The Great Eastern Adventure Route spans the entire eastern seaboard of North America. From the southeastern corner of the United States to the most north eastern Corner of Canada. The Route covers some 5571 miles From Key West Florida to Happy Valley Goose Bay in Labrador.
Self Guided GPS and ride maps are now available
Warning this is a serious adventure meant for experienced riders only
The Great Eastern Adventure Route (called the "GEAR") takes you from Goose Bay-Happy Valley Labrador to Key West Florida on a variety of back country paved and unpaved roads that traverse the northeast coast of the US and Canada as well as the Appalachian mountains. The route is largely rural and sometimes very remote. It is primarily designed for adventure motorcycles and adventure oriented SUVs. The route is divided into a northern half called the GEAR UP best done in the summer and early fall and a southern half called the GEAR DOWN best done in Spring or Fall. The center point of the ride currently is set in South Windsor, Connecticut (at Max's BMW Motorcycles).
The ride has been designed as two-two week adventures with each ride designed as a loop ride starting in CT. Both the GEAR UP and GEAR DOWN spend about week and a half traveling on the primary route and then circle back on highways to the starting point. (Riders can ship and/or store there bikes at MAX BMW Motorcycles, allowing them to fly back at an appropriate time to complete the second loop.
Did you know? The GEAR is 250 miles longer than the Trans America Trail
Happy Valley Goose Bay Labrador Key West Florida
Ride Status
This route is available and ready to ride, however not all sections, stops and facilities have been fully tested.
Most elements have been ridden but as riders tackle this adventure ride they may encounter parts that requiring rerouting.
Riders are encouraged to record gps tracks and report any route issues so that the route can be updated.
2018 is the first year this adventure ride has been made available.
Enjoy your adventure.
The goal for 2019 is to deliver a complete fully tested integrated ride with options for side trips and lodging places that are unique.
Self Guided Adventure: The GEAR is designed to be a self-guided adventure. As GPS units have become both more powerful and easier to use, it has enabled nearly everyone to easily find their way along the route. This adventure route overcomes many of the challenges in planning such a grand adventure. The route has been established with riding options (blue/red/green). Distances are known and shown. Gas stops and distance between gas stops is identified. Lodging and eating establishments are identified as are points of interest. For many folks, this information allows them to just experience the adventure without the burden of having to extensively plan or risk getting seriously lost or running out of gas well before a gas stop.
Buy the GPS Card and Adventure Maps:
You can order a microSD card for your Garmin GPS and a complete set of large 11x17 daily ride maps as well as a set of quick reference 5x7 tank bag cards. These maps are designed in combination with the GPS to aid in visualizing the daily route and associated information (gas/food/lodging/points of interest).
GEAR UP Choice (Scroll Down Menu)
GEAR DOWN Choice (Scroll Down Menu)
International Shipping (Free Shipping to Lower 48 States)
Checkout View Cart
Notes: I suggest you plan and order early. Normally I ship within a week. But sometimes I run out and it can take me several weeks to get new cards and maps. And sometimes I am out riding and building new adventures so that can be hard too. I list the Option for 2 SD cards because many riders like to carry a backup card or a cheap backup GPS in the event of unforeseen circumstances.
View the ride maps
Below you will find 2 Maps, The GEAR UP and The GEAR DOWN
I put these ride maps on the web page because I know many of you love looking at the ride in detail and dreaming about the ride. At first glance these maps do not look so impressive, but they are way cool. If you start zooming in, you can see the ride in incredible detail. I have spent a great deal of time sorting details of the ride for each day, so for those that dream, please enjoy!
Legend:
The Blue lines are MAIN routes
The Red lines are Harder routes
The Green lines are Easy options
The Cyan lines are Return routes
The Black lines are the out and back viewpoints
GEAR Hall of Fame Full Finishers
Below is a verified list of full finishers.
Full finishers receive a completion award trophy and there name is recorded on this public list.
Congratulations, this is quite an accomplishment.
If you have fully completed this ride you may send your gps track logs as proof and we will review and verify them. Upon verification we will add you name to this record and send you the award trophy.
Send your information (name/email/bike/dates/travelers/GPS tracks) to: info@gpskevinadventurerides.com
Instant GPS Download:
Want to download the Complete set of Tracklogs and Waypoints. Maybe you want to edit them and download them to your GPS yourself? Below you can get an instant download in either Universal (GPX) format or Garmin Basecamp and Mapsource (GDB) format. These are high resolution tracklogs and Waypoints for all section of the adventure ride and its options.
(This option is not recommended if you have not worked with tracklogs before, tracklogs do not work in all GPS units and often must be modified to fit your GPS. We cannot offer any tech support for your GPS unit. We recommend you buy the Micro SD card)
Note: After you complete your payment, Select "Return to Merchant" Button to be directed to the download link.
GEAR UP Complete GDB ($38.00)
GEAR UP Complete GPX ($38.00)
GEAR DOWN Complete GDB ($38.00)
GEAR DOWN Complete GPX ($38.00)
FAQs
Q: I have an old Garmin GPS, will the entire trail fit in my unit?
A: Yes if your Garmin has a card slot, the entire trail fits on the card and works fine in new and old Garmins
Q: I am not sure I understand exactly how GPS Maps on SD card really work, Can you explain that to me?
A: The easiest way I know is to show you, so try watching this short video. Custom Ride Maps SD Card Example
Q: When I purchase GPS Maps on a microSD Card what is included on the card?
A: The microSD Card will include the image files used to create the Maps and a GPX file that containing all the Tracklogs and Waypoints for the ride. This GPX file can be read by capable Garmin GPS units or by Windows based PC's.
Q: Can this ride be ridden in the opposite direction?
A: Yes, that is easy. You just to make a mental adjustment that you will be riding against the direction of the ride arrows.
Q: Can I ride this from Happy Valley-Goose Bay Labrador (Canada) to Key West Florida (USA)?
A: Yes you can ride it south to north or north to south or just parts of the route as time and opportunity permit or whatever works best for you. No changes are necessary, just follow the GPS map.
Q: What is the point of the trophy for this adventure ride?
A. The GEAR is intended as one of the great adventure rides in eastern North America so to encourage the development and sharing of this ride we thought it would be fun to provide a trophy for those that contribute and complete the ride. Your ideas and suggestions are invited too.
