The Appalachians may not be as tall as the Rockies, but they are harder to cycle than the big mountains of the West. It is because the gentle inclines of the Rockies are not nearly as tiring as the steep, roller-coaster grades of the Appalachians. There is lots of broken pavement and occasional low-water bridges. Traffic in the back country of Appalachia is generally light. Exceptions include popular tourist spots such as Breaks Interstate Park, the Buckhorn Lake area, and Jefferson National Forest.
Traffic also gets heavy near most cities and towns.
The area around Pippa Passes and Elkhorn City is very hilly, with lots of curves. At the Breaks, there is a sharp drop into the canyon on the right. The road surface is very poor in sections. Between the Breaks and Haysi the road is very curvy with dense vegetation, making it very hard to see approaching cars from either direction. Several stretches have moderate to heavy coal truck traffic.