Messages

1

GPS Discussion / Re: Just bought a Garmin Edge 705

« on: February 27, 2009, 07:28:01 pm »

Please use the search box near the top of this page to look for "Edge." You will find extensive discussions about using the Edge models for distance touring, including the answer to your question, especially in the threads "How critical is it to adjust GPS 'straight lines'..." and "Garmin 605 Edge."

Please do write back if any questions remain.

Fred

I might be dense tonight, but searching from Edge in the search box netted 3 hits. 

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GPS Discussion / Re: Just bought a Garmin Edge 705

« on: February 26, 2009, 11:00:13 pm »

Greetings everyone,
After reading all the great info here at ACA I did it.  I just ordered a new Garmin Edge 705 with Speed/Cadence.  I got it without the loaded SD card and will order the maps on DVD so that I can put them on my PC.
Just wanted to tell anyone that might be wanting to buy one of these or any other computer/GPS that, Colorado Cyclist has 20% off all orders over $100.  The sale ends and midnight Sunday Feb. 1st. So, if you are in the market, now is the time to save over $100.  That means that I'll basically get the DVD of maps and a memory card for free.  All I have to do now is wait for the Fed Ex guy/gal and then figure out how to use the thing.

Thanks for all the great info here and on all the forums.  Hopefully I can add some good info as I learn the Garmin,

Michael

I have the 705 with the (micro)sd card which has all the maps of North America.  What's the advantage of having that info on a DVD/PC instead of loaded on the 705?

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Gear Talk / Re: Sore butts

« on: February 25, 2009, 11:39:56 pm »

In my 50 years of riding, I've found that there are several ways to mitigate the problem: good fit, expensive shorts ($100 or so), change position often (especially some stand up time), good saddle, chamois butter and take a break once in a while to enjoy other forms of exercise.

One half inch, one way on another, up or down, forward or back, and a few degrees of tilt can make a huge difference.  Get the fit right first, but don't be afraid to tinker with it.  Things change over time.  You can gain/lose weight or become more flexible.  You can spend all kinds of time and money trying to find the perfect saddle.  Just as a Brooks has a break in time, so does your butt.

...or try a recumbent.

Bike fit, riding position, and time in the saddle are the answers.  Going to a recumbent should not be required.  If you want one fine, but don't let the bent riders convince you it is the only way.

I just don't get the resistance to a recumbent. No, it's not the "only way", but after years of trying the tinkering, adjusting, and "time in the saddle" that the above members suggested I tried a recumbent and all the pains disappeared. And it wasn't just the "groin/butt" pain that went away. So did the wrist pain and the neck pain. On a recumbent you are sitting in the same position as in a chair or in a car. Your body is aimed at things ahead of you, not at the ground. Yes, there are many types of recumbents (long wheel base, short wheel base, high racer, low racer, delta trikes, tadpole trikes, etc.) Maybe someone like staehpj1 tried a style of recumbent once that didn't suit his/her style. To me they are the ultimate touring bike, to others maybe not.

I can sort of understand the resistance to recumbents from the under 30, got to look cool, racer crowd that reads Bicycling magazine, but I don't get the resistance from long distance riders on this site. Many people abandon bicycle riding due to the pain. My opinion is that many would continue riding if they tried a recumbent style.

Adventure Cycling's current campaign motto is: HELP US INSPIRE OTHERS TO TRAVEL BY BICYCLE. Encouraging folks to find the "perfect fit" to make a diamond frame/upright style bike more comfortable may work for some. Others may be inspired to ride with something like a recumbent style bike.

Well, I certainly don't look down on anyone riding a recombinant.  I almost bought one last year.  I was (and maybe still am) interested in a tryke.  The Australian one, name escapes me now.

However, I travel during the summer I'm in my Prius which has a hitch rack.  Getting a tryke onto or into the Prius seems to be at this time insurmountable.  And in the fall I'm back East.  The CoMotion was a perfect solution to traveling by air.

4

Gear Talk / Re: Co-motion Americano vs Norwester Tour

« on: February 25, 2009, 11:24:43 pm »

FYI, I had my first flat today, with the Comotion Norwester Tour. Roofing nails, nasty. I was amazed, how easy the tire came off and went back on. Love the Velocity Dyad Rims. Took me longer to pump the tire up than to change it.

Yep.  An easy bike to fall in love with.  I think however it's the tires also which determine how easy they mount.  And for that matter how strong your fingers are to get those tires on.  Doesn't matter what I'm running on, a tire change takes me 1/2 hour.  So, blame it all on you!  Congrats - also on your new CoMotion.

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Urban Cycling / Re: Los Angeles, California, U.S.A.

« on: February 23, 2009, 06:00:18 pm »

Uh, just to avoid possible confusion (or add to it?) for people who come and visit So. Cal., the San Gabriel River trail is on the east edge of Long Beach, and the Santa Ana River trail comes out to Pacific Coast Hwy about 12 miles down (southeast) from the San Gabriel River trail.  The L.A. River trail runs down the west edge of Long Beach, coming out to the ocean about six miles west of where the San Gabriel River trail comes out.  Long Beach's coast although definitely not straight (especially with the shipping terminals), goes basically east and west, so you'll get pretty wet if you go south from Long Beach.

Your right about the distance from the San Gabriel to the Santa Ana.  I was calculating the distance from my home to the Santa Ana River.

 Thanks for catching that.

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Gear Talk / Re: Women's touring saddle

« on: February 22, 2009, 06:48:25 pm »

> Terry has an excellent policy - you can buy any of their saddles
(direct from their web site), ride it and return or exchange it (30 days)
if you don't like it.  

Yes, I'd want to make sure I liked the saddle before taking off on a long
tour.  Curious how far a woman needs to ride on a saddle before she
knows it's right for her anatomy, bike, and riding style. Back when I
rode upright bikes, I changed saddles every 500 miles or so before I
found one that I could ride on a century. Adjusted post height and
saddle position every 20 miles before I founnd a good fit.

(Then got my recumbent with its 4" cushion and full back support!)

david boise ID

go, ristretto, FCP/AE
"Read the manual."

I ride a Brooks B17 on my touring bike and Brooks Team Pro on my Giant TCR.  That said, Wallingford has a 6 mos trial period on their Brooks', and there is a new B18 Women's Saddle.

It takes a while to break in a leather saddle, but if you can stay with it you'll never have to buy another saddle.

7

Gear Talk / Re: New Touring Bike (RTW)

« on: February 22, 2009, 06:28:24 pm »

If you are planning an around the world tour, I suggest you go to the following website. Mountain Equipment Coop of Canada. MEC is kind of the Canadian equivilant to REI. They cater a little more to bicycle touring equipment. If you google it and pull up their web site, go to The Learn Tab, on the leftside of the page click on cycling. In the center of the page you will see a topic called Bike Touring Tips. It is put together by Janick Lemieux and Pierre Bouchard, two very experienced RTW cyclists. Their experience has taught them that a good expedition mountain bike is the way to go. You will find their tips and experience helpful not to mention that the site offer some great buys with the Canadian Dollar to U.S. Dollar exchange rate. If, and that is a big if, I were doing an around the world tour, I would only go with a 26" wheel. Since I only tour in the U.S., Europe and New Zealand I like 700c better. I hope this helps.

I've met 3 touring couples from Europe in So Cal.  They were all riding bikes with 26" wheels with flat handlebars.  I wouldn't necessarily call the bikes mtn, but they were certainly beefy in the MTB way. 

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Urban Cycling / Re: top bicycle-friendly cities and towns

« on: February 21, 2009, 09:15:29 pm »

Even tho I live in Long Beach, CA my vote would go to Irvine, Calif.  There are usually generous bike lanes and bicyclist controlled intersections (tho not on left turn).

Even the drivers seem to be more patient.

Driving the rural areas of the Mid-West (Ks, Il., Wi), if I show a little wiggle of my handlebars indicating unsteadiness, I'm usually given a wide berth.

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GPS Discussion / Re: How critical is it to adjust GPS "straight lines" on TransAmerica maps?

« on: February 21, 2009, 08:22:03 pm »

I have a Garmin 705.  By and large I agree with with  previous postings.  I've found it useful to tell me where I've been.  It is too difficult (for me) to really navigate using it.  Occasionally I've used it to get me back to the beginning of a ride.  Unfortunately, if the route back is not along the route out the 705 will try to get you back to the outbound route instead of taking what I would consider to be the shortest.  Unless you can find a way to easily load the route you want into your GPS, I think doing it by hand is tedious.

I've found it useful if I'm looking for an intersection, or if one is let's say a mile up the road, It can inform me of that.  Outside of towns, I have it set so the display = 1 mile.  As one country road disappears off the back of the unit, another one comes in at the top.

Battery life is a problem, but because I travel with my wife as SAG, and we overnight usually in motels that's not much of a problem.  Even so I've carried a backup charger (which of course has to be charged).

Finally even using my GPS in my car I find it's advisable to have a good map.  The ACA maps are excellent.  Many a trip was taken using only their maps.  I showed the Lewis & Clark map to a volunteer in a S.D. tourist center who swore that the SD Dept of Transport, or whom ever did their maps, made the best maps of S.D.  That is, until she looked at the ACA map.

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Gear Talk / Re: Sore butts

« on: February 21, 2009, 06:10:34 pm »

I would second the Brooks saddle. I haven't used one, but it makes sense. If they have been making the same saddle for over 100 years, they must be doing something right. Sheldon Brown (I believe) also suggested Brooks. He said out of 42 distance riders he saw on one journey, 30 of them used Brooks.

Then again, I really don't get sore butt anymore on my cheapo Schwinn WTB saddle.

I use a Brooks B-17 on my CoMotion Nor'Wester.  It's taken a couple of years to break in, but this year is the first in which I haven't had a sore where I usually get one, such that I regularly used a gel band-aid.  Bag Balm never worked for me, but the large gel bandage did when it was placed over the wound.  The bandage if applied properly would stay on for a week.  Applied incorrectly its like sitting on a stone. 

I also see a dermatologist regularly as we attempt to solve the problem. 

I also found that the shorts have to fit you.  They can't be too large or you'll slide around inside and eventually abraid the skin.

The pad might seem like a cushion, but its primary function is to absorb sweat. 

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General Discussion / Re: Osteoporosis and long distance cyclists

« on: February 21, 2009, 05:13:43 pm »

I'm 73 and take 2400 units of Ca/day.  You do need Vit D, and living in Calif I think I get plenty of sun to activate the Vit D in my skin.  However, at 73 thinks don't work that well anymore, so the Vit. D I take has Vit D3 which is considered to be the most active form of the vitamin.

I also alternate walking (3 miles) alternating daily with riding.

My first fall shattered my collarbone.  My second I managed to get back on my bike and complete a 7 day tour in Canada.

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Urban Cycling / Los Angeles, California, U.S.A.

« on: December 25, 2008, 09:23:54 pm »

Well, bobbirob22 I live in Long Beach, south of LA and have two riding clubs, both in Orange County just so of LB with which I ride regularly.  So at that most of my riding is in Orange County a much more bike friendly area.

Concerning riding the river trails:  I ride both the San Gabriel River which is just W of LB, and the Santa Ana RT, which is about 20 miles down Pacific Coast Hwy.  While one writer pointed out how much fun it is going up river with the breeze at your back, it can get rough if a Santa Ana wind is blowing down river.  River trail riding is fun but there's the odd walker and worse, new riders on bikes which suddenly have a flat, or the rider who neglects to prepare for the 20 mile ride, prepared to do only the 20 down (or up) and lacks the training to make the round trip ride.

But the real riding goes on on the streets of Tustin, Irvine, Lake Forest, Santiago Cyn, Weir Cyn. Yorba Linda and more.

So, bobb, come join the fun.  Temp. now is in the 50's, chilly for many but manageable.

13

Gear Talk / Co-motion Americano vs Norwester Tour

« on: January 01, 2009, 05:43:38 pm »

Huh.  How did you upload your picts?

I have the tour model (just checked CoMotion's specs, and sure enough).

The problem with this type of communication is that, "nuances" get missed, or never explained.

I have a Giant TCR and you're right, the Nor'wester handles nothing like the TCR.  Unlike you, I've never loaded my bike, leaving it to my wife and the Prius to carry my stuff.

As I've pointed out, the CoMotion has a lot flexibility.  Right now I'm running 32 mil tires.  I've had Schwalbe Marathon XR 35's on it, and down to Conti 25's.

I've been off it since Oct, but rode it today and will probably stay on it through June-July.  

My friends call it, "The Yellow Beast."  But I call it, "My go anywhere-do anything" bike.

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Gear Talk / Co-motion Americano vs Norwester Tour

« on: December 27, 2008, 08:33:02 am »

Sounds like you got a good one.  I think that the NW is less a touring bike and more a road, tho mine came with the Shimano XTR grupo.

Now I'm looking to put 'cross levers on the drop bars.

I'm looking to do the the top half of the UGRR this summer supported by my wife.

I'd send a pict but don't know where to send it.

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Gear Talk / Co-motion Americano vs Norwester Tour

« on: December 24, 2008, 08:53:12 pm »

I've owned a Norwes'ter co-pilot for about 3 years.  I bought it through a dealer which was able to put me on a bike measuring tool (for lack of a name).

This is the bike I call my, "Go Anywhere, Do Anything" bike.

It is the bike I take on trips which involve flying as I can pack it into a standard size suitcase.

Wait!  There's more!  I've done light touring (7L Carradice Barley bag and small Acorn handlebar bag.)

I've used tires from 25 mm to 35mm on it.  I've put it on roads and rail-trail conversions.

And More!  Because the bike has cable disconnects, I'm able to easily change for drop bars to flat.  I'm considering putting 'cross levers on the drop bars for the coming year.

I got a lot of bike for my 4 grand +.