Originally Posted by staehpj1

Your call, but three of us did The TransAmerica in 2007 as our first tour and all went well. Two of the three of us had never even done very long day rides (they did some 33 mile rides in preparation and only a few of them). One wasn't a cyclist a few weeks before the trip (she certainly was after though).

The two without cycling experience were young though and we all were used to camping and outdoor activities in general. We met a number of others who were doing the TA as a first tour and all seemed to be doing fine.

Nothing wrong with waiting if you want to but there is no reason you couldn't do it if you want to.