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I've been a cyclist for much of my adult life, but this was my first attempt at self-supported fully-loaded touring. I think I learned a few things that could benefit others, as well as a few things that you should avoid. I wish I had been told these things prior to my tour, so I'm passing these bits of advice on to help you. The advice is free, and I offer a full money-back guarantee if you aren't satisfied with it. In no particular order of importance, following are some suggestions to make your own tour more enjoyable.

What I Would Do Different I absolutely loved my adventure, and if I were told I could do it again but that it had to be done the same way as before, I'd do it again in a heartbeat! But, if I were allowed to do it differently, I would. One major change I would make is that I would not break the trip into 2 halves but would do it all as one continuous ride. After completing the first half it was very difficult for me to leave my traveling companions and return home to work for a while before I started the second half. Also I lost some conditioning in the interim before I returned to start the second half, so that was a challenge. Doing it as a continuous ride this time I would ride the second half east to west of course, so that's something I would do differently. The other major change I would make is that I would take 12 weeks, instead of 10 weeks and 2 days. Twelve weeks is a more "normal" pace for cyclists, and would allow me a lot more leisure than I had. I would use the extra 12 days thus; 4 days would be used to split up the 4 100+ mile days I had, and the remaining 8 days would be used to add to the number of rest days. I would take at least 2 more rest days early during the tour in Virginia, 1 rest day in Missouri, and use the remaining 5 rest days to add additional days on the western half (maybe a couple of rest days in Canon City, an additional rest day in Lander, and 2 to be used elsewhere in MT, ID, or OR. There would still be a few 80-90 mile days, but more time to rest and recover. I missed at least a couple of hostels that I would stay in this time; at Troutdale, VA and Marion, KY for sure. Since I've been to the Adventure Cycling headquarters once now and gotten my free ice cream, I might skip that little excursion this time (or I might not, it would depend on how well the schedule is working out at that point). I didn't camp a lot, and I mostly enjoyed the times I did camp, so I would try to camp more this time. I think maybe a goal would be to camp about once every 4 days, or 21 times on the trip. Assuming I stayed in hostels for a week or so, camped for 3 weeks, stayed in "other" lodging for a week (see the Statistics section of this epilogue), then 7 weeks would remain for hotel stays.

Early Departures! Leaving early is the solution to almost every challenge you face. Leaving early is the answer, now what was the question? I suggest that you plan on trying to depart an hour before sunrise each day, and even earlier when you know you will experience a long day with little shade. That means that you plan on waking up about 2 hours before sunrise, and that may seem a bit early compared to your normal routine. The benefits of an early departure are substantial. Leaving early means that you can get ahead of the heat and solar radiation and have most of the day's ride done by the time it really starts cooking. If you depart at 5:00 am, you will reach your destination by noon or shortly after most of the time. This gives you lots of time to clean up, wash clothes, prep the bike for tomorrow's ride, and plan the next day. Once you get to Kansas, the afternoon heat can become quite intense for the remainder of the trip and the opportunities for shaded rest spots are fewer. Leaving early also gets you out ahead of the worst wind conditions, as the wind tends to increase from the sun's heating. A couple of days struggling through the heat and wind in Kansas will make you a believer in early departures; save yourself some grief by adopting this practice early in your tour. I know it sounds crazy, but one married couple were struggling so bad through Kansas that they adopted a 2:00 am wake-up routine to beat the heat and wind! I think that's pretty extreme, but I think a 4:00 am wake-up is prudent and makes for a much easier and more enjoyable day. Leaving early also gets you out ahead of the traffic. If you know of a particularly bad stretch of traffic ahead on your route, I suggest planning it such that you arrive at the beginning of that bad stretch the day before and then make an early departure to cycle through the heavy traffic area before most folks are out and about. There are some long "no-service" zones out west. Going east to west, you first begin to encounter these in Kansas when you have zones of 38 - 68 miles with no services. So, you need to be prepared to carry enough food and water to get you through these zones, plus have reserves for contingencies (such as having to change a flat tire in the afternoon heat in the middle of nowhere). Leaving early is your best insurance to safely traverse these long empty zones.

Bicycle Lights You need a good headlight and taillight, plus a rear flasher. The need is obvious if you follow my advice to get an early morning start. But even if you wait till daylight to start cycling, you will sometimes find yourself in foggy conditions in the Ozarks, or get caught in a rain shower in the Appalachians, or even have to cycle through smoky conditions from forest fires. The safety aspect of having a headlight and taillight should be obvious, and they are required by state traffic laws when you cycle in darkness or limited visibility conditions. A pet peeve of mine these days is that bicycle lights aren't regulated to the same standards as are motor vehicle lights. Most bicycle "headlights" really aren't headlights at all; instead, they are just flashlights mounted on a bicycle. Consequently, there is no cutoff for the top of the beam like there is on a real headlight. Vehicle headlights are designed so as to not blind oncoming drivers; this is accomplished by having a solid "cutoff" to the upper portion of the beam so that it shines outward but is not allowed to shine upwards. Bicycle "headlights" that are sold in bike shops are pretty much worthless in my opinion; they are good for mountain biking where you appreciate having an unrestricted beam so you can see branches of a tree that you need to avoid, but they blind oncoming drivers if you use them on a road. Fortunately, German bicycle headlights are designed with a cutoff to the beam so that it won't blind oncoming drivers. While most of these have traditionally been made to operate with hub dynamos, there are quite a few now available that run on battery power. Peter White Cycles has a ton of information on bicycle headlights, and he imports the best German brands, including battery powered headlights that are "real" headlights and not just a flashlight mounted on a bicycle. Get one of these and ride safely with a real headlight. If you're going on a log tour, you will find it much better to get lights that you can permanently attach to the bike versus having to mount and unmount the lights each time you use them. You also need a good taillight, and Peter White Cycles sells the best of these as well. I suggest that you also get a separate flasher unit that you can operate in foggy, rainy, or other limited-visibility conditions. I keep mine mounted to the tab on my seatbag that holds my tools and spare tubes; it's hidden behind the Adventure Cycling triangular slow-moving vehicle safety sign, and is easily visible through the mesh fabric when I operate it. Having the separate rear flasher also means that I have a backup taillight if my dynamo-powered taillight should ever fail. I run dynamo-powered lights that operate day and night, so I never have to think about lights when the visibility changes; my headlight and taillight are always on, the only thing I have to physically switch on is the rear flasher unit if I decide it is needed. I use a little head-mounted light for camping and if my dynamo-powered headlight should ever fail, it could function as an emergency backup headlight.

Solo or Not? It can be great to travel with another cyclist, but on the Transam trail I wouldn't be too concerned about whether or not I began with a riding partner. Assuming you are leaving at about the same time of year as most other folks do, you will meet a lot of other cyclists. Solo riders tend to meet up with other travelers who are moving about their same pace, and I met several groups of 2-3 riders who all started out solo but then informally paired up with others. On the other hand, I also met folks who had originally started with another rider, only to have the other rider drop out, or perhaps their paces were different enough that they each moved on their own or found others to travel with. Seriously, whether you start with a partner or group of others, just let it happen and accept that you won't all travel at the same pace. The alternative is that some in the group will be "forced" to travel at a faster or slower pace than they wish, and they will be unhappy. Even if you ride with others, you will find that folks will move at different speeds during the travel day and just meet up at the campground or hotel later. So just chill out and let it happen, move at your own pace and enjoy the ride.

Cash is Needed Like most of us these days, I often travel with very little cash and use my credit cards to pay the bills. That will work for most places on the Transam trail as well, but not everywhere. After dining at a cafe somewhere in Kansas, I was surprised by the "cash-only" policy when it was time to pay the bill. Fortunately, I had some. Many small stores out west have a minimum purchase requirement before you can use a credit card, and I was often under this limit when buying only a Gatorade and snack and was forced to use cash. The Hartsel Guest Ranch and Lodge required a check or cash. And in White Bird, ID, the motel and every store in town required cash. So you best take a bit of cash along with you, and maybe 1 or 2 personal checks as well.

The Hardest Part? People often argue whether the Ozarks or the Appalachians has the hardest riding conditions. I don't think there's really any contest; the Appalachians are the toughest by far. It isn't the elevation climbed, it's the steepness of the grades that makes the Appalachians hard. On my last day in Virginia and my first 2 days riding in Kentucky, I climbed 4,200 - 4,900 feet each day. Some of these climbs had ridiculously steep grades, and most folks have to walk and push their loaded bikes up them. There were some days in the Rockies when I also climbed more than 4,000 feet, but the grades in the Rockies are very gentle by comparison. The Ozarks also have some steep grades, but most aren't as steep as the Appalachians. There was only one day in the Ozarks that I climbed more than 4,000 feet. The Ozarks do wear on you however, because it seems like you are on a never-ending roller coaster; if you aren't going up, you are going down, there's little level ground.

But I've just been talking about the difficulty from climbing. The wind also imposes a significant load, and at times a windy day on flat ground can be harder than a calm day climbing a steep grade. The Appalachians weren't the only hard part. The Wyoming wind caught me by surprise and nearly did me in, and it may very well have been my hardest overall day (see Day 66 for details). Also, the forest fires caused me to have to ride 2 days distance in 1 day, and this was a pretty challenging day (see days 51-53 for the story). But overall, I think that the section beginning at the climb up the Blue Ridge in Virginia and ending about the 3rd day in Kentucky is the hardest overall portion of the Transam Trail. If you are west-bound, by the time you reach Kansas you have completed the most difficult terrain. Each of the states following has some tough sections, but if you make it to Kansas you can do the rest.

East to West, or West to East? Unless you have logistical constraints or a time constraint that makes it more convenient for you to ride from West to East, I suggest you ride from East to West. Since I did a "both ends to the middle" tour, half of the time I was riding from east to west and half of the time I was riding from west to east. So I have some experience heading each way. This is obviously a subjective matter, and you should go whichever way makes you happy, and you'll have a fantastic experience regardless of your travel direction. I prefer the east-to-west approach for several reasons that I'll try to explain, but others may have reason to prefer the opposite direction.

If you travel from east to west, you can depart about one month earlier. Most folks depart around May 1st when heading east to west, but when heading west to east most folks don't depart until about June 1st. The reason for the later departure is that a mountain pass is usually not clear of snow for cyclists until June 1st. Getting the earlier departure on the east to west route allows you to get out further ahead of the July and August heat. I prefer having the morning sun to my back as opposed to shining in my eyes, especially if you depart early enough in the morning so as to avoid having to look into the afternoon sun. Since the hardest terrain is the Appalachians and Ozarks, going east to west allows you to get that behind you early in the tour. The eastern portion of the Transam is certainly the most populous, so going east to west also allows you to get past most of the traffic issues early in the tour. Studies of the wind have shown that it doesn't matter which direction you travel across the country, the wind will sometimes be favorable and sometimes not. Still, I think the crazy Wyoming wind may be more friendly to a east to west rider (at this point on the Transam you would actually be traveling northwest through Wyoming and Montana). My last reason is just personal preference; I enjoy visiting the wide-open spaces and scenery of the western mountains more than I enjoy the rugged beauty of the Ozarks and Appalachians and urbanized areas of the eastern U.S. The eastern U.S. is over-populated as compared to the west, and I like the cycling out west. Your mileage may vary, of course, and there are legitimate reasons for going west to east.

Don't Fret Over a Few Pounds Of course you want to keep the weight as low as reasonable. Every pound you have to carry upgrade is significant, so do be prudent with what you pack. But don't shed things you actually need just to reduce weight. I camped in a 2-man tent because it is much more comfortable for me and allows enough room to put some of my luggage in the tent as well. Others opted for an ultra-light 1-man tent; they had hardly no room to even roll over and no room at all for their luggage. So is it worth saving a pound or 2 to reduce your comfort and convenience? Ultra-light gear is not only more expensive, it's also much less durable. I took 3 sets of cycling gear, so I had to do laundry at least every 3rd day. Others took only 2 sets, and 1 young man only had one set of cycling clothes. Do you want to have to do laundry every day just to save a half-pound? You can reduce weight somewhat by making things serve more than one purpose. My Showers Pass rain jacket also served well as a cool weather jacket at higher altitudes out west. My "pajamas" consisted of swimming trunks. I enjoy photography and took a DSLR camera and even an extra lens (telephoto for wildlife) along, even though that added about 2.5 pounds. It was well worth it to me. When you consider your body weight and the weight of the cycling clothes and shoes and helmet you will be wearing, and the weight of the bike plus the essential extras you need for touring (racks, lights, tools, spare tubes, water bottles, panniers, handlebar bag), plus the added weight for water and food supplies, the actual weight of your gear isn't that big of a contributor to the overall weight. In my case, the weight difference between being very lightly loaded and being "comfortably" loaded was about 5 pounds. That may sound like a lot when you are thinking with your "road bike" mentality, but in my case it was the difference in 310 - 315 pounds overall. My bike loaded with all the gear, food, and water was about 105 pounds. I'm a big guy (6 ft 3 in) riding a 64 cm bike, and I know of others who managed to have loaded weight as low as 80 pounds, but they were smaller folks with smaller bikes. The point of all this is simple; don't go to extremes to save a few pounds. Even if your'e a fairly lightweight person riding a carefully-loaded touring bike, you will still have a total load over 200 pounds to pedal up hill; if you add a couple of pounds of weight for some "luxury" item that makes you happy (like my camera does for me), you aren't adding much from a percentage perspective. So pack carefully, but don't fret a few pounds.

Fenders or Not? FWIW, most folks I met on tour had fenders. I used them, and would use them again. They add about 1 pound of weight, but keep the tires from spraying water on you while riding in the rain and afterwards while the road is still wet. They also help prevent road gunk from being thrown up into the drivetrain, so they are helpful even in dry conditions. You can save a pound by not having them, but see the above discussion on weight before you decide. Oh, and an important consideration is that fenders look cool and identify you as someone who is a real cyclist, versus someone who is a weight-weenie road cyclist on tour.

A Tiring Subject; Tires Tires; you really do need them, so I recommend that you ride with tires. What you need for fully-loaded touring are real touring tires. They are heavier than the lightweight slick tires used on "racing" bikes, but they are much more durable and will give you many more miles of flat-free riding. Schwalbe makes what is probably the most popular touring tire in the world (the Marathon), but as of the last few years it seems that they are prone to failure from developing a "blister" in the sidewall. What I have been touring on lately is the Panaracer Tourgard Plus tire, and I have had very good luck with them. I currently (2018) have 6,000 miles on a set of these, including 1,600 miles of fully-loaded touring and about that much of lightly-loaded commuting to work and back with the remaining mileage consisting of training and recreational riding. I have not had a single flat tire in that 6,000 miles. You must be careful and get the "Plus" version, as the non-plus version doesn't contain the thick flat prevention layer.

Gearing You need low gears to climb up steep grades on a fully-loaded touring bike. While this seems like common sense, most stock bikes don't come equipped with low-enough gearing. I recommend you get a low gear below 20 gear-inches; my setup accomplishes this by pairing a 26 tooth chainring with a 36 tooth cog. On 700c wheels, this gives me a 19.5 gear-inch low gear. If you don't understand the concept of gear-inches, google it. I really questioned whether I would need a low gear this low, and in normal riding I don't use it even on really steep grades. But when you load up the bike and then you hit the crazy steep grades in the Appalachians, you will be glad you have a gear this low. In fact, there were places where I wished for an even lower gear. You can take my advice, or you can be sorry. Most touring bikes are only equipped with a low gear of around 22 gear-inches, so folks do get through the Appalachians without having a gear as low as I'm recommending. But they pay a price for it, and I guarantee you they wish they had a lower gear. I met folks riding Rohloff hub bikes (internal gearing, kind of like a car) who had lower gears than me, and many mountain bikes have crazy low gears, but most derailleur bikes don't go below 20 gear-inches. Get a low gear of 19.5 gear-inches or lower and you will thank me for the advice.

Sun Protection It's an individual thing I suppose, but I don't like being fried by the sun all day. I found that a skull cap/neck drape worked well to prevent sunburn. I also wore long sleeves to keep the sun from cooking my arms. Performance Cycling makes a lightweight long-sleeve jersey made for sun protection, and I recommend it. I think you stay cooler with the sleeves than by going sleeveless; after all, that's how the Arabs protect themselves in the desert. If you want to wear traditional short-sleeve cycling jerseys, you can get arm protectors that slip on to prevent sunburn. Though I didn't have them on this tour, I recently rode the Western Express route in July and August and used leg protectors that are similar to the arm protectors to prevent sun damage. Dealing with the rigors of fully-loaded touring is hard enough without having to deal with sunburn.

Yellowstone Traffic Yellowstone may be the worst traffic situation you will encounter. It seems strange that the worst traffic would occur in a national park, but it is what it is. Fortunately, only half of it is really bad, and the other half is just bad. The traffic problems are mostly caused because people drive these huge RVs and pull vehicles behind them. Many of the RVs are being driven by folks who flew in to somewhere nearby and rented the RV for their Yellowstone vacation, so they aren't very experienced RV drivers. In the southern half of the Yellowstone/Teton park combination, there is no shoulder on the road. A long line of RVs can stack up behind a group of touring cyclists, and the cyclists have no choice but to continue on until they reach the next turnout area. It's a stressful traffic situation, to say the least. There are ways to get through and minimize the traffic problems. The best advice is to stay as close as possible to the park area the night before, and then get up very early and try to make as much progress as you can before the RV crowd gets on the roads. Midway through the park you can camp at Grant's Village in the hiker/biker area where you are guaranteed a camping spot. Once you reach Grant's Village, there is a small shoulder for the remainder of the way (assuming you are traveling the east-to-west direction). It helps only a little, but it's better than nothing. One rider I encountered in Idaho was so frustrated by the Yellowstone traffic that he suggested I should wait until night and then just try to ride completely through the park to avoid the traffic. I think that's a bit dramatic, and you would miss the sights and Old Faithful and such if you did so. But for sure you want to get up extra early on the morning you enter the park and make some headway before the tourists stir.

Lodging Take advantage of all the hostels along the way. Leave a donation at each one, even if you can only spare a few bucks. You will meet other cyclists at the hostels, and you will get info from them about the road conditions ahead and lodging opportunities ahead. Don't overlook lodging opportunities at the RV parks. Many of these are rather nice, and they usually have laundry and showers and a swimming pool. Ask about indoor lodging when you arrive; you may find that they will let you sleep in the floor of the office or other building, or you may find that they rent a "primitive cabin" or other such indoor lodging.

Equipment and Gear See the "Intermission" section on equipment for details. My equipment worked well. I highly recommend disc brakes for touring as they not only stop well but they also give you confidence in wet conditions.