Bicycling Coast to Coast: Complete Route Guide Virginia to Oregon [Paperback]

The book is thin on trip planning info and simply points readers to other sources for info on bike touring. In general, most of this book merely describes points of reference along the TranAm trail (ie: mile 1 - You'll pass a convienence store on the left; mile 2.3 - You'll see a lake with picnic benches to the right). I felt that it lacked a real focus (sometimes it reads like a diary, sometimes it reads like a guidebook, etc) & was full of superfluous fluff (the state flower of virginia is blah blah, a family in kansas fed me cake, etc) that only made my saddlebags that much heavier.

Overall though, it's not my objective to dissuade you from buying this book... as unbelievably it seems to be the only guide written about riding the TransAm trail. Ikenberry's book certainly has some usefullness - perhaps mostly so in providing info on places to sleep along the way. But even then, she fails to mentions whether these places have showers or food on numerous occasions. It's worth the 15 bucks... but the book could (& should) have been so much better... (for example: there is no mention anywhere of suggestions on what kind of bike to use, gearings, tires - nothing even remotely technical)

That said, I would NEVER bike the Trans Am, or even a portion of it, without consulting Adventure Cycling first [on their web site]. Their maps are indespensible and when used in conjunction with their up-to-date addendums, they are incredibly accurate. Ikenberry makes it pretty clear that she is using the Adventure Cycling maps as her guide as well.

I also found it odd that Ikenberry only biked the Trans Am once. She makes comments on terrain and areas which are purely cicumstantial (such as mentioning "dog-prone" areas in Kentucky - where we had no more dogs than any other day - and areas with mean drivers.) It was sometimes hard to tell whether her descriptions of places were based on one pass through or fact. Plus, I would have trusted her judgment of "steep" and "trafficky" had I felt more confident in her bike touring past.

On the plus side, Ikenberry does offer some nice background information on historical areas which the Trans Am cyclist may not otherwise recieve.

Overall, I am glad I lugged the extra pound on my tour. It was helpful and since I wasn't relying on it for accuracy, I wasn't affected at all by the closed services. It would be great if someone would update the book! Some towns in the book are no longer on the Adventure Cycling route. Also, she breaks the route into 70 different biking days. Some are rediculously long. She must have had some serious tail-winds at some points! Again, had she biked the route several times, I am sure her days would have been more "normal" in some instances.

In any case, bike the Trans Am since it is awesome and contact Adventure Cycling for your most accurate information. If you have [any money] left over and some room for a medium-sized book, squeeze Ikenberry into your pannier.