Author Topic: Trans Am Bike.  (Read 6034 times)

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Offline oker288

Trans Am Bike.
« on: June 30, 2020, 03:59:30 am »
Hi there , I%u2019m Jeremy.
I hope you are all well.
Last summer I toured from Vancouver down to Imperial Beach in about 25 days.
I really enjoyed it.
This summer the plan is an ultra light tour around the coast of Ireland...

I have been following the Trans Am Bike Race at the moment and like the look of the route...
I have 6-8 weeks free next July and August....
Would this route be do- able in one tour next summer?
I generally do a minimum of 120 km each day and up to 200+ Kms every few days...

Thank you for reading :) :)
« Last Edit: July 31, 2020, 10:55:44 am by dbarth »

Offline jamawani

Re: Trans Am Bike.
« Reply #1 on: June 30, 2020, 06:23:06 am »
Yes. But.

The TransAm is 4215 miles - more than twice the distance of the Pacific Coast route.
So 25 days x 2 = 50 days; plus another 5 days = 55 days; or 8 weeks.
And you have the time needed to get to/from Astoria and Yorktown.
The basic math is 76.6. (125 km) miles per day, every day, no falling behind.

Plus you would be riding at the hottest time of the year.
The Pacific Coast route has pleasant temperatures and excellent services all along the way.
Don't know where you are from but if you haven't ridden in 95F  (35C) temperatures with 95% humidity -
Which s like a Turkish steam bath in much of Virginia, Kentucky, and Missouri -
Or scorching 105F in Kansas and eastern Colorado - albeit with less humidity -
Then you have another thing coming.

Not sure when you did the Pacific Coast, but summer weather is dry and sunny.
Summer thunderstorms happen almost daily in the Great Plains.
They are, big, powerful, and dangerous - as Dorothy will tell you.
Lightning and cycling do not make for a good combination.

So 8 weeks is really pushing it with very little leeway.
What if your rim cracks or your derailleur snaps and you have to wait two days?
What if you encounter something that cleans out your insides and you have to stop?
Even something as basic as flight cancellations or missed connections can delay your start.

You can save 100+ miles be starting/ending at Florence, Oregon.
But Florence is harder to reach to/from Portland airport.
And it is time-consuming to get to/from Yorktown in the east.

Just a few caveats.
9 weeks would be better.
Anything less then 8 weeks would be inviting trouble.

Offline John Nelson

Re: Trans Am Bike.
« Reply #2 on: June 30, 2020, 07:12:20 am »
I agree with John. The TransAm in 8 weeks is doable but tight. I enjoyed the TransAm a bit more than the Pacific Coast. Both were super. Take all of John’s warnings into account, but don’t let that stop you from going. You’ll have a great time! The TransAm provides a fantastic small-town experience.

Offline John Nettles

  • World Traveler
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  • Posts: 1994
  • I ride for smiles, not miles.
Re: Trans Am Bike.
« Reply #3 on: June 30, 2020, 09:27:46 am »
Are you talking about the TransAm (TA) Bike ROUTE or the TransAm Bike RACE as you mentioned a "race".  If the race, did you mean the Race Across America (RAAM)?  If the TA, the other answers are fine. 

If the RAAM, then maybe not sch a hot idea since that route uses much busier highways frequently and for longer periods, they typically have a "support" vehicle following directly behind them with their flashers on, etc.  Plus I don't know if the RAAM has an mapped route but I would guess a gps data file could be found online.
Also, if the TA, you could do another route that is more doable, just as the Western Express.

Offline Saburo

Re: Trans Am Bike.
« Reply #4 on: June 30, 2020, 12:06:30 pm »
I'm planning to ride TA West to East next June and July.  I live in KY so I'm not planning to do the route only to Berea, KY.  That's roughly 3500 miles.  Do you all think that is doable in 60 days or less?  What is a good average mileage per day to plan for?  Also, I would be using a Trek 920 "Adventure Bike" with road tires.  My concern is low enough gearing and whether or the 28 spoke wheels would be durable enough.  (I've done shorter week long bike tours on it with 20 to 30 lbs and the wheels were fine but not sure what to expect on TA surface wise.)  Thanks for any help you can offer.

Offline John Nettles

  • World Traveler
  • *****
  • Posts: 1994
  • I ride for smiles, not miles.
Re: Trans Am Bike.
« Reply #5 on: June 30, 2020, 12:58:52 pm »
I live in KY so I'm not planning to do the route only to Berea, KY.  That's roughly 3500 miles.

I am assuming you meant you are ending your tour in Berea.  Yes, it is doable with 60 days or less but as Jamawani indicated, this leaves little room for a rest day.  Personally, I like a rest day every 8-10 days.  Also, over the years, I have really come to appreciate not doing more than 60 miles overall per RIDING day as it gives me plenty of time to stop and smell the roses, wait out a short rain storm, etc.

However, plenty of people do indeed ride day after day.  You just need to figure out what is best for you. 

Tailwinds, John

Offline jamawani

Re: Trans Am Bike.
« Reply #6 on: June 30, 2020, 01:39:41 pm »
Eastern Montana Lightning

Photographer - Miranda Lundby, Miles City, MT

Offline John Nelson

Re: Trans Am Bike.
« Reply #7 on: July 02, 2020, 12:52:21 am »
I'm planning to ride TA West to East next June and July.  I live in KY so I'm not planning to do the route only to Berea, KY.  That's roughly 3500 miles.  Do you all think that is doable in 60 days or less?  What is a good average mileage per day to plan for?  Also, I would be using a Trek 920 "Adventure Bike" with road tires.  My concern is low enough gearing and whether or the 28 spoke wheels would be durable enough.  (I've done shorter week long bike tours on it with 20 to 30 lbs and the wheels were fine but not sure what to expect on TA surface wise.)  Thanks for any help you can offer.
Saburo, it's best to start a new thread for discussion of a different ride on a different route at a different time by a different rider. Otherwise, this thread is going off in two different directions and will be very confusing, and is unfair to the original question by oker288.

Offline Soulboy#1

Re: Trans Am Bike.
« Reply #8 on: July 02, 2020, 02:46:49 am »
As others have said, it’s tight! I did the TA in 2017 east to west and the weather is hot in the east particularly in Virginia when I went.

The weather although beautiful was also tough through Kansas with little wind and shade and very little water in places.

Having said that people do do it in shorter times than those like myself who amble across the TA. It will still be an experience you’ll never forget either way.

Offline Figaro

Re: Trans Am Bike.
« Reply #9 on: July 15, 2020, 06:24:47 pm »
Very doable. 54 days in 2018...here is my day-by-day journal. http://steveacrossamerica.com

Offline Jmack0571

Re: Trans Am Bike.
« Reply #10 on: July 15, 2020, 11:04:54 pm »
Thanks for sharing your journal!  We have a shoe tree here in Michigan too on a country road.  No one knows why it is there!

Offline staehpj1

Re: Trans Am Bike.
« Reply #11 on: July 16, 2020, 06:31:40 am »
We got to Berea on day 62 and had quite a few low mileage days, but no full rest days.  We could have pushed harder if we needed to.  So yes it is do-able.  It is a great route.