Best cycling travel guides according to redditors

My son and I rode from Fulton, IL to Burlington, IA along this route on the IL side during our annual minor league baseball trip a few years ago. It was quite enjoyable (and flat!). This book was essential to our trip: https://www.amazon.com/Bicycling-Guide-Mississippi-River-Trail/dp/0981895204

This sounded interesting so I did a quick internet search.

Keep me updated on your progress, I may look in to doing it too.

Found this book on amazon

"Along the King's Road: A Guide to Touring the California Missions by Bicycle"

https://www.amazon.com/Along-Kings-Road-California-Missions/dp/1495421414

And these sites

Super tour El Camino Real 2015

https://sites.google.com/site/supertour2015/

Touring the California Missions by Bicycle

http://californiamissionride.blogspot.com/

A bicycle tour like this can be a great adventure, or it can be a disaster. A lot will depend on your attitude and your fitness level. But I think the biggest difference is going to be your preparation and research. Do you have the right bike? Do you have the right gear? Do you have the right route? Do you have a backup route? Do you have a rescue plan in case of emergency or injury? Are you going at the right time of year? Should you travel south to north, or north to south? Where will you stay? Where will you get food? No reddit thread is going to tell you everything you need to know.

Here are some books to get you started. I seriously suggest that you at least skim each of them before you begin a trip:

• Two Wheels to Florida is a nice memoir of someone who did a similar ride from north to south.
  
  
• There's also Two Wheels And A Map: A Solo Bicycle Journey Down The East Coast.
  
  
• You might want to also pick up Bicycling the Atlantic Coast: A Complete Route Guide, Florida to Maine.
  
  
• Also The Complete Book of Long Distance Bicycle Touring.
  
  Start with those. Also, join a bicycle club in your area and ask if anyone has done long distance touring, get advice from them. Also, you'll find a lot more bicycle tourists at /r/bicycletouring than /r/travel.
  
  One more thought: If it is practical, consider your northern terminus being at Acadia National Park. The carriage roads offer some of the best bicycling I've ever encountered.
  
  EDIT: Many many edits.

So...plot twist haha. I ended up buying a used Trek 640. I found it on craigslist and can't be happier with my decision to go with this bike. Link to bike

It's in such great condition for being over 30 years old. The previous owner was really into bike touring and actually wrote a book about it! Here's his book. He recently passed which is why his son was selling his bike. His son gave me a copy of the book and I'm going to read it. From the pictures, it looks like this might have been the bike he used to bike 2.5k miles in 66 days, which is the basis for the book. Anyways, I can't wait to ride this bike and see what adventures it brings. Thanks for all your help, pedal!