Transam (Paperback) (ISBN-13: 9781067627928)

The TransAmerica Trail is the coast to coast bicycle route the US loved first. Opened in 1976 to celebrate the country's Bicentennial, by any account it's epic. Spanning 4,262 miles, it connects Virginia on the Atlantic Coast to Oregon on the Pacific. On the way it traverses ten states, crosses the Great Plains and climbs four mountain ranges, including the Appalachians and the mighty Rockies.

As the TransAm celebrates its 50th anniversary, join self-confessed Mr Bean on a bike, Paul Dunt and cycling guru Terry Wooller, as they saddle up and follow the wagon wheel ruts of history from east to west coast. In a transformational journey across the backroads of America, the unlikely pair explore parts of the country very few of its citizens even visit - the so-called fly-over states.

In an inspiring and often hilarious adventure, they outsmart chasing dogs, escape forest fires, dodge tornadoes and try, unsuccessfully, to outrun the police. Along the way they rub shoulders with uber-athletes taking part in the inaugural TransAm cycle race, team up with dot com entrepreneurs, and gate-crash a wedding in a desperate search for food.

But most of all, they discover the reason for creating the Trail half a century ago - to unite the country - lives on in the incredible hospitality they are shown from the valleys of Kentucky to the High Plains of Colorado.