We have done a central route in 1994 and 2000.
Fly in to San Diego, Saturday, Sept. 10
Begin Riding Sunday, Sept. 11
Finish in Charleston, Wednesday, Oct. 5
Fly home, Thursday, Thursday, Oct. 6
The cost for the Central Tour is $3,295
Sign-up and pay a $500 deposit by December 1st to receive a TRAVEL SHIRT.
Pay $1,000 total (another $500) by March 1st to receive a FLEECE JACKET.
Final Payments due July 25th.
Our Central Tour will be taking us on and interesting path across America. We will be seeing lots of landscape variety and many historic sites. The first day leaving San Diego we begin with a 50 mile climb over a series of progressively higher mountains. After reaching 4,000 feet elevation the air is cool and clear with scattered pine forests. After lunch you start the 12 mile drop into the desert. The temperature will reach 100 degrees and the landscape changes to sand and cactus as we ride into El Centro.
For the next two days we will be crossing to low desert heading into Blythe and Wickenburg. Long shallow climbs to expansive horizons make the distances here deceptive. The road ahead may be visible for twenty miles. More cactus and brown mountains are the major landmarks. If the wind is right the miles disappear at a 20 mph pace.
During the fourth day we start some serious climbing up Yarnel Hill. When the Race Across America came through Arizona this 12 mile grade comes at the 350 mile mark. Many tired riders have cursed the next fifty miles into Prescott. Steep twisting climbs and great canyon views are the highlights of this day. The old mining town of Jerome teeters on the mountainside looking like it could slide into the valley at anytime.
The climb up Oak Creek Canyon is lined with lumpy rocks resembling a giant sand castle. As we near Flagstaff we follow along Old Historic Route 66. If anyone wants to go exploring the "Old Road" Lon can show them some forgotten sections of red granite pavement. We leave the forests and head back into the Indian Reservation near Winslow.
The red plateaus orange sky of northern Arizona are the scenes from postcards and place mats. This in Indian land. The people of Canyon de Chelly had settled here thousands of years ago. From our motel in Chinle it is a nice jeep tour back through the canyon. We are nearing the Four Corners area of Utah, Arizona, New Mexico and Colorado. Tomorrow we are deep into the mountains again.
Cycling in Colorado is famous for it's climbing. Everyone should be in shape by now. We will be visiting the mining towns of Durango and Pagosa Springs. A few years ago we saw a black bear along one of the backwood steams. The climb up Wolf Creek Pass will be a notable challenge at almost 11,000 feet. The long wide valleys near Alamosa are filled with farmers harvesting hay. The final climb over LaVeta Pass is the last hill before the long straight roads into Kansas.
The longest day of the tour is 160 miles into Ulysses, Kansas. When you get the mountains and trees out of the way you can finally see something. This part of the country has the most beautiful sunrises. The sun is an orange ball magnified to twice it regular size as it comes over the horizon. Flat dusty fields disperse the amber light into a soft glow. To end our day the Ulysses Chamber of Commerce is hosting a chuck wagon BBQ cookout for us down at the old town museum.
The rest of Kansas is not flat. The hills and trees become more frequent. Rivers and valleys are common east of Winfield. This is the rural heart of America. Motorist wave with with one thumb lifted lazily from the steering wheel. Everyone one wears baseball caps from their favorite seed corn supplier. People live in the same town where they were born. Corn on the cob is eaten everyday in season. High school sports are the favorite teams to watch.
Back into the hills of Missouri. The pavement of roller coaster roads was laid over anything in it's path. In the town Lebanon we stay at the historic Munger Moss Motel. The motel is famous from Route 66 days as the place to stay in the Ozarks. Red brick buildings outline a courtyard and drained swimming pool. The rooms are old but clean. A motel classic lobby is also a toy museum. The following day we will ride Old Route 66 for the next 90 miles. Passing through Rolla and Devils Elbow on classic old sections of highway. We will have to plan some stops at antique shops.
We cross the Mississippi River at Chester, Illinois. This is the hometown of Pop-Eye the Sailor Man. Southern Illinois will be remembered for it's small backroads and historic river towns. We spend the night in Vienna (say VY-anna) at the Ramada Inn. The next day we will cross into Kentucky on an old ferry boat at the Ohio River. Kentucky is a nice area with lots of trees and pretty good roads.
We start to get into the eastern mountains has we head toward Tennessee. Now the hills get bigger and the forests are thick. Our day from Dayton to Dahlonega is filled with corkscrew climbs and descents. We make our way into Georgia and through the worst of the mountains. We still have some long cycling days to reach South Carolina. This part of the tour seems to go fast. Everyone is smelling the finish and riding strong. When we arrive in Charleston the landscape we just crossed is still a blur. Remember to take pictures, write a diary and talk to the local people along the way.
PAC Tour Hall of Fame Members have ridden at least 10,000 miles of PAC Tour events. If you are going to surpass your 10,000th miles during the Central Tour please let us know before April. We need to update our records.
Final published route.
| Day | Date | End City | Miles | Climbing |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sat. Sep. 10 | Fly in San Diego, CA | |||
| 1 | Sun. 11 | El Centro, CA | 128 | 7,500 |
| 2 | Mon 12 | Blyth, CA | 110 | 1,600 |
| 3 | Tue. 13 | Wickenburg, AZ | 125 | 3,430 |
| 4 | Wed. 14 | Sedona, AZ | 122 | 8,000 |
| 5 | Thur. 15 | Winslow, AZ | 105 | 1,900 |
| 6 | Fri. 16 | Chinle, AZ | 128 | 3,300 |
| 7 | Sat. 17 | Cortez, CO | 138 | 4,350 |
| 8 | Sun. 18 | Pagosa Springs, CO | 125 | 6,650 |
| 9 | Mon. 19 | Alamosa, CO | 90 | 4,030 |
| 10 | Tues. 20 | La Junta, CO | 148 | 3,000 |
| 11 | Wed. 21 | Ulysses, KS | 160 | 830 |
| 12 | Thur. 22 | Pratt, KS | 147 | 500 |
| 13 | Fri. 23 | Winfield, KS | 120 | 1,800 |
| 14 | Sat. 24 | Parsons, KS | 116 | 2,000 |
| 15 | Sun. 25 | Springfield, MO | 120 | 6,500 |
| 16 | Mon. 26 | West Plains, MO | 114 | 8,000 |
| 17 | Tues. 27 | Poplar Bluff, MO | 119 | 7,500 |
| 18 | Wed. 28 | Vienna, IL | 142 | 4,700 |
| 19 | Thur. 29 | Madisonville, KY | 100 | 3,500 |
| 20 | Fri. 30 | Lebanon, TN | 131 | 4,000 |
| 21 | Sat. Oct. 1 | Dayton, TN | 127 | 5,000 |
| 22 | Sun. 2 | Dahlonega, GA | 134 | 6,700 |
| 23 | Mon. 3 | Greenwood, SC | 137 | 4,000 |
| 24 | Tues. 4 | Orangeburg, SC | 121 | 2,200 |
| 25 | Wed. 5 | Charleston, SC | 105 | 350 |
3,112 miles 124 miles per day 101,340 feet climbing
4 days = 140-160 miles
13 days = 120-139 miles
7 days = 100-119 miles
1 days = under 100 miles
Year 2000 Route (very similar to 2005 route)
Ken Bartholic, Cheryl McMurray, and Chuck Bramwell rode the Central Transcontinental in 2000 and kept a daily log on the California Triple Crown site.
Jim Bradbury has a very extensive site on his experiences on his 2000 trip.
Pamela Blalock's Journal on her 1994 Central Transcontinental PAC Tour.