Helpful info:
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------Super 8 hotels
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Favorite towns: Lander,WY; Charlottesville, VA; Missoula, MT
Honorable mentions: Jeffrey City, WY; Ennis, MT
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Honorable mentions: Jeffrey City, WY; Ennis, MT
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“Managed to sort out a US SIM (AT&T month-by-month) for my iPhone. FYI – phone contracts in the States are about 3 times more expensive than they are in the UK.”
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“It is Tuesday evening and I have left my trusty bike with the guys at Newport Cycles, who are going to box it up in preparation for my flight home on Friday”
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“connecting flight to Norfolk, Virginia”
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Packing your bike
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“Towns with a population of more than 3000 are almost guaranteed to have a ‘good’ (depending on your perspective) selection of fast-food chains and other large chain shops etc. Towns with a population of less than 2000 almost never have these type of restaurants/shops.”
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“So, if you're on the trail, know that the services listed on the map at Austin Junction ARE open, and the owner is really nice. Also know that these 3 'little' mountains are serious business, even if they don't look like much on the map. Plan ahead and bring plenty of water!!”
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“I managed to find the cheapest option to get myself to Yorktown, the airport shuttle, and a 'cheap' Days Inn closest to where I wanted to be.
The front desk attendant, who turns out to be the owner of the place tells me that Yorktown is just 3 or 4 miles down the main road from where we are at. It turns out that the legend is right. I've now ridden 8 miles, and am just coming up on Historic Yorktown.
The Yorktown Victory Monument is the official starting point of the Trans American Trail. Everyone stops here to get their picture taken before heading off into the sunset.”
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“There are really very few places to stay in Kentucky, at least on the route that I'm on. After the day I have had, this B&B in Hindman is a godsend. It's run by the guy who started the local historical society, and he greets me as I roll up with a giant cold glass of sweet tea, complete with a lemon wheel and a sprig of mint leaves. Off the bat amazing. He's got a giant 3 room tent set up in his backyard with air mattresses and sleeping bags so I don't have to set mine up. He makes me dinner, offers a hot shower, does my laundry and even has wifi.”
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“Turns out, the Asbury Inn is a beautiful hotel and I feel a little out of place walking in smelling like a dirty sock and all my dirty panniers in tow.” - Wilmore, KY
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Hotel costs were on average 50-60 dollars. All were clean and nice with telly and showers etc, some had laundry too. Only bad ones were Jeffrey City and a real ramshackle place just as I crossed to Illinois I think. The only times you get pricey ones is in tourist bits like Yellowstone, or in the bigger cities.
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“Rawlins - The first hotel was asking $129, the second $145 and so I took the Days Inn option at $95 which is still ludicrous compared to just about everywhere else on the trip”
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“The 18 miles to Saratoga were slow going due to the wind”
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“http://www.gonnaridemybike.com/2011/06/day-50-da-boys-are-in-dubois/
Various other blogs had hinted that today’s ride could involve some serious headwinds so we set off early. I was riding by 5:55am.”
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Various other blogs had hinted that today’s ride could involve some serious headwinds so we set off early. I was riding by 5:55am.”
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“We were warned about mosquitos in Wisdom.”
“Everything in Wisdom (meaning a restaurant and gas station) closed at 5 pm.”
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"recovering from this morning’s 50+ mile ride with no gas stations, no grocery stores, no nothing apart from 1 long, straight road, "
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In terms of how far you plan to go each day, you tend to look on the maps, see where places are and maybe think – 40 miles to lunch or maybe 50 miles if there is a petrol station/store after 30 miles to snack at. Then in the afternoon you would think – there is a stop at 70 miles for the day but if my legs are good, I’d rather push on and do 90 miles as that is a bigger town with more choice of food/hotels/camping etc…
Once you’re up you’re up, so whether you are up at 5am or 9am, you still feel sleepy so I’d rather hit the road and get 20 miles under my belt by 8 or 9am which then means I have to do 30 more for lunch then 20 after lunch and I’ve done a nice 70 miles and have time to chill. This way you get time to relax either at the end of the day or if you see a nice shady tree at the side of the road that you fancy lying down by!
The wind doesn’t pick up until 8am onwards so in some places that is a major factor.
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“As I said, the TransAm takes a big detour up to Missoula and then heads south-west through Idaho and then through Oregon to the coast. It’s windy, hilly and the shorter version of it ends up in Florence – which although pretty, isn’t very convenient for any sort of onwards journey. On the other hand, the Lewis and Clark trail (which kind of follows in the footsteps of the great pioneers themselves) takes a much more direct route to the coast which also happens to be flatter and ends in Astoria (where the longer of the TransAm routes finishes too) – much more convenient for getting back to Portland and then onwards! We discussed it as a group and all agreed that we’d set out to cross America rather than to stick religiously to the TransAmerica route. So we’re hopping on the Lewis and Clark trail in a couple of days time when it diverges from the TransAm and we’re sprinting for the coast!”
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“Up at 6, riding by 7, done by noon. Quite often the blogs of people who rode the TransAm in previous years mention how they got up early to avoid the heat of the day (as we also took to doing). What I don’t remember though is any mention of the other reason for riding early in the day: the wind. Almost invariably the wind picks up during the day (no doubt related to the increase in temperature). If you ride early, you can avoid the strongest winds. And as the winds generally blow against you as you travel west, it pays to avoid the stronger winds!”
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“There's a couple of spots on the TransAm I'd try to book really early, cross my fingers, and hope. The first is the Grand Tetons and Yellowstone. Book spots early in January, as they fill up fast. The second is the stretch through Jeffrey City; there's no lodging between Rawlins and Lander, if the reports of the Jeffrey City motel closing are true, and it's about 120 miles. If you hit a bad headwind, like we did, you're going to be hurting. I'd recommend you plan on two nights either side of that stretch to rest up before and after that ride.”
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http://cycleacrossamerica.co.uk/?p=606
“The last 11 miles to our destination, Chester (The home of Popeye) turned out to be a coal truck highway. There was no shoulder and we had huge 18 wheels flying past us and almost pulling us under. I must have had around 20 near death experiences in about half and hour. As we go to Chester things didn’t improve, they allow these trucks right into town cruising up and down main street. It’s crazy. As I mentioned the town is the home of Popeye who can be seen painted on just about every building. Me and Joe both agreed it was the worst place we had been to. We then met with some members of the ACA group, when of the women, Joyce had been clipped by one of the trucks and was really shook up, so much so that she had decided to quit the ride! The sheriff came to meet them as they reported the incident. Michael was contacting Adventure Cycling immediately to get the route changed.”
“How much did all this cost?
I kept track! As for lodging -- in 64 days on the road (including four nights in and around Jackson, Wyoming, when I was touring Yellowstone National Park by car), I spent 36 nights in hotels, for a total of $1522. That works out to an average hotel bill of about $42.25. I spent ten nights at paid campsites or in hostels and paid $93 total for those. (Cheaper!) The remaining 18 nights, I slept for free in city parks, folks' basements and in various other places that presented themselves. The total may sound a bit pricey but I wasn't making any serious effort to contain costs, and a person could reduce lodging expenses dramatically from mine. After all, there are very few nights when you really need to stay in a hotel.
I spent about $1800 on food. You are hungry all of the time, always, and I tried to keep at least two or three things to eat in my pocket or somewhere on the bike. Indeed I spent a lot of time in grocery and convenience stores looking for high-calorie, portable stuff. Occasionally I would buy raw materials and prepare something later, but for the most part actual meals were in restaurants. You could probably do better than $1800 by shading further toward groceries instead of restaurants (and by cutting out two or three pretty fancy meals Rob and I took). It is hard, though, to eliminate restaurants altogether. There's not always a grocery store handy when it's time for lunch, and though you can eat more cheaply by buying materials for two or three meals in advance, that can be a pain. Grocery store food is bulky, and when you're already loaded down with luggage you're not eager, or sometimes really able, to carry a full day's or more worth of food.
Otherwise. I spent maybe $60 on ferry tolls, laundry, showers and incidental items like chapstick, advil and sunscreen. In the course of the trip I mailed home several packages containing things like exposed film, stuff I found didn't need, or had purchased and didn't want to carry -- that totalled about $90. Other expenses: $150 on bike maintenance and parts, and cold weather clothing I didn't pack but wound up needing. Film, $75. Admission to museums and other tourist attractions, $30. Postcards, gifts, souvenirs were $200 -- which could be zero if you wanted it to be.
I paid for things with a combination of cash, credit cards and traveller's checks. There were many ATMs along the route and a few times instead of cashing a traveller's check I would replenish my cash from them. They were certainly handy, but there was no telling in advance where they might be, and I would advise against relying on them as your source of spending money.”
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“http://www.biketouring.net/rides/xcountry/faq.html
How did you and the bike get home from the west coast?
Portland-to-DC ticket
I'd had a couple of days to kill in Portland, and without much trouble I was able to find a bike shop that, for a small fee, would pack the bike up securely in a standard cardboard bike box and then place a call to FedEx. On the morning of my flight home, I delivered the bike to the store and handed over $25 for the packing plus a FedEx label addressed to me care of my local bike store back home (this by pre-arrangement). Shipping (using FedEx slowest option) was something like $100. I had to get a FedEx account so the bike store could hand off the bike without my being there, but that was trivial. The bike arrived back east a few days later, safe & sound.”
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“Rather than mail stuff to a motel or hotel, sending stuff to a post office via general delivery works great and has the advantage that you can stop at any post office and arrange to have it forwarded if you miss the connection for any reason. They just forward it to another post office that you specify. We did that when we either, passed through the town when the post office was closed, weren't ready for the stuff yet, or had altered our route. They do not charge extra for forwarding. I think the limit for them to hold a package is 30 days.”
“From the usps web site:
General Delivery
Get your mail even if you’re on the road, new to town, or between permanent addresses.
Mail addressed to you at General Delivery will be held at the area’s main Post Office for up to 30 days. All you have to do is pick it up.
General Delivery is a great choice if you don’t have a permanent address.
People can send you mail by using the town name and ZIP Code™, like this…
JOHN DOE
GENERAL DELIVERY
ANYTOWN NY 12345-9999
In medium to large cities with multiple ZIP Codes, you’ll want to make sure senders use the ZIP Code for the area’s main Post Office. The ZIP+4 extension 9999 indicates general delivery.
To find the main Post Office in an area, speak to any Post Office associate or call 1-800-ASK-USPS (1-800-275-8777).”
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General Delivery
Get your mail even if you’re on the road, new to town, or between permanent addresses.
Mail addressed to you at General Delivery will be held at the area’s main Post Office for up to 30 days. All you have to do is pick it up.
General Delivery is a great choice if you don’t have a permanent address.
People can send you mail by using the town name and ZIP Code™, like this…
JOHN DOE
GENERAL DELIVERY
ANYTOWN NY 12345-9999
In medium to large cities with multiple ZIP Codes, you’ll want to make sure senders use the ZIP Code for the area’s main Post Office. The ZIP+4 extension 9999 indicates general delivery.
To find the main Post Office in an area, speak to any Post Office associate or call 1-800-ASK-USPS (1-800-275-8777).”
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Map updates:
“Can I stay in motels every night while riding across the country?
With very careful planning it is possible to stay in motels every night on all of our cross-country routes. You have to be flexible by having some days that will be longer and some that will be shorter. Hotels, motels, and B&Bs are listed on the backs of the maps with phone numbers, and it is good to call a day or two ahead to make sure that they are still open and that they have rooms available.”
With very careful planning it is possible to stay in motels every night on all of our cross-country routes. You have to be flexible by having some days that will be longer and some that will be shorter. Hotels, motels, and B&Bs are listed on the backs of the maps with phone numbers, and it is good to call a day or two ahead to make sure that they are still open and that they have rooms available.”
“I won't go through all my clothing, but in summary, I had way too much. I survived with one pair of casual shorts and a casual shirt, 2 cycling tops, 2 nike under tops, one long sleeved top, 2 lycra shorts and some socks and boxers. There were plenty of laundromats or just sinks to do handwashing in, so this was plenty”
EMAILS:
Andy3
“So…weather…
“So…weather…
Every town I got to from half way onwards, they told me that they get this bad weather every ten years. The time of year I went- April/May/June should be nice and sunny but I think I got unlucky.
That said, I had planned for any weather so was prepared for it. If it rained I just put lycra shorts on as they dry in seconds and don’t hold water. My rain jacket was very effective and I shouldn’t have bothered with shoe covers as they were rubbish when I used them.
At night when it was cold I just kept my cycling kit on and put a fleece and a thin beanie hat on. Same on cold days when riding – legins, fleece and jacket.
When you’re pedaling up mountains in the snow, that keeps you warm!
For distance, you’ll find that some days 60 miles is nothing. Look on my blog from Jeffrey City to Lander – I did 60 miles by 11am then rested for the day!
If you’re going up mountains then 60-70 can take a bit longer though… I think one day I did about 30.
You’ll find soon enough though that 60 isn’t that much. I think I mentioned to you that before I left, I was doing 30 miles a day plus a 10 hour day in the office so it is easy enough. Also, if you’re not camping and just hotelling then you’ll have so little kit to carry that you could average 90 a day with no problems at all…honestly!
Coal trucks aren’t a big issue. There are maybe 2 stretches of a few miles with them on but that’s all. Just ride close to the kerb and you’ll be fine.
Hotel costs were on average 50-60 dollars. All were clean and nice with telly and showers etc, some had laundry too. Only bad ones were Jeffrey City and a real ramshackle place just as I crossed to Illinois I think. The only times you get pricey ones is in tourist bits like Yellowstone, or in the bigger cities.
As for places to stop, it depends what you like. Almost every small town is quaint and friendly .I loved the feel of Lander as it was small but also had some good shops, a library, restaurants etc. Was a lot more cosmopolitan than most places….Equally, a lot of your opinion will depend on the weather. If it is raining hard and you’ve had a tiring day then a town may not seem as nice, if that makes sense? Equally if you have knocked off 70 miles by 3pm and it is sunny and there are ice creams then any town would seem nice.
Oh and for your question about timing, it is for several reasons .
a.) It is cooler in the morning.
b.) Once you’re up you’re up, so whether you are up at 5am or 9am, you still feel sleepy so I’d rather hit the road and get 20 miles under my belt by 8 or 9am which then means I have to do 30 more for lunch then 20 after lunch and I’ve done a nice 70 miles and have time to chill. This way you get time to relax either at the end of the day or if you see a nice shady tree at the side of the road that you fancy lying down by!
c.) The wind doesn’t pick up until 8am onwards so in some places that is a major factor.
d.) Traffic is rarely an issue.
In terms of how far you plan to go each day, you tend to look on the maps, see where places are and maybe think – 40 miles to lunch or maybe 50 miles if there is a petrol station/store after 30 miles to snack at. Then in the afternoon you would think – there is a stop at 70 miles for the day but if my legs are good, I’d rather push on and do 90 miles as that is a bigger town with more choice of food/hotels/camping etc…
Does that make sense?
”
“Hopefully this will help, but ultimately you will figure out a lot on the road and there is such a thing as over planning and it's fun to get out there and figure it out.
1) Mostly camping, church's, fire stations, and the free places listed on the ACA maps. For a good look at cost here is a link to a touring blogging friend and he outlined his accommodation costs - http://www.gonnaridemybike.com/2011/07/the-stats/
2) For bare-bone essentials for me was - tent, sleeping pad, sleeping bag, ridding clothes and one set off the bike, toiletries, bike multi-tool, tubes / patches. But I learned weight didn't really matter and I wouldn't stress about it as your going to go the pace your going to go. I went through 3 "rain" jackets before I found one that actually didn't soak through after some time. But for me layers were the key, thin light layers that you can combine to make your super cold / wet riding gear. Here is what I ended up carrying and didn't mind it at all - http://work2ride.wordpress.com/about/my-gear/ Another good resource to ask questions to - http://www.bikeforums.net/forumdisplay.php/47-Touring
3) Checkout my post here - http://work2ride.wordpress.com/2011/01/11/mapping-things-out/ the ACA maps have a free GPX map download that you can use with other apps to see basically what they give you in the furnished copies of the maps. I am also selling my stuff off here - http://austin.craigslist.org/bik/2492344123.html
4) Starting out in the first week your body adjusts and that would be the hardest times (supposedly if you can make it the first 10 days, then your all set for the rest of the way). Because of that we started out with lower mileage and worked our way up. If you woke up to rain it was a little hard to take down camp and know your going to get soaked, but also use your rest days how you want, if you don't have a firm schedule and the wind is really blowing in your face take a day off.
Again I spent way more time planning and worrying about the little things, just get out there and ride and don't let a piece of gear or clothing stop you. Here is a post I liked from a blog I followed before starting - "Your doing it WRONG" - http://pathlesspedaled.com/2010/11/youre-doing-it-wrong/”
1) Mostly camping, church's, fire stations, and the free places listed on the ACA maps. For a good look at cost here is a link to a touring blogging friend and he outlined his accommodation costs - http://www.gonnaridemybike.com/2011/07/the-stats/
2) For bare-bone essentials for me was - tent, sleeping pad, sleeping bag, ridding clothes and one set off the bike, toiletries, bike multi-tool, tubes / patches. But I learned weight didn't really matter and I wouldn't stress about it as your going to go the pace your going to go. I went through 3 "rain" jackets before I found one that actually didn't soak through after some time. But for me layers were the key, thin light layers that you can combine to make your super cold / wet riding gear. Here is what I ended up carrying and didn't mind it at all - http://work2ride.wordpress.com/about/my-gear/ Another good resource to ask questions to - http://www.bikeforums.net/forumdisplay.php/47-Touring
3) Checkout my post here - http://work2ride.wordpress.com/2011/01/11/mapping-things-out/ the ACA maps have a free GPX map download that you can use with other apps to see basically what they give you in the furnished copies of the maps. I am also selling my stuff off here - http://austin.craigslist.org/bik/2492344123.html
4) Starting out in the first week your body adjusts and that would be the hardest times (supposedly if you can make it the first 10 days, then your all set for the rest of the way). Because of that we started out with lower mileage and worked our way up. If you woke up to rain it was a little hard to take down camp and know your going to get soaked, but also use your rest days how you want, if you don't have a firm schedule and the wind is really blowing in your face take a day off.
Again I spent way more time planning and worrying about the little things, just get out there and ride and don't let a piece of gear or clothing stop you. Here is a post I liked from a blog I followed before starting - "Your doing it WRONG" - http://pathlesspedaled.com/2010/11/youre-doing-it-wrong/”
