Messages

1546

General Discussion / Bicycle Trip form Arizona to Alaska

« on: October 10, 2008, 04:41:23 pm »

Yeah.  It showed up from work, but I can't see it from home.  Maybe because work in on the .edu domain.

It basically showed the whole middle of the country north to south with prevailing winds out of the SSE for July.  It would seem to favor heading north toward Alaska during July if you were on the east side of the rockies.  It didn't show what to expect in Canada.

1547

General Discussion / Bicycle Trip form Arizona to Alaska

« on: October 10, 2008, 08:13:28 am »

When you say, "It is highly recommended that you go the other direction, because of the prevailing winds" what are you basing that on?

If it is just the prevailing westerlies, I would question the advice.  Surface winds don't generally follow that pattern at all.  If you have specific advice based on that particular route and actual surface wind conditions that would trump my comments.

I am convinced that for a coast to coast trip on the TA for example the places where the wind matters most (Kansas and Eastern Colorado) are likely to have winds out of the SE in mid Summer.  Places like Wyoming and Montana are tougher to call.  In Canada I have no idea.

Bottom line... I really don't know what is better for this route, but do know that it is probably not wise to count on the prevailing westerlies as a general rule.

Edit: Check this map out


This message was edited by staehpj1 on 10-10-08 @ 8:27 AM

1548

General Discussion / Camping on bike routes

« on: October 11, 2008, 06:00:20 am »

Yeah, magic usually does happen; it always did for us on my only transcontinental tour.

I never knocked on doors though.  Much better if you find folks already outside or use the phone.  We limited our asking to towns, but never found one where we couldn't find a place to camp with permission.  In most cases it seemed like we got good leads from one of the following:

• Pure chance meeting of a local person.
• Asking a clerk or wait staff.
• Calling the local sheriff or police dept.
• Asking at the local firehouse.
• Asking at a local church.
• Calling the local mayor, pastor, or whoever on the phone.

This message was edited by staehpj1 on 10-11-08 @ 6:01 AM

1549

General Discussion / Trans-America 2010

« on: October 14, 2008, 09:27:23 am »

I can verify Westinghouse's comments.  We found lots of free or cheap camping on the TA.  City parks with municipal pools were among our favorites, but churches and invites to stay with people were nice too.  The AC maps document these pretty well, but also compare notes with riders going the other way.

1550

General Discussion / Trans-America 2010

« on: October 02, 2008, 06:08:14 am »

Have a great trip.  I did my TA at the age of 56 and thoroughly enjoyed it.

1551

General Discussion / Transcontinental touring.

« on: October 16, 2008, 03:35:20 pm »

"Weight is not all that critical, but it is a factor."

Different strokes, but for me it is one of the most important factors that I have control of.  That said I am OK with 30-40 pounds and could survive with more.  Still if I send home 2 pounds it is noticeably more pleasant.

1552

General Discussion / Transcontinental touring.

« on: October 05, 2008, 08:05:02 am »

Have no fear.  My daughter hated hills and pretty much sucked at riding them before our big tour.  A week into our Trans America she was absolutely kicking @ss on the climbs.  Just take it easy to start, and a week to ten days into the trip both the daily mileage and the climbing will come together.  Avoid the pattern of knocking yourself out and then needing to veg out in a motel for one or more days.  Try for a daily pace that is at least somewhat sustainable especially in the beginning.  If you take rest days let them be fun not just crashing because you are exhausted.

FWIW: As long as you have low enough gearing all the climbs in the Cascades and Rockies were quite do-able.

The Appalachians were the tough part due to the much steeper grades.  The climbs there were fairly short so walking for a couple miles would be an option.

On the bike, I prefer a dedicated touring bike, but any bike could possibly work.

Weight of stuff carried?  Try to shoot for 30 pounds or so and try REALLY hard to stay below 40.  After you have been on the road a bit reevaluate each item and mail stuff home that you find you don't absolutely need.  Do that periodically on the trip.

This message was edited by staehpj1 on 10-5-08 @ 8:09 AM

1553

General Discussion / Transcontinental touring.

« on: October 04, 2008, 12:47:23 pm »

Sean said. "Unlike the others, I prefer full days off rather than half days."

In fairness I should say that I am probably in the small minority in advising skipping days off.  Almost everyone I have heard comment on this takes full days off.

Still I am convinced that my way works better, at least for me.  To me, it really isn't any less restful to ride for 30 miles in the morning at an easy pace than taking a full day off.  I am pretty sure both of my companions om the Trans America would advise it too, but other than the three of us I can't claim that I know of others who have advocated it.  I suspect it would work well for at least some others if they tried it, but don't assume it will for you just because I advise it.

If you want to try my way the key is to use a pace that you can maintain.  That way you can make progress every day.  Even on our two days off we didn't actually stay the same place twice.  I like it that way others may not.

1554

General Discussion / Transcontinental touring.

« on: October 04, 2008, 10:43:09 am »

Just a clarification...
I count ALL days in the average including days off so Westinghouse's 3700 mile trip would have been counted as 56 miles per day not 70.

Nothing wrong with either way of counting just as long as it is clear.

I find that his examples of daily mileages are spot on with my experience.  I just take less days off.

On our 4244 mile 73 day TA we took one day to go whitewater rafting and and one day for one of our party to recover after a crash (I went out and rode 40 miles that day anyway even though I had a net gain of minus 4 or something for the day).

We did take some 30-40 mile days where we did laundry, site seeing, hiking, swimming, shopping, or just reading for the afternoon.  I prefer that to actual days off.

This message was edited by staehpj1 on 10-4-08 @ 10:44 AM

1555

General Discussion / Transcontinental touring.

« on: October 04, 2008, 06:50:33 am »

Number of miles per day...
I was 56 when I did the Trans America, so our ages are similar enough.  We averaged 60 miles per day including days off (we didn't take many days off).  My suggestion is to take it easy for the first few days and hit your stride after a week of riding.  Personally I try to maintain a pace that does not require full days of rest and prefer to take a half day once in a while instead.  There isn't much point in pushing for a really long day and then crashing in a motel for a day or more to recover.  Save the rest days for places where you really want to spend a day and do something.

On the route...
I would probably just start farther north (take the train?) and use the Trans America or the Northern Tier routes.  You could also start in SF and use the Western Express to connect to the TA.

You say Spring of 09...
Consider starting in the East if you want to start much before June.  The weather will work out much better that way for the Rockies and the humid east. The winds for the E-W vs W-E part of the trip are a crap shoot.  The part of the trip where they were the biggest factor they are likely to be from the SE, so I think the edge goes to traveling E-W, but I wouldn't let the winds be a deciding factor unless you decide to ride on the west coast, there you want to go N-S for sure.

This message was edited by staehpj1 on 10-4-08 @ 6:53 AM

1556

General Discussion / Transcontinental touring.

« on: October 02, 2008, 06:00:15 am »

I'm not sure what the deal is with this thread, it just seems to be random series of somewhat unrelated (to each other) comments where you reply to yourself.

On the notion of a dedicated transcontinental bike path...  I don't see the need.  Much of the US can be crossed using rural roads and passing through small towns.

We have rail trails and MUPs similar to the Tammany Trace here and I don't think I would want to go cross country on them.  They are well suited to multi-use including casual cycling, but not so much so for touring or any other less casual form of riding.

They typically don't offer camping although there are exceptions like the C&O Towpath and the KATY Trail.

I have my doubts as to whether there is much demand for a dedicated transcontinental bike path.  I think it would be pretty expensive to construct and maintain.  I doubt that it would see much use in remote areas.  Additionally it would reinforce anti bike folks opinions that we should be on a bike path rather than on the road.

It seems really odd to me that someone who has "cycled 34,000 miles through 19 countries, and six times across the USA" and who "rough camps" most of the time would see any use for such a path.

All that said there is an effort to build the American Discovery Trail.  It would be way down on my list of possible bike routes across the US, but check it out if you are interested at:
http://www.treckusa.com/

All three Adventure Cycling cross country routes would be preferable to me and when I did cross the US I picked the Trans America.  Next time I will probably do the Northern Tier or some variation of it.

This message was edited by staehpj1 on 10-2-08 @ 6:05 AM

1557

General Discussion / Cycle Oregon vs ( MT or WA or ?)

« on: September 16, 2008, 06:53:34 am »

I have not done either, but have friends that have and have talked with folks on the road who were on or have done both types of trips.

There is a big difference between the choices. Personally I don't think of things like Cycle Oregon or Ragbrai as touring.  The atmosphere seems more like that of a big century ride/party than a tour.  I am not knocking them and I imagine they are great fun.  I just don't think they are a good fit if the eventual goal is to tour.  They seem to me like a very separate thing from touring.

The AC trips have a variety of support depending on which you choose.

They offer fully van supported trips.  Again I don't think fully supported is the best if your goal is to do loaded touring later.  But I am sure they can be a great time if they are what you want.

Then there are self supported, but guided.  These are probably a great way to learn the ropes if you want to do  self supported touring, but are timid about just leaping ahead and doing it.

Each has it's own advantages and you just need to decide which suits you.

Personally for me, I just decided that if the goal was to do self supported touring it made sense to just do it on my own.   If you go that route the AC maps are great.

Best of luck whichever option you choose.

1558

General Discussion / Getting to Yorktown

« on: September 13, 2008, 03:56:27 pm »

Check out a recent thread on Bike Forums:
http://www.bikeforums.net/showthread.php?t=461604&

1559

General Discussion / Tour Planning - Ten months out

« on: January 02, 2009, 07:56:17 am »

I really like the isobutane cartridge stoves, but yes the ability to find white gas is easier.  On the other hand it can be hard to find white gas in quantities under a gallon sometimes.  I think that in a pinch the Whisperlite might also burn unleaded gasoline.

The whisperlite has had some reported problems with the plastic pump.  You may want to either:

[list=1]

• Be very careful with the pump.
• Carry spare parts.
• Or, maybe consider the Optimus Nova (more expensive, but with a metal pump).

You might want to read the discussion at:
http://www.crazyguyonabike.com/forum/board/message/?o=3Tzut&thread_id=80057&v=1n&page=1&nested=0

1560

General Discussion / Tour Planning - Ten months out

« on: January 02, 2009, 06:25:34 am »

A warning on gas cartridge stoves.  Fuel is very hard to find in much of the US.  We tried every Walmart and sporting goods store from Pueblo to Kentucky without finding any.

It is possible to ship isobutane fuel via ground mail (domestic mail only). The package must have the following label attached on the address side of the package:
"Surface Mail Only
Consumer commodity
ORM-D"

This will allow you to get fuel via general delivery in the portion of an xc trip where fuel was impossible to find if you have someone willing to mail stuff to you.