I had the pleasure of chatting with Ali Dastagirzada recently to learn more about his experiences of cycling the TransAmerica Bike Trail. This was Ali’s first trip and he took inspiration from a high school friend who had done the trip a few years earlier. Ali actually used advice from other reddit users – probably in this very forum! – to figure out what bike to use – he settled on a Trek 520.
Ali bought his bike, panniers and gear together, quit his job and then took on the trail. He did it travelling East to West from Virginia headed towards Oregon. He had some tough first days on the trail realising bicycle touring fitness is no joke and the Appalachians also lived up to their punchy, steep reputation.
He made friends on the trail, and enjoyed discovering for himself, so many places he had read about. Dog encounters were scary and headwinds were nasty, but he kept going and made it all the way to the coast in Oregon.
You can listen to Ali recount his trip on the latest episode of Seek Travel Ride – on your favourite podcast player or via [https://www.seektravelride.com/podcast-ep-29/](https://www.seektravelride.com/podcast-ep-29/)
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The attached pics were shared with me by Ali.
https://preview.redd.it/9llyew5cloeb1.jpg?width=3278&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=7dca8a05c986ee42a1f054638027931042b7e70c
https://preview.redd.it/o92hbr6cloeb1.jpg?width=4032&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=b3226f939585758bea983215f762a43345a1f335
https://preview.redd.it/m0iknr6cloeb1.jpg?width=4032&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=dd06cf4c9130b270116f13490c8a9359d171e5f3
by elbearo_BM