In this video I begin by setting off from Council, Idaho, and as I was warned by a west-bounder I camped with, I immediately found myself on a really unpleasant stretch of busy highway with a narrow shoulder, and was on roads like this for most of the day. To top things off I was starting to feel as if I was coming down with some sort of cough/cold, and generally found myself a bit fed up with it all by the end of the day. I will admit in moments like this I do find myself longing for the off-road trails I enjoyed on the GDMBR last year. However, after a day off to try and recover a bit from whatever I was suffering with, I set off and was pleased to find a much quieter road greeted me that morning, and before long I was riding along a beautiful section of road running alongside a river. I then enjoy a nice couple of days of riding as I say goodbye to Idaho and make it to Montana. On the last day of this video I reach Missoula, which is home to the American Cycling Association headquarters. As I am riding their TransAm route (and also rode their GDMBR route last year) I decided to stop in and have a look around. While chatting to an ACA employee I learnt about an alternate TransAm route called the Eastern Express, which diverts from the classic TransAm route and crosses the states along a more northern route, the main advantage of this being it makes use of some the old rail trail cycling routes. I am giving this option serious consideration as I feel a few hundred miles away from busy roads would certainly be an enjoyable change.
So far I am following the classic American Cycling Association Trans America Bicycle Trail, which was established in 1976 for the U.S. Bicentennial, and is a renowned coast-to-coast cycling route spanning approximately 4,200 miles. Starting in Astoria, Oregon, and ending in Yorktown, Virginia, riders experience the majestic Rockies, the serene Midwest plains, and the historic Appalachian Mountains.
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