transam advice needed

[mbattisti]

planning to do the transam next summer on a tamdem.  Looking for advice on which direction to travel (prevailing winds? -grades on mountain passes?) and also best months for optimal weather conditions. We plan on taking 2 1/2 to 3 months.

[cristiano]

Hello friends.Nice to meet you again.I'm looking for advice on which direction to travel (prevailing winds? -grades on mountain passes?) and also best months for optimal weather conditions. We plan on taking 2 1/2 to 3 months.Thank you.
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andro

[JimF]

Many (majority?) start in the east. One reason is you reach the mountains of the west later in the summer when winter-like conditions are likely done. Prevailing winds, I found, are too variable to be a factor. As for road grades, most T-A's would likely say that the mountains and hills of Virginia, Kentucky, and Missouri pose more of a challenge (lots of up and down's) than the long, but steady grades of the mountain west. Either way, it's a tour of a lifetime. Enjoy.

[cyclebum]

The odds are better for tail winds west to east in the Spring.  Just better, not guaranteed. I think maybe winds out of the east tend to be lighter than from the west. My way to deal with impossible winds is to ride early in the morning until the winds get too bad, then quit. I've had to do that several times. I always try to be in some town or park by then. It can be very discouraging if you let it get to you. I do the same when it gets too hot. Ride in the morning, rest up, ride a bit further late in the day.

Have never seen an evaluation of grades one way or the other. Someone ought to post that, tho it probably averages out. 

It'll all work out.

[staehpj1]

My impression was that the climbs were probably steeper E-W.

You can hit the weather better going E-W,  Start in the spring and you will miss the worst heat and humidity in the southeast and will also miss the coldest weather and remaining snow in the Rockies.

On the TA in Summer the winds are likely to be more favorable going E-W especially in Eastern Colorado and Kansas where the winds were the worst. 



We went W-E because I like getting air travel out of the way up front and because we wanted to hit the Appalachians when we had some miles under our belts.  The Appalachians are the hardest part of the trip IMO.

[MrBent]

Great map, Staehpj1  !  Good advice as usual.  I can't remember the number of times people had said I shouldn't be riding against the wind when I went E--W.  I always said that if I were riding at 30,000 ft. they might be right!

In Oct. in Kansas/Colorado, I had brutal winds out of the SW.  Fighting the crosswinds + trucks was a day long wrestling match.  Super early starts certainly helped.  But I consider western Kansas to be the crux of my continental crossing because of the winds.

Bring on the adventure!

Scott