The Trans-America Trail
The Trans-America Trail was mapped out specifically for cyclists and made popular in 1976 by an organization then called Bikecentennial (now known as Adventure Cycling). It stretches from the Oregon coast to Yorktown, Virginia. Since then, thousands of cyclists have completed this 4,200 mile route which progresses along the back roads of the country. It’s now rather legendary among cyclists looking to do a coast to coast trip.
Adventure Cycling runs group tours of all different lengths all over the US. After graduating high school, I completed a cross country ride from Washington to Maine. Last fall I was thinking about that trip and dreamed of doing another one, but I was just dreaming about it. Then one day I started looking at photos from cycling trips on the Adventure Cycling site. That was enough for me. I decided to take a bit of time off from work and do a group trip on a route called the Southern Tier, which goes from San Diego to St. Augustine.
When I rode cross country in ’85 the group tour on the Trans-Am, as it’s called, was fully booked, which left me to do the Washington-Maine trip. So the more I thought about it, the more I realized that I wanted to finally try the Trans-Am. However, due to my schedule and some other factors I would have to ride it solo, which actually made the idea even more exciting. Group touring can be great (or not so great), but going solo offers a lot of flexibility, and from what I’ve read you tend to meet other cyclists on the Trans-Am who (whom?) you can ride with for a few days if you feel like it.
I’ll start the route on the Oregon coast in the town of Florence. From there it will be across the state, into Idaho, north to Montana, southward through Wyoming and Colorado, followed by the flat lands of Kansas, Missouri, the southern tip of Illinois, the hills of Kentucky, and then wrapping it up in Virginia. (This is all assuming I make it out of Florence.)
Everything I need will be carried on the bike (a Trek 520, hence the name of this site): tent, sleeping bag, clothing, repair items and so on. The plan is to camp most days. I’ll live off the land– either that or pancakes and hamburgers at the local diner. Maybe once a week or so I’ll stay in a hotel. Riding distance will be somewhere around 60 miles per day with a rest day when I feel like it. The plan is to finish in late October or early November.
The route only goes through five towns with a population of greater than 20,000 people, so this will be mostly about seeing small town America as well as some of the great scenery that the country has to offer.