Hi Tam - it really depends... the official TAT route as it stands now (from West Virginia to Oregon) is going to take you longer than four weeks realistically - certainly if you've any hope of actually seeing/absorbing anything, and not riding 16 hours a day...

Of course this time of year you are going to have to miss out large chunks of it - and typically those that coincide with the slower more technical terrain (in Colorado, and higher elevation in Utah and Idaho), but even then, 30 days would be pushing it from coast to coast.

If you want an illustration, there is my ride report from 2015 here on the HUBB - it took me 25 days on the actual TAT itself, but that was starting at the previous official start in Andrews NC (there has been another 500+ miles of TAT route added since then).

I'd say that was a realistic solo pace if you're confident in your riding skills and have packed light - oh, and aren't planning on camping much either... but even then I only had one day off (not riding), and towards the end was covering 300+ mile days some times just to make my target finish.

Ultimately though, if you have the maps and/or the GPS route, you can always streamline sections to stay on target - although I always say that's a shame since even the shortest section you might choose to miss could actually offer a highlight of your trip for one reason or another?

If you want my suggestion to cover as much TAT as possible earlier in the season, then I would ride from the east coast (the Blue Ridge Parkway is always scenic) and as much of the TAT route as you can in Virginia, North Carolina and Tennessee; and then streamline through Mississippi (this is basically what I did last spring on the G310GS - ride report here).

Pick the TAT up again once you cross in Arkansas and include the first couple of sections north in Oklahoma too - then straight-line on highway 412 from Tulsa to Boise City - that should see you in New Mexico within two days.

Realistically you'll only get as far as Trinidad (or possibly La Veta) on the TAT route in Colorado before the altitude gain means you'll need to hit the Highway again - my suggestion would be to stay south on 160 for Durango (ride the train for half a day!), then pick up the TAT again once you cross into Utah as I suggested above...

That way, you ought to be close to Moab around the 2+ week mark, which means it's feasible to ride as much of the rest of the TAT as possible and make it to the coast within a month.

But don't bust your arse or the bike just to try and keep to a tight schedule - it would be far better to miss out sections of trail than blast through them and for it all to become a blur... and it's also a shame to not have at least a little time to stop at some of the trail/road-side points of interest, since it really is the whole point of following this particular route after all?

So in that regard, another example of a short-cut to keep you heading west - once you reach Promontory Summit in Utah (definitely worth the visit, and essential if you love steam trains!), you can always forfeit the trail sections north of there through Craters of the Moon and across the mountains towards Sun Valley ID, and instead take I84 towards Boise and pick up the TAT again in that region for the final run west through Oregon to the coast.

Hope that helps!

Jenny x

Thanks Jenny! We have revised our trip to be 6 weeks. It looks also like we'll be doing the trail west to east rather than the traditional way so we most likely will unfortunately miss a fair bit of the more mountainous areas if we're starting in mid-march.

Another random question I had is how you found the cost of doing the trip? We're trying to work out the budget for it at the moment but it seems to be quite hard to find any budget info on any of the forums.

Hi Tam - I think you'll certainly appreciate the extra time - not only to give you some margin for a few days off here and there, but also for time to explore away from the main route and see some of the 'sideshows' as I call them - just off the top of my head (heading from west to east as is your plan) I'd try and include:

Unfortunately you're not going to be able to get up to Crater Lake (10,000+ft) in Oregon at that time of year as the road will be closed, but Fort Rock is a cool thing to see and not far off the TAT route east of there.

Craters of the Moon in Idaho (ice caves)

Promontory Summit in Utah (where the transcontinental railroad was joined - including replica working steam trains!)

Bonnieville Salt flats in Utah

Moab in Utah (do try and spend at least 3 days here, exploring the trail network - it is world class)

You'll have to forfeit the high passes in Colorado (and associated ski/mining towns - unless you want a long on-road detour), but if you take the southern route via Durango, the Durango-Silverton steam train ride up the valley there is another 'world class' tourist thing to do - note it only tends to go about half-way/half day at that time of year, but you'll probably be able to ride the highway as far as Silverton as long as there is not too much recent snow.

Once you get east of Colorado there is a big chunk of nothing through Oklahoma (note. there is 'Dorothy's house' in Liberal Kansas just off the TAT, and a typical overnight stop when heading in the other direction - however, unless you are a particular fan of the Wizard of Oz, it's not really that impressive ;o)

Once you get to eastern Arkansas/Mississippi, Memphis Tennessee is just over the river (Graceland etc.), and similarly it's worth a quick divert off the trail to visit the Jack Daniel's distillery tour in Lynchburg TN as you pass through there.

In eastern TN you've also got the Tail of the Dragon (hwy 129/Deal's Gap) which really is worth a ride - try to go early morning on a weekday to avoid the squids and traffic.

note. the TAT runs south of here, but the Great Smoky Mountains National Park in eastern TN is nice and scenic (slow 1-way road mind you) and if you want, 'Dollywood' (Dolly Parton's theme park/house) is not far north of there near Gatlinburg.

The current TAT actually runs through the eastern side of the Great Smoky Mountains NP now, so you can always short-cut there from Deal's Gap if you wish.

There is also the Wheels through Time museum in Maggie Valley NC, just east of there too (the TAT goes right through Maggie Valley now).

As I mentioned previously - once you've got the end of the TAT route, if you want to hit the east coast (I used First Landing VA as my 'official' east coast start in 2015) you can either take the rest of the Blue Ridge Parkway and cut across, or pick up the MABDR (Mid-Atlantic BDR route) which shares part of the Virginia TAT route - north (past Washington DC) and on to New York for example, if that is where you plan to ship home from?

As for costs - it is very hard to give an accurate figure, it's going to depend on how many nights you spend in motels vs camping (motels are an increasingly significant cost these days in the US), and if you want to pay for any tourist stuff off the main trail (although a good number of these are free, including the Jack Daniel's tour).

There is typically a charge for entering the National Parks - and if you plan to visit a number outside of the TAT, you can buy an annual pass for $80 which is usually good to cover two of you on individual bikes, unless the person on the gate is particularly mean... That said, if you're just riding the TAT itself, I wouldn't bother with a park pass - just be aware it is typically $10 per vehicle for an individual ticket if you do want/need to enter one.

Generally speaking though, fuel is still cheap in the USA - it can be less than $2.50 a gallon (4 litres) on the east coast, rising to around $3.50 on the west coast.

Food in diners is affordable, although if you're coming from the UK/Europe, you'll be shocked at the price restaurants and bars charge you for a pint of 'craft' beer in a lot of places these days - $7-8 is not uncommon.

There are very few motels worth staying in that cost less than $40 these days, and a lot of even the 'low-mid' priced chain motels (Motel 6 & Super 8 for example) are in the $65-80 range now.

You can ride the whole TAT without camping (I did that in 2015 for example), and certainly at the time of year you're considering, I'd probably budget at the higher end for accommodation - it's nice to have a decent bed and a hot shower at the end of a long day riding, and especially if you experience poor weather which is almost inevitable at some point.

However, do try and take a basic/light-weight camp with you though - not only for emergencies, but because you will find a number of places where you'll think "You know it would be so cool to camp and wake up here the next morning!" (Arkansas is particularly nice in that regard I found).

So I hope that helps you - and anyone else reading this thread - to plan you schedule and budget a little?

Jenny x