Messages

1

General Discussion / Re: Wear eye glasses/sun glasses while riding

« on: January 26, 2011, 10:31:11 pm »

One other possible thing for those with slipping glasses.  There is an outfit called Hidalgo's which sells mail order frames.  The neat thing is they also make up cable temples--the ear pieces like on the old Ray-Bans that fit around your ears, rather than clamp your skull.  I've bought all my frames from them for the last 20 years, since they're the only people I know of that still sell cable temples and I need them to keep my glasses from sliding down.  They also sell a lttle silicone gadget that fits over the end of normal ear pieces that will act as a loop around your ear (only $6.50 for that one), but I've not tried that since all my glasses have cable temples.

Bob

2

Gear Talk / Re: Touring Tent Talk

« on: November 24, 2010, 11:09:27 pm »

Kelty Gunnison 2; two vestibules, plenty of interior room, and plenty of room to sit up in when you are stuck in the tent in the reain

Bob

3

Pacific Northwest / Re: Best roads in your area of the PNW

« on: July 19, 2010, 11:59:58 pm »

Wish I had seen this earlier--I just finished a 10 day Cascade lop that included Blewett Pass.  I used the new road, which as you say is very nice and traffic was light, but wondered about the old.  Maybe next time...

Bob

4

Gear Talk / Re: Panniers- EZ on/off

« on: July 19, 2010, 11:53:17 pm »

I have Axiom Champlain panniers.  They mount using two hooks over the top rail, a bungee cord with hook to the bottom, and a turn-button to lock them on.  They have a carrying strap to lift them with, and a shoulder strap.  Putting them on or taking them off takes less than 5 seconds.  They have a large capacity--65 liters--and are very water resistant with waterproof covers.  I got mine new over the web for $90 for a pair of them.  They are of the "one big bag" type of design, but each has two smaller outside zip pockets and a third zip pocket in the top flap.  I just returned from a two week self contained tour and had no troubles with them at all.

Bob

5

Routes / Re: cascade rail trail

« on: June 03, 2010, 11:30:36 pm »

The Cascade Trail parallels Hwy 20, but frequently at some distance.  The first half in on  the flats of the Skagit River valley and goes through farmland.  Then it crosses 20 to the north side and runs through scrub woods to Concrete.  The South Skagit runs along the south side of the Skagit River, basically through rural areas.  In either case, if the weather is clear, there are good views of the mountains ahead ("I'm going to ride over THAT?" will be a frequently recurring thought).  However, before the middle of July, the weather is a crap shoot and the chances of it being clear enough to see the mountains are about 1 in 3 or less.  This year so far has been particularly bad--I'm hoping that things get better since I have a North Cascades loop trip planned for July.

Bob

6

Routes / Re: cascade rail trail

« on: June 01, 2010, 11:13:27 pm »

The Cascade trail is an almost level crushed rock rail-trail with a firm surface.  I haven't ridden it yet this year, but last fall it was in good shape.  That said, the South Skagit Highway isn't a bad road to ride on--decent paving and not too much traffic.  The west end of the Cascade Trail is on the east side of Sedro Woolley, about a quarter mile east of Hwy 9; look for the Country Store on the south side of Hwy 20--the trail starts behind the gas station next to it.  The east end of the trail is just north of Hwy 20 in Concrete.

Bob

7

Routes / Re: Pacific Coast - getting to the San Juans from Seattle

« on: May 27, 2010, 10:24:30 am »

Bellingham is NOT on the ferry line to the San Juans--it is the southern terminus for the ferries to Alaska.  The only public ferries to the San Juans run out of Anacortes.  There are only a couple of ferries a day that go to Sydney BC, the rest go between the islands to the metropolis of Friday Harbor (pop about 3,000), so if you elect to fly into Vancouver, the number of sailings from the Canadian end is much lower (see wsdot.wa.gov for ferry schedules).  If you fly to Vancouver and want to ride to Anacortes, try to get a copy of the RSVP route from Cascade Bicycle Club (cascade.org)  This is a ride from Seattle to Vancouver, and mostly uses back roads between the two cities; you would leave the route somewhere around Bow-Edison and head south to pick up Highway 20 west.

Bob

8

Pacific Northwest / Re: im interested in a supported tour 10-15 days washington oregon cascades etc

« on: May 26, 2010, 05:44:15 pm »

I don't know how long the waiting list for this year is, but Cycle Oregon is a large (2,000 riders), fully supported week long tour of locales in Oregon (different route every year) that is excellent.  This year it sold out in about a week.  It takes place in mid September.

9

Pacific Northwest / Re: Weather Conditions?

« on: May 26, 2010, 05:39:14 pm »

The route starts on the wet, west side of the Cascade mountains.  Currently, there is about 10' of snow still on the ground over Washington Pass, although the road is OK.  The east side of the mountains is desert dry.  Daytime highs of 90 degrees are common at the end of june, but remember that you still have several mountain passes to get over, so it will be cold at 6,000' in the mornings and evenings.  I strongly recommend good rain gear for the first few days ride--hypothermia is a real issue in these parts in this time of year.

Bob

10

Routes / Re: Best Cross Country Route with Hotels ever 50-70 miles

« on: May 25, 2010, 11:58:33 pm »

Just a note--the stretch from Mazama WA to Marblemount WA is 76 miles over Washington Pass and Rainy Pass with no services of any sort,  There is a National Park Camprground about 25 miles east of Marblemount.

Bob

11

Routes / Re: Pacific Coast - getting to the San Juans from Seattle

« on: May 25, 2010, 11:52:45 pm »

In the "connecting routes" section of the forums, I gave some pretty specific directions for getting to Seattle from the NT route east of the town of Sedro Woolley (which is on Highway 20, as is Anacortes, but about 25 miles east) but that is somewhat out of the way.  Basically, there is a light rail train to downtown Seattle from the airport.  Heading north from downtown brings you to the Burke Gilman Trail.  Head east on the Burke Gilman to the town of Woodinville, then go norht on 156th.  Stay off of Highway 9 (Google maps bicycling function will put you on it--they call it Snohomish Woodinville Road).  In the town of Snohomish, find the Centennial Trail (Off Maple St), and ride it to Arlington.  In Arlington, you can get on Highway 9 and continue north.  You will need to bear left at the roundabout to get to the town of Mt. Vernon.  Go north out of Mt Vernon to Burlington, where you will come to Highway 20.  Go west on Highway 20 to the town of Anacortes, which is actually on Hwy 20 Spur.  The ferry terminal for the San Juan islands is west of downtown.  When returning, Where the spur and the main hwy 20 join, go south to the Keystone-Port Townsend ferry.  Take the ferry across the Sound, and you are on the Olympic Peninsula.

I live in Snohomish about 4 miles from the trail.

Bob

12

Gear Talk / Re: white gas or cannister stove for month long trip in Wyoming/Montana

« on: May 18, 2010, 01:24:48 pm »

REI has an informational handout on all the stoves that they sell, including burn times, time to heat a liter of water, weight, etc.  If there is an REI store near you, get this and peruse it.  I'm sure the info is available on their website as well.  (they have these same handouts for most of the major classes of equipment that they sell--sleeping bags, lights, headlights, tents, sleep pads, you name it)

Bob

13

General Discussion / Re: ACA maps availability?

« on: May 17, 2010, 10:13:18 am »

My local REI does carry a few of the ACA maps, as does my local bike shop--basically just those that pertain to the local area.  I have no idea what it's like elsewhere, but I think pre-ordering would be a good idea

14

General Discussion / Re: biking from Frankfurt airport to Main River bike route

« on: May 13, 2010, 11:33:44 pm »

If you haven't already looked at it, got to crazyguyonabike.com.  Under the "trikes" section in the "journals" column on the left hand side of the home page is a journal by a couple who are currently touring Bavaria on a pair of ICE trikes.  Might be some information there that you could use as well.

Bob

15

Gear Talk / Re: Mechanic School

« on: May 11, 2010, 12:22:42 pm »

Check with your local REI; they run basic and advanced bike maintenance classes at most store several times a year.