bertusg

Hi all - noob questions here.

I just found out yesterday, for a variety of reasons, I may soon be able to find myself voluntarily liberated from my career with hopes of finally crossing the US on a bike. I have a few noob quesitons I would like to run by the folks who know. I've dreamed & read a lot; apologies if this info is out there, I'm more seeking experienced opinions on whether I'm missing some knowledge that would change my plans & setup.

Route & Timing Appropriate? I plan to leave late June as that's the earliest I can, from the coast near Portland. I plan to follow the TABR route. I like to ride far and fast, and will have to temper this desire with my current abilities (60/day is the most I've done, but comfortably so). Is the timing too late in the season to do this? Doesn't quite seem like it - but I am estimating 60-90 days (with the desire to go faster, but trying to be realistic), so that puts me in Virginia in late September. (If this is too late, I have about 10 other adventures I have also dreamed of pursuing once I am free from the office). From reading, seems like this should be ok with the mountains/snow, but will hit some heat/humidity to deal with in the east. I plan to offset this with very early (2, 3 am) rises & rides.

Bicycle & Loading Appropriate? I am riding my first and only road bike - a Specialized Allez Elite - i love it, but I am concerned that it may be too aggressive for long distance touring (i usually end rides with a bit of a sore neck). I plan on loading it with bags I bought more for MTB bikepacking - Ortlieb big saddlebag, handlebar bag and framebag with a small hydration pack on my back (similar to what i've seen in Inspired To Ride). Is this ok - or is it not accounting for weight, etc. that has people using panniers? I am working hard determining what is a reasonable and safe yet very minimal amount of stuff to bring (e.g. tent? stove? probably not).

Having just found out about my circumstance, I plan to load the bike up and aim for a couple of back to back centuries sometime in the next week to test it out.

Thanks all

fietsbob

One option: a BoB trailer Rather than panniers .. Im out on 101 on the coast.. , its one of the touring setups others use..



Sunday The Transamerica race crowd start out , & head down the coast before going inland towards Eugene ..

they of course are minimizing their kit to go faster than the others..


I ride slower and brought more * and got out of the US for my tours ..

*lighter stuff is made now..




[ you read several CGOAB journals yet ?]
...

thumpism 

Tried it westbound three years ago and made it mostly across Virginia. If you can do 60 mile days repeatedly you'll probably be fine. I have multi-month touring experience in my distant past but did not train enough this time, thinking I was still as bike-capable now as when 30.

If you like the gear and bags you're using and don't need to carry more, you should be fine. I like having a tent along, and a camp chair, etc. No stove. It all depends on your preferences.

Late September in Virginia is generally lovely. You'll wish the whole trip had been done in such weather.

Doug64

Late June will be fine. My wife and I started our cross country trip on June 21, and it worked out well. You will go into the heat and humidity gradually so you acclimatize to it. However, you can hit some high temps in the west. I believe we hit a high of 109 F somewhere in southern Wyoming. Eastern Oregon and southern Idaho can also be hot.

andrewclaus

I rode the TA on a road bike decades ago. It beat me up a little but it was worth it. You can try a different angle/length stem, which might need a new front brake housing.

If you can limit your packing to frame bags, you'll have a much faster ride.

I agree, June is a very good time. Of course you'll hit some heat somewhere.

Jim from Boston

First Tour Questions - Trans America Route As so often on Bike Forums, similar queries have been made over the years. For example, from 2009, with this rational reply: However, I have on several threads replied about our naďve cross-country tour in 1977:

staehpj1

Late June is a fine time to start in the West. By the time you get to the Great Plains your daily average will be probably be higher and even if you took a very long time or started later, October would be a beautiful time to be finishing up in the East.

Equipment... You don't say enough about your experience or gear for me to be sure what to suggest. For sure I always recommend not packing too heavy. A few possible options:

1. Use bikepacking bags and ultralight backpacking gear on your current bike. I did the ST with 14 pounds of gear and could go lighter. I used a bivy and a tarp, but a real light tent would work too.
2. Improvise using stuffsacks strapped on as luggage. I have done this with an ultralight load and it worked out fine.
3. Go pretty light on your current bike, but not quite ultralight. Maybe use a trailer if necessary maybe use panniers if you can. Try to keep gear to 20 pounds, absolutely keep gear below 30 pounds. I did the Pacific Coast with a tent and full cooking gear in two panniers and a gear weight of 22 pounds.
4. Possibly consider something more typical for a touring bike. It need not be expensive. Three of us did our first tour (TA) on $599 (delivered) Windsor Touring bikes from Bikes Direct. We added cheap panniers from Nashbar or Performance. It worked out fine. These days I prefer a lighter non traditional setup over a "normal" touring setup, but that is just my preference.

If it was me I think I'd use your current bike, but I think that is probably a minority view in the touring community. Most would disagree. Gearing is an issue. Do you have the 11-34 cassette and 50/34 chainrings? If so you might get by with a very light load (20# base or less). As the load gets heavier the gearing will get iffier particularly in the East (the climbs get steeper in the Ozarks and Appalachians). Not sure what you can do to get lower gearing on your bike if you need it. Maybe it will take smaller rings? I used a triple crank with the big ring removed to make an "ultra compact double" (39/26) for one trip.

I also find that I like to carry a little gear in a tiny backpack. I limit that to just a few pounds, typically only 2 pounds or less, but topping out with a heavier load for short periods when I need to haul extra water or something.

qclabrat

wow, good luck, still on my bucket list
How have you been training? And how may hours are you planning to ride each day?
My buddy is planning to do the east to west after he recovers from an injury

Jim from Boston

I LIKED @staehpj1 's above post, recognizing him for several years as an experienced cycle tourist. In particular I have posted myself about these two points

Tourist in MSN

I added two photos of a couple that I met in Iceland. They were doing an ultra light two week trip on Ritchey Break Away road bikes. (I did not ask permission to post, so I cropped out faces.)












I would have added some form of fenders, at least RaceBlades would be better than nothing if fenders do not fit in between the tires and frame or fork.

Can you add a water bottle cage below the downtube? There is a reason that touring bikes almost always have the mounts for a cage down there. Capacity for more water can be quite useful. But I am not familiar with your bike so I do not know if it is possible or not.

I am not a minimalist camper, I would not enjoy a trip with that little gear, but if you would prefer such a trip, go for it. But keep in mind that long uphills on a road bike with road bike gearing can be a chore.

Jim from Boston

I posted immediately before this one, and I believe I have that seat-mounted bikepack. Actually, I would think that my carbon fiber road bike, even minimally loaded, would be an easier and faster uphill ride than a heavy. fully-loaded touring bike.

bertusg

Wow, great feedback and exactly what I needed to hone in on the critical elements, thanks all.


I finally found a great local bike shop (three others I have been to were quite snobby & not cool) where I found a guy who had done it and totally cool with helping me get set up properly.


I regularly go for 20 to 40 milers at 15-17mph avg, 2-4 times a week, sometimes 50 & the other day a 60 miler on my mountain bike. Mostly flat around AZ, with a few hills & this spring a fair amount of windy days - so familiar with managing heat fortunately & when to stop/seek shade. Given this background, I'm expecting once I load up the bike & do day after day riding, to be reasonable at about a minimum of 50/day on the low side (lower in the mountains at times, making for ~90 day trip) and hopefully more than that as time goes on & a rhythm develops - like I said I love to push & dream of centuries, but I'm very vigilant to not let overuse injuries get in the way on the early end.


I'll take a good look through all my stuff & now know what weight to target. Water setup and the bottle cage below the frame is definitely something I'd like to get set up (lower center of gravity = better, despite loading high & in line with my bags/non-panniers). Will get it all set up and go do a couple back to backs & camp to see what's needed/not needed before heading off. Got a Brooks B17 so hopefully that helps comfort on the roadie, and will experiment with stem spacing & aero bars.


Thanks all - this is a huge help, and understood this has likely been discussed a million times but still appreciate all your specific replies.

pdlamb

[QUOTE=bertusg;20956026]I regularly go for 20 to 40 milers at 15-17mph avg, 2-4 times a week, sometimes 50 & the other day a 60 miler on my mountain bike. Mostly flat around AZ, with a few hills & this spring a fair amount of windy days - so familiar with managing heat fortunately & when to stop/seek shade. Given this background, I'm expecting once I load up the bike & do day after day riding, to be reasonable at about a minimum of 50/day on the low side (lower in the mountains at times, making for ~90 day trip) and hopefully more than that as time goes on & a rhythm develops - like I said I love to push & dream of centuries, but I'm very vigilant to not let overuse injuries get in the way on the early end.[QUOTE]

You don't mention your age (or I didn't see it!), but I think 50 miles/day average is a reasonable target, mountains and all. Still, it'll take a lot of stress off you if you allow for a couple extra weeks; that lets you hole up in bad weather or to recover from fatigue, and a few days here and there for people and sights you come across that just deserve more time.

One note on speed. Before I started, I saw a lot of trip reports where people reported their average speed was 10-11 mph. I was training, and in pretty good shape, so I figured I could easily average 15 mph since that was my slow training rides. It was a bit of a downer to hit the road loaded, and find out my average speed was 10-11 mph.

But then there were those days I almost drafted a couple of wheat harvesters in Kansas doing 20 mph! Just couldn't accelerate that fast.

bertusg

Right on - I was actually expecting to go even slower than that on average given loads/hills/wind, but it'll be a giant experiment for me so who knows - I am planning on the slow end (I fortunately have no real commitments, just preferred ones, on the back end of the trip) and then anything faster or better will be upside. On the other hand, the longer I take, the more likely I won't have to deal with the Arizona summer!

I'm 34 for another 5 days. Definitely adds to the reason to not spend my life hunched over in front of a computer screen, head out and do something I've wanted to since I was a teenager.

alan s 

This was my setup on a trip in the Florida Keys a couple years ago. I was able to carry everything on a road bike. However, on other trips, I’ve substituted rear panniers for more carrying capacity, which is heavier and less aero, but either way works great.

Tourist in MSN

I use the drops about one third of the time, mostly for headwinds. I find that a B17 is a bit wide for me. It fits me well when I am sitting more upright, but a Brooks Pro or the Conquest (same shape as a Pro but with springs) works better for me in the drops. I mention this because you said aero bars so you would be down low. When you are down on the aero bars, think hard about your saddle, does it still feel that good when you are down low? Or do you need a narrower saddle to feel well down low?

One more thing on water bottles. The Smartwater brand and the LifeWTR brand one liter water bottles fit nicely in a water bottle cage. (Smaller sizes do not.)
https://www.target.com/p/lifewtr-pur...e/-/A-51955216

I have started to use those bottles for touring because they give me a full liter. Three bottles on the bike (I do not use a frame bag for touring) is three liters. Poor lighting for the photo but you can see I have three liters on the frame. (On some bikes, you would never get that big a bottle below the downtube without interferring with the front tire however.) Note the bottle below the downtube also have a velcro strap on the top to make sure it stays in the cage.




I do have a frame bag and I can use one bottle in the triangle when I use that bag, that could be another option. Photo below, I was not touring or bikepacking, I switched forks and was using my expedition bike as a mountain bike. Disregard the fact that the bottles are not the one liter ones I mentioned above. These were the largest bottles I had before I started using the plastic disposable bottles on my bike.

Tourist in MSN

Yes your carbon bike would of course be faster, that is obvious. A Ferrari is probably faster than a Ford F350 heavy duty truck too.

My road bike has a compact double crank, my lowest gear is 30.6 gear inches. My 26 inch expedition bike with Rohloff and 36T chainring and 16T sprocket has a lowest gear of 16.2 gear inches. Your road bike would be much harder to pedal up that hill than a bike with proper gearing where you can spin with less torque.