+44 (0)800 002 9559 / +44 (0)1273 413489 info@bikeadventures.co.uk

Tours

TRANSAM – 2024

£10,395.00

TOUR REF: TA24
TYPE: Road Cycling
LEVEL: Challenging
DATES:
13 July 2024 – 18 Sept 2024
DURATION: 68 days / 67 nights 
ACCOMMODATION LEVEL: Standard
DEPOSIT: Phased deposits possible – contact us for details
 

TransAm 2024

An epic ride across the United States – the greatest adventure!

The TransAmerica Trail is the most-travelled route crossing America. In the past 40 years, tens of thousands of cyclists have ridden it and it remains one of the truly great cycling adventures.

Following our successful inaugural crossing in 2018, our 2021 journey will cover just over 4000 miles at an average of 67 miles per day, with a rest day every 10 days or so. Florence, located on the Oregon Coast at the mouth of the Siuslaw River is the beginning-of-the-road. The lush, green western side of the Cascade Mountains is a startling contrast to the dry terrain you’ll be riding into after McKenzie Pass. The road over McKenzie Pass literally cuts through an ancient lava field and offers spectacular views of the Three Sisters and other snow-capped volcanic peaks of the Cascades. Central and eastern Oregon is made up of dry, mountainous terrain and is good place to carry extra water.

The National Historic Oregon Trail Interpretive Centre outside of Baker City is a must-see, and after completing your trip crossing the country, you’ll have no trouble relating to the experiences of the early pioneers. Idaho offers a wonderful ride along the Salmon River, and some interesting Native American historic sites to visit. The route then follows the winding, scenic Lochsa River for the longest gradual ascent of the trip (around 70 miles). You’ll climb up and over Lolo Pass to enter Montana where, wide valleys and mountain passes await you. The views in Yellowstone National Park and of the Grand Teton Range in Wyoming are incomparable, and memories will last a lifetime. Towns such as Dubois and Lander remind you that you’re in the west, with their historic architecture and western-style cooking.

The scenery quickly changes from dry, high desert to alpine as you reach Kremmling, Colorado. You begin a long climb to crest the Continental Divide at Hoosier Pass, 11,542 feet, up amongst snow-covered peaks. Pueblo offers bike shops and great places to eat; it also serves as the halfway point of the TransAm Trail (time to celebrate!). Things start to dry out as you get into the eastern part of Colorado and cross into western Kansas. Carrying extra water is a good idea here – this is hot, barren country. You might have to do some early morning and early evening riding to escape the midday heat. The flat-as-a-pool-table terrain of the Great Plains will change quickly into the roller-coaster riding of Missouri. You’ll find Missouri offers Civil War history, terrific canoeing at Eminence, and an excellent swimming hole at Johnson’s Shut-Ins State Park.

The route crosses the Mississippi River at Chester, Illinois, and heads into Carbondale, a fun college town. A ferry takes you across the Ohio River into Kentucky which offers rolling white-fenced farms and woodlands until reaching Berea, the gateway to the Appalachian Mountains. Past Berea, you’ll spend some time ascending and descending the mountains of the Appalachians, and riding part of the Blue Ridge Parkway in Virginia. The mountains turn to rolling hills and then flat riding through lush plantations and farmlands. The last stretch of the route is rich in the history of the American Revolution, with Colonial Williamsburg as the highlight. Yorktown, situated on the Chesapeake Bay, is the route’s end.

Generally we only accept room sharers on this particular trip; however, a ‘hybrid’ single supplement may be available on a large number of nights. Contact us for further details.

If you would like to read other people’s comments on our holidays then check out the Customer Comments page.

 Tour Price includes:
  • All accommodation within the US in a mix of bed-only and bed and breakfast accommodation
  • Full tour leader support
  • Full vehicle support with tools and spares
  • Local airport transfers 
Tour Price does not include:
  • Meals other than breakfast as mentioned
  • Flights or other travel to/from start/finish
  • Insurance

 

Itinerary: 

1

Sat

18/07/2020

OR

Eugene

76.4

2472

2

Sun

19/07/2020

OR

Belknap Springs

66.7

2562

3

Mon

20/07/2020

OR

Redmond

69.6

4583

4

Tue

21/07/2020

OR

Mitchell

68.4

2852

5

Wed

22/07/2020

OR

John Day

68.7

3171

6

Thu

23/07/2020

OR

Sumpter

56

4757

7

Fri

24/07/2020

OR

Richland

70.3

1721

8

Sat

25/07/2020

ID

Cambridge

68.4

5073

9

Sun

26/07/2020

ID

Riggins

82

3214

10

Mon

27/07/2020

ID

Grangeville

50.4

4190

11

REST DAY

28/07/2020        

12

Wed

29/07/2020

ID

Lowell

46.1

941

13

Thu

30/07/2018

ID

Powell

65.1

2835

14

Fri

31/07/2020

MT

Missoula

58.3

2426

15

Sat

01/08/2020

MT

Darby

66.5

1564

16

Sun

02/08/2020

MT

Wisdom

56.7

3964

17

Mon

03/08/2020

MT

Dillon

66.4

2736

18

Tue

04/08/2020

MT

Ennis

70.4

2651

19

Wed

05/08/2020

MT

West Yellowstone

71.7

3151

20

Thu

06/08/2020

WY

Grants Village

50.8

2879

21

Fri

07/08/2020

WY

Signal Mountain Lodge

47

1791

22

Sat

08/08/2020

WY

Dubois

62.5

3668

23

Sun

09/08/2020

WY

Lander

74.9

1983

24 REST DAY 10/08/2020        

25

Tue

11/08/2020

WY

Shoshoni

47

900

26

Wed

12/08/2020

WY

Casper

100

2509

27

Thu

13/08/2020

WY

Medicine Bow

89.6

5886

28

Fri

14/08/2020

WY

Saratgoga

56.8

2198

29

Sat

15/08/2020

CO

Walden

67

3613

30

Sun

16/08/2020

CO

Kremmling

78

3011

31

Mon

17/08/2020

CO

Fairplay

79.8

5704

32

Tue

18/08/2020

CO

Canon City

75.1

2183

33

REST DAY

19/08/2020        

34

Thu

20/08/2020

CO

La Junta

103.7

1480

35

Fri

21/08/2020

CO

Lamar

55

531

36

Sat

22/08/2020

KS

Lakin

76.6

728

37

Sun

23/08/2020

KS

Dodge City

74.7

756

38

Mon

24/08/2020

KS

Great Bend

85.2

997

39

Tue

25/08/2020

KS

Newton

104.1

992

40

Wed

26/08/2020

KS

Eureka

73.2

1598

41

Thu

27/08/2020

KS

Chanute

62.3

1505

42

Fri

28/08/2020

KS

Pittsburg

59.5

998

43

REST DAY

29/08/2020        

44

Sun

30/08/2020

MO

Mt Vernon

73.9

2000

45

Mon

31/08/2020

MO

Strafford

50.3

1534

46

Tue

01/09/2020

MO

Houston

77

3423

47

Wed

02/09/2020

MO

Van Buren

76.9

3629

48

Thu

03/09/2020

MO

Farmington

81.6

4342

49

Fri

04/09/2020

IL

Chester

48.9

2542

50

Sat

05/09/2020

IL

Carbondale

50.3

1544

51

Sun

06/09/2020

KY

Paducah

73

2341

52

Mon

07/09/2020

KY

Madisonville

91.5

3326

53

Tue

08/09/2020

KY

Leitchfield

79.2

2762

54

Wed

09/09/2020

KY

Springfield

84.2

3207

55

Thu

10/09/2020

KY

Berea

78.7

4048

56

REST DAY

11/09/2020        

57

Sat

12/09/2020

KY

Manchester

65.2

4001

58

Sun

13/09/2020

KY

Whitesburg

80.5

4998

59

Mon

14/09/2020

KY

Grundy

61.2

4041

60

Tue

15/09/2020

WV

Bluefield

75.3

5053

61

Wed

16/09/2020

VA

Blacksburg

64

3256

62

Thu

17/09/2020

VA

Timberlake

81.7

4341

63

Fri

18/09/2020

VA

Farmville

60.9

2719

64

Sat

19/09/2020

VA

Petersburg

71.8

2259

65

Sun

20/09/2020

VA

Yorktown

65.6

2055

66

Mon

21/09/2020

VA

Washington

   

TOTAL

       

4193

168194

AVERAGE

       

69.9

2803

 

Holiday Details:

Accommodation
Out of necessity accommodation will vary in style and quality.

 There is no ‘single supplement’ option – all rooms will be
for 2 people*. If you have booked alone you will be paired
with another guest of the same sex. We regret that it may
be necessary to reject your booking if a same sex
roommate cannot be found.
 For couples we will note any preference regarding double
versus twin beds but cannot guarantee that this will be
possible on every night.
 Every effort will be made to check that all hotels meet a
basic standard but it is not been possible for us to
personally inspect the accommodation.
 Accommodation is generally, but not always, en-suite.

Very few hotels offer arrangements for bikes most but are happy (or at least prepared) for the bike to stay in your room.
*On a very small number of nights some single men may share a 3 or 4 bedded room

Food
In some motels a complimentary continental breakfast will be provided though the quality of these can vary. Elsewhere we will provide supplies for a simple continental breakfast of tea/coffee, juice, cereal and pastries. We will provide cups, plates, bowls, cutlery and the means to heat water.

Lunch and dinner are not included in the price of the trip. We will identify available services each day but in some remote areas these will be few and far between. We encourage you to always carry some emergency provisions. We will always warn you in advance of a remote day so that you can stock up.

Our route takes us through some remote and spectacular countryside and this inevitably means that we are occasionally staying in isolated areas, including a small number with very limited dining options. We will always ensure that everyone gets fed but this may occasionally require an open-minded approach (and possibly a short cycle ride!).

Please note that in the US all goods (including items on restaurant menus) are priced EXCLUDING sales tax. Furthermore a tip at between 15% and 20% is expected regardless of the level of service provided (indeed, it is often automatically added to the bill). Food on restaurant menus will end up costing about 25% more than the quoted price!

Rest Days
There will be a rest day every 10 days or so. These are intended for general recovery, bike maintenance and taking care of chores and have been selected for their proximity to basic services rather than for tourism opportunities. Please note that they are also rest days for the support crew!

Riding Conditions
This is a challenging ride. (ie. high mileages and/or large amounts of climb). The longest day is 103 miles, with an average daily distance 67 miles.

Some stretches of the western portion of the route follow large river valleys and can be generally flat, but expect some climbing almost every day between Florence, Oregon, and Pueblo, Colorado. The passes throughout the Rocky Mountains are generally long but not terribly steep. The descents from these passes are, of course, sensational. Most of Kansas is beautifully flat. Missouri through the Ozarks and eastern Kentucky through the Appalachians offers short, steep climbs. The Virginia portion of the route, surprisingly, has more total elevation gain than any other state. Note that snow can occur at any time in the Rocky Mountains, and the highest pass on the route is over 11,500 feet in Colorado. Although the prevailing weather patterns are from west to east, local wind patterns are more dependent on the passing pressure systems and local terrain, so you can expect your fair share of tailwinds and headwinds. Across the central plains a headwind can persist for days!

Americans are generally very considerate of cyclists and most states have strict laws requiring that cyclists be treated as equal users of the roads. Of course there are always exceptions and you should always ride defensively. 

Navigation
We do not ‘lead’ the ride; each rider is responsible for finding their way. Usually riders gather into groups of varying sizes, for companionship but also to share the responsibility for navigation.

We will provide .GPX electronic files and everyone is expected to have (an know how to use) a SatNav. These files will be sent with your final Joining Instructions.

 

Get In Touch

If you have any questions about any of our trips, please call us on 0800 002 9559 or send us a message below.