What is the TransAmerica Bicycle Trail?
The TransAmerica Bicycle Trail is a cross-country bicycle route that was developed by the Adventure Cycling Association (“ACA”). ACA’s roots go back to 1976, where its predecessor organization, Bikecentennial ’76, created the first organized bicycle ride across the United States to honor America’s Bicentennial. In the summer of 1976, more than 4,000 cyclists rode the Bikecentennial.
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For over 50 years, the Adventure Cycling Association has been a key participant in the bicycle travel movement. ACA has developed and maintains over 50,000 of bike-friendly routes across the United States, they run bicycle tours and are an advocate at the national level to improve bicycle travel and touring. From ACA’s website “Adventure Cycling Association inspires, empowers and connects people to travel by bicycle.”
My TransAmerica Route
15 States, 4,200 miles, 135,000 ft of elevation gain, 73 days (or less!!)
While ACA’s “classic” TransAmerica Bicycle Trail runs from Yorktown, Virginia, to Astoria, Oregon, I have created my own TransAm route by linking together the following ACA route segments: NYC to Chicago, the Eastern Express, and Sections 1 through 6 of ACA’s classic TransAmerica Bicycle Trail.
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My route will take me from New York City through the following cities and states: Lancaster, PA; Pittsburgh, PA; Zanesville, OH; Indianapolis, IN; Atchison, KS; Walden, CO; Rawlins, WY; West Yellowstone, MT; Missoula, MT; Baker City, OR; Coburg, OR; Astoria, OR; and finally, Portland, OR.
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Why am I riding this route and not the classic TransAm? Well, I can leave from my house in New York, so no driving to Yorktown, VA, is a plus. My route cuts out Virginia, the hardest state on the classic TransAm route due to the elevation gain, and also cuts out Kentucky (the land of bike-chasing dogs).
Planning and Preparations for the TransAm
Notwithstanding the preparations outlined below, I’m stealing a quote from Bond Almand, who in November 2024, completed cycling the length of the Pan-American Highway, 14,000 miles from Prudhoe Bay, Alaska, to Ushuaia, Argentina, in 75 days, obtaining the world record by 9 days. This quote seems to say it all - “Prepared to by unprepared”.
Books Read
Cycling for a Cause, by Joe Matthews; Sharing the Road, by John Nitti; Bicycling
Coast to Coast, by Donna Lynn Ikenberry; How to Hit the Road, by Tom Allen and You can Bike Across America by Isaiah Rain Maynard. All these books are free to trade, just ping me.
Websites Referenced
Gear, Packing & Storage
I will be camping. Not sure of the split between camping and motels, we will have to
see how that shacks out. Every piece of gear has been scrutinized to see if it is really
needed and to insure I have the lightest available. A detailed spreadsheet was
developed for:
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Sleep and Shelter
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Cooking, Food & Water
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Tools Repairs and Spare Parts
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Clothing
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Personal Hygiene
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Electronics
Learn more details about my complete gear list here >
Shake-out Trips/ Rides
Multiple overnight bikepacking trips to test out gear and storage configurations
Multiple rides to test out the fully loaded TransAm rig
Using ACA’s routes, maps, and GPS files is essential. I’ve read a bunch of articles, blogs, and books from people who just used Google Maps—DON’T DO THAT!! IMHO, using ACA routes is the only way to go here.
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In addition, they provide support. I read every word on ACA’s website three times. ACA helped me construct the route below. I have been a member of ACA for close to 30 years and look forward to visiting them in Missoula.
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ACA has partnered with RideWithGPS to provide GPS files of the routes, support services, POIs, and all of ACA’s online resources.