TransAmerica Trail Ride
July–September 2011

— Schedule & Planning —
Schedule:
I plan to follow the schedule proposed in Bicycling Coast to Coast: A Complete Route Guide — Virginia to Oregon. Why follow anyone's schedule and not just set my own? Because the guidebook points out all the free places to set up a tent or places that offer free lodging for the night, and on a trip like this free is a good thing.

Roughly, i'm planning to be close to this schedule:

  • Illinois: Days 1 – 9
  • Missouri: Days 10 – 15
  • Kansas: Days 16 – 24
 
  • Colorado: Days 25 – 33
  • Wyoming: Days 34 – 41
  • Montana: Days 42 – 47
  • Idaho: Days 48 – 52
 
  • Oregon: Days 53 – 61

(Revised: 7/15)
20
M4
JULY
S M T W R F S
          1
 		 2
 
3
 		 4
 		 5
 		 6
 		 7
 		 8
 		 9
 
10
I1		 11
I2		 12
I3		 13
I4		 14
I5		 15
I6		 16
I7
17
M1		 18
M2		 19
M3		 21
M5		 22
M6		 23
K1
24
K2		 25
K3		 26
K4		 27
K5		 28
K6		 29
K7		 30
K8
31
K9		            
 
AUGUST
S M T W R F S
  1
C1		 2
C2		 3
C3		 4
C4		 5
C5		 6
C6
7
C7		 8
C8		 9
C9		 10
W1		 11
W2		 12
W3		 13
W4
14
W5		 15
W6		 16
W7		 17
W8		 18
M1		 19
M2		 20
M3
21
M4		 22
M5		 23
M6		 24
I1		 25
I2		 26
I3		 27
I4
28
I5		 29
O1		 30
O2		 31
O3		      
             
 
SEPTEMBER
S M T W R F S
        1
O4		 2
O5		 3
O6
4
O7		 5
O8		 6
O9		 7
 		 8
 		 9
 		 10
 
11
 		 12
 		 13
 		 14
 		 15
 		 16
 		 17
 
18
 		 19
 		 20
 		 21
 		 22
 		 23
 		 24
 
25
 		 26
 		 27
 		 28
 		 29
 		 30
 		  
             
Planning
What i love most about trips like this is their utter simplicity. Just like when out hiking, i love it when your day is simplified to the point where all you have to do is focus on three things: finding food for the day, finding lodging for the night, and staying awake and aware of the experience as you move throughout the day. Life doesn't get much simpler than that, but you'd be mistaken if you thought that this is easy. For most of us, staying awake all day, without the hours lost in daydreams and fantasies, is quite a challenge. The rewards are huge when you pull it off, but it takes a lot of effort to get yourself to the point where you can do it.

So, with that simplicity in mind, these are the main planning issues i'm working on:

Schedule
While i'm saying that i plan to stick reasonably close to the schedule above, i'm admitting to myself that once on the road it could change. Not by much, but depending on my tiredness, the weather, unexpected encounters, unexpectedly beautiful locations, laziness, etc., i could ride longer or shorter on any given day than i had planned. I don't want this to turn into a completely planned, completely locked into a routine, kind of trip. Part of the enjoyment of these things is the being open to change, being open to the experience unfolding on its own terms.

Last year (2010) i started in Yorktown, VA and rode west for one week before crashing. This year, as i start round two, i'll skip the last half of Virginia and all of Kentudky and simply ride south from my house to pick up the trail in southern Illinois. The logistics of getting back to the middle of Virginia are just too difficult and too expensive to attempt. The distance from my house to where i pick up the trail in southern Illinois appears to be about 320 miles.

Equipment
There isn't much planning to do here. I list on another page everything i'm planning to take with me. The trick is to figure out what i need and what i just want, and then cut out the latter. My goal is to carry between 40 and 50 pounds and looking at the list on the other page this seems very doable.

I'm carrying everything in two front panniers and two rear panniers. Last year i carried freeze dried food to cook my own breakfast and dinners, but this year i have decided not to; instead i will buy my food as i go along and carry nothing but tea to drink and some PB and jelly for lunches and emergencies. Soon i'll load everything in the panniers and weigh them to see where i stand with the list as it is right now. Then i'll know if, and how much, i need to cut out.

Food & Water
I have no idea what to expect for food. I plan to buy meals as i find them and when i find them. Most likely i'll get in the habit of carrying one or two meals worth of food in the pannniers for those emergencies when i don't find somewhere to stop, but i don't really see this as a big issue — food is out there.

For water, i'm going to carry the three water bottles that are already on my bike. When i get out west, in areas where water is scarce, i'll buy extra bottled water as necessary and stuff those in panniers.

Lodging
I'll be camping out most of the time instead of staying in hotels. Many towns let people camp in the city park, but there will be a lot of campgrounds as well. From what i've read, these cost anywhere from $5 to $35 per night. There are also some places listed in the guidebooks that let bicyclists stay for free. If i'm lucky, i'll also find places along the side of the road to camp from time to time out west.
Some Of The Things I'm Reading
Maps
(Links to maps on the ACA web site)
{Note: ACA must have recently changed the route in places. I notice in at least one place the maps that they sent me do not match the route on the maps below.}

Yorktown, VA to Christiansburg, VA

Christiansburg, VA to Berea, KY
{On the maps ACA sent to me, the route no longer goes up to Irvine from Booneville (going East to West). It now goes south of Irvine and more directly to Berea.}

Berea, KY to Murphysboro, IL

Murphysboro, IL to Girard, KS

Girard, KS to Alexander, KS

Alexander, KS to Pueblo, CO

Pueblo, CO to Rawlins, WY

Rawlins, WY to West Yellowstone, MT

West Yellowstone, MT to Missoula, MT

Missoula, MT to Baker City, OR

Baker City, OR to Coburg, OR

Coburg, OR to Florence, OR
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