Progress map updated
Click the image below for the updated map of our progress:
Our epic voyage West to East USA. Several years before we rode this epic route, Stef watched a documentary of a TV presenter who rode and documented his Trans America trip.
This inspired Stef to put it on his bucket list.
Of course I couldn’t let him go alone so we planned to ride it in 2020.
Then came the COVID 19 Pandemic just as we were ready to start…. We postponed until 2022 and this is the blog I wrote, mainly for my father’s benefit as he is not on social media.
TransAmerica day 5
Today was relatively easy. We had uphill all the way but a gentle tail wind pretty much negated the gentle ascent. It’s the 4 day of almost continuous rain so we are ready for some better weather After 22km I got our first puncture. Luckily the rain eased up for me to fix it. Funnily…
TransAmerica day 4
A flat ride up the valley we thought, no need to set off early we thought, it will be a doddle / an easy day we thought WRONG We had gale force headwinds for 103 km! Luckily we had a WarmShowers host waiting for us in Eugene. We were royally treated by Jens and Shelly…
TransAmerica day 3
Miserable! We set off in pouring rain and 5C so we weren’t too motivated but as we have a time limit on this trip we have no choice but to ride We started on the scenic old 101 which was deserted of traffic and really beautiful with huge lichen covered trees all around After that…
TransAmerica day 2
Today we hoped to take the Bay Ocean Road which has been closed due to landslides. Unfortunately it is still closed after all the years So we cut across on the 131 and went back down to the coast. Big trees and big views were the order of the day before a steep 3km climb…
TransAmerica day 1
Overnight in a typical motel with zero sound insulation. We had to share a bed, which is not a problem but we had trucks driving through our room all night 🥲 Breakfast in the local café then back to the museum which is the official start of the TransAmerica Trail Let the adventure begin! Really…
TransAmerica getting to the start
Train down to from Seattle to Kelso where we jumped on our bikes to follow the Highway 30 to Astoria. We planned to use some of the side roads to avoid traffic but they were more hilly and not always sealed so in the end we stuck to highway. There was a lot of traffic,…
Bike ready to fly
My tourer for the TransAmerica Trail is now dismantled as far as necessary to fly, air out of the tyres, front wheel, front mudguard and handlebars removed so it fits in the box. I just need to tape it closed and add some ‘fragile’ stickers 👍
Packing for a 3 month bike trip
As the departure date draws near I decided to do a trial packing to see just how much stuff I wanted to take and how much it weighs 19.6kg plus hand luggage 😮😱 It does include some things which are for both of us: like the tent and cooking equipment. I was expecting around 20kg…