3,380 miles 26 days
Begin in Everett, Washington
Everett, Washington
Fly in Saturday July 14th
Williamsburg, Virginia
Fly home Friday August 10th
We have done a Northern Transcontinental PAC Tour in 1992, 1993, 1994, 1996, 1997, 2001, and 2004.
Everett, Washington to Williamsburg, Virginia
3,380 miles 26 days
Begin in Everett, Washington
Fly in Saturday, July 14
Begin riding Sunday, July 15
Finish riding Thursday, August 9
Fly home Friday, August 10
BLOGS
Will, JW, Terri "the Turk", & Jim Slauson, first complete family to finish a PAC Tour -- JW is youngest rider to complete a PAC Tour.
The Northern Tour begins in Everett, Washington about 50 miles north of Seattle. Riders fly into Seattle’s airport and take a shuttle van to our motel in Everett the day of fly in.
The Northern Tour ends in Williamsburg, Virginia 60 miles from Richmond’s airport. Riders fly home from Richmond or Newport News, Virginia. Some take a shuttle van to the Washington, DC airports.
This Northern Tour is the most popular PAC Tour cross-country event ever. An average of fifty riders per year have participated. There have been with over 500 PAC Tour veterans who have ridden the Northern.
See some of the best scenery of the northern United States across Washington, Idaho, Montana and the dreaded climbs over the Big Horn Mountains. In the Midwest, ride the best back roads and visit quaint small towns. The thick forests and steep mountains of the eastern states will offer scenic and challenging cycling.
This tour has a lot of memories for us. The weather has given us many stories over the years. We have found that July is the best time of year for this tour because of the dry forecast. Expect warm temperatures in the mid 90s at this time of year. We have held this tour during June several times. Many of those years we had rain the first day going up Steven's Pass. After we cross the summit we had a hot dry day into Wenatchee which renewed everyone enthusiasm for cross county cycling.
We have had many other weather related adventures on this tour. In 1992 a hailstorm blew in after lunch on the Big Horn Mountains. Most of the riders had shed the clothes at lunch. The temperature dropped from 80 degrees to 45 degrees in a few minutes. Hailstones cover the highland meadows resembling a snowy landscape. An occasional passing motor home made ridable tire tracks through the marble size hail. Everyone tried to trace the tire tracks and find clear pavement. Some of the riders walked and pushed their bikes for over an hour. Finally we descended into Sheridan, Wyoming. The sun came out. We were hot again. By the time we reached the motel the day of hail was just a bad memory.
The headwind into West Yellowstone was another classic day in July of 1993. Suddenly the wind shifted and the final 70 miles were directly into a steady gale. The strongest riders working together could only managed 8 mph. Many riders barely finished before sundown. This was probably the worst consistent headwind in PAC Tour history and we no longer choose this road into West Yellowstone.
One evening we were eating dinner at the "Little Chef" restaurant in Mitchell, South Dakota. It was raining hard outside and the wind was howling. Dark clouds covered the remaining sunset. Suddenly, the lights went out. We wanted to leave and go back to the hotel. The restaurant said we couldn't leave because their cash register lost power and they didn't have our bill. We overpaid them with a stack of $20 bills and ran back to the motel in the pouring rain. The power came back on as the television announced sighting a tornado two miles west of Mitchell. Everyone left their rooms and sat in the interior hallway. The power went out again and we were in the dark listening to the wind outside. After 15 minutes of wondering if we in the path of the tornado the rain suddenly stopped. A great sunset lit up the sky again and we knew the tornado had decided to pass on by.
Don't be afraid. The weather isn't always that bad. The Northern Tour always adds more stories for veterans to tell. Every year is different because of the people, weather and even road conditions. We are looking forward to collecting a few more adventures in 2007!
July 15 - August 9, 2007
| Finish | Miles | Climb | ||
| Begin Everett, WA | ||||
| 1 | Sun 15 | Wenatchee, WA | 124 | 5,690' |
| 2 | Mon 16 | Spokane, WA | 161 | 6,420' |
| 3 | Tue 17 | Sand Point, ID | 90 | 2,500' |
| 4 | Wed 18 | Thompson Falls, MT | 80 | 2,500' |
| 5 | Thur 19 | Missoula, MT | 136 | 3,520' |
| 6 | Fri 20 | Butte, MT | 134 | 4,850' |
| 7 | Sat 21 | Bozeman, MT | 100 | 3,200' |
| 8 | Sun 22 | Columbus, MT | 100 | 3,000' |
| 9 | Mon 23 | Cody, WY | 116 | 3,100' |
| 10 | Tue 24 | Sheridan, WY | 150 | 7,300' |
| 11 | Wed 25 | Gillette, WY | 114 | 4,400' |
| 12 | Thur 26 | Rapid City, SD | 160 | 6,500' |
| 13 | Fri 27 | Murdo, SD | 147 | 3,180' |
| 14 | Sat 28 | Mitchell, SD | 143 | 1,690' |
| 15 | Sun 29 | Worthington, MN | 137 | 2,240' |
| 16 | Mon 30 | Austin, MN | 144 | 1,400' |
| 17 | Tue 31 | Prairie du Chien, WI | 149 | 3,200' |
| 18 | Wed Aug 1 | South Beloit, IL | 150 | 6,200' |
| 19 | Thur 2 | Kankakee, IL | 163 | 1,150' |
| 20 | Fri 3 | Wabash, IN | 135 | 1,010' |
| 21 | Sat 4 | Troy, OH | 135 | 1,030' |
| 22 | Sun 5 | Athens, OH | 152 | 2,900' |
| 23 | Mon 6 | Elkins, WV | 165 | 6,600' |
| 24 | Tue 7 | Harrisonburg, VA | 105 | 9,000' |
| 25 | Wed 8 | Ashland, VA | 123 | 4,580' |
| 26 | Thur 9 | Williamsburg, VA | 102 | 1,660' |
3,380 total miles, 131 miles per day, 101,500 feet of climbing, 4,050' climb per day
Proposed schedule with date and cities subject to change.
Price based on double occupancy hotels each night. Pay an additional $1050 if a single room is desired or required. PAC Tour can not guarantee finding everyone roommates. Should you be the final person to register for an event and want double occupancy, PAC Tour may not have that room available and you may be required to pay the single supplement if you wish to register. If a roommate becomes available, you will be refunded the unused portion of the single supplement.
Read the journals of Dean Kinsley and Jimmy Manos (from South Carolina).
Susan Notorangelo, Arend-Jan Koning and other's Notes on the Northern Transcontinental July 1997 (Days 13-25).
Pamela Blalock's Journal on her 1993 PAC Tour (on her site with many pictures).