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TransAmerica Trail: Week 1 Update & Gallery

By in TransAm 2018 Comments Off on TransAmerica Trail: Week 1 Update & Gallery

Bike Adventures’ hardiest customers are tackling the TransAm under the guidance of experienced cyclist Steve Wesson.

Steve completed this epic journey back in 2009 cycling from the West Coast of Oregon all the way over to the state of Virginia on the East Coast. The 2018 ride will cover a grand total of 4156 miles with an average of 69.3 per day with 60 days riding and 5 rest days. The tour will cross a total of 11 states, to include Oregon, Idaho, Montana, Wyoming, Colorado, Kansas, Missouri, Illinois, Kentucky, West Virginia and Virginia.

transam start

The first leg of the adventure began in Florence, Oregon where the 13-strong tour group came together for the ritual dipping of the wheel into the Pacific Ocean, to mark the beginning of the 9 week tour. The team headed out of Florence and along the beautiful Suislaw River further inland with temperatures climbing into the mid-30s. The day finished up with dinner at an all-you-can-eat Chinese restaurant in Eugene – a large university town located on the Willamette River in Oregon. Having rested up, the following day entailed a fast and easy route along the valley to reach that evening’s destination – Bleknap Springs a small resort situated on the McKenzie River, offering hot spring pools as its main attraction.

After a good night’s sleep, the following morning the team were up and out early to climb the McKenzie Pass before temperatures got too high. A 4000ft/20 mile climb, the Mckenzie Pass offered some truly spectacular views from the top of the Three Sisters mountains with the majestic volcanic larva field – a stark and lunar like landscape, stretching for miles ahead. The descent from the pass was a fun reward although the last 20 miles became more tiring as temperatures hit 41°C on the approach into Redmond – the rest stop for the night. Redmond was a small and somewhat unremarkable town, but it did provide the team with a great dinner and a comfortable bed.

The following morning the group was one man down – sadly one of the members decided not to continue with the tour. The now 12 strong group, saddled up and headed into cowboy country pedalling through a scenic broad river valley dotted with fir trees and rocky escarpments. The ride was a hot and thirsty one with temperatures nearing the 40s once more. The day ended in Mitchell – a small town of the pioneer days, situated in a rugged canyon in East Oregon off Highway 26.

 

We will be following this epic journey every week on the Bike Adventures blog. If this trip has captured your imagination we are in the early stages of planning a repeat for 2020 – click the banner below. You can also read more detailed updates here.

TransAmerica Blog 2018

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