Messages

16

Routes / Re: Blue Ridge Parkway / Skyline Drive input

« on: April 19, 2013, 10:24:38 am »

I do not have that book (YET), will get it this weekend!

It's one of those things that can pay for itself many times over!

Also check out the NPS web page and the blow-up map at http://www.nps.gov/blri/index.htm

Have been going over the route plan, and would like a bit more insight (probably in the book).
I will be at park camp grounds most nights. 

Where do you suggest to stay between:
 - Cherokee and Mt. Pisgah

Check the book.  I don't remember any campgrounds on that stretch.  There's a few small hotels close the the Parkway off U.S. 23/74, or you could coast down the hill to Waynesville.  It's about 25 miles, and about 5,000 feet of climbing, out of Cherokee.

- Doughton Park and Rocky Knob (Mt. Airy?)

There's KOA just north of the I-77 overpass.  Nice place, if a bit noisy from interstate traffic, but bring all your supplies -- there's a few small stores over on 52, but nothing else nearby.

- Suggestion in Roanoke?

There's a campground at Roanoke Mountain, but I've never been there.  Check da book for more suggestions, lots of hotels/motels nearby if it's time for a shower!  (Also check out the transportation museum downtown if you're at all interested in trains.)

- Oronoco Campground around MP 48 off Rt 60 any good?

Don't know, never been there.

17

GPS Discussion / Re: Copilot Live

« on: April 18, 2013, 06:07:34 am »

CoPilot downloads a base map to your device so you can navigate without an internet connection. I'm pretty fair at navigation, if I know where I am and where north is so I don't need turn by turn directions. I don't plan on using it every day let alone all day. But in towns it might be nice to use turn by turn navigation.

Turns are the strength of the AC maps, of course, but don't discount GPS assistance.  Country roads in eastern Kentucky, in particular, are like "a maze of twisty little passages, all different."  Just because you started up a road going northwest doesn't mean your next right turn won't see you going south.

18

Routes / Re: Blue Ridge Parkway / Skyline Drive input

« on: April 17, 2013, 07:06:45 pm »

We are planning to start our South to North on the 25th of May.  Any other reccomendations for camping locations?  How much trouble can we get if we need to camp and no campground is available? (ie - storm/medical/breakage)

If you don't already have it, get a copy of "Bicycling the Blue Ridge."  Also, go to the BRP web site and get all the planning information you can find.  Unfortunately, as noted above, it looks like some of the campgrounds are going to be closed this year, so figure out how to ride around the closures.

As to trouble, the BRP rangers are notorious for threatening to ticket a cyclist who looks like they might even thing of camping on the parkway outside a campground.  Expect a hassle if you spread a tent or tarp to dry at lunch, or set up a stove to cook lunch, coffee, or tea.  But look closely at the maps; there's a fair few miles where the parkway proper owns a narrow right of way.  If you're stuck in one of those spots, you have a good chance of riding a quarter mile into National Forest lands where you can set up camp.  Or ride off the Parkway on a dirt road or driveway, and a kind farmer might let you set up camp in their field.  Rangers have no jurisdiction in those places!  (As long as the field isn't leased from the Park Service.)

19

General Discussion / Re: Bears

« on: April 16, 2013, 07:07:04 am »

That reminds me of a camp we stayed at near the California Nevada border (Bootleg Camp).  There were a lot of signs about securing food from the bears.  I asked the camp host how bad the problem was and he said no one had reported seeing a bear there in something like the last 15 years.  We hung our food anyway, but more because we figured raccoon might be a problem

Campground hosts may not be entirely reliable, reference our stay at Newhalem, WA.  Bear signs, but no bear boxes, and we didn't have rope to hang food.  So I asked the host if there was some place we could store our (depeleted) food, and he told me, don't worry about it, they haven't had a bear in the campground for 10-15 years.  So we left panniers on bikes overnight and didn't worry -- until we got back to civilization, and in contact with my wife.  She'd been cruising various journals, and somebody had taken a picture of a bear walking through that same campground a week earlier.  At least he didn't bother our stuff!

This may be one of those motorist/non-motorist split kind of things.  The bears hadn't started to break into campers, cars, or even locked motorcycle boxes, so the host may have honestly thought there was no problem.  And if most of the few nutcases riding bicycles or hiking hung their flimsy nylon bags containing food, maybe there really wasn't.

Or maybe the bear was just picky, and didn't care for instant oatmeal, Poptarts, and Clif bars.  "Where's the Kentucky Fried Chicken?" he growled.

20

Gear Talk / Re: two handlebars on one stem...crazy?

« on: April 15, 2013, 08:13:58 pm »

OK..I am 52 but 6 ft tall and 155...in very good shape. Even so, it feels like I am leaning so far forward with the drops that I am getting no leverage as I reach. A new stem that pulled the drop bars closer to me and the same height as my hybrid bars might be it. I had them high to start with, and that didn't help.

OK, I'm starting to get bad vibes about this fit; I wonder if your saddle isn't too far forward.  Paradoxically, if your saddle is moved back, you can lean forward more and stay balanced.

So I wonder, if I leave it like this, I could rig something to work the brake and shifter (integrated) just on the right side (which is almost the only side we shift with) so I don't have to redo those onto the higher bar. Something like a thin metal attachment to pull which attaches to the lower drop bars, where the shifter/brake resides. I will mess up this beautiful bike if you don't save me from myself!

May I suggest you find an experienced rider, whom you trust, or another fitter, and get a second opinion?  Get someone else to look at you on the bike before you start making changes willy-nilly.  Sure, some people tour with flat bars, but the changes you're proposing are going to get expensive quickly, both in terms of parts and labor.  Unless you just want to duplicate the old fit on a shiny new frame, I don't think you have a good idea where you're trying to go with this bike.

21

General Discussion / Re: Tents

« on: April 15, 2013, 04:05:10 pm »

Just as a general rule, I figure a tent advertised for N people actually fits N-1.  If you want a 2 person tent, buy one advertised for 3 people.  Maybe if you're very friendly, and get in right before you go to sleep, don't bring anything extra in, don't need space for glasses, and get out of the tent as soon as you wake up, you can use a 2-person tent; but having tried that, I go with the N-1 rule.

22

Gear Talk / Re: two handlebars on one stem...crazy?

« on: April 15, 2013, 06:38:07 am »

I don't see why you'd have two bars, either.  But first I'd try getting the drops where you need them -- it sounds like your "fitter" expects you to be young, thin, and flexible, which you may not be.  The point should be to make the bike fit you, not the other way around -- kind of like a shoe.

I'd start with the drops on top -- that'll be an inch higher to start with.  Then get an old fat guy to re-fit you, and see if he'll give you a shorter, higher stem.  Give it an honest try for a few weeks to months to see if you can adjust to a new, more aerodynamic position.  If the drops just don't work for you, ditch them and deal with new shifters/levers.

23

General Discussion / Re: Bears

« on: April 15, 2013, 06:29:10 am »

I don't recommend this (keep your lawyers away from me!), but we ignored the possibility of bears most of our TransAm trip.  Used the bear boxes, etc., when they're provided (Tetons, Yellowstone), and just left our stuff in their panniers on the bike the rest of the time.  Never saw a bear on that trip.  As Pete says, count yourself lucky if you do see a bear!

Most parks will have a pamphlet with instructions on how to handle a bear if you do see one.  The key, for black bears, is don't try to run away -- they can outrun you, but they won't normally bother if you don't trigger their "chase instinct."  Make some racket if you need to so the bear sees you, and he'll normally avoid you. 

One memorable encounter had me behind my bike scuffing gravel and huffing as a black beary yearling slowly approached.  He noticed me when he was about 10 feet away, turned slightly, and ever so slowly walked into the woods.

24

General Discussion / Re: touring without "eating out"

« on: April 11, 2013, 08:42:59 am »

That said, grocery stores have a huge variety of ready to eat and easy to prepare items and many have hot food and deli counters where you can eat well at moderate cost.

It varies by location.  You could eat a week's worth of different meals pre-prepared by the grocery stores in my home town, but in some small towns on the TA (eastern Kentucky and western Kansas in particular), sometimes you're lucky if they have any fresh foods.

25

Gear Talk / Re: 2 stem configuration

« on: April 10, 2013, 08:20:03 pm »

SJS Cycles (England); for example:

http://www.sjscycles.co.uk/thorn-accessory-bar-t-shaped-105-mm-extension-0-deg-prod11040/

Good people to deal with, and the accessory bar holds an Ortlieb bag bar with no problems, at least so far.  Be warned, shipping costs as much as the bar -- you're getting it from overseas, after all!

26

General Discussion / Re: touring without "eating out"

« on: April 10, 2013, 06:02:26 pm »

I carry a couple of energy bars for emergency food, and I really hope I won't need them.

There was a joke a few years back that I really liked:

PowerBars are great.  You can use them as handlebar tape, and if you get hungry, lean down and bite off a piece!

27

General Discussion / Re: touring without "eating out"

« on: April 10, 2013, 10:34:11 am »

Freeze dried food is emergency rations, in my book.  Take some for the day when it's getting dark and you're miles from nowhere, but have adequate water.  After a long day's exercise, a two-person pouch is about right for one person.

My daughter introduced me to "hippie pasta."  Pretty good; start with pasta, boil it, add vegetables (fresh, frozen, or canned) to taste, add a pack of chicken or can of tuna, and some cheese or Velveeta.  Vary proportions of ingredients to taste.  Maybe substitute rice for pasta.  Plenty of cheap calories in pasta or rice, more than you'll get from the freeze-dried meal.  Finish off with an apple, or a pint of blackberries or cherries.

28

General Discussion / Re: Weather on the TransAm

« on: April 10, 2013, 10:25:15 am »

On a separate note, what are day-to-day expenses like if I camp along the route, and to what extent do I need to plan accommodation / camp sites in advance?

If you're starting early August in the west, it might be a good idea to plan at least the weekends for the first month.  August is prime vacation time, and with the sparse population in the west, there's not a whole lot of places to stay; they can fill up pretty fast.  After Labor Day (first Monday in September), everybody goes back to work or school. 

Also, as you work your way east, there's usually another town within 15-20 miles, vs. 50-75 miles between towns on the TA west of Kansas.  The only problem you might have is with home football games around university towns in Virginia (Christiansburg is close to Virginia Tech, and Virginia is in Charlottesville).  Aim for 25 miles either side of those on Friday and Saturday, and you should be good.

29

Gear Talk / Re: Rack mounted tail lights

« on: April 06, 2013, 08:54:28 pm »

Busch and Muller makes Toplights that are rear rack mounts.  If you've got a dynamo, they're great.  If you get a battery powered light, my experience is that they'll come apart and fall off when you hit a bump.  Maybe you could make it work with a rubber band to hold the light together.

30

Gear Talk / Re: No Stove

« on: April 06, 2013, 06:24:27 pm »

Granola bars and peanut butter sandwiches are OK I guess while riding and you have no good place to stop for food.  But never ever supper.  When you set up camp for the night you are in town or close to town or you just went through a town.  There should always be a place to get real food close to your camp spot.  Or get food before getting to your camp spot.  I would never tolerate granola bars and peanut butter sandwiches for supper ever.

Granola bars and PBJ would fall into "emergency rations" in my categorization -- useful if a torrential rain forces you into a tent or barn unexpectedly, or headwinds kick up and stop you in your tracks miles from downtown Nowhere.

I can see it'd be tough to manage a vegetarian diet at cafes and gas station/convenience stores in small towns -- like most of the TransAm.  If you're willing to eat some of the cows and chickens you rode past earlier in the day, it'd be much less trouble.