Afterword

On 1 August I cycled the last 50 km from St Helens into Portland, bringing my grand total to 6,681 km. I stayed three nights at the excellent Northwest Portland Guesthouse, where I used a hose at the side of the main building to wash soil and plant material from my bike, something I had to do to satisfy Australian Quarantine requirements. The next day I took the bike to the downtown branch of the Bike Gallery, where I had booked it in to be packaged for my flight home. Josh and Simon did a thoroughly professional job.

David and Klarice

Jan, a friend in Canberra, had put me in touch with her cousin Klarice, who lives in Portland with husband David. They looked after me marvellously well during my stay. Their many kindnesses included storing the boxed bike in their garage until my departure and driving me and all my baggage to the airport. I purchased a duffel bag at REI to hold my tent and three of my panniers The fourth pannier I used as my carry-on bag for the flight. 

At Portland airport, where I checked in at Alaska Airlines, my boxed bike was found to weigh 52 lbs (23.5 kg), a little over the 50 lb limit and a kg more than on the outward journey. I was, however, not asked to pay extra. After check-in, I took the bike to the oversize baggage area for loading. Given the damage caused on the outward flight, I was horrified to be told the box would be opened for physical inspection. I was permitted but not required to be present while this was done. The TSA agent removed much of the packing material in order to probe the depths of the box at several places with an explosives-detecting wand. Afterwards she put everything back in and taped up the box. The bike was in good condition when I reassembled it in Canberra. 

Canberra airport, 6 Aug 2012

To date, I have raised over $1,900 for Operation Smile through donations made via my blog to one or other of the two linked sites. That is enough to provide free surgery to six children whose clefts would otherwise remain untreated. I have been notified that the Australian donation site will be taken down 45 days after the end of my ride, so there is still time to contribute. [On expiry of the 45 days, the total raised was $2,205 (lumping Australian and US dollar amounts together), enough to treat seven children and equivalent to 33 cents per km cycled.]

Summing up

TransAm Trail start point, 10 May 2012

I have accomplished what I set out to do and cycled across America coast to coast unsupported. I rode from Yorktown, VA to Astoria, OR as planned and a bit further at both ends. I began by cycling from Newport News to Yorktown. I finished by riding on from Astoria to Seaside. Total distance cycled between the extreme points of Newport News and Seaside was 6,484 km. Total time between these places was 82 days, including nine rest days when I did no cycling. Subtract one day and 52 km to get the figures for the Yorktown to Astoria section; or add two days and 197 km for the complete trip including the return ride to Portland still to be completed.

Chester, Illinois

As it turned out, I had ample time within the 90 day visa window and could have stayed on the TransAmerica Trail all the way without taking the shortcut on the Lewis & Clark Trail at the end. Indeed in the last two weeks I took unnecessary rest days and rode frustratingly short stages to fill the time remaining. While I regret missing the Oregon part of the TransAm Trail, I am glad I experienced the Columbia Gorge, which I would not have seen if I had stuck to the TransAm.

Missouri

I was very lucky with the weather, which almost all the way was perfect. I had only a few days of headwinds and only a few of rain. I was never either too hot or too cold. The wind was important. There were times, notably in western Kansas, when I took advantage of favourable winds to ride double stages. If the winds had been blowing the other way, as they might have been, or if I had declined to exploit them, I would not have gone so far so quickly and would have had longer distances to ride in the final weeks.

Kansas

I had no illness or injury throughout the ride except for a saddle sore in the first week that responded quickly to treatment and a shortage of energy on the first day of the second week probably caused by not eating enough. I found the ride physically less arduous than I expected. The training I did in Australia turned out to be adequate, which before I started I was not sure it would be. Mentally the ride was also less demanding than I expected. I maintained a positive frame of mind throughout and never experienced a psychological low point. I got so much into the swing of the ride that if the USA were twice as wide and my visa valid for twice as long I could happily have kept going for another twelve weeks.

Wyoming

Although I still have 50 km to go before Portland, I think I can say that my bicycle has been wonderfully reliable. I have had one puncture in each tyre and did not use the spare tyre I carried with me. I did not need the spare brake pads either. The only maintenance I conducted was to pump up the tyres every few weeks when I came across a floor pump. I checked the brakes and the firmness of the tyres every morning and occasionally checked the tightness of the bolts. I lost the rubber foot from my kickstand and was able to replace it a couple of weeks later. A metal contact broke off inside my rear light when I was changing batteries and it is probably broken permanently. I had a spare rear light with me. My GPS receiver broke at the end of the first week and was not missed. The Rohloff hub is due for another oil change, which I will do when I get home.

I used my tent only three times, at Colter Bay and Grant villages in Wyoming and at Powell in Idaho. In all three places I could have stayed indoors if I had booked in advance, which I deliberately did not do. If I had stayed overnight at West Roosevelt, WA on the Lewis & Clark Trail I would have had to use my tent as there is no indoor accommodation on that stretch of road. I used my sleeping bag more often than my tent, in a variety of halls, hostels and other accommodation (Glendale VA, Hindman KY, Sebree KY, Farmington MO, Everton MO, Guffey CO, Jeffrey City WY) as well as in my tent.

I have been asked which part of the trip was the highlight for me. I find the question difficult to answer. I have been living so much in the moment. Each day has brought its own new wonders and challenges. I haven't had time to think back. Later I will read through my blog and perhaps that will enable me to see the trip as a whole and identify the best parts.

Undoubtedly, however, one of the main things I will take away from the trip is the memory of the many people I met, cyclists and non-cyclists, Americans and non-Americans. I experienced countless instances of friendliness, generosity, and helpfulness. I feel privileged to have met so many good people and thank them all sincerely. Motor vehicle drivers too were almost always courteous and gave me as much room as they could on the road. I appreciated their consideration for a slow and vulnerable cyclist.

Montana

I am very grateful to the many people who have supported my ride by making a donation to Operation Smile, the charity I have been raising funds for. I urge any reader who has not already done so to consider making a donation now, however small, through the links on this blog. The donation pages are not under my control and with the ride over they are likely to be taken down soon. Your contribution can make a lasting difference to a child's life and I hope you will help.

View 2012 USA route in a larger map

(Today I cycled 110 km from Astoria back to St Helens with a stop for second breakfast at Rainier. Average speed 19.4 km/h.)

Seaside, OR

Detail of Lewis & Clark statue, Seaside

Astoria was my goal but not quite my turnaround point. With a day in hand I set off this morning for one final half-stage south to Seaside, where the other ACA route I have been following, the Lewis & Clark Trail, has its official finish. Since I was returning to Astoria the same day, I left the bulk of my luggage behind. I expected this to make me jet-propelled but the bike didn't go any faster. It rolled along at its usual pace, worn out perhaps by its exertions over the weeks.

I came to the Lewis and Clark River, where I had to press a button to set some lights flashing. This alerted motorists coming behind me that there was a cyclist or pedestrian on the shoulderless bridge.

Fort Clatsop

Fort Clatsop was not yet open on my outward journey so I visited it on the way back to Astoria. It is a replica, built in 2006 on the original site, of the wooden stockade in which the Lewis & Clark expedition passed the winter of 1805-06. There is a visitor centre where I watched a 20 minute documentary film. A fully-loaded touring bike was parked outside but I didn't spot its owner.

Lewis & Clark Trail endpoint, 30 July 2012

After all the highway riding from Portland onwards, it was a pleasure to cycle on traffic-free roads today. Perhaps because of the quietness around me, I had more of a sense of an ending today. Coasting down the final 100 m hill and then riding along the beachfront promenade towards the Lewis & Clark statue I could see in the distance, I felt that the journey was complete.

Lewis and Clark look out at the ocean

Today's ride was 35 km each way. At the turnaround point in Seaside, my total distance from the start was 6,484 km.
 

View Week Twelve in a larger map

Astoria, OR

Leaving Clatskanie, early morning

The sky was grey but my heart was light as I set off on the last leg to Astoria. After a warm-up flat section, the road climbed to Clatsop Crest (elevation 200 m) then descended in an up and down kind of way to Knappa where I ate my second breakfast.

Natalie and Dan, eastbound

Soon afterwards, I met Dan and Natalie, the first cyclists I have spoken to in more than a week. They are at the beginning of their trip, heading east on the Lewis & Clark Trail as far as Missoula, MT, where they will move across to the Northern Tier, leaving it in turn as they approach their destination in the New York area.

They were riding a cool Co-Motion Speedster tandem with a conventional chain and derailleur on the rear and a belt like mine transferring power from the front pedals to the drive. S&S couplings allow the frame to be split into three parts, packable into two cases.

TransAm Trail endpoint, 29 July 2012

The road continued to undulate. The Sunday morning traffic wasn't as bad as yesterday's and in time I came to Astoria. There is a column here somewhat similar to the one in Yorktown. It's at the top of a steep hill overlooking the town and the ACA have kindly not made it their finish point for the TransAm Trail, nominating instead the Columbia River Maritime Museum on the riverfront. I visited the museum later in the day and learned a lot from it.

Astoria Bridge, across the river mouth to Washington

This morning's ride was 58 km, bringing my total since the start to 6,447 km. I still have three days' cycling to do before I wrap up in Portland on Wednesday.

Clatskanie, OR

Industry in Washington

No drizzle this morning but a bit of a breeze early on, blowing off the ocean into my face. Either it moderated later or I got used to it and ceased to notice it. The entire 52 km into Clatskanie was on the shoulder of US 30, a busy, noisy road with little to recommend it except that the shoulder is reasonably good. There was a big hill after Rainier, about 150 m high according to the profile on the map. The descent into Clatskanie was 6% for 4 km.

Nature in Oregon

It looks as though there is one more hill of similar size before Astoria and several smaller ones. I should make it there tomorrow as planned. 

St Helens, OR

Bike path by the Columbia

A reason for my lingering in the gorge was that the region between Troutdale and the Pacific coast tends to be cool and cloudy with lots of rain. That's how it was today except that the rain was only drizzle and lasted only an hour or so towards the end of the stage.

PDX airport from the bike path

The first half of today's 76 km ride consisted in getting to the far side of Portland, the city I will fly out of when all is done. Portland is centred on the Willamette River not the Columbia, so I was able to skirt around its northern edge by sticking close to the Columbia, squeezing between it and the airport on a route that was sometimes bike path and sometimes shoulder. I worked my way across the city from one river to the other, on bike lanes most of the way, and crossed the Willamette by St John's Bridge.

At the far end of the bridge, I saw the first road sign for Astoria, my destination, and got on the shoulder of US 30, which will take me there. The flat road turned inland, out of sight of the Columbia, although parallel to it. I stopped for second breakfast at the first place I saw then cycled on in the drizzle on the good quality shoulder, my camera packed away.

Troutdale, OR

Bike path out of Cascade Locks

I'd been looking forward to today's 59 km ride because I knew it would be particularly beautiful, climbing up high and passing spectacular waterfalls. The route starts on a state trail (bike path), continues on the I-84, then goes for 40 km on the HCRH, which I wrote about three days ago. Work has begun on extending the bike path to eliminate the need to cycle on the I-84.

The state trail out of Cascade Locks ran for about 4 km until it reached a fish hatchery. Where to go from there? I explored every road and path around the complex junction except the correct one. At last I found a local person and he told me. Silly me had failed to notice that the freeway exit ramp with its large and prominent 'Do not enter' and 'Wrong way' signs carried a subsidiary sign saying 'except bike'. That was the way I had to go. It's obvious once you know.

It brought me to the infamous stairwell, where six flights of steps have to be climbed. There is a grooved ramp for bike wheels but pushing a fully-loaded touring bike up a 45 degree slope is beyond me. I removed the four panniers, carried them up the steps two at a time, then pushed the bike up and reloaded.

Multnomah Falls

As I rode along the I-84, I could see the first part of the bike path extension alongside. It is already usable for some way. Once on the HCRH, I wound my way slowly up the hill past one waterfall after another, each with its car park, viewing points, and walking trails. The highest is Multnomah Falls, with a drop of 189 m. It has a visitor centre, cafe, gift shop, and restrooms as well as the standard amenities.

Bike rack at Vista House

The road started to climb more seriously and took me into cloud. At Vista House, a 1913 rotunda near the summit celebrated for its views, there was no view at all.

The view from Vista House

The descent took me away from the Columbia. A new river, the Sandy, appeared on my left and I followed it to a crossing at the entrance to Troutdale. This is regarded as the endpoint of the gorge.