"Here’s one way to outdo the all-American cross-country road trip: travel by bicycle. The best way is along the TransAmerica Trail, a low-traffic, highly scenic back-roads route the Adventure Cycling Association designed specifically for cyclists for the country’s bicentennial. Passable between May and September, the route takes three months, factoring in stops to smell the flowers along the way—and there are plenty of proverbial flowers. Between Astoria, Oregon, and Yorktown, Virginia, riders pedal past rugged beaches, ancient lava beds, high passes in the Rockies, fertile farmland, and snowcapped peaks."