West to East Coast

[polarplunge]

i'm looking to plan a tour using the trans-america map. Who has done it and what's the best time frame?!

[FredHiltz]

Hi PP,

Tens of thousands of people have done it in all seasons except when the western mountain passes are closed. Most do it in the summer, of course.

The map itself gives you the expected climate conditions for each month. The Adventure Cycling web site is a gold mine of information about planning, equipment, timing, etc. If you want to read journals, try http://www.crazyguyonabike.com/. Do write back if you have specific questions after that.

Fred

[staehpj1]

We started on June 11th 2007 from a day north of Florence on the coast.  Most years at that time McKenzie Pass is likely to but, may or may not be open.  If not Santiam Pass will be.  I would recommend either when we started or a bit later.

The history of opening and closing of McKenzie Pass is online at:
http://www.oregon.gov/ODOT/HWY/REGION4/McKenzieHighwayClosure.shtml
Be aware that they usually are open to pedestrians and bicycles a couple weeks before they open to cars.  That is a great time to ride it if you are lucky enough to get there then.

If you can be flexible with your start you can time it based on this years conditions by monitoring the ODOT web site for openings.

This message was edited by staehpj1 on 2-27-08 @ 5:23 AM

[polarplunge]

thanks for the info! my occupation prevents me from being away all summer so I'll get the map and do some planning!