TransAmerica Bicycle Trail

In 1973, after a decade in which recreational cycling became increasingly popular among young Americans, four cycling enthusiasts began planning Bikecentennial76 to mark the nation’s bicentennial. The months-long event, inaugurated at Jamestown in May 1976, featured tours along a specially designed route known as the TransAmerica Bicycle Trail, which stretched 4,250 miles on public roads from Yorktown to Oregon and passed here. Roughly 4,100 riders from the U.S. and beyond encountered rural vistas, small communities, and historic points of interest. The eastern third of the TransAmerica trail, including more than 500 miles in Virginia, was designated U.S. Bicycle Route 76 in 1982.