Transam bike touring details

A friend of ours Rachel wrote with these questions, replied to below. 

I'm intrigued to know how hot the temperatures have been, what your average hours per day in the saddle is, have you been self catering or eating out all the time, how often have you camped or slept in a real bed, how have you found the traffic overall, have you stopped and had time to see things in more detail or has the time been ticking and kept you riding past? 

 Temperatures. Mostly it has been hot and dry. In Kansas it was in the high 30s. As we have moved across the Rockies it has been more in the high 20s with it getting cold in the middle of the night. Back into Idaho and Washington it has gotten hot again as we are down low. 36-38 for several days so we had to ride in the early mornings and try to finish around the middle of the day, especially as the winds are lighter in the morning as well. You wouldn't think it could be that hot in Washington State but there is a large area of dessert here with a lot of wheat farms. There has been a drought too with no rain in Portland for 57 days. We are now in Hood River, just out of the dessert area and close enough to the sea that a change of wind brought some rain yesterday and has cooled everything down. 21 degrees is a lovely change. And we have had smoke haze since Yellowstone from wildfires near Lolo which has finally blown away. 

Hours per day. So we start anywhere from 6am to 7.30.  We try  to ride 60-70 miles per day which usually means arriving at our destination about 3pm. However this varies a lot due to hills, wind and the route. Sometimes we do a long ride to get to a particular location to create a rest day or catch up. this could be 90 to 100 miles and so we might ride into the early evening. 13 hours was probably the longest day last week but we were on a wonderful stretch with lots of great downhill, good winds, friends, views and a good destination. we all arrived happy. 

Self catering or eating out. Eating out is hard to avoid when hungry and can only carry so much. Often we have an early breakfast of Museli and yoghurt, second breakfast on the road, at a diner or gas station - usually something with eggs like an egg and cheese biscuit - which is more like a scone. We carry food for lunch, flat bread or bagel with cream cheese or nut butter, but if there I a town with a good pub or diner we will stop for a hamburger or egg burger. Usually with a side and a slice of pie if it is home made.  We also eat energy bars and have Hydration stuff in our drinks. we are more likely to self cater dinner, sometimes with a dehydrated meal. If there is a grocery store nearby we make what we call a transam salad, consisting of salad greens, beans, bits of cheese and a dressing of lemon juice and olive oil. having made friends on the road we have been eating out more in the evening and trying the beer. This has been a bit expensive but there are compensations in the accomodation. 

Camping vs real bed. This has been a combination that varies across the country. in the East and Midwest there are lots of churches that let you stay for free or a small donation. Always very generous and a great experience. We stay in $50.00 hotels sometimes if we can find them, sometimes we pay more. Hotels are good at the end of a big day or on rest days. We camp mostly in city parks, again more generous in the Midwest and east, where towns are happy for bikers to stay. They even let us use the municipal pool and showers, often for free.  Occasionally we have stayed at RV parks. Warm showers is a website where touring bikers wanting to offer their home to bikers, can do so on the understanding that if you use it you will also offer your home at a later stage. This has been very variable and always interesting. Sometimes they are kooky, sometimes lonely and wanting company. Sometimes they are such bike nuts that they just want people around to talk bikes and touring. We might be in the tent in the backyard or if lucky we might get a bed. The last 2 have been superb luxury homes with wonderful people that have really made warm showers worthwhile. 

Traffic varies widely. The American Adventure Cycling Association creates routes and maps that aim to provide good riding and advice when it is unsafe. There have been times when there is no shoulder and we have to get off the road when trucks or RVs come. There are many delightful quiet back roads with few cars. Sometimes we go on a highway for short stretches which usually have wide shoulders. 

Stopping to see things. This is often a tough one as there is always so much to see, yet we have a tight schedule. we have stopped for Jefferson's House, the Hutchinson space Museum, a short hike in Breckenridge, a few short walks for natural sights, Sights at Yellowstone such as Old Faithful and the grand prismatic pond. Often we stop to take photos or look at animals. And we have had rest days in lovely places like Breckenridge, Missoula, West Yellowstone and North Hood. I would like to have spent more time in Yellowstone Park and possibly a wildlife tour in north Colorado.