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. 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. Other sizable cities along the way are Missoula, Montana Pueblo, Colorado and Carbondale, Illinois. Eugene is the largest city along the route. Stretches of beaches, outstanding state parks, steep ascents and descents, and great seafood abound during your first days of riding before you turn inland to the Willamette River Valley. The view from atop the Astoria Column is well worth the uphill pedal. Some traverse the route quicker, but this leaves less time for sightseeing.Īstoria, Oregon, with the hills of a miniature San Francisco, is the official beginning-of-the-road. Plan on around three months (give or take) for the crossing. One additional treat: because this route has been ridden by cyclists for years, many of the cafes, restaurants, and overnight accommodations along the route have kept journals consisting of entries written by cross-country riders from previous years, providing you with a cyclist's history of the route.
Grand parks along the TransAmerica Trail include Yellowstone and Grand Teton national parks, among the best in the United States. Indeed, many cyclists who rode across the country in 1976, and those who ride the Trail today, say essentially the same thing about the experience, “I learned more about this country in 90 days than most people learn in a lifetime.” The classic route to cross America by bicycle. This group of people set out to have the experience of a lifetime and for the most part they did, learning about America and about themselves in a profound way. There were few helmets to be seen and the bikes were often discount-store quality.īut the equipment scarcely mattered. They traveled in groups of 10 to 12 with leaders trained by Bikecentennial. Most of the riders were in their 20s and had no experience with long-distance cycling. Given the name “Bikecentennial,” organizers publicized the event and thanks to strong word-of-mouth and its fortunate, prodigious publicity, 4,000 cyclists showed up for the ride. Now cyclists were needed to ride it across the country.
By June of 1976, the Trail was ready the maps and guidebooks were published thanks to an enormous effort. The TransAmerica Bicycle Trail began in 1973, during our co-founder’s ride from Alaska to Argentina, as nothing more than an ambitious idea for a way to celebrate the nation’s upcoming 200th birthday.
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