Messages

1

General Discussion / Re: TransAm done - What next?

« on: February 24, 2021, 06:49:46 am »

Saemi -

Your YouTube videos of you and Monika on the TransAM helped convince my wife to join me on this trip in the near future. A great series and I really appreciate all the effort you put in. The Northern Tier I believe also enters Canada at one point so make sure you check any visa requirements if you go that route.

Thanks for the comment. I told my wife about your comment regarding our documentation helping to convince your wife and she was so surprised but also very happy I believe this kind of adventure will strengthen an otherwise good relationship but on the other hand it might do harm to a shaky one. Hopefully you will be able to go and enjoy the adventure and your time together.
Feel free to send me questions!

2

General Discussion / TransAm done - What next?

« on: February 23, 2021, 05:10:45 am »

Hi all,

My wife and I rode the TransAmerica Trail west-east in 2018 and we are itching to embark on another great adventure. We have been discussing riding the Northern Tier but compared to the TransAm there doesn't seem to be much info on that route in this forum, on YouTube, etc. Is that a less common route or less interesting?
We have discussed the Great Divide Mountain Bike Route (GDMTBR) but that is a bit too remote for us as we love encounters with people in small-town America and being able to eat at diners and sleep in proper beds from time to time.

What route would seasoned bikepackers/tourers recommend for us? Northern Tier, Southern Tier, Atlantic Coast, Pacific Coast, something else completely?

We documented our journey here: https://icicle-bicycle.com/ and created a video on YouTube: https://youtu.be/AZkfKQ9u7hk

3

General Discussion / TransAmerica Trail 2018 - Documentary

« on: March 08, 2020, 04:11:24 pm »

Hi all,

In 2018 my wife and I rode across the US. We finally got around to editing the documentary from the trip. Though people here might enjoy it:

https://youtu.be/AZkfKQ9u7hk
https://youtu.be/I9yXRfMGsz8
https://youtu.be/Ny7mhujGuxw
https://youtu.be/iSB-4mV-j0M

4

General Discussion / Bikepacking and bike touring blogs and social media

« on: June 03, 2018, 10:11:12 am »

Do any of your have a blog where you write journals of your adventures? I have found a few by searching on Google but it would be great if ACA forum members could share their own.

My blog, Facebook page and Instagram sites are the following:
https://icicle-bicycle.com/
https://www.facebook.com/IcicleBicyclecom/
https://www.instagram.com/saemundur/

I would love to follow blogs of other cyclists.

5

General Discussion / Re: May 26th TransAm Start

« on: May 24, 2018, 06:38:53 am »

Thanks for sharing your website which I will be following as the start date of my own trip W-E draws closer.
Perhaps we will cross paths midway
Have a great trip!

6

International / Re: Riding bikes in Vietnam tips ?

« on: April 27, 2018, 06:00:37 am »

I have traveled in Vietnam and can tell you that the traffic is crazy. The only place I rode bikes was far away from big cities where there was minimal traffic. Most roads are rather narrow with cars, scooters, oxes, bikes, pedestrians all mixed together. Personally I would rather go mountain-biking instead of road-biking in Vietnam.

7

General Discussion / Re: Across America 2018

« on: April 06, 2018, 09:05:48 am »

I am curious.
Why did you post this thread if you already know everything you need to know?

I posted because I wanted to share info and ideas with people who were excited to undertake this crazy adventure this coming sumer. Like I wrote in my post:

If anybody is planning on riding the same route we would love to share ideas, plans, tips and tricks, packing and perhaps ride together part of the way

I was not expecting comments suggesting I say "f-ck you" and spit on on other people or that my plan is to boast rather than enjoy. This is why I wrote the follow up post criticizing some of the comments. In hindsight I probably shouldn´t even have written my last post.

I definitely do not claim to know everything and therefore I greatly appreciate all the comments and information that has been posted. My biggest fear is the heat and humidity and maybe that will put a big dent in our mileage plan.
jamawani, you are right that my values and political views are probably very different to some of the people I will meet but I really do like meeting people from different backgrounds and I very much look forward to meeting and talking to people that can give me a new view on life as I don´t claim to know everything or be in any way better than others. I appreciate your comments and will do my best to leave my preconceptions behind.

Thanks again to all that have posted insightful comments and perhaps we will meet along the TAT route this summer. Only 69 days until departure

8

General Discussion / Re: Across America 2018

« on: April 06, 2018, 04:40:58 am »

This forum is interesting. It seems like there is a prejudice towards those who like to ride light and cover more distance and that the "accepted" way is to pack heavy and cover less ground. However, based on what I have read it seems that despite different mileage the number of hours in the saddle is often similar because of the weight difference.

I believe people should do what gives them the most out of the trip and I disagree completely with those who have said that riding more miles means that people cannot smell the flowers, enjoy the scenery and chat to the locals.

I intend to cover lots of miles per day but thoroughly enjoy the crap out of everything 

9

General Discussion / Re: Hotel/motel vs camping

« on: March 22, 2018, 07:50:19 am »

It looks like I'm the odd man out; But I love credit card touring. I like eating out and sleeping in clean sheets after a hot shower. Also I like to ride with very little weight. I can cover about 80 to 100 miles and the difference in the cost of ($100/day) can be made up with longer rides in fewer days. I don't feel like I'm going too fast with my head down but I also don't feel like I'm plodding along. For me it's the only way to go.

You are not alone I plan on riding TransAmerica this summer with my wife and we plan on staying at hotels and eating at restaurants. We realize this will probably be more expensive than camping and cooking food but on the other hand we will travel much lighter and therefore cover more ground. Fewer days -> less cost.
We have thought about bringing a tent and sleeping bags for the first part of the trip and when the heat becomes misearable to send the camping stuff off to a friend on the east coast. This might be a best-of-both-worlds approach.

10

General Discussion / Re: Across America 2018

« on: February 26, 2018, 09:54:17 am »

Great replies from all.
We definitely plan on "smelling the roses", chatting with fellow travelers, meeting locals, etc, despite doing more mileage each day than most find comfortable. Hope to see as many of you on the road this summer.
Only 109 days until the start of our trip!

Have a great trip.  The daily mileage won't prevent you from smelling the roses unless you let it.  Make it a point to be warm, open, and friendly and folks will react in the same manner.  If there is a long communal table where the various local folks sit, introduce yourself and ask if you can join them.

Oh and take off the sunglasses when speaking to folks!  I found that made a huge difference in how people treated me.  People can be really put off by those dark glasses.  That may seem obvious, but it took me a while to realize how important it is.

One other thing...  Days off.  Personally I prefer to ride every day unless there is a specific reason for a day off.  That might be for an activity or repair.  I find active rest days better, so unless I take off for an activity like hiking or whitewater rafting, I'll take short or half days when I feel like it.  Even on those activity days I tend to ride at least a little.  I had no actual zero days on the TA, but did ride something like 8 miles the day we went whitewater rafting and did a few 30 mile days that I considered active rest days.

I did once take a week off in Yosemite (SC trip).  That exception was well worth it.  I spent it hiking and sightseeing.  Another time I took a day and a half off sick as a dog and holed up in a motel room (Santa Fe Trail tour).

Great points!

11

General Discussion / Re: Across America 2018

« on: February 26, 2018, 09:00:05 am »

Great replies from all.
We definitely plan on "smelling the roses", chatting with fellow travelers, meeting locals, etc, despite doing more mileage each day than most find comfortable. Hope to see as many of you on the road this summer.
Only 109 days until the start of our trip!

12

Gear Talk / Re: Can I use a carbon road bike for ultralight touring

« on: January 12, 2018, 03:59:59 am »

I plan on a 6000 km bike tour this summer on a carbon bike using a saddle bag, small frame-bag and a handlebar-bag.

13

General Discussion / Re: Evening and late-morning temperatures riding TransAmerica mid-June to mid-August

« on: January 09, 2018, 09:55:34 am »

Unless things have changed, the maps contain charts for selected locations that show average highs and lows and average rainfall by month.

Correct but my question was aimed at figuring out when the highs and lows within the day would be.

14

General Discussion / Re: Transamerica (and tiny bit Northern Tier) video

« on: January 09, 2018, 03:57:14 am »

Great video and an inspiration for my upcoming TransAm tour this summer!

15

General Discussion / Re: Evening and late-morning temperatures riding TransAmerica mid-June to mid-August

« on: January 08, 2018, 01:57:01 pm »

I am planning a west-east TransAmerica tour between mid-June and mid-August. Have found a great deal of information on this forum including average temperatures (highs and lows).
However, I have not been able to figure out what kind of low temperatures I could expect in the late afternoons/evenings or in the early mornings, particularly in high altitudes.
I am not worried about the temperature during the night as I will carry camping equipment including an insulating sleeping mat and sleeping bag. However, I wonder what kind of clothing is needed for an early morning start and a late finish.

I think we have some confusion about when the low temperatures occur during a day.  Usually the low temperature will occur at about sunrise.  5-6-7 AM.  About the time you are getting up and starting the riding for the day.  The low temperature does not happen when you are sleeping if you are an early riser and rider.

The late afternoons and early evenings (5-6-7 PM) are close to the hottest part of the day.  High will be about 3 PM and then it will "cool" off a couple degrees a couple hours later.

These high and low time ranges happen all year long, summer or winter.  With the exception of fronts blowing through or big changes in weather patterns.  If a front is blowing through, you could have the high at midnight and the low at noon.

As for the actual temperatures, read what the others said.  Lows of around freezing if you camp at the top of mountains in the Sierras or Rockies and highs of around 100 in the middle of the afternoon in the Midwest.

Great answer, thanks! It should have been obvious to me having been to the US multiple times but never into the mountains and I guess I would have figured this out after a couple of nights but knowing in advance will help reduce worries from now until I start.