Step one:  Concept

In one way or another, I've been planning for years for this trip.  I've always enjoyed bicycle touring, but eight years ago, I decided to treat myself to a custom-built touring bike --- not only for the big Transam trip that I'm doing now, but also for as many other trips that I hope I'll still be in shape to do as I hit the "le troisième âge", as the French so delicately put it.

Step two:  Maps

It was several years ago already that I ordered the set of maps for the Northern Tier route from the Adventure Cycling Association based in Missoula, MT.   The organization started out as Bike Centennial when a  core group of cyclists put together the first organized Transam tour as a way of celebrating the bicentennial of the United States in 1976.  They now offer a very wide range of services, from organized bike tours (at many different levels of support) to touring gear to maps.

The ACA maps are phenomenal.  They show absolutely everything of interest to a bicycle tourist.  Here are some samples from the very first part of the Northern Tier series, "Section One".  These are the maps I have used for the first ten days of the trip.

Note:  Since these can be just a little hard to read, I've made each image a hyperlink to the full-blown image for the highest level of detail.

 

One panel of the map carries an overview of each detail map panel in relationship to the Northern Tier section one as a whole.  It's here that you find the legend explaining how terrain features, roads, and services that are important to cyclists ---like grocery stores and bike shops --- are depicted on the map.	On the back side of the sheet, there is a wealth of information about this section of the trip as a whole.  In the western states where there are so many major mountain ranges to cross, there is a very useful elevation profile.  It's nice to know what you're getting in to.
For each section of the trip, there are combination bar and line graphs indicating average rainfall throughout the year, as well well as average high and low temperatures.	In condensed format, there is a partial listing of the most important services: motels, campgrounds,  hospitals, police, campgrounds, etc.
The map panels themselves are, of course, the most important of all.  They show topography, natural features (forests, rivers, etc.), political boundaries (city limits, state lines, international borders), libraries (for Internet access), grocery stores, restaurants, motels, campgrounds, bike shops, and post offices.

 

Step three:  Daily travel plan

This is where concept meets reality.  Over the years, I've continued to enhance a spreadsheet that I use to figure out how the trip might actually play out.  The first versions only took daily mileage into account.  The latest version not only has mileage, but also a code for terrain (in the range 1-5, where 3 means relatively flat, under three is downhill, over 3 is uphill); it also notes available services (the basics: camping, motel, grocery, restaurant). I can then figure out a default plan for the trip, and determine if I have allocated a reasonable amount of time to it.  You can follow the hyperlink if you'd like to see the spreadsheet for this trip.

Once I've settled on a reasonable daily travel plan, I like to finish the process off by mapping everything to a real calendar.  It's only a "plan", but it's nice to be able to say that you'll be in such-and-such a place on such-and-such a date.  I note some of the things I'll see in any given day, and some of the towns I'll pass through on my way to the destination for that day.  Click this hyperlink to see the calendar for this tour.

Step four:  What to take (and where to put it)

I have packing lists for ski trips, day trips, weekend trips, bicycle trips, business trips, squaredance conventions, et cetera ad infinitum.  Yes, it's a sickness.  Still, when it comes time to go someplace, I have a good idea of what to take.  I just merge some combination of the above lists.  There's a challenge, too, to packing the panniers.  First of all, the weight should be reasonably balanced.  There are various philosophies about what is best.  Some say to place more weight in front, as low as possible.

I divide the weight as evenly as possible, packing the heaviest things at the bottom.  My front panniers mount low on the racks.  It's good to have a low center of gravity for stability.  I also carry gear on top of the racks, mostly camping gear.  For this trip, follow this pannier packing hyperlink to see what I've taken a long and how I carry it.

Step five:  Go bicycle

Whew!  Doesn't this sound easier than steps one through four?