TransVA Grand Departs

The TransVirginia Bike Route is a 565-mile mostly-unpaved backcountry cycling route that traverses the state of Virginia from Washington, DC to Damascus, VA. The Grand Depart is a set time to begin a route and race the clock for a fastest known time (FKT). Riders’ progress can be tracked online via Trackleaders.

The TransVA Grand Depart (mass start) of individual time trials (ITTs) of the TransVirginia route will be held The Saturday before Memorial Day weekend at 06:00 from the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, DC. Riders are encouraged to tour or race the route at their preference and self-determined challenge level.

The route is unmarked and remote with areas of no mobile phone service. Self-navigation is a critical skill for all riders. The most up-to-date and official routes can be found in the RWGPS Collection: https://ridewithgps.com/collections/11894

  • May 17, 2025
  • May 16, 2026
  • May 22, 2027

Registration

Participants in the Grand Depart and ITTs are asked to:

  1. Fill out the Letter of Intent Form: https://forms.gle/mzz4nxZkBynJAD179
  2. RSVP on the Facebook Events: https://facebook.com/events/s/transva-2024-grand-depart/967540444886578/
  3. Register for the Grand Depart or an ITT on Trackleaders.com: https://form.jotform.com/trackleaders/transva24
  4. Obtain a tracker linked to the event on Trackleaders (either a rental unit or use your own). The cutoff for rental trackers is one month prior to the Grand Depart.

Trackleaders live tracking map: http://trackleaders.com/transva24f (Grand Depart/ITT map will be live one week before ride)

Racing the TransVA

For those racing, the aim is to ride DC to Damascus in a self-sufficient manner, self-timed with non-stop timing from start to finish. While ITTs can be recorded at any time of the year, the idea of the Grand Depart is simply for the fun and motivation of a voluntary mass start. Self-sufficient means each rider may only use resources publicly available to all riders (for example, you can resupply at a store during normal business hours, but NOT receive re-supply from a friend or family member). Information on TransVirginia Fastest Known Times (FKTs) can be found at transvirginia.org/grand-depart/fkts.

Touring the TransVA

Riders are encouraged to tour TransVA routes at the time of the Grand Depart at a more leisurely pace, either on the tougher main TransVA Mountain 565 (566 miles/ 47k’) or the smoother Valley 535 (537 miles / 34k’) route. Options exist for a 400-mile DC-Harrisonburg loop, as well as the DC to Harrisonburg, VA (213 miles, 12k’).

Trackleaders 2023 TransVirginia Grand Depart

Disclaimer – Ride at your own risk!
All travel on TransVA routes is at your own risk! The route is unmarked, remote, and very physically challenging with a large amount of climbing. All navigation, planning, safety considerations, re-supply, sleeping arrangements, etc. are the sole responsibility of each rider. Cyclists are expected to follow all laws and accepted etiquette for roads and trails utilized including yielding to pedestrian and equestrian traffic.