Finishing my TransAm ride - Where to Start

[Nyimbo]

I am asking for ideas & suggestions from you all and especially anyone who did the route in 2 parts.

Last year I was going to start my TransAmerica ride the first week of May and ride E-W.  Unfortunately I got sick and had to delay almost a month.  I ended up leaving the first of June from the Oregon Coast and rode as far as I could until my time available was up.  I ended up getting half way plus a day or two.  I went off route the last 2 or three days so I could end near the train in Kansas - anyway I finished my ride in Garden City, KS.

So this year I would like to finish the ride and do part 2.  I am trying to decide if I would like to fly to the East Coast ( I am in CA) and ride E-W and finish the ride in the middle of the country again.  Or, it might be nice to get the train back to Kansas and just carry on riding W-E where I left off. 

I like the idea of starting with others travelers leaving Yorktown in May but also like the the idea of just carrying on and finishing the route as I left it and end on the East Coast.  Any ideas?  My departure dates are flexible.

[jamawani]

My vote is for Garden City.
Easy to get to on Amtrak and with liberal baggage allowances.

More importantly, finishing up in Yorktown will give you a real sense of completion.
Finishing in Garden City will be kinda "meh".

And you'll run into other cyclists no matter how you do it.

[Nyimbo]

Yes, ending up in Garden City the first time was kind of "MEH" I agree with that. I got there a day before my ticket out and spent a day exploring town.  Not much to see - and so very hot.

[Pat Lamb]

If you're one of us who "rides into shape," starting in Garden City will give you a week of flat riding, and a week of (mostly) gradually increasing hills, before you hit the Ozarks and, later, the ridges in Kentucky and Virginia.  The scenery does change (and improve) as you go east.  It's not all wheat fields!  There's also corn fields!

[DaveB]

It's not all wheat fields!  There's also corn fields!

And soybeans, lot and lots of soybeans. 

[indyfabz]

What jamawani said, if only for the reason of easy transportation of bike and body to the start.

[Nyimbo]

Ok - the next logical question if the consensus is to carry on from Kansas and traveling east is - what week(ish) would you recommend setting out on the ride?

Ps DaveB not sure if the soybeans comment is part of the consensus but it did remind me of a funny soybean story from years ago.  I had to go to Missouri to meet the extended relatives before I was allowed to marry my fiancé.  The first morning I went out jogging in the soybean fields and got lost..  I didn't know the last names of any of the aunts and uncles to ask for directions.  It was a bit freightening for a city guy.

[jamawani]

Can you wait until September?

Take a look at the monthly temp and precip maps from Prism.
May/June are the peak rain months - lots of it in big storms.
(I did grad work in Kansas and know the sound of tornado sirens.)
Although the precip drops in July/Aug, the temps & humidity become brutal.

http://www.prism.oregonstate.edu/normals/

5 or 6 weeks from mid-Sept to late-Oct would be really sweet if you could swing it.
I've done a couple of fall trips - days are shorter, but oh-so-sweet.

J

[DaveB]

Can you wait until September?.......5 or 6 weeks from mid-Sept to late-Oct would be really sweet if you could swing it.

By mid to late October the weather in the Northeast can get pretty cold and unpleasant.  Here in Pittsburgh we have had snow on more than one Halloween and 40º rain is common.  I would try to start in early September at the latest.

[Pat Lamb]

IIRC many of the town parks close for cyclist camping after Labor Day.  In addition, many of the state parks are going to be cutting back hours and services then, although that only applies to Missouri and Kentucky.  Ergo, if you're planning to camp in those locations, it might be better to start early to mid-August.

Otherwise, I'd agree with jama on temperatures.  If you can push the end to middle to late October, you may have some stunning leaf displays in the eastern Appalachians.  Or maybe not.  The fall colors vary much more in the south than in New England.  Also, you're losing daytime riding hours after August.

[Nyimbo]

My departure dates are flexible but probably not that much.  I have family birthdays and traditions that take place in September and wouldn't want to miss those.  I would need to be home by end of August. 

I guess I was thinking more the "traditional" TransAm departure dates of mid May to mid June as the best times to leave for my schedule.  Wondered if earlier or later might be better for the second half W-E or as discussed above or - to do the first half of the E-W section and end in Kansas again. 

[jamawani]

Well, some of the above misinfo is moot since the fall is out.
But there is no record of any snow in western Virginia in early October.
And state parks in Kentucky and Virginia stay open until late Oct to mid Nov.
(But state park camping for solo cyclists has gotten ridiculous - often $25 & $5 reserve fee.)

I would still stick with W-E for the aspect of completion.
Kansas can get pretty darn hot by July - so what about a mid June departure?
You'll have some thunder boomers all the way across.
And the humidity east of the Mississippi - well, forget about your perm.

Safe travels - J