Steve's TransAm Adventure

It is hard to believe it has been 7 years since I completed Part 2.  A LOT has happened since then (COVID, my daughter’s wedding in Austria, a struggle with Cervical Radiculopathy, 4 grandchildren, and two hip replacements), which is why it has been 7 years.  I have never given up hope that I might someday get a chance to finish what I started, the entire TransAm from Yorktown VA to Astoria OR.  This year I will pick up where I left off in Wichita KS.  I will fly my bike to a shop in Wichita and re-assemble it there.  Then I will head North to pick up the TransAm route where I left off.  I was not able to complete the entire route in one part because my job and family did not afford me the flexibility to take that much time off.  Last December I retired after 23 years as a Professor in the Mechanical & Nuclear Engineering department at the United States Naval Academy, so I no longer have that constraint.  Consequently, it is my goal to finish ...

67 miles, 6:33 riding time, average 10.2 mph, 1614 ft ascent We got an early start today, leaving the city park in Eureka at 0600.  It was a nice park with a municipal pool, so we really enjoyed swimming and relaxing at the pool after yesterday’s ride.  Today our goal was to go off-route to Duane’s Aunt and Uncle’s house in Valley Center.  Duane is planning a rest day, and as I mentioned in yesterday’s post, I will end Part 2 there.   The route out of Eureka was on Highway 54, which I described in my last post.  There wasn’t much traffic early in the morning, but the wind was blowing at about 20 mph from the SW with gusts of up to 30 mph.      There wasn’t anything to block the wind; this is wide-open country. This is a PANO photo from my iPhone. A disadvantage of front panniers is that gusting wind creates a force that turns the front wheel and causes me to swerve slightly.   When big semi’s pass they also create gusts that have the same eff...

62 miles, 5:00 riding time, 12.4 mph average, 1257 feet ascent Riding in the hot sun all day yesterday was too much. The plan today is to finish the ride by 1300. Eureka is 63 miles and I averaged about 13 mph yesterday, so that is 5 hours saddle time. Allowing 2 hours for breaks and water stops means I must roll out at 0600. First light is 0545, so this is a realistic plan. I set my alarm for 0415 and bought food for breakfast at Walmart last night.  Everything went according to plan.  I left Chanute at 0600 with my front headlight and read blinky lights.  Soon after I saw the sunrise. This part of Kansas is not actually flat.  It is rolling hills.  The grades are not bad (5%), but the climbs are long.   On my way to Toronto Reservior I was riding down a paved road and came to an intersection where the road I was on continued as gravel into some trees, or turned left onto a paved road.  Just as I made the left a couple dogs came running out of the woo...

91 miles in 6:42 with an average speed of 13.6 mph and 1654 ft of ascent You will notice that my average speed has gone up and my ascent has gone down...so you guessed it, I have left the Ozarks!  Today we were at Cooky’s Cafe in Golden City when they opened at 0600 for breakfast.  Cooky’s is popular among TransAm cyclists for their hone made pies.  Even though it was breakfast I had to try the Strawberry Rhubarb, and it was served hot out of the oven...mmm, mmm GOOO! The terrain was gently rolling hills with shallow grades.   While it was still true that every stream crossing was proceeded by a descent and followed by an ascent, the grades were no where near as steep as the Ozarks.  On the way from Golden City to Pittsburg KS I came across this sign. Cyclists know that doesn’t apply to them, so I proceeded to this sign. Still undeterred I forged ahead.  Lucky for me I was able to cross a condemned bridge.  Soon after I crossed into my fifth state of t...

82 miles, 6:10 riding time, 13.2 mph average, 3809 ft ascent Duane and i stayed at the Holiday Inn Express in Marshfield last night.  We were concerned about the forecast of rain overnight so we didn’t want to camp out, and sure enough, we awoke to rain.  We decided to sleep in (0545), enjoy the hotel continental breakfast, and get a leisurely start.  I was apprehensive about starting the day in rain, but also didn’t want to hang around the hotel all day.  I brought a rain jacket, helmet cover and shoe covers and have hauled them up and down numerous mountains, so by golly, I better use them, which I did.  I rolled out at about 0930 in the rain, which takes some getting used to.  I don’t have photos for the first part of the day due to the rain.  Hurricane Barrry gave us another day of tailwinds, so I made good time (13.3 mph avg) over rolling terrain.  But, the Ozarks were not done with us yet.  About 30 miles into the ride I entered into a ...

107 miles, 8:17 riding time, about 13 hours clock time, 12.95 mph average, 40.8 mph max speeed, 5945 ft ascent The Arrowhead  was not a particularly nice campground.  It was crowded and there was only one washroom and a separate coin-op shower hut with no sinks or toilets.  One nice thing, it was right on a bend in the river.  Duane and I went for a swim before going to dinner last night.  This section of the river is popular for floating (beer drinking). The day started with a steep climb right out ot the campground, followed by a descent back down to the river!  The river is windy and the valley is narrow, so we had to ride up and over the ridge between the two sides of the bend in the river.  If we had a raft we could have paddled around and avoided that climb.  Once we crossed the river we had another long, steep climb up into the “high country”.  What a way to start the day!  We stopped at a small cafe for breakfast and I had the be...