I have met quite a few young women on the road who were doing exactly what your daughter proposes. Life is a risky proposition for everyone and more so for young women, but this isn't that crazy of a thing to do. Prepare her as best you can and try not to worry. If it was my daughter I'd recommend that she consider riding with a small group of friends or hook up with a small group that was previously strangers either in advance or on the road.
The Trans America is a great route for seeing the US and for riding across it. It also offers the possibility of riding and or camping with others a lot or even all of the time if desired. Being a popular route offers the chance of meeting others in an impromptu fashion and then riding with them. It also offers the chance to meet others online in forums (here, crazyguyonabike, adventure cycling) in advance. I know we made friends on the TA that we camped with some of the time although we chose to ride at our own pace so it was spotty when we ran into them. On another tour I rode with a young guy most of the time because his mother insisted he ride with someone, so he made a big effort to stay in sync with me even when he had mechanical problems that stalled him a couple days and had to do big mileage to catch up.
Riding with others is a real possibility and not that hard to arrange if she isn't dead set on riding alone. She may wind up splitting with whoever she starts with, it happens frequently, but she may also start out alone and fall in with others for some or even most of the trip, that happens too.
Practicing good situational awareness is important especially if she travels alone, but also in any case.
Originally Posted by
TiHabanero
I may provide a sidearm to make me feel better about it
Not sure what state you live in, but she'd need to get a carry permit in her home state and study the reciprocity and other rules for the states she'd travel through. I wouldn't consider carrying without following the appropriate laws, otherwise she'd risk becoming a felon.
Having a side arm on tour even legally has some problems associated with it. What do you do when you go somewhere that it is illegal to take a sidearm? That includes all federal buildings, post offices, national park buildings, national forest offices, and so on. Leaving it with your bike seems like a bad idea to me. What do you do when someone offers hospitality. I'd feel obligated to tell someone I was bringing a side arm into their home if I stayed the night. On the TA it was nice to stay with folks now and then and it isn't the greatest ice breaker. I guess she wouldn't have to say anything, but I wouldn't feel right about it especially if they had kids.
Also the effectiveness of a side arm is questionable as well since it needs to be accessible and ready enough to do any good. Not that easily accomplished at all the times you might need it.
My advice is definitely don't do it illegally, and give it a lot of thought before considering doing it legally.