TransAm Planning

Here is a tree older than the forest itself;
The years of its life defy reckoning.
Its roots have seen the upheavals of hill and valley,
Its leaves have known the changes of
          wind and frost.
The world laughs at its shoddy exterior
And cares nothing for the fine grain
          of the wood inside.
Stripped free of flesh and hide,
All that remains is the core of truth.

Cold Mountain
100 Poems by the Tang poet Han-shan

The core of truth............


Have been doing a lot of reading as i work on preparations for my TransAm ride. I bought the ACA maps the other day and expect them here early next week. I bought, and received today, a copy of The Complete Handlebar Guide To Bicycling The TransAm. Once i get the maps, i'll compare the two, and look at some of the online journals to compile information on free lodging and showers wherever it is available.

My goal is to keep this trip, once i set out, down to $20 per day, all inclusive. That isn't going to leave room for luxuries very often, but i already know i'll be picking up coffee here and there, so that will have to be included. Right now i'm planning to carry my small thermos and making green tea with my stove each morning. I can't imagine not having tea breaks throughout the day. Not easily anyhow. I may be addicted to coffee, but i think my blood is green tea.

One decision i haven't made is how to get my bike to VA and how to get it back home from OR. I don't want to carry the tools to reassemble it on one end and take it apart on the other, so have been thinking about asking a local bike shop to box it up and ship it for me. I'd need to find a shop in VA that would accept it, but i think that might be doable. Then, i'd need to find a shop in OR to do the same thing when i'm done.

Then, how do i carry 4 panniers and a RackPack when i fly? Put them all in one box and check that as luggage? If the airlines lose that one box on the way to VA i'm completely screwed. Completely. And we know they would simply shrug their shoulders and say, "Oh well, we tried."

On some days i think i don't have much to do to get ready. On others, it seems that the number of small tasks is overwhelming. I only have a few items i still need to buy, but that includes deciding on food. I have to look for and get air tickets, unless i take the train. Oh well, i still have three months.


DHS 78/100