Travelling on a motorcycle, off pavement from one side of the United States to the other is an adventure that would have Lewis & Clarke signing up at reincarnation.com.
Following nearly eight years of gruelling research, a dozen sets of tyres and more nights in downbeat motels than I care to remember, I put together a route that is 98% pavement free.
For your riding pleasure I’ve hooked up a network of gravel roads, dirt roads, old creek beds, forest roads, jeep trails, some single tracks; in fact anything I could link together that is suitable for a dual-sport motorcycle and won’t put the rider at the wrong end of an irate farmer’s shotgun.
The TAT’s trailhead is just southeast of Nashville, TN. From there, the intrepid rider crosses Mississippi, Arkansas, Oklahoma, New Mexico, Colorado, Utah, Nevada, California and ends up at Port Oregon on the coast of the Pacific Ocean. On the way he or she will experience just about every dirt road surface that man and nature could come up with, and probably every type of weather too. Each day the rider will be rewarded with subtle changes in the people, the food, the culture and, of course, the horizon.
The Trail covers 4400 miles/7000km and can be done in about three weeks at a push.
Navigating the Trans Am
I’ve created 105 detailed maps of the entire route which get updated annually as certain sections of the Trail get sealed. With scales down to 1/100th of a mile the maps are designed to be used in a roll chart holder in conjunction with your bike’s odometer. On each map, the trail is highlighted in colour and includes both the turn-to-turn and the accumulative mileage. Each hand-made map costs around $5, depending on the state. Available from, www.transamtrail.com. See you on the Trail.
Sam Correro
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