Great things to do on TransAm trail

[FLami]

We are biking the TransAmerican trail in 2010 from first of June to ? going from Oregon to VA.  We want to also enjoy the country on the way and can take 3-4 months to do the distance.  There are 4 of us, and two are going to switch off driving a small RV, so we can go slightly off route for side trips.  I'm looking for things that some of you who have done this route either did or wish they did that we can add to our plans.  A raft trip?  Great side trips in Yellowstone?  Particularly great hikes?  Unusual places to eat, visit or see?  What were some of your best memories?  Thanks! 

[dubovsmj]

i verged off transam route when got into colorado and opted to bike through rocky mountain national park...it was great camping...and you can say you were biking up over 12,000' on trail ridge road.  the scenery is by far some of the most amazing on the trip...in my humble opinion. so yeh, def hit up rocky mtn nt'l park. ya'll won't regret it.

michael

[staehpj1]

We are biking the TransAmerican trail in 2010 from first of June to ? going from Oregon to VA.  We want to also enjoy the country on the way and can take 3-4 months to do the distance.  There are 4 of us, and two are going to switch off driving a small RV, so we can go slightly off route for side trips.  I'm looking for things that some of you who have done this route either did or wish they did that we can add to our plans.  A raft trip?  Great side trips in Yellowstone?  Particularly great hikes?  Unusual places to eat, visit or see?  What were some of your best memories?  Thanks! 

We went rafting in Idaho and that was fun.  If time were less tight we would like to have seen Glacier NP, Rocky Mountain NP, and more of the Tetons.

FWIW: On our TA we had sag support for a few days in Virginia and it was nice, but I was glad we did most of the trip without.  It was a way different experience and the lack of sag support generally made for a better tour.  We got less of a feel for what the area and people were really like on the portion where we were sagged.  It was great for those few days and we really appreciated the assistance from relatives of one of us.  Visiting with them made it worthwhile.

Carrying our own stuff and being more dependent on the kindness and hospitality of the folks in whatever small town we wound up in each day greatly enhanced the tour.  Many of our best memories are of folks who helped us out with a place to camp, a bed, a spot on their floor, a meal, or even just by stopping and offering us a cold drink of water.

We were a little jealous of the folks who rode the passes without all their gear, but agreed that we would not be willing to trade our experience for theirs.

Just something to consider.

[Successor to the Professor]

Make sure to swing through the Adventure Cycling office in Missoula! 

Also, I highly suggest hiking some trails around the Grand Tetons and checking out the max speed on your cyclo-computer after bombing down the pass.  I have always thought that taking horse tours in Montana and Wyoming is appropriate, as your trading one saddle for another.

[staehpj1]

Make sure to swing through the Adventure Cycling office in Missoula! 

Yeah, I forgot that one!  It is worth a stop.  I assume there is still free ice cream, cold drinks, and a floor pump.  That makes it pretty close to heaven

[FLami]

Great suggestions.  Rocky Mountain National Park is indeed not that far off route and Adventure Cycle is a must.  The rafting in Idaho...what river out of what town?  Also, was it a one day raft trip?  Thank you again everyone for suggestions.  I'm almost ready to hop on my bike a year early!  Alice

[staehpj1]

The rafting in Idaho...what river out of what town?  Also, was it a one day raft trip?

In our case a day trip on the Salmon river while we were in Riggins ID.  It would have been better with higher water levels, but was still fun.  I think there are multiday options depending on the time of year and the water levels.  A local said to use a particular company, but I forget the name.  It was out of town a few miles to the east.  They were very accommodating and had a place to lock up our stuff.

[dubovsmj]

just thought of another thing ya'll could do...that is if fly-fishing is something you already do.  i brought along my fly-rod and a small box of wet/dry flies and found a few times (mainly out west) when the mid-day temps were too hot and the cool, flowing river was too tempting to pass up.  nothing like standing waist deep in a river fishing while waitin for the mercury to drop a bit before biking on.  you could easily bring along a spin rod...if you decide to do this make sure you know the specific fishing regulations for each state and where public access is, temp fishing license, and rules/reg for tackle (i.e. barbless, etc) if you use spinning rod rather than fly-fishing....it's shocking how many blue ribbon streams the transam bike route follows/passes near.....