Need help planning tour

[Sky King]

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.

[Artista]

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.

[Tri Girl]

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!!!

[MomOnBike]

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.

[Tri Girl]

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...

[MomOnBike]

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.

[OakLeaf]

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.