Southern Transcontinental

September 2011

We have used a number of different routes to traverse the southern United States over the years including 1989, 1997 - for riders over 50 years old only! - , 1998, 2002, 2006, and 2008.

September 10 - October 7, 2011

26 Riding Days      2,863 miles      110 miles per day
Arrive San Diego Saturday, September 10th
Depart Savannah, Georgia, Friday October 7th
$4,495 for 30 riders or less
$4,395 for 31-33 riders
$4,295 for 34-36 riders
$4,195 for 37 or more riders
$1000 (total due) by March 15, 2011
Final payment due July 10, 2011
Rider count taken on July 3
Sign up before July 3, 2011 to guarantee your jersey
Tour fee based on double occupancy, add $1350 for a single room

Southern Transcontinental Half Tour Options:

Would you like to extend your cycling season with some great riding across America but you don't have time for a full transcontinental tour? Why not join the Southern Transcontinental for the Western or Eastern Sections?

Each sections offers interesting cycling with great scenery and road conditions. Past riders have equally enjoyed the terrain and sites each section has to offer. Each section includes a collectable PAC Tour Jersey and gear bag.

Western Section:
San Diego, California to Amarillo Texas
11 riding days, 12 nights
September 10 arrive in San Diego, California
September 22 depart Amarillo, Texas
$1,895 double occupancy
Single room add $600

Eastern Section:
Amarillo, Texas to Savannah, Georgia
15 riding days, 16 nights
September 21 arrive in Amarillo, Texas
October 7 depart from Savannah, Georgia
$2,695 double occupancy
Single room add $750

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Photos.

We begin our tour in San Diego.
San Diego has the best scenery, airport, hotels, and logistics for beginning a tour. The first day we leave the city and are out of the traffic after 20 miles. In the morning we climb over the 4,000 foot high mountains through the Cleveland National Forest. Near the 80 mile point we descend into the desert of the Imperial Valley. We drop down all the way below sea level into a mixture of fertile irrigated fields and dry dusty desert. The desert here has a special beauty of Ocotillo Cactus and 75 mile visibility.

During the first three days we cross this expansive desert over giant sand dunes and rolling road dips. The daytime temperatures will be hot over 100 degrees (35 C) during this section. Our support staff takes special precautions by keeping the rest stops closer together and supplying lots of ice and cold drinks.

By the fourth day we begin climbing out of the desert into the pine forests of Prescott, Arizona. The days are much cooler here but the climbs will be challenging. Our route goes over several 7,000 foot mountains then drops into 4,000 foot valleys. The old copper mining town of Jerome, Arizona has a historic charm as a 130 year old settlement. At the end of the 5th day we will stay at the historic La Posada Hotel in Winslow, Arizona. This is a first class hotel that was a famous and fancy Harvey House Restaurant and Hotel that entertained elite railroad guests for over sixty years.

On day seven we enter New Mexico. The landscape changes again to wide open range country. We still have plenty of climbing ahead as we cross the Continental Divide at 8,000 feet near Pie Town. By day nine we are entering Roswell and will have time for a visit to the famous UFO Museum.

The next three days are the flattest of the tour. We descend gradually for 200 miles into Amarillo, Texas. What we lack in natural scenery we will make up for in interesting roadside attractions. Our route will follow Historic Route 66 for almost 250 miles. Sites such as Cadillac Ranch, Big Texan Steakhouse, and many Rt. 66 Museums will be fun distractions along the way. Our rest stops and meals will be planned to allow time to visit these unique landmarks of America.

After day 13 we begin crossing the hills of Oklahoma. The riding is interesting and a good change from the previous flat three days. On day 16 we ride the Talimena Parkway. This hidden section has been rated as the toughest 50 miles of road in America by past PAC Tour riders. Steep, handlebar bending 15% grades roll up and down along the ridge of the Ozark Mountains. We accumulate almost 6,000 feet of climbing during the last 40 miles of this day. Even though the daily total is only 100 miles, most riders consider this one of the toughest riding days. Riders will be rewarded by staying at the Historic Talimena Lodge overlooking the valley far below.

On day 17 we ride through the lush pine forests of Arkansas. The roads are rolling, but not as steep as the Talimena Parkway. The routes twist and turn through a tunnel of trees the next three days. As we get near the Mississippi River we enter the flat farming region. Fields of fluffy cotton balls line the roads waiting for harvest. Two days later we enter the state of Mississippi and again the scenery changes from swamps to rolling hills.

Our final days across Mississippi, Alabama and Georgia offer good cycling through the history of the Southern States. From the Civil War in the 1860s to Civil Rights in the 1960s this route has a lot of interesting stories for the cross country traveler.

This PAC Tour route is combining the best collection of roads and accommodations. We hope you enjoy the 26 day format which will make the pace of this tour perfect for a September tour. The daily average of 112 miles per day should fit into an eight hour riding time for most riders. Our tour capacity is about 50 riders and 30 motel rooms. If you have ever wanted to ride your bicycle from Coast to Coast this tour has lots of interesting cycling with excellent PAC Tour support.

Click for a special article on Southern Transcontinental, Eastern Part

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2011 Daily Schedule

  Sat. Sep 10 Fly in to San Diego; 3:30 PM Rider Meeting; 5 PM Evening Dinner
  Date Start Finish Miles Climbing
1 Sun Sep 11 San Diego, CA El Centro, CA 127 7,500'
2 Mon Sep 12 El Centro Blythe, CA 104 1,600'
3 Tue Sep 13 Blythe Wickenburg, AZ 117 3,430'
4 Wed Sep 14 Wickenburg Cottonwood, AZ 105 7,000'
5 Thur Sep 15 Cottonwood Winslow, AZ 112 7,000'
6 Fri Sep 16 Winslow Springerville, AZ 122 3,300'
7 Sat Sep 17 Springerville Socorro, NM 157 4,350'
8 Sun Sep 18 Socorro Ruidoso, NM 105 6,700'
9 Mon Sep 19 Ruidoso Roswell, NM 97 3,030'
10 Tue Sep 20 Roswell Clovis, NM 109 2,000'
11 Wed Sep 21 Clovis Amarillo, TX 112 1,000'
12 Thur Sep 22 Amarillo Shamrock, TX 94 850'
13 Fri Sep 23 Shamrock Weatherford, OK 106 3,800'
14 Sat Sep 24 Weatherford Purcell, OK 113 5,000'
15 Sun Sep 25 Purcell McAlester, OK 112 4,000'
16 Mon Sep 26 McAlester Talimena Lodge, AR 100 7,500'
17 Tue Sep 27 Talimena Lodge Arkadelphia, AR 101 4,000'
18 Wed Sep 28 Arkadelphia Monticello, AR 103 1,600'
19 Thur Sep 29 Monticello Belzoni, MS 115 1,500'
20 Fri Sep 30 Belzoni Kosciusko, MS 90 3,000'
21 Sat Oct 1 Kosciusko Livingston, AL 116 3,000'
22 Sun Oct 2 Livingston Greenville, AL 126 3,700'
23 Mon Oct 3 Greenville Eufaula, AL 110 3,500'
24 Tue Oct 4 Eufaula Perry, GA 106 3,200'
25 Wed Oct 5 Perry Metter, GA 117 2,000'
26 Thur Oct 6 Metter Tybee Island, GA 87 1,000'
  Final group dinner Thursday, October 6, 6:00 PM
  Fly home Friday October 7 from Savannah, Georgia

2,863 miles 94,560 feet of climbing

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.......... The Historical Record ..........

2008

2008 Daily Schedule

  Sat. Sep 6 Fly in to San Diego; 3 PM Rider Meeting; 5 PM Evening Banquet
  Date Start Finish Miles Climbing
1 Sun Sep 7 San Diego, CA El Centro, CA 127 7,500'
2 Mon Sep 8 El Centro Blythe, CA 104 1,600'
3 Tue Sep 9 Blythe Wickenburg, AZ 117 3,430'
4 Wed Sep 10 Wickenburg Cottonwood, AZ 105 7,000'
5 Thur Sep 11 Cottonwood Winslow, AZ 112 3,000'
6 Fri Sep 12 Winslow Springerville, AZ 122 3,300'
7 Sat Sep 13 Springerville Socorro, NM 157 4,350'
8 Sun Sep 14 Socorro Ruidoso, NM 105 5,050'
9 Mon Sep 15 Ruidoso Roswell, NM 97 3,030'
10 Tue Sep 16 Roswell Clovis, NM 109 2,000'
11 Wed Sep 17 Clovis Amarillo. TX 112 1,000'
12 Thur Sep 18 Amarillo Shamrock, TX 94 2500'
13 Fri Sep 19 Shamrock Weatherford, OK 106 3,800'
14 Sat Sep 20 Weatherford Purcell, OK 113 5,000'
15 Sun Sep 21 Purcell McAlester, OK 112 4,000'
16 Mon Sep 22 McAlester Mena, AR 114 10,000'
17 Tue Sep 23 Mena Arkadelphia, AR 87 3,500'
18 Wed Sep 24 Arkadelphia Pine Bluff, AR 91 1,600'
19 Thur Sep 25 Pine Bluff Clarksdale, MS 134 1,500'
20 Fri Sep 26 Clarksdale Kosciusko, MS 144 3,000'
21 Sat Sep 27 Kosciusko Livingston, AL 111 3,000'
22 Sun Oct 1 Livingston Greenville, AL 126 3,700'
23 Mon Sep 29 Greenville Eufaula, AL 110 3,500'
24 Tue Sep 30 Eufaula Perry, GA 106 3,200'
25 Wed Oct 1 Perry Metter, GA 117 2,000'
26 Thur Oct 2 Metter Tybee Island, GA 87 1,000'
  Final group dinner Thursday, October 2, 6:00 PM
  Fly home Friday October 3

2,914 miles
112 miles per day
90,200 feet of climbing
3,500 feet of climbing per day

PAC Tour 2006
Southern Transcontinental

  Sat. Sep 9 Fly in to San Diego and evening banquet
  Date Start Finish Miles Climbing
1 Sun Sep 10 San Diego, CA El Centro, CA 127 7,500'
2 Mon Sep 11 El Centro Blythe, CA 104 1,600'
3 Tue Sep 12 Blythe Wickenburg, AZ 116 3,430'
4 Wed Sep 13 Wickenburg Cottonwood, AZ 105 7,000'
5 Thur Sep 14 Cottonwood Winslow, AZ 112 3,000'
6 Fri Sep 15 Winslow Springerville, AZ 122 3,300'
7 Sat Sep 16 Springerville Socorro, NM 158 4,350'
8 Sun Sep 17 Socorro Ruidoso, NM 105 5,050'
9 Mon Sep 18 Ruidoso Roswell, NM 97 3,030'
10 Tue Sep 19 Roswell Clovis, NM 109 2,000'
11 Wed Sep 20 Clovis Amarillo. TX 111 1,000'
12 Thur Sep 21 Amarillo Erick, OK 118 500'
13 Fri Sep 22 Erick Hinton, OK 103 2,800'
14 Sat Sep 23 Hinton Paul's Valley, OK 111 2,500'
15 Sun Sep 24 Paul's Valley McAlester, OK 100 3,500'
16 Mon Sep 25 McAlester Mena, AR 114 10,000'
17 Tue Sep 26 Mena Arkadelphia, AR 89 3,500'
18 Wed Sep 27 Arkadelphia Pine Bluff, AR 91 3,700'
19 Thur Sep 28 Pine Bluff Lula, MS 131 2,500'
20 Fri Sep 29 Lula Winona, MS 114 2,000'
21 Sat Sep 30 Winona Meridian, MS 130 3,000'
22 Sun Oct 1 Meridian Greenville, AL 149 4,700'
23 Mon Oct 2 Greenville Eufaula, AL 109 3,500'
24 Tue Oct 3 Eufaula Perry, GA 104 3,200'
25 Wed Oct 4 Perry Metter, GA 114 2,000'
26 Thur Oct 5 Metter Tybee Island, GA 86 1,000'
  Fly home Friday October 6

2,928 miles
113 miles per day
89,660 feet of climbing
3,448 feet of climbing per day

September 2002

Southern PAC Tour Route

Ranking based on 100' of climbing equals 1 flat mile of energy used

Day DateStartFinishMilesClimbRank
 Sat.Sept. 7Rider meetings and banquet in San Diego   
1Sun.8San DiegoEl Centro, CA1297,500'204
2Mon.9El CentroBlythe, CA1052000'125
3Tue.10BlytheWickenburg, AZ1183,100'149
4Wed.11WickenburgWilliams, AZ1359,000'225
5Thur.12WilliamsWinslow, AZ1052,300'128
6Fri.13WinslowSpringerville, AZ1283,500'163
7Sat.14SpringervilleSocorro, NM1574,000'197
8Sun.15SocorroVaughn, NM1356,700'202
9Mon.16VaughnTucumcari, NM1013,000'131
10Tue.17TucumcariAmarillo, TX1251,600'141
11Wed.18AmarilloErick, OK1221,600'138
12Thur.19ErickChickasha, OK1384,000'178
13Fri.20ChickashaMcAlester, OK1433,600'179
14Sat.21McAlesterMena, AR1104,000'150
15Sun.22MenaArkadelphia, AR841,000'94
16Mon.23ArkadelphiaPine Bluff, AR851,000'95
17Tue.24Pine BluffLula, MS132500'137
18Wed.25LulaTupelo, MS1393,200'171
19Thur.26TupeloLawrenceburg1293,600'165
20Fri.27LawrenceburgWinchester, TN942,400'118
21Sat.28WinchesterCalhoun, GA1165,600'172
22Sun.29CalhounGainesville, GA914,800'139
23Mon.30GainesvilleGreenwood, SC1243,600'160
24Tue.Oct. 1GreenwoodOrangeburg, SC1212,300'144
25Wed.2OrangeburgCharleston, SC108350'111
 Thur.3Fly home Thursday morning from Charleston   

2,974 miles
25 days
119 miles per day
84,250 feet of climbing

And Here's How It Went...

and more from a tandem perspective.

1998

We Made It! (Atlantic Ocean at Charleston)The 1998 Southern Transcontinental generated the most concurrent documentation of any PAC Tour. The Muma brothers, riding the tour as a fundraiser, kept up a web site daily detailing their adventures, including lots of pictures with their digital camera. Click on the "Go" links in the itinerary to see their writeup and some of their pictures from each day of the tour (these pages must be scrolled horizontally on small screens). Route Map being auctioned for charity

1998 Southern Transcontinental Roster, includes pictures!

1998 Itinerary

Finish Miles Climb Muma
Begin San Diego, CA
1 El Centro, CA 131 7,500' Go
2 Yuma, AZ 70 460' Go
3 Gila Bend, AZ 119 2100' Go
4 Globe, AZ 147 5540' Go
5 Showlow, AZ 88 8,300' Go
6 Springerville, AZ 58 3060' Go
7 Socorro, NM 157 3940' Go
8 Ruidoso, NM 100 4000' Go
9 Roswell, NM 100 3000' Go
10 Brownfield, TX 140 1300' Go
11 Aspermont, TX 130 1060' Go
12 Jacksboro, TX 136 2000' Go
13 Greenville, TX 152 3600' Go
14 Texarkana, AR 143 1200' Go
15 Camden, AR 85 1500' Go
16 Pine Bluff, AR 85 1000' Go
17 Lula, MS 132 500' Go
18 Tupelo, MS 137 2760' Go
19 Lawrenceburg, TN 138 4300' Go
20 Winchester, TN 105 4000' Go
21 Calhoun, TN 120 5100' Go
22 Gainesville, GA 105 6100' Go
23 Greenwood, SC 124 3600' Go
24 Orangeburg, SC 113 2200' Go
25 Charleston, SC 111 350' Go

2,881 total miles, 116 miles per day, 74,070 feet of climbing, 2,960' climb per day