INTRODUCING TRANS AM BIKE NONSTOP
Greetings fellow endurance cycling enthusiasts, we are proud to announce the creation of the Trans Am Bike Nonstop set to depart for it's inaugural edition from Astoria, Oregon on June 2nd, 2024. While we are pleased to announce it as an inaugural event the TABNS has existed for 5 to 10 years as the Trans Am Bike Race and Bike Nonstop US. We told you the "why's" of Trans Am Bike Nonstop linked in this post here, now we're here to tell you the "what's". For the duration of this article we will throw out a few acronyms.
TABNS - Trans Am Bike Nonstop, TABR - Trans Am Bike Race, BNSUS - Bike Nonstop US
Where and when does the TABNS start? Astoria, Oregon, June 2nd, 2024
Where does the TABNS finish? The open entry finish is in Washington D.C. and the closed entry finish is in Yorktown?
What are open and closed entry? The ride to Yorktown is intentionally limited in numbers for a variety of reasons. The ride to D.C. is open to all approved applicants.
What is the route for the TABNS? The route for the TABNS is a mix of old and new. It's a hybrid of the Adventure Cycling Association's 50 year old TransAmerica Trail, the TABR classic route of 10 years. It's that combined with the roughly 6 year old Bike Nonstop US route. The BNSUS route was designed from the ground up to use lower traffic roads and cycling infrastructure to cross the US. This route features a few portions of bike trails that are not paved. While the trail can occasionally be rougher than the Trans Am, the route has a significant lack of vehicle traffic. Not only is there less traffic, it's a shorter, faster route.
Can riders choose where they finish either D.C. or Yorktown? Yes and no. Entries for the ride to Yorktown are limited however the route to D.C. is available through an application. There's a third option to continue after your TABNS finish to Yorktown, this only after leaving D.C. or vice versa from D.C. to Yorktown. This is solely up to the riders discretion and not part of any official routing of the actual event itself. Sure you can connect the two at the finish, but on you're own time, not ours.
Why is the Yorktown finish limited? We've been doing this for years. Please read this post.
Where is the route map located? An example version of the TABNS route map is linked here.
Where are the route resources located? All route resources for the Trans Am Bike Nonstop are linked here.
What's with the Blue, Red, and Yellow lines on the route map? The Blue line is the Classic TABR, more or less the same route for 50 years. The Red lines are the 6 year old Bike Nontstop US route with alternates additionally in red. Finally, the Yellow lines are mostly TABR alternates or the US Bicycle Route System data from the ACA. The additional yellow line across Nebraska is intended to be an alternate for either ride.
Is this a checkpoint event? No, there are no check points. We expect riders to stay on their chosen route fixed route. That said, we will allow a few exceptions, spelled out in detail in the manual.
Can riders choose whatever route they want? Yes and no, the classic TABR Blue line to Yorktown is at the approval of the race organization. If we tell you're your not accepted to ride the route to Yorktown, you're expected to follow the Red lines or northern Yellow line across Nebraska and finish in D.C.
What if I don't ride unpaved roads and paths well? Well, entry to the TABR is there, but limited. We'll also tell you there are ways to go around some of the longest stretches in the west, but at a penalty.
What's the penalty for not riding the gravel sections of the route? Roughly 30 minutes for every 10 miles of pavement ridden in place of gravel. This penalty time may be subject to revisions between now and race launch at our discretion.
Dogs: The TABNS route is a low dog route across the country. The TABR is mostly free of dogs until you reach Missouri, from then on it is medium dog country until you get deep into Eastern Kentucky. Eastern Kentucky is extreme dog country on par with Albania if you've raced the TCR.
On crossing Appalachia: The eastern TABR is nearly double the elevation of the east BNSUS. Additionally the eastern portion of the BNSUS route is nearly entirely on bike path, albeit a bit of it unpaved. Our point is here that despite a little unpaved trail, the BNSUS route through Appalachia is not only quicker than the TABR but it's essentially dog free in comparison. If you're concerned about the time this will take you, you should absolutely consider D.C. as your main destination.
Can riders do a loop of both routes or something cool like that? Not in the name of our event and organization, your ride is officially over at the completion point.
Can riders do an individual time trail at some other point, or start on the east coast? No, the ride starts June 2nd in Astoria, Oregon.
How serious are the rules? This is a self supported, self-enforced, individual bike ride ride, to test one's self. If you're wondering how seriously is any of this policed, we'll tell you that we value human life more than trying to post results and assign penalties. We'll tell you that arguing over the rules is something we outright despise. We'll also tell you that the rules are there for a reason and that we're by no means encouraging them to be bent to your personal benefit. It's fine, complain to your friend or therapist about someone else cheating in an underground bike event, but if you're looking to do it on social media, you really should find another bike race. We'll tell you that we occasionally sort racer drama, but we'll also tell you a route this long lays bare all others faults quite easily and that any officiating is done after the fact. The seriousness of the rules depends on each riders adherence to such a culture of self enforcement. Specifically to reiterate, no rider should judge another rider in a public way, ride your own ride.