Messages

1

General Discussion / Re: USA Coast to Coast

« on: July 03, 2015, 01:27:17 am »

Hi there,

Myself and a friend just finished the TransAmerica trail which is 4200 from Virginia to Oregon.
We did it in 82 days with probably 6 rest days in there.

If they didn't have too much time, there is the Western Express route which takes you straight into San Francisco instead of heading north towards Oregon, I am not 100% on the distance but i'd assume it would be around the 3000 mark... It does miss what I consider to be the most beautiful park of the transam, but if time is an issue then that's an option.

We were passed by a fellow Brit who was cycling for charity, New York to San Francisco in two months. He was regularly putting out 100 mile days and seemed to be doing 80 on an average day throughout. Pretty crazy but it is doable!

Could put them in touch with him if that'd be useful.

Tom

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Temporary ACA Route Road Closures / Re: TransAm Closed in Yellowstone for the Season

« on: June 01, 2015, 06:31:47 pm »

Thanks for all the tips!

Based on that and looking at some maps, this is my provisional plan for the next few days, any comments would be appreciated!

We're staying in colter bay village tonight.
Tomorrow would be colter bay to Bridge Bay camp ground just shy of Lake.
Wednesday is a sightseeing day and we end up in Canyon.
Thursday is also a sightseeing day and we end up in Madison.
Then Friday morning we head from Madison down to old faithful and back before heading out of the park.

So we have pretty much all day Wednesday and Thursday to look around the park with around 25 miles of riding each day.

Does that sound like it'd work to you?

I've looked online and the NPS website says average camping cost is around $25, do you know if we'd get a better rate being cyclists?

Thanks again for all the tips! We're really looking forward to it.

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Temporary ACA Route Road Closures / Re: TransAm Closed in Yellowstone for the Season

« on: May 28, 2015, 11:58:25 am »

Just a heads up to current TransAmers, the roads are apparently still closed and will remain closed until June 11 according to the NPS website.

Bumped into a cyclist who'd just been through and he said it was a total shambles. The Rangers were rude and said they 'couldn't help cyclists' and when he approached another, was told to 'get out of here'.

We'll see how we fare in a week when we get there but from the sound of it, we aren't expecting much help from the NPS!

4

General Discussion / Re: Hi! New and have a simple question I think. MILES

« on: May 19, 2015, 01:14:55 pm »

Id check out the video on this page, helped me get the hang of it
www.adventurecycling.org/routes-and-maps/adventure-cycling-route-network/map-features/

5

General Discussion / Re: Should I pack an Air Pillow

« on: May 14, 2015, 10:49:46 pm »

I'm on day 42 and haven't missed a pillow yet. It took me a few goes to work out the best thing to use... I just roll up a few bits of clothing and it works fine. Obviously not as good as the real thing but does the job perfectly fine and I'm sure id have dropped the pillow by now if I'd had one with me.

Though everyone is different! If you do get one, I'd go inexpensive and then you won't care as much if you end up ditching it/giving it away.

6

General Discussion / Re: Charging iphone for maps while touring

« on: March 27, 2015, 05:22:33 pm »

Then you just switch off the lights (we don't intend to do much night riding) and it goes down to 5mph!

I just quite like the idea of using power that I have generated myself as I pedal along.

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General Discussion / Re: Charging iphone for maps while touring

« on: March 27, 2015, 12:55:53 am »

I am going down the dynamo route for my up-coming trip.
Expensive, but well worth it.

I built up new wheels for my tourer with a Supernova hub-dynamo. I have dynamo lights that run off of it as well as a Supernova Plug. It sits where your stem-cap is and it is essentially just a USB port! You can plug anything you like into it and it just charges as you pedal, using power that you generate.

The drag is virtually nonexistant. Equivelant to having about 10psi less in your tyres. Un-noticeable. You have to be doing about 7mph in order to have both the lights on and be charging... Not hard at all.

It isn't the cheapest route to go down, but well worth it if you can afford!

Just my two cents... My friend is bringing a battery pack that can be charged from the mains as well as from a small solar pannel, works pretty well so that is also an option and much much much cheaper! I just like my gadgets.

8

General Discussion / Here we go!

« on: March 19, 2015, 10:16:46 pm »

Hi again folks,
Just a quick post to say that my and a friend are flying out to the States on Monday (!) to get cracking on the TransAm.

We're spending a week in NYC and a couple of days in DC before heading down to Yorktown so not actually on the road until early April. If anyone is starting in the near future, maybe see you on the road!

Thank you all for your help and advice, it really meant a lot.

I'll be blogging (though i don't know how regularly) at www.tomsontour.co.uk if you're interested.

No doubt i'll be posting with more questions in a couple of weeks...

Tom

9

General Discussion / TransAm 2015- Looking for others

« on: November 13, 2014, 09:51:32 am »

Hi everyone,
I'll be going East to West next year on the TransAm route, my friend just had to pull out so its currently looking like i'll be going solo! If anyone else is heading E-W, i'm intending to start during April (exact date is flexible). I am happy to do it alone but I think it'd be nice to have some company, so let me know

Either reply here or you can get me via email at tjnmaxwell@gmail.com if you'd rather.

Cheers
Tom

10

General Discussion / Re: General Advice- TransAm Route

« on: September 13, 2014, 07:15:51 pm »

Hey guys,
Thanks for the replies.

Definitely not doing my proposed route then- Thanks Miller!

staehpj1:
My biggest issue with riding the TransAm from E->W starting at the end of April is timing... I don't really want to wait until the end of April to go... I've been trying to select a route that would allow me to start early to mid March.

I suppose the more general question here then is what do you advise I do if we want to set out that early?

(Actually live in the UK by the way )

11

General Discussion / Re: General Advice- TransAm Route

« on: September 07, 2014, 10:22:20 am »

Hi again everyone,
Bikes are now sorted, thank you for the advice!

I was planning on simply following the TransAm route but given I want to start around March/April, that doesn't really fit in with the plan.

My current idea would be to start somewhere in Cali (LA possible) on the Pacific Coast route and head south before picking up the Southern Tier route for a few legs. The next part hinges on whether the GDMBR would be rideable on non-mountain bikes (which is the advice I am after here)... I want to then pick up the GDMBR where it hits the souther tier in Silver City and head north into Colorado before then heading East on the TransAm where the two meet.

My thoughts on this over simply heading East through Utah and Nevada into Colorado are simply that for two novices, these stretches would be (apparently) very challenging.

Will this work-around work do you think? It adds a fair few miles but that isn't really an issue.

12

General Discussion / Re: Poll: Additional ACA Web Feature?

« on: June 04, 2014, 10:26:40 pm »

I never explained why I thought this was a good idea!

Basically, I am planning a tour for next year on the TransAm route.
I am sure the maps tell me where loads of camping parks are, but it says it tells you where any are within 5 miles of the route, how do I know which of these is best? I've read somewhere people complaining about camping site owners being rude to them, drunk when they arrived, that isn't the sort of place I want to end up and if there was a review saying so (and not one i had to go digging through a forum to find) then that is only a good thing.

Less important for restaurants I suppose as it is unlikely i'd check the website every day when looking for somewhere to eat, but defo a good idea for campsites and actually, if a restaurant/diner gets rave-reviews on here, maybe I would go out of my way to make sure i went there over another place.

All in all, the downsides are minimal and the potential benefits are great.

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General Discussion / Re: Poll: Additional ACA Web Feature?

« on: June 04, 2014, 09:03:49 pm »

That is exactly the same on any review site though.

Even on trip-advisor.
If a place is great when it first opens, it gets 5/5 reviews. Then it goes really bad and starts getting 1/5 reviews, anyone who looks at the site will see it getting 3 or 5 out of 5 on average.

People will look at the most recent reviews and note any changes/read what people are saying, that is just common sense.

In terms of rating based on price, it would surely be 'Value For Money' rather than just rating the cost. There is no issue in this.
Ok, if a company charges $5 a year ago and $8 now, that is a change in value for money, but that will be reflected in the most recent reviews.

I don't think the OP is suggesting that they collect reviews over a period of time and then just use those ones for ever, but to have a dynamic rating system, like trip advisor, where people can read new reviews etc.

14

General Discussion / Re: General Advice- TransAm Route

« on: June 02, 2014, 04:57:12 pm »

I can imagine that going lighter makes sense, especially if you'll also use it for general riding around.

The reason i've leaned this was is largely due to the length of tour I have planned, around 5 months (at a fairly slow pace i'll admit) and so i'll probably going full 4 panniers.
I also want to cover all bases, I hope this is a bike I still have in years to come and who knows what i'll do or where i'll go.

Regarding the disc brakes- It seems, from what i've read and a few people i've talked to, is that they generally help with peace of mind more than anything. Knowing that if needs be, even if it is raining and you're going 25mhp down a hill, you'll be able to grab your brakes and stop whereas it seems that many cantis simply don't have the power. Though I can see that in the vast vast majority of cases, they are just over kill.

Thanks for the tips!

15

General Discussion / Re: General Advice- TransAm Route

« on: June 02, 2014, 04:31:50 pm »

Haha, all very true and well put.

I just wanted to see what peoples' views on the discs were more than anything else. The thought of a bent rotor somewhere in the middle of nowhere isn't too appealing.
 
I think I prefer the Kona though out of the pair. Coming wit racks and mudguards is a big bonus.
Time to get buying and get riding!