Bicycling Coast to Coast: A Complete Route Guide, Virginia to Oregon

I used this book this summer, riding from Florence, OR to Yorktown, VA (yes, the book goes from east to west, so I was reading "backwards"). For my purposes, I used the book to help figure out how large towns were and what services they offered. 9 times out of 10 the book gave fairly accurate assesments of services. There were times when "full-service" towns were no longer in existance and the grocery or restaurant we had been relying on was nowhere in site.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.

Donna Ikenberry's "Bicycling Coast to Coast" is a well laid out, day-by-day guidebook for a bicycle trip across the country. From maps, to sights to see, to places to camp and eat, this book has everything you need to get across the country and not get lost.The only thing I wish this book included was trip preparation hints (of which it has very few). However, this book along with Steve Butterman's "Bicycle Touring - How to Prepare for Long Rides" make a great cross country bike touring set.

Who knows whether I'll actually push the pedal that begins a coast to coast bicycling trip but having read Donna Lynn Ikenberry's "Bicycling: Coast to Coast," I now know what to feel, smell, taste and enjoy along the journey. The sunshine pours through her scenic descriptions and your legs ache during her climbs. As she comes close to each day's destination you can feel the anticipation of soothing well-used muscles. This is a guidebook to prepare for the trek as well as take along for reference. Buy two and leave one with someone responsible for knowing your itinerary.