Tom Stormcrowe

I have a reason for asking this question. Crazylady and I are planning tentatively, on doing the TransAm next year, Northern Tier route. It'll be from Washington State to Maine. If we do this ride (and it's highly likely we will), it will be combined with fundraising for the American Diabetes Association. No, I'm not soliciting funds here...... (ALL funds collected will go to the ADA, I'm not creatively financing a vacation here)

Instead, I'm asking if any fellow Clyde's and Athena's would be interested in participating in this as a Clydesdale's Forum Group ride? The total miles will be a bit over 4200, and I'm tentatively planning a pace of about 60 miles a day or a bit less. Let me know!

themickeyd

No way I can get that much time off from either work or my 2 1/2 year old. But I would be willing to act as a starting off point or place to ship gear too instead of risking items to the airline baggage gods. I wouldn't mind taking off for a few days and ride along if that was ok too.

Ron

ronjon10

I wish! The norther tier is going to have to wait a long time for me to get that kind of time. My next tour is going to be 3-4 weeks to do as much of the west coast as possible. Hopefully that'll be next year, probably the year after though.

The Northern tier is definitely the way to go though; "Going to the Sun" highway in Glacier national park, so beautiful.

fat_bike_nut

Me too

I don't have a bike right now, but if I had a choice, it'd be a touring bike, so I can tour with it.

CliftonGK1

I can't swing that kind of time off from work, but I live in NW Washington and I'd be happy to ride a few days (probably to the eastern Washington border) with you if I've gotten my touring rig by then! Keep me informed.

bdinger

What states does it swing through? If you go through my neck of the woods, I'd join you for a day!

Tom Stormcrowe

We'd be going as close as North Dakota, bdinger

The Mickeyd, of course you'd be welcome to ride as far as you'd like with us!

You too, Clifton!

Velo Dog

Like everybody else, I envy you the trip but can't take the time. Most I can manage is 3-4 weeks at a stretch, and since I'm still working on a remodel we started in 1995, my wife gets testy if I use ALL of it for cycling....

(51)

A. How long would this take?
B. Dates?
C. Do you camp along the route, or stay in hotels?
D. Do you have a support vehicle with you, or do you have to take and buy your own goods?
E. Have you figured the cost involved?

Tom Stormcrowe

A) Next summer, estimate 60 days of riding and break days
B) Camp and occasional motel or Hostel.
C) Completely unsupported, haul tour gear with you.
D) Biggest cost will be transport to Washington State and home from Maine. Figure $1200.00 for that, in my case as an example, we're planning on using AMTRAK for those legs. Figure an average of $50.00 a day for safety along the way (overall average expense will likely be less, but better to have it and not need it than need it and not have it.). Out west, there will be a lot of opportunities for free range camping. Additional camping will be in Natl Parks and State Parks, as well as city parks along the Northern Tier route. You can see what the Northern Tier is at https://www.adventurecycling.org
E Still getting the cost estimate total together. I'll be providing maps, etc, but basic costs are going to be each handles their own expenses and Transportation.

IN addition, I'll have first aid stuff and experience and training in basic as well as more advanced first aid.

I can also give you an idea of what gear you'll need too. I'd suggest, if you are interested, at least getting some short tours: ie:weekenders, and maybe a weeks ride in to see if you like bike touring before you commit to a major major tour.

spare.tire

@ 60miles a day..I'd figure about 2.5 months? (unless my math is off, in which case I wouldn't be surprised..)

I'd be very interested in joining you, depending on what the dates would be....

Tom Stormcrowe

Possibly 2.5 months, yes, and with tail wind conditions, you'll get further. I'm planning W-E to take advantage of prevailing winds.

I'll have a more definite date in the fall, so we'll have plenty of time to make arrangements for time off, etc.

spare.tire

alright, sounds good
something to look forward to next summer!

Tom Stormcrowe

Cool beans! Trip of a lifetime! (Actually the first one of a series). Other goals include Europe, The Pan Am (Tierra del Fuego to Alaska), and once the ME settles down, Cape of Good Hope to the Mediterranean.

spare.tire

Trip of a lifetime!
definitely... I've looked into group touring but they're more than I want to pay, and I'm not experienced or prepared enough to do a big tour by myself, so this would be great.
Tierra del Fuego to Alaska
that would rock (it's actually a goal of mine..way down the line..) I've read a lot about that...it would be an awesome adventure....talk about trip of a lifetime!

Tom Stormcrowe

Same here, as far as the expense goes! That's why I'm going the no support route and self planned as much as I do. This Summer, Crazylady and I are doing a 660 mile loop here in Indiana to properly introduce her to touring and it's going to be her first tour. I think she has the bug though, she's looking forward to it.

Tom Stormcrowe

Here's some medium resolution details of the planned route:

jcbryan

I'm in, I think. The Lewis and Clark Oregon Trail is a good route to, should you be looking for an option. You can then go to the Northern Tier when you to Missoula.
Best, John

v1k1ng1001

It's likely that I'll be in Fargo ND next summer. I'm not sure what I'm going to be doing for work yet but if I'm teaching over the internet I'd like to ride with you all for at least a week.

Tom Stormcrowe

Cool! Looks like this is going to come together then!

masi61

I've always been interested in a transcontinental tour, and I have over 300 hours of vacation saved from my job at the hospital. I probably couldn't peel away in '08 due to my 8year old daughter's needs and my wife works full time in Cinci. But you never know, I might be able to do a portion of it as others have said. I'm 44 now. When I was 23 I rode from Dayton, OH to Denver, CO with the prevailing winds in my face the whole way . In this day and age of el nino and unpredictable weather, you never know what direction the wind will coming at you from.
I am experienced with self contained touring however and have done similar 1200 mile trips to Michigan's UP and another to Montreal, Canada. I like to cook on the road, and I love it when the daily expenses approach zero .
An epic trip like this at our age, would likely involve more motels, as our ability to tolerate hardship needs to be factored in. For your longevity on a trip like this, I would think, the goal would be to get stronger, lighter and faster as you go along - not the opposite. To explain what I'm saying, I once took a solo bike tour into Canada and took the VIA rail up to Halifax Nova Scotia - in late September with suspect poor preparation. My cold weather gear was bad, and so was my training. I bought a cheap winter coat up there that wasn't waterproof and tried to head South toward Portsmouth and I had to abandon after 2-1/2 days. The cold cut through me and gave me flu-like symptoms, and my poor cycling preparation led to a wicked case of patellar tendonitis. I only had a double crank, and pushing my lowest gears up the rolling coastal hills of Nova Scotia in 1983 at that time of year, in those winds, and by myself was demoralizing to say the least. I learned how to travel by bus and train a lot on that trip.
Having partners, and training and planning will all help insure your success.
One more recollection, I might mention: If you go with a group, you might want to meet up beforehand and preferably do some training rides together. I took a Dayton Cycling Club extended tour from Dayton to (what should have been) Steamboat Springs Colorado back in the 1980's. Our so called "leader" unbeknown to us, had contacted his wife and she came out of nowhere in their VW Vanagon campervan after we had already ridden some 1100 miles and were well into Colorado. He loaded up his bike, into the Microbus he climbed, with nary a "goodbye, its been nice suffering with you for the last 2.5 weeks". That was the rudest thing I've ever seen, the leader and organizer of a tour, just treats us as lowly straggling domestiques. He made no invitation for others to ride along, nor did he invite any of us to his daughter's house in Steamboat Springs. Me and the other remaining rider, a 59 year old with a weight problem who just retired from his High School principal job, were left in the dust of that Vanagon camper out on the high plains near Last Chance, Colorado. Our epic tour concluded with a fizzle in a cheap motel in Denver back in ~1984. Our mileage was ~1275 miles. We rented a full size Buick and put our gear in the trunk and drove pretty much non-stop back to Dayton so we could turn in the car and not be charged with a second day's rental - talk about an anticlimax.
Sorry for being so verbose Tom.
Long tours can be really memorable and positive. It sounds like yours will be a good one. If I can be of any assistance to you let me know,
from Bill (a.k.a. masi61).

Tom Stormcrowe

Thank you SIR! Much appreciated! This will be by far and away, the longest tour I've planned and executed. My wife and I are going to do it regardless of whether anyone else does, or even if fellow Clydes just want to ride pieces of it. I'm open to all options!

I have plenty of experience outdoors and sleeping in the rough, so that aspect isn't an issue, and will be planning moyrl stops as well as hostel srops, for a break in the routine. In addition, there are rest days factored in. In theory, we can take as long as 90 days for this tour, with how my 2008 year is scheduling out. Time won't be an issue to me.

BY the way, in May, we'll be near Cincinnati.....doing a tour!

masi61

Self contained bike camping is really fun, especially when you have good equipment that's lightweight but high quality too. Stuff that doesn't pack down very small gets kind of like a boat anchor after a couple of days. When we went to UP of Michigan, my friend had his fishing pole, pillow from home and a good sized hatchet bunjied to his Blackburn rack!
Is the tour you are planning near Cincinnati and organized one? I've thought about venturing down there or even into Kentucky for some of the organized century rides. Unfortunately, I lost a lot of fitness over the last few months, and now I need to carefully try to regain it -again.

Tom Stormcrowe

Freestyling it, just me and the wife and a mapbook. I've got most of the route finalized right now. I'm using a route developed by Charlie Meyr to get to Cinci, then a route I'm developing to ride from Cinci to Evansville via the Oh River valley, then back up to Lafayette. This is going to be a very leisurely tour riding an average of 40 miles a day.

She's riding a recumbent trike and I'm riding my regular ride, pulling a trailer. It is a kid trailer, but is a good one and I'm using it as part of an experiment into driver mentality. I'm curious to see if there is a difference in how close drivers pass if they think I have kids along.

efolsom

Tom the leg through Minn will get you within a mile of me. Count me in for a day or to and a place
for you to overnight

Emil