When I was planning my ride in the winter of 1996-97, there were maybe half a dozen bicycle tour reports on the internet. Now there are hundreds, if not thousands. I long ago gave up trying to keep up! Here instead are links to a few pages that do a better job of cataloging all the ride reports out there, plus links to a few individual reports that for one reason or another I liked.

Long distance touring books seem to come and go - the ones now on the shelves at the bookstore are almost completely different than the ones that were available when I was planning my trip. Here are two that I read then, and which deserve mention:

Bicycling Coast to Coast - A Complete Route Guide / Virginia to Oregon, by Donna Lynn Ikenberry (1996). Ikenberry rode the Transamerica Trail, east to west, a couple of years before I did. Rob brought a copy along with him and from time to time we found it useful in planning our daily route. (The book is less useful when it comes to general trip preparation & training.) Clicking here will take you to the book's page at Amazon (including three reviews by customers) if you're thinking of buying it.

Over the Hills - A Midlife Escape Across America by Bicycle, by David Lamb (1996). This book came out a couple of months before I set out. It ticked me off as soon as I saw it, because he'd gone and written the book I would have written if I'd taken my ride first (and if I had his talent)! Lamb -- a smoker with an increasingly sedentary job -- set out without a day of training and a lot of the early chapters deal with his working his way into shape. But the balance of the book reflects a keen eye and a talent for storytelling; I read it again after returning from Oregon and found that I enjoyed his insights and observations even more. It seems to go in and out of print. Check this link at Amazon to see what today's news is.