TransAmerica Bicycle Trail

To coincide with the nation’s Bicentennial celebration, a small group of cyclists founded Bikecentennial, a bike-route mapping and touring organization based in Missoula. Now called Adventure Cycling, the group’s first major project was the TransAmerica Bicycle Trail, a meandering backroads tour de rural America that purposely avoided every big city in the country. In 1976, more 4,000 riders from all 50 states and 15 foreign countries rode portions of the TransAm Trail. Each year, about 3,000 cyclists ride this and two other cross-country bike routes Adventure Cycling has mapped with details on services important to cyclists.

Section:Gallery

Sat., May 7, 2016

Bicyclists ride the Oregon Coast along the TransAmerica Bicycle Trail in 1976, the year the route was unveiled by Missoula-based Bikecentennial.

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Many locals rolled out the red carpet for bicyclists pedaling the TransAmerica Bicycle Trail in 1976, the year the route was unveiled by Missoula-based Bikecentennial.

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Logging trucks, especially in Oregon and Idaho, were significant competition for highway pavement as bicyclists followed the TransAmerica Bicycle Trail in 1976, the year the route was unveiled by Missoula-based Bikecentennial.

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Bicyclists found lonesome stretches of road along the TransAmerica Bicycle Trail in 1976, the year the route was unveiled by Missoula-based Bikecentennial. RICH LANDERS richl@spokesman.com

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Bicyclists pedaled from sea to snow in Oregon as they left the Oregon Coast and rode over the Cascades at Santiam Pass on the TransAmerica Bicycle Trail in 1976, the year the route was unveiled by Missoula-based Bikecentennial.

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Rich Landers traveled light, sometimes camping on or under picnic tables depending on the weather, as he pedaled the TransAmerica Bicycle Trail in 1976, the year the route was unveiled by Missoula-based Bikecentennial.

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Michener's "Centennial" was a popular read for bicyclists on the TransAmerica Bicycle Trail in 1976, the year the route was unveiled by Missoula-based Bikecentennial during the country's 200th anniversary year.

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Bicyclists enjoyed a higher profile for on state and federal highways along the TransAmerica Bicycle Trail in 1976, the year the route was unveiled by Missoula-based Bikecentennial.

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Deb Ronish of Lewistown, Montana, fixes a flat while being blasted by unrelenting winds near Rawlins, Wyoming, as she pedaled the TransAmerica Bicycle Trail in 1976, the year the route was unveiled by Missoula-based Bikecentennial.

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Brook Landers, right, and Elsbeth Otto begin their Great Parks bicycle tour starting in Jasper National Park of the Canadian Rockies and following route maps by Adventure Cycling. About 30 days and 1,500 miles later, they would ride through Mesa Verde National Park in Colorado and finish in Durango, Colorado.

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Lazy Louie in Hartville, Missouri, was a celebrity along the TransAmerica Bicycle Trail in 1976, the year the route was unveiled by Missoula-based Bikecentennial. He would entertain cyclists as they stopped for shade and water.

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Montanan Rich Landers was a leader for group trips on the TransAmerica Bicycle Trail in 1976, the year the route was unveiled by Missoula-based Bikecentennial. The next year, he was hired as the Lifesports/Outdoors writer for The Spokesman-Review.

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Bike tourists get a taste of rural life along the TransAmerica Bicycle Trail in 1976, the year the route was unveiled by Missoula-based Bikecentennial.

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Bicyclist riding the TransAmerica Bicycle Trail in 1976 were welcomed by many states, local governments and businesses the year the route was unveiled by Missoula-based Bikecentennial.

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A bicycle tourist ascends another Rocky Mountains pass in Colorado while pedaling the TransAmerica Bicycle Trail in 1976, the year the route was unveiled by Missoula-based Bikecentennial.

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A bike tourist pedals through the historic Virginia City, Montana, area on the TransAmerica Bicycle Trail in 1976, the year the route was unveiled by Missoula-based Bikecentennial.

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Bicyclists in Kentucky pause by a barn along the TransAmerica Bicycle Trail in 1976, the year the route was unveiled by Missoula-based Bikecentennial.

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