern Wyoming to the Sturgis area in South Dakota, follow the Mickelson Trail down past Mt. Rushmore and then take Hwy 20/Cowboy Trail to Norfolk, NE. Then south to home. I could play tourist to a fare-thee-well, but I'm scaring myself with the thought of those Wyoming mountains. Thoughts? Routing suggestions?

3) I need new cycling shoes that don't hurt my feet. I wear a 10W shoe and have been having problems getting shoes that don't give me hot spots. Also, The Cat left a dead mouse in one of my cycling shoes which wasn't discovered for far, far too long. Suggestions for wide shoes with good arch support?

I'm not concerned about the camping/cheap moteling part of the ride. I used to do a lot of backpacking, have toured before, and I often go on S24Os around here, so I have my routine and gear pretty much dialed in - though I realize that there is a large possibility for unhappy surprises.

So, any thoughts? Warnings? Maps? Suggestions? I know better than to ask to be talked out of it here in this crowd of enablers. :D

I have nothing helpful to say except that I love William. :)

Good for you and William!!! had to laugh as the DH told me "Chief" is taking him on a trip for his birthday next week. We totally get it.
Did you see the recent Adventure Cycling email about new routes in the dakota's not sure if that would affect you as it may have just been in North Dakota
I would HIGHLY discourage you from riding through Yellowstone on any kind of bike in the Summer (sorry) but their are zero shoulders to the roads and traffic is horrid, horrid. (I grew up there) I am not sure what the bus transportation is like these days but it used to be possible to hop on one of the Yellowstone buses. Consider going around the park, perhaps dropping down via the Teton Valley on the Idaho side - driggs, victor, etc. that is a beautiful ride.

Wow! What an adventure for you and William!

I don't know anything about touring but I have a suggestion for your new shoes. I've found that it's virtually impossible to find shoes with great arch support right out of the box. Replacing the stock insoles with Super Feet can turn virtually any, high quality, athletic shoe into supportive shoe also. I usually have to buy 1/2 - 1 size larger than my casual shoe size to accommodate the extra thickness of the Super Feet insoles and to allow for foot swelling in hot weather.

Specialized also makes cycling specific insoles with extra arch support but they're more expensive than Super Feet and harder to find.

WOW- I love that William suggested this epic trip!!! ;) (leave it to our bikes to drag us out on such wild adentures).

What about Keen commuter sandals? The footbed is beefy for wide feet and you could put an arch-supporting insole in to give you the support you need (Super Feet, etc). I have wide, flat feet and my Keens are super comfy with my insoles. I absolutely adore my Keens. So much so, in fact, that I wear them when racing triathlons (wore them at my IM last summer). They are breathable, comfortable to walk in, and give you amazingly cool zebra-striped tan lines on your feet! ;)

I had a friend who biked through Yellowstone a few summers ago and said it was bad (rented RV's who have no clue of their girth running him off the road, tons of traffic, etc).

I want to join you. Sounds like an amazing adventure!!! :)

William demanded a trip one other time. I ended up riding across Minnesota and Iowa in unsettled spring weather. (Farabault, MN to just north of Sioux City, IA)

I'm a little worried about Yellowstone, but I figured that Yellowstone would be OK, as the Adventure Cycling route takes you through it. I'd be deviating from the "official" route while in Yellowstone, so there is that. I'll look at the maps again. I have muttered things about 'portaging' (renting a car) to get past bad bits. That may or may not be an option, as well.

Thanks for the insole advice. I think the problem is squishing my wide feet into narrow cycling shoes, and I've noticed that cycling shoes come in narrow and extra narrow. (Maybe not true, but that's my perception.) The reviews I read about the Keens talked about how they run narrow, so they dropped off my radar. I guess I'll just have to try them.

Anybody who wants to come along is more than welcome. Just be aware that not only do I bike slowly, but I tend to stop often and take pictures.

how about men's Keens? Maybe a bit wider than a woman's version?

What time in July are you planning on going? School starts the first week of August, so I'd have to be back by then. Darn it- you have me thinking...;)

Tri Girl - and anyone else interested in this:

My daughter is defending her thesis (apparently against ninjas on unicycles) on the 10th of July. The family will be spending the rest of the week doing celebratory, touristy-type stuff. I'm thinking of taking off sometime that weekend.

I'm figuring that the trip will be right around 2,000 miles and I tend to ride 50-mile days when touring. so that's, what, 40 days and 40 nights. (Hm, sounds biblical)

You could join me for all or any part of the trip, if you want. I can't stress enough that I'm slow, but stubborn. I am heavy, the bike is heavy, and I'll be hauling a bunch of stuff up steep mountains. (Oh, but think of the cred I'll be getting crossing the Bighorn mountains on a loaded touring bike!)

If you are serious about joining me, check out my tour on Crazy Guy, then shoot me a PM:

http://www.crazyguyonabike.com/doc/springfever2005

It gives a pretty good idea of my idea of a good tour.

On the routing side, DH is considering driving to Seattle for the shindig there. That would solve the bike transport problem, and if we go through Yellowstone in the car, he hopes it will get the silly idea of biking Yellowstone out of my system.

My duck feet are just delighted in the men's wide Lake shoes I got last fall. It's super hard for me to find shoes that are wide enough.

Not sure what you might find now, since Lake lost their US importer last year and may or may not have been picked up by a new company. But there are NOS shoes available online at deep discounts if your size is still available.

Congrats to your daughter and to you for taking advantage of a great opportunity to get in some touring! It is a beautiful time of year to ride in the northwest. I wish I could join you, but my calendar is full in July. I'm hoping to do a portion of the Lewis & Clark trail in June if I can get the time off from work. Make sure to keep us looped in. Cheers!