Best by
Bike
Stories from the open road
written one mile at a time.
About
Best by Bike
Best by Bike is a website all about journeys best made by bike. Primarily it covers two transcontinental rides across the United States – the TransAmerica Trail in 2014 and the Southern Tier in 2019.
It also includes reports on previous rides as well as articles, tips and links for anyone thinking of undertaking a long-distance, or even short-distance, cycle. But most of all it’s about the fun and friendship to be had on two wheels.
Hopefully it will inspire you to get out on a bike, enjoy some fresh air and explore. It doesn’t matter if you cycle one mile or a hundred, there’s nothing quite like cycling to make you feel alive. And who knows, one day, like me, you might even get the urge to go that little bit further…..
TransAm:
The Book
The TransAmerica Trail is the coast to coast bicycle route the US loved first. Opened in 1976 to celebrate the country’s Bicentennial, it runs 4,264 miles from Virginia on the Atlantic coast to Oregon on the Pacific. The Trail takes in ten states, crosses the Great Plains and climbs four mountain ranges including the Appalachians and the Rockies.
As the TransAm celebrates its 50th anniversary, join self-confessed Mr Bean on a bike, Paul Dunt and cycling guru Terry Wooller as they saddle up and follow the wagon wheel ruts of history from east coast to west. In an epic journey across the backroads of America, the unlikely pair explore parts of the country very few of its citizens even visit — the so-called fly-over states.
In an inspiring and often hilarious adventure, they outsmart chasing dogs, escape forest fires, dodge tornadoes and try, unsuccessfully to outrun the police. Along the way they discover the reason for creating the Trail half a century ago — to unite the country — lives on in the incredible hospitality they are shown from the valleys of Kentucky to the High Plains of Colorado.
Adventures
The TransAmerica cycle trail was established in 1976 to celebrate the United State's Bicentennial. In that year more than 4,000 cyclists rode the route and the enthusiasts who created it went on to form The Adventure Cycling Association. We cycled it in 2014 and documented the journey in detail.
Five years after completing the TransAmerica ride across the US Terry and I are back - this time to tackle the Adventure Cycling Association’s Southern Tier which runs from St Augustine in Florida to San Diego in California.
This was my first big ride after LEJOG and my first with a large group of other cyclists. It took us four days from capital to capital, covering 221 miles. Every big ride deserves an iconic finish — and it doesn’t get much more special than the Arc de Triomphe.
When a cycling trip starts with you being asked to take part in sea shanty festival, just before boarding the overnight ferry to Holland, you know it’s going to be a good one. The cycle lanes of The Netherlands were nirvana while German hospitality and hearty food proved irresistible. Throw in a finish beneath the Gothic enormity of Cologne Cathedral and it was near-perfect.