Williamsburg, Virginia - Fly home Friday August 10th
30 riding days 3,484 miles 116 miles per day
We have done a Northern Transcontinental PAC Tour in 1992, 1993, 1994, 1996, 1997, 2001, 2004, 2007, and 2010.
Everett, Washington - Fly in Saturday July 10th
Williamsburg, Virginia - Fly home Friday August 10th
30 riding days 3,484 miles 116 miles per day
Will, JW, Terri "the Turk", & Jim Slauson, first complete family to finish a PAC Tour -- JW is youngest rider to complete a PAC Tour.
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 2010!
We have changed the New Northern Route from past years to offer some shorter mileage days and more time to visit points of interest along the way. For example in past years on the second day we rode 161 miles Wenatchee to Spokane, Washington. This year we will take a slightly different route and go 110 miles miles from Wenatchee to the Grand Coulee Dam on the 2nd day and then 90 miles from Grand Coulee Dam to Spokane on the 3rd day. This will make each day shorter with more time for visiting Grand Coulee Dam.
A similar change happens on the 10th day when we are able to stay in Powell, Wyoming instead of Cody. We are able to then cut 25 miles from the next day going over the Big Horn Mountains. This make a 125 mile day instead of 150 miles to Sheridan, Wyoming.
In past years we rode 162 miles from Gillette, Wyoming to Rapid City. This year we will ride 100 miles to the town of Custer near Mount Rushmore and then add a shorter 75 mile day to Rapid City. This will allow more time to visit the many tourist activities in the Black Hills area.
Our route across the Midwest is more direct through Iowa, Illinois and Indiana. There will still be plenty of hills and small farm roads. This make all those days about 125 miles each instead of 140 miles per day across Minnesota and Wisconsin.
We added two more days across Ohio and West Virginia and divided the four back to back 150 and 160 mile days into six shorter days of 120 miles each. This made all the days of the tour more consistent in distance and intensity. We think all these changes will make the Northern Tour a more popular tour and offer better scenery and riding options for all the riders.
The Northern Tour begins in Everett, Washington about 50 miles north of Seattle. Riders fly into Seattle’s SEA-TAC 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. We will assist the riders in arranging shuttles/taxi’s to take them to the airport. Riders fly home from Richmond or Newport News, Virginia. Some have taken a shuttle van to the Washington, DC airports.
Riders ship their bike in cases to the beginning hotel. The bikes should arrive several days before departure. Most riders call the hotel to check on the bike’s arrival or use the tracking system of the carrier. PAC Tour will carry standard collapsed card board bike boxes for riders to the finish. Hard shell cases are shipped at the rider’s expense to the finish hotel.
More detailed bike shipping and the motel address information will be available in the 2010 Rider Packet that is mailed in late December or early January.
| Day | Date | Start | Finish | Miles | Climbing | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fly into Seattle and arrive in Everett on Saturday, July 10 | ||||||
| 1 | Sun | 11 | Everett, WA | Wenatchee, WA | 124 | 5,690' |
| 2 | Mon | 12 | Wenatchee | Coulee Dam | 110 | 4,500' |
| 3 | Tues | 13 | Coulee Dam | Spokane, WA | 85 | 3,500' |
| 4 | Wed | 14 | Spokane | Sand Point, ID | 90 | 2,500' |
| 5 | Thur | 15 | Sand Point | Thompson Falls, MT | 80 | 2,500' |
| 6 | Fri | 16 | Thompson Falls | Missoula, MT | 136 | 3,520' |
| 7 | Sat | 17 | Missoula | Butte, MT | 134 | 4,850' |
| 8 | Sun | 18 | Butte | Bozeman, MT | 100 | 3,200' |
| 9 | Mon | 19 | Bozeman | Columbus, MT | 100 | 3,000' |
| 10 | Tues | 20 | Columbus | Powell, WY | 115 | 6,200' |
| 11 | Wed | 21 | Powell | Sheridan, WY | 120 | 7,300' |
| 12 | Thur | 22 | Sheridan | Gillette, WY | 114 | 4,400' |
| 13 | Fri | 23 | Gillette | Custer, SD | 100 | 4,000' |
| 14 | Sat | 24 | Custer | Rapid City, SD | 75 | 2,500' |
| 15 | Sun | 25 | Rapid City | Murdo, SD | 147 | 3,180' |
| 16 | Mon | 26 | Murdo | Mitchell, SD | 143 | 1,690' |
| 17 | Tue | 27 | Mitchell | Elk Point, SD | 137 | 2,240' |
| 18 | Wed | 28 | Elk Point | Carroll, IA | 135 | 4,300' |
| 19 | Thur | 29 | Carroll | Newton, IA | 135 | 3,700' |
| 20 | Fri | 30 | Newton | Mount Pleasant, IA | 140 | 4,100' |
| 21 | Sat | 31 | Mount Pleasant | Peoria, IL | 130 | 3,150' |
| August | ||||||
| 22 | Sun | 1 | Peoria | Danville, IL | 130 | 2,500' |
| 23 | Mon | 2 | Danville | Anderson, IN | 135 | 1,010' |
| 24 | Tues | 3 | Anderson | Troy, OH | 100 | 1,030' |
| 25 | Wed | 4 | Troy | Circleville, OH | 92 | 2,900' |
| 26 | Thur | 5 | Circleville | Parkerburg, WV | 95 | 6,600' |
| 27 | Fri | 6 | Parkersburg | Elkins, WV | 135 | 9,500' |
| 28 | Sat | 7 | Elkins | Harrisonburg, VA | 105 | 9,000' |
| 29 | Sun | 8 | Harrisonburg | Ashland, VA | 123 | 4,580' |
| 30 | Mon | 9 | Ashland | Williamsburg, VA | 102 | 1,660' |
| Fly Home on Tuesday, August 10 | ||||||
3,467 miles 115 miles per day
About 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 $1550 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.
BLOGS
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
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).