Is a TransAm Ride Coast-to-Coast

[staehpj1]

Oh - BTW - my largest dictionary requires a 'tour' to end where it started.

By that definition I've never been on a tour unless you start counting day rides, which I suspect that definition might.

[Westinghouse]

You bicycle from Florida to California. You fly back from California to Florida. Therefore, you and where you began.

[John Nettles]

TCS,

The question was not whether Hike's ride is impressive (it is) but what is a "real" cross to coast trip since "real" can be subjective.  Your somewhat snide comments don't really address the question, just the replies to the OP's question.  You may not agree with the replies but you don't need to get snippy.

Yes, your examples are all impressive coast to coast rides.  But the question was/is since both Washington, DC and Seattle are an estuary and not always thought of as "the coast", does that count as a "real" (the OP's word) coast to coast route? Or at least that is the way I interpreted the question.  As I have said before, to me personally, it is not a "real" (total) coast to coast but it is the rider's ride so they should do what they want.  For instance, would you personally consider riding from Edinburgh to Glasgow "coast to coast" or not?  I personally would not, but again, it meets the definition of "coast to coast" if not the spirit.  Those were my points, not whether his ride is impressive.

As a side note, ACA owns the TransAmerica Bicycle Trail but there is another route used primarily by motorcycles that ACA does not have anything to do with called the TransAmerica Trail https://www.transamtrail.com/  though both use the shortened TransAm phrase.

Tailwinds, John

[HikeBikeCook]

TCS,

But the question was/is since both Washington, DC and Seattle are an estuary and not always thought of as "the coast", does that count as a "real" (the OP's word) coast to coast route? Or at least that is the way I interpreted the question.  As I have said before, to me personally, it is not a "real" (total) coast to coast but it is the rider's ride so they should do what they want. 

Thanks John, however I would point out that according to Webster:

Definition of coastline
1: a line that forms the boundary between the land and the ocean or a lake

Definition of coast-to-coast
1: extending or airing across an entire nation or continent

So what I was trying to say is that riding from the Potomac River Estuary to another estuary (Puget Sound) is by definition a Coast-to-Coast ride The tricky part might be that the definition says lake and not river or lake.

[BikeliciousBabe]

I started in Seattle, went to Bar Harbor, ME, turned south to Philly and then ended up on the boardwalk in Ocean, City, NJ looking at the Atlantic Ocean. I consider myself someone who has ridden across the country even though some of the W-E mileage was actually in Canada.

[Westinghouse]

I started in Seattle, went to Bar Harbor, ME, turned south to Philly and then ended up on the boardwalk in Ocean, City, NJ looking at the Atlantic Ocean. I consider myself someone who has ridden across the country even though some of the W-E mileage was actually in Canada.

.           Of course it’s cross country tour. What is all this nonsense? What is somebody trying to say? Are they saying that if you don’t dip your wheels it’s not a full transcontinental tour? That’s nonsense. I wouldn’t even talk to anybody who defined it that way.

[Smudgy]

Coast to coast means Atlantic to Pacific or the other way around. Saltwater to saltwater. Gulf of Mexico doesn't count. Whether you start or finish on a grass marsh, sandy beach or a rock cliff that falls off into the sea doesn't matter. The wheel dip is fun, but not mandatory. You have to at least see and smell the ocean.

[jamawani]

And don't forget -
With plate tectonics, the continent I rode across in 1987 has moved.

[John Nettles]

And don't forget -
With plate tectonics, the continent I rode across in 1987 has moved.

Are the plates moving apart or together? 

If the plates move apart, is your ride still consider entirely across the continent?  I mean, you might need to go back and ride those few inches that you cheated on by riding it 35 years ago.  So will I of course.  That sucks because between the two of us, we have probably crossed the country (by one or more definitions) close to 15 times. 

If the plates are moving toward each other, do we get credit on our next tour?  Can we give that credit to other riders who decide dipping is not for them? 

[HikeBikeCook]

Well if you are going to get into plate tectonics then we should discuss the direction of spin and axis of the earth. The earth spins eastward so therefore is a westbound rider exerting more energy than an eastbound rider and is the greater effort worth more in bragging rights?

[John Nettles]

Well if you are going to get into plate tectonics then we should discuss the direction of spin and axis of the earth. The earth spins eastward so there is a westbound rider exerting more energy than an eastbound rider and is the greater effort worth more in bragging rights?

My head is about to explode.  I can't even get the "coast to coast" vs. "cross country" thing right and now we are talking tectonics, spin, and axis.  I think trying to define "self contained" is a lot easier. Let's not go there!

[Pat Lamb]

My ride started in the York River estuary in Virginia downstream of where the Navy loads ordnance into its ocean going ships before deployment.  The trip ended on the ocean side of where oil tankers deliver crude oil off the Puget Sound in Washington.  If some nay-sayer were to argue that's not coast to coast because there are land masses further out to sea, I'd counter that if they ended a ride at, say, Cannon Beach in Oregon, I'd point out that, per their definition, they'd have to carry their bike and swim out to the outer rock to make it a coast to coast ride.

I think whether a ride is coast to coast or not might better be discussed without beer or wine, unless you just like to argue about something that's not politics or religion.

[John Nettles]

Pat, since I am one of the those semi-naysers, my question is where do you draw the line as to when it becomes "coast to coast"?  Is the aforementioned Fort Lauderdale to Fort Myers a coast to coast ride (I would definitely disagree)? Or what about the Corpus Christi to San Diego.  I generally think this is not the in the spirit of what "most" people think of as coast to coast but, yes, push come to shove, I would have to agree it meets the criteria of riding from one coast to another coast? 

I would generally accept that Washington to Seattle is coast to coast or cross country ride but is it entirely since Washington and Seattle are both at least 100 miles (total of 4 riding days) from the ocean?  Heck, where I live in Tulsa, a nearby town has an barge navigable river that goes to the Gulf of Mexico.  Is that an acceptable "estuary" since it is accessible to the ocean?  The answer would be no.

Yes, I believe that most of the rides discussed above would be reasonably considered "coast to coast" but are they "entirely" (subjective term) coast to coast as per the original coast to coast definition in the 1st post. 

All I am doing is asking where does one draw the line as to whether it is coast to coast or cross country? As you can see from this spirited discussion, that is a personal decision to make. My line may be different that yours as I strongly implied in my first post. Neither are right or wrong since it is a personal decision.

Again, as I said in my first post, it is up to the rider as it is their ride.  I am not putting down anyone or trying to diminish what they are accomplishing.

[staehpj1]

Again, as I said in my first post, it is up to the rider as it is their ride.  I am not putting down anyone or trying to diminish what they are accomplishing.

That is very much key and to be kept in mind.  We can discuss forever we we each think we consider to be coast to coast for our individual purposes.

I do think that when you say US coast to coast you most likely are implying some particular things.  How far that goes may vary.  Folks who live in California, Oregon, or Washington live on the west coast by one way of looking at it.  Similarly folks who live in a costal state in the east live on the east coast.  So if someone were to ride from say Maryland to California and wants to consider it a coast to coast trip that is their call.  If they didn't get over the mountain ranges on either end it would be a pretty big stretch and I'd not consider it legit, but my opinion would be moot.  OTOH if they made it from coastal plain to coastal plain I wouldn't quibble.

If doing it for some bucket list purpose setting stricter criteria may well be something you want to do for yourself.  How strick is up to you.  Heck it might be fun to do the shortes possible coast to coast US Atlantic/Pacific trip.  If it is a cheat by traditional standards  explaining that may be a good idea whan mentioning the trip, for example when mentioning my San Diego to Pensacola trip as a coast to coast trip.  If that were my only coast to coast trip, I'd feel obligated to report it with an asterisk.  In fact I do tend to mention it as a "sort of coast to coast trip" as opposed to my TA which I consider a real coast to coast trip.

[HikeBikeCook]

  Heck, where I live in Tulsa, a nearby town has an barge navigable river that goes to the Gulf of Mexico.  Is that an acceptable "estuary" since it is accessible to the ocean?  The answer would be no.

Pretty sure that an Estuary is at least partially salt water.
Definition of estuary
: a water passage where the tide meets a river current
especially : an arm of the sea at the lower end of a river

To me cheating would be like renting a car to cross Kansas to avoid the winds and still claim you road coast-to-coast. We had that on the AT where people claimed to have thru-hiked but skipped VA to save time. Out of 2,175 miles (when I hiked) VA was 550 miles of that - to me that is cheating on the title and diminishing the efforts of those that made the whole journey. I guess those that are sticklers about the ocean at the start and finish could term their rides Ocean-to-Ocean rides.