, 4 min, 779 words
Tags: biking transamerica-2021
I'm planning a bike tour from the Chicago area out west to Washington state. What's involved? What does it look like? How do you even start?
You may recall way back before Covid that I was planning a several-week paddle up the Inside Passage. Unsurprisingly, that didn't happen. But ever since then I've been eager for a longer outdoor trip covering some real distance. Now cases are declining and I'm fully vaccinated, so the time is right.
This serves two purposes for me – space for introspection and rejuvenation, and bringing me to Washington state, where I'll be living for a bit.
Relatedly, why biking? Well, it is a bit more approachable at the moment than paddling, and doesn't require any international border crossings. It also allows me to stay within easy reach of civilization and safely on land, which makes me much more comfortable with adventuring solo than I am with solo paddling. (Fun fact: when biking, if you need a break, it is almost always easy to find someplace to eat a snack or take a nap with minimal risk of drowning or getting crushed against sharp rocks by the ocean.)
I'll be mostly following Adventure Cycling's Northern Tier route. That means going IL to IA to MN to ND to MT to ID to WA. For me, following an existing route reduces navigation-related risks. Plus it's probably saved me dozens of hours in Google streetview, and I trust Adventure Cycling to keep me off the worst highways.
In total, the route is approximately 2600-2700 miles, with fairly substantial elevation gain, plus any side trips and detours that catch my interest.
I'm planning to navigate primarily using paper maps, with gps-assisted navigation for the first and last miles (to/from lodging) in a typical day. What can I say, I'm old fashioned.
I'll be leaving in the next month or so. For safety reasons, my blog will be some number of days behind my actual progress. If you want to get closer-to-live email updates, shoot me an email or text and I'll add you to the list! More info on tracking my progress below.
I'm planning on a pretty leisurely pace of around 50-60 miles per day, with rest days built in. At that pace, I plan to be on the road for seven weeks. I would not be surprised, though, if I hit my groove a few weeks in and start chugging through more miles each day. Only time will tell.
I'm lucky enough to have a job lined up starting this summer, so I can reasonably take seven weeks off to bike.
My plan is to carry 2-4 days of food and 1-3 days of water at any given time. I'm not doing the hyper-dehydrated meal route or anything, just energy-dense foods you can get from a grocery store. For water, I will have a filter and/or purification tablets, but plan to use mostly tap water from homes and libraries along the way.
Lodging-wise, I will be carrying camping gear and plan to camp most of the way. Sites likely include WarmShowers (a reciprocal camping/housing site for long-distance cyclists), campsites, and possibly churchyards and community spaces. On rest days, I'm open to staying in a hotel or airbnb of some sort, ideally with the ability to do laundry. Or I might just do a few 5-10 mile days and camp as usual.
Some options for keeping up with my progress: