Trail (TAT), a mostly off-pavement, 5273-mile (8486-km) motorcycle route between the Outer Banks of North Carolina and Port Orford, Oregon, that has become popular with mountain bike riders. The route crosses the Continental Divide nine times in Colorado, Wyoming, and Montana. Ride The TransAmerica Bicycle Trail was inaugurated on May 14, 1976. The TransAm groups, those riding coast to coast, set off from trailheads at either Astoria, OR, or Yorktown, VA, while other groups riding shorter tours set off from trailheads inland. The prearranged groups consisted of about 10 to 12 riders including a leader, trained by Bikecentennial staff, who would handle the group's money and delegate chores like buying food, cooking, and cleaning up the campsite. Support Bikecentennial received support from the Wally Byam Foundation, Huffy bikes, Shimano, the Bicycle Institute of America, and the American Revolution Bicentennial Administration. Legacy The success of the 1976 event led Adventure Cycling to map several additional bicycle routes across the United States and Canada. The Adventure Cycling Route Network now consists of over 44,000 miles and is the largest bicycle route network in North America. Since 2014, the annual Trans Am Bike Race has used basically the same route as that used for the Bikecentennial. Further reading and external links Stephanie Ager Kirz, Bicycling the TransAm Trail: Virginia to Oregon/Washington, 2nd Edition, White Dog Press Ltd., 2003, . Jay Martin Anderson, Two Wheels to America, J.M. Anderson/iTunes, 2012. Author Anderson led a Bikecentennial group of 12 cyclists west to east. Dan D'Ambrosio, "Bikecentennial: Summer of 1976," Adventure Cycling Association, 2019. Derek L. Jensen, Mad Dogs and an Englishman, Pivo Publishing Corp., 2007, . Author Jensen was one of the ~2000 (and 10% foreigners) who rode the entire Bikecentennial Trail in 1976. MD&E includes a detailed account of the event from west to east. Ruthie Knox, Ride With Me, Loveswept, 2012, ASIN B0061C1OQ0. A romance novel of bicycle touring on the TransAmerica Bicycle Trail. Michael McCoy & Greg Siple, America's Bicycle Route: The Story of the Transamerica Bicycle Trail, The Donning Company Publishers, 2016, . References See also June Curry U.S. Bicycle Route 76 Bicycle tours Cycling events in the United States 1976 in the United States United States Bicentennial