Trans-America Trail

[kbabin]

Has anyone heard of this "trail system"?  It was designed for off road motorcycle touring, but I wanted try part of it by bike.  It pass very close to my area....

http://www.transamtrail.com/

Kev

[DaveH]

Never heard of it but it looks interesting.  I'm really curious what route he laid out across S. Utah.

He doesn't think like we do.  From the FAQ:

(4) Can I ride from West to East?

No. The TAT Maps and TAT Roll Charts are specifically designed for navigation from East to West, regardless of which state or what part of the trail you decided to start in. Do not even think about attempting to navigate from west to east.

I added the italics.  That's just too damn funny!

[FeloniousDunk]

Hum, interesting.  Could this be the next GDR type ride/race? 

[DaveH]

I don't think so - I'd expect a complete absense of singletrack.  At least that would count me out.

Oh, wait...there isn't any on GDR either is there?

Well then, maybe so.

[FeloniousDunk]

Oh, wait...there isn't any on GDR either is there?

Well then, maybe so.

That's what I'm thinking.  Let's take bets...who will do it first?

[kbabin]

I'm going to order the Arkansas maps and start reviewing the route to see if it is worth doing.  I will post updates...

Kev

[FeloniousDunk]

Thought I'd ask the route finder himself.  See below.
_______________________________

Shaun..Thanks for the email, I am not aware of any mountainbiker....It can be done..you will need an odometer and or GPS unit.........Sam



On Mon, 20 Oct 2008 11:23:24 -0400, Shaun Moore wrote
> Hi Sam,
>   
> I just learned of the TransAm Trail.  It looks interesting.  Are you aware of any mountain bikers (non motorcycle) who have done or tried it?  It sounds like a similiar experience to the Great Divide Mountain Bike Route along the western continental divide.  That route, too, consists of mainly gravel and forest service roads.
>   
> Thanks for the info,
> ~Shaun

[John G]

It's always been sitting in the back of my mind as something I'd like to do.  But I'd probably do it on a motorcycle.  If you dig around on Advrider (do a search on TAT) you can probably find some gps tracks of portions of the route.  From what I recall it does a lot of twists and turns to keep things on dirt east of the Mississippi. That might make it sort of impractical for bikes unless you have a lot of time.

[SandLizrd]

While riding GDMBR this summer, I met some motocycle riders who where on Trans-America.  They were in Sargents, CO buying fuel.

We compared notes and they were talking of big hills.  The story involved hills so steep the best riders had to take the bikes up the hills one by one.  Of course this guy was one of those riders.

Miles of soft silt were mentioned.  They, of course, thought it'd never work on an MTB.

I only give them a little credit for knowing what they were talking about but that was the lowdown

[ScottM]

I added the italics.  That's just too damn funny!

 

I'd love to hear about someone riding this route on a bike.  I lost interest because of the lack of singletrack.  But I would like to know how the route designer thinks... does he go for scenery, smooth roads, 4x4 roads, avoiding pavement at all costs, et cetera?  Sand and steep hills can always be negotiated on a bike, but I'd be worried about busy roads (dirt or paved) with blind corners, no shoulder, etc.  This kind of thing wouldn't bother someone on a moto, but could be bad news for pedal mashers.

Kbabin - please let us know how the AK explorations go!

[Mezagog]

Sorry but I am thinking back to an interview on VS's before they were VS's there was a free style mountain biker that had made a statement during an interview, when asked if some of his stunts were only meant for motocross bikes, "Anything you can do on a Motocross bike, I can do on my mountain bike, its just a matter of technique".  I can't remember the rider. 

[Slowerthensnot]

This has my gars grinding as of recently

[Mr Cup]

There's a video on YouTube.  It's called something like Across the TAT on a KLR or something like that.  It basically shows sections from every state as he rides through the TAT.  The route looks beautiful.  I looked into it a few years ago and people that have ridden it on motorcycle said there's many stretches where there's no resources at all for many many miles.  More so than on the GDMBR anyway. 

You'd have to carry a lot of water/food with ya.

[windowace]

How 'long' between refueling really?  I just completed  6 days riding carrying all but water (okay, i bought about 1500 calories at one meal).  I had enough food left for at least two days. It can be done. I did not feel overloaded either.  I started carrying about 40lbs (20 on my back 20 on the bike) + my bike.  Stronger riders than myself could easily cover 300+ miles without resupply.  There aren't that many places in the US a motorcycle can go that are 300 miles from some sort of re-supply. Seems like it would be a grand time.  I love singletrack, but dirt roads can take you almost anywhere in this country.

[hikernks]

I want to do a dirt route from Valdez, AK to Key West FL, using part of this.  Tentative route would go something like this:

Richardson Highway to Fairbanks
Alaska Highway to Whitehorse
Trans-Canada Trail to Edmonton
Edmonton S to Banff
GDMBR SOBO to Sargents
Trans-America Trail East to terminus
Gravel/dirt road connector to Trans-North Georgia west to east
Gravel/dirt connector to Cross-Florida MTB route
90 miles south to Key West.

Ahh, someday...  :-)

[Flounder]

I know a few people who have completed the TAT and a few who have done just the western half. My friend Ray did the bulk of it with Land Rover last year, the first time it had been officially completed by four wheels, although some have come forward to say they have done it as well, although impossible to confirm. It does have some rather remote sections with limited water or supply points.

The route was originally designed by one guy who was selling the GPS files to reclaim some of his expenses incurred as he compiled the route. Not sure if that's still the case, but it would be worth researching as to not screw the poor guy by stealing the fruits of his labors.

The emphasis at the time of inception was to create an all-dirt route for motos, so it does have lots of good gravel road, some rugged jeep road, but virtually no singletrack of any kind. Those I know to have done it say it certainly could include better sections.

[THE LONG RANGER]

It could kill the dudes to put a map of the route that has the lower 48 larger than the size of my thumb

[geekonabike]

Here a story & round-about links to maps  : http://www.bikepacking.com/plog/trans-america-off-road-trail-odyssey/
 The Moto guys seem very proud of their GPX files, wanting $12 a state (looks to be about .50 per mile in NM).
Anyone with a RideWithGPS account willing to post the track on here?   http://ridewithgps.com/users/273271