Topics

1

Building Sale Discussion Area / thoughts, more in sadness

« on: January 19, 2026, 09:32:58 am »

For the record, I voted against the sale.

Personally, the very best thing about ACA has always been this forum and the community here.  The rest of the value proposition is (to me) not that great and I suspect that in most cases other organizations might do those things just as well or better.  With a handful of exceptions.

With both changes in their products and services over the last couple of years and the ongoing drama outlined in this forum, I concluded a while ago that my finite donation dollars would be more productively spent on other organizations.  For me at the moment that is mostly the Rails-to-Trails conservancy and Bikepacking Roots.

If I could find an organization that effectively advocated for on-pavement bicycle travel that would fill a notable gap.  Although I'm wondering if we could have separate associations for distinct routes, kind of like the PCT and AT and CDT have for their respective trails.

2

General Discussion / Hipcamp?

« on: March 21, 2025, 05:57:17 pm »

I’ve had variable experiences with privately owned campgrounds.  Everything between superb and well worth the extra money to a vicious ripoff.

Sometimes I see quite reasonable prices on Hipcamp and wonder if anyone has used them for bicycle travel.

I’ve seen prices from a modest and reasonable $14 and a just crazy $200.  Which has to be a typo.

3

Food Talk / Meal ideas: youtube channel

« on: February 07, 2025, 10:34:23 am »

The chef corso youtube channel is a good place to look for food ideas for bicycle travel.

https://www.youtube.com/@ChefCorso

A lot of his recipes are designed to be sourced from mini marts and small markets.  Which is obviously helpful.   While this channel is focused more on backpacking similar ideas apply.

4

General Discussion / Costs per day?

« on: January 17, 2025, 12:27:13 pm »

I'm curious what people budget for per-day costs on journey.

There are a crazy number of variables that can throw this number all over the place.  Travel in expensive places or more expensive countries is much more expensive.  If you are credit card touring lodging costs are going to make your daily costs much higher than if you were camping.  And if you are eating hearty restaurant meals every day that will cost much more than just buying food at a grocery store and preparing it yourself.

Also camping costs can vary between nothing at all to over $50 per night in some locations.

Solo travel is obviously going to be more expensive as well because those campsite costs and motel stays will be borne by just one beating heart.

For me, eating mostly grocery store food and camping out two nights out of three or three nights out of four I usually end up between $75-$100 per day.  Which seems expensive but in the PNW most decent motels push $150+ per night so that is a big portion of the expenses.

5

Canada / Great Trail (aka Trans-Canada Trail) from Penticton, BC to Castlegar, BC

« on: September 29, 2024, 11:04:32 am »

What can I say?

This is almost 400 kilometers of riding, all off-highway and nearly all unpaved through mostly wild, lonely country.

The good:  I'd say most of the distance was very good surface, mainly luxury gravel.  The very best sections were between Grand Forks and Cascade, just out of Penticton, and the Myra Canyon sections.  Also this is where you'd most likely see other cyclists.  Interesting scenery and decent resupply options were available along the route.

The not so good:  some sections were quite rough, in particular past Chute Lake to Bellevue Trestle.  That section is on a BC Ministry of Forests logging road and is dominated by potholes that were often easily three meters across and after a rainstorm would have shin-deep water in them.    Other sections had a lot of active ATV use which tore up the trail surface and often made for difficult riding.

The just plain ugly:  Long waterless sections.  The section from Chute Lake to Hydraulic lake (about 30km) had no available water, and E from Hydraulic lake you were also looking at 20+km between decent water sources.  So have the capacity to carry at least 2L of water and probably 3L is better.

Some other notes:

You can water up at Chute Lake resort, and also buy a decent lunch there.

Hydraulic Lake campground is kind of a rip-off, $28 for a flat spot, a rotten picnic table, and an outhouse.  But really the only realistic camping option for many kilometers in either direction.  Water is from the lake and is sketchy even with treatment.

The railroad line was spec'd with a 2 percent grade, which works out as almost imperceptibly gentle uphills and downhills over the whole distance.  The steeper sections are usually where the trail had to reroute off of the railroad right-of-way.

I resupplied at Beaverdell, Rock Creek, Greenwood, and Christina Lake.  There are multiple full-service grocery stores in Penticton and one in Grand Forks.  The cheeseburger at the food truck in Beaverdell was memorable.  The market in Greenwood had a lot of locally grown fresh vegetables.

There are tunnels!  Some of them are quite long and you'll want decent bike lights.  A headlamp is probably very inadequate.

Some sections have gates where you cross private property.  Be sure to close and secure the gates as you pass through.

Most GPS routing apps will wildly overestimate the elevation gain and loss due to the many tunnels and deep rock cuts the right of way traverses.

Around Grand Forks the trail may be confusing due to construction and development in the area.  Have some good maps and ideally offline maps on your phone.

I met two guys just W of Bellevue Trestle who were six days out of Castlegar.  It took me four long days of riding between Penticton and Castlegar.  I only met two other bicycle tourists.  Around Myra canyon there were literally hundreds of cyclists though.

Pass Creek Regional Park is a few miles off the route near Castlegar and has decent hiker-biker accomodations, showers, wi-fi, and bear proof storage lockers for your food.  https://www.rdck.ca/EN/main/services/parks/pass-creek-regional-park-and-campground.html?media=contrast

6

Food Talk / Powdered milk

« on: May 31, 2024, 09:14:19 am »

I found this pretty appealing powdered milk on Amazon:

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0B1GH9JDX?ref=ppx_yo2ov_dt_b_product_details&th=1

It comes either in monster-sized cans or in a box with 18 small packets.  Each packet makes about 250ml of milk.  Also it is a whole milk powder, which gives you a few more calories than most powdered milk options.  The downside is that whole milk doesn't preserve as well and it has about a 1 year shelf life, rather than the decades that nonfat milk powders can last.

Experiments so far shows that it hits the spot fairly well in coffee.

This is probably an excellent choice for fast-and-light bikepacking trips and shorter tours of a few days or so.  I suppose you could order from Amazon on journey and ship it to you General Delivery someplace where you are going to intercept a post office. 

7

Gear Talk / Tarp camping for bicycle travel

« on: May 19, 2024, 01:03:46 pm »

I'll admit it, I'm eccentric and opinionated.

These last twenty-odd years I have almost exclusively camped with tarps.  And on the average they have worked superbly for me in a wide variety of often hideous conditions.  That includes extremely foul weather and downright miserably buggy conditions.

Some of the advantages that keep me camping with tarps are:

• Tarp setups can be extremely light.  For a one-person configuration it is reasonable that total shelter weight will be less than 24 ounces.  If you are hard core about it you can cut that almost in half.  And along with that lighter weight there is less bulk which means less room taken up by shelter in your bike bags.
• By the insane standards of modern outdoor gear, tarps are quite reasonably priced.  You can get yourself a spiffy, lightweight, bug and storm-proof one-person shelter for about $250.  If you shop around and are a bit creative you can get a rough-and-ready setup that will work great for about $100 less.
• Tarps have variable geometry.  You can set the same tarp up different ways to adapt to different conditions.  You might pitch the tarp low and wide when faced with windy and stormy conditions, and you can pitch the same tarp high and venty when things are humid and buggy.
  Also, you can vary what goes inside the tarp as well.  From a simple ground sheet to an elaborate bug shelter depending on conditions.
• On the average, you will stay dryer with a well-pitched tarp over most any tent.  Whatever you lose in storm-proofness in a tarp you gain far more from the additional ventilation.
• Tarps are very roomy.  In terms of ounces (and dollars) per square foot of space they have a very favorable ratio compared to tents.  That means in stormy weather you can pack and unpack all of your gear under the tarp and keep it there.  And because of the excellent ventilation you can often dry out soggy gear under the tarp.
• Tarps do not require poles and many of the interior accessories do not have zippers.  Both of which are major failure points on even the best tent.
• You can see out while inside.

Of course, it isn't all fluffy bunnies, unicorns, and rainbows here in Tarp World.  There are some complications and challenges that you might have along the way.

• Tarps require a certain amount of practice to get great results.  Since there isn't a Tarp School you'll need to learn that through experience and experimentation.  Keep in mind that not all experiments will be successful.
• You'll need to be fussier with site selection and orientation than you'd typically need to be with a tent.
• It takes a while to develop the "eye" and the three-dimensional visualization skills needed to see how your tarp will fit into a certain site.
• If you're the kind of person who comes into camp two hours after sunset and sets up camp in the pitch dark, you probably won't be very happy with a tarp.
• Some sites, in particular sites with very hard ground and sites without suitable features to hang a ridgeline, are poor choices for tarp camping.
• You have much less privacy in a tarp.  This might or might not matter to you.
• Tarps made with modern lightweight fabrics need to be pitched properly and securely.  A tarp loosely pitched and flapping in a strong wind can rip itself to pieces in seconds.  Staking out side pullouts can help keep a firm and taught pitch.

Basically, you can consider tarps a great example of where you can trade weight with skill.

There are two basic flavors to consider.  Rectangular tarps are just that, rectangular pieces of waterproof fabric with tie-outs.  They offer quite a bit of flexibility in their setup and a lower cost, on average.  An 8x10 tarp is enormous for one person and quite comfortably roomy for two.  A 10x12 tarp is luxurious accomodations for two people.

A good example of a rectangular silnylon tarp at a reasonable price:

https://www.pariaoutdoorproducts.com/products/silnylon-tarp-sanctuary-siltarp?variant=22276079111

There are also A-frame tarps.  Typically they use a catenary cut and are tapered.  They are somewhat more expensive and somewhat lighter than a straight-up rectangular tarp.  You also lose some flexibility because you can really only pitch them in an a-frame.  On the other hand they tend to be easier to get into a secure and taught pitch and require fewer stakes to do so.

A good example of an A-frame tarp:

https://www.gossamergear.com/collections/shelters-sleeping-pads/products/twinn-tarp

I don't typically carry poles.  In practice I can almost always rig the ridgelines to trees, and if trees aren't available or aren't in the right places I can improvise by attaching one end or the other to a goodsized shrubbery, stringing it over a boulder, or using a picnic table.  In a pinch you can even use your bike (best to run the ridgeline through the saddle rails).

Typically I'll bring eight stakes.  That's enough for the ridgeline, four corners, and two side pull outs.  I'll rarely need all eight stakes for a given pitch.

It is a good idea to take three or four pieces of extra cord in six or eight foot lengths that you can use to extend the ridgeline.  Also have a few extra loops of cord around two feet long for side pullouts if you need them.  You can get away with very light cord for side pullouts, I often use 80-pound test kite string.

So what goes inside the tarp?

In some conditions, all you'll need is a ground sheet.  You can easily and cheaply make one from a piece of Tyvek.  While not particularly durable, Tyvek will still last months and is easily replaceable while on journey.

I often use a basic bivy sack, especially in cooler and not-very-buggy conditions.  This inexpensive model from Oware is representative of what you should be looking for (note the top is not waterproof so this bivy isn't really suitable for use on its own):

https://bivysack.com/shop/ols/products/bivysack-drawcord-closure

If you are concerned about insects and other multi-legged small game, you can carry a somewhat heavier and more expensive bug shelter and feel secure and less chewed upon while you slumber.  Some representative examples:

https://katabaticgear.com/collections/bivys/products/pinon-bivy

https://bivysack.com/shop/ols/products/bug-bivy-top-entry

https://seatosummit.com/products/mosquito-pyramid-net-shelters

Note that with the Sea To Summit shelter you'll want a ground sheet.

8

Routes / Okanogan Highlands Loop

« on: May 14, 2024, 10:16:21 am »

https://ridewithgps.com/routes/44994107

I'm planning to ride this route sometime after Memorial Day.  It seems like it would be a good candidate for an ACA short route as well.

Ridewithgps underestimates the amount of unpaved riding on this route.  And many miles that are nominally "paved" might as well not be.

The route is characterized by two long, brutal uphills followed by equally long downhills.  The 20-mile 5500-foot climb out of Boulder Creek is the most brutal, and is south-facing and in many sections shadeless.  On the other hand there are adequate water sources and campsites and it would be feasible to split it over two days.  Because of that section I'd recommend this route either in early June right after most of the snow has melted out or in late September or early October.

I've ridden sections of this route in the past but never as a whole tour, and I haven't ridden all of it yet.  It seems feasible for a strong cyclist to make this trip in three days.  I'll probably take three days and an extra morning.

9

Routes / Oregon Coast — Astoria to Crescent City, CA

« on: April 22, 2024, 10:19:10 pm »

This is a trip report and I am posting some preliminary findings from Crescent City.  I’ll follow up with some photos in a few days.

My rule is that any mile not on the 101 is a good mile and I stuck to that as much as possible.

A couple of discoveries on this trip:

Some State Parks have gone to full online registration.  Unfortunately there isn’t a way to register for hiker/biker campsites online.  Hopefully they will fix that.

The Cape Meares route past Tillamook is fine and highly recommended.  Expect sone steep climbs but pretty quiet roads.

Bike Newport no longer offers services to bike tourists (laundry, wi-fi, showers ) and apparently has not for some years.  They need to update their web site.

One good alternative to the 101 is the Beaver Creek Loop between Newport and Waldport.  It had nice quiet roads and some pretty interesting opportunities for viewing wildlife.

You had a good chance of seeing whales around Cape Foulweather and Cape Perpetua.

In California just S of the Oregon border Ocean View Drive is another quiet and scenic alternate that gets you off of the busy 101.

More deets to follow.

Still not an AI

10

Gear Talk / How warm should your sleepingbag be?

« on: March 30, 2024, 10:48:42 am »

How warm (in terms of "comfort rating") should a sleeping bag be for typical three-season bicycle travel?

This is also made much more complicated because different manufacturers use different techniques to determine the "comfort ratings" they use on their products.  So it is basically impossible to make a rational comparison between brands based just on their rating.  A better approach might be to compare fill weight between bags of similar design and size, though even there it is pretty easy to get lost in the weeds.

Another complicating factor is that very few sleeping bags provide significant insulation underneath the sleeper.  For that you'll need some kind of insulated pad.  Depending on your situation you may be losing much more heat by conduction with the cold ground than into the surrounding air.

If you haven't already noticed, people are all very different.  Some might shiver the night away under a fluffy down comforter in a room that is a smidgen below 70F, while others will wrap themselves in an old horse blanket and snore all night on an ice floe.  On top of that, what you ate for dinner and how hard you are exercising can effect how warm you sleep in often bewildering and unpredictable ways.

Sleeping in a tent, in particular sleeping in a pretty small tent, will on the average be much warmer (easily 10-15 degrees F) than without a tent.  Similarly, a small bivy sack can make a pretty dramatic difference.

Blatant product plug:  I use and like this inexpensive and light bivy sack when tarp camping:

https://bivysack.com/shop/ols/products/bivysack-standard-zip-regular-length-c1635e9e-1703-4bd1-880c-74a89e55fa7c

Finally, careful campsite selection and an awareness of microclimates can make a dramatic difference in how warm you sleep.  Often times locations even a few dozen feet apart will have dramatic temperature differences.  As only one example, cold air sinks and locations close to streams and lakes can be 10F colder than a location a short distance uphill.  This can also work for you the other way on a hot, muggy night.

It is important to remember that you'll be just as uncomfortable sleeping too hot as sleeping too cold.  And you can always wear warm clothes to bed on a super chilly night.

For myself, I usually use a down quilt rated at about 30F for most of my summer backpacking and 3-season bicycle travel.  That means there are a few somewhat chilly nights where I am wearing a lot of clothes, but generally this approach provides the most comfortable sleep.  I'm usually in that bivy sack which overall keeps me nice and toasty to about 20F.  Also, for me, down is far better product both from a functional standpoint and value for money.  A well-cared for down bag or quilt can easily last a dozen years of hard use.

My personal observation is that most backpackers and bicycle tourists are carrying a too warm and too heavy and too expensive sleeping bag.

What works for you?  And what would you like to use?  I think the Zen Bivy products are intriguing (if terribly expensive).

11

Food Talk / Lunch!

« on: March 07, 2024, 07:22:39 pm »

Lunch on my tours is typically eaten as a series of small snacks, and technically I consider any meal part of "lunch" if it is eaten after I start riding for the day and before I get to camp.  I probably wouldn't eat everything in the photo above on any given day, but sometimes come shockingly close to that ideal.

A couple other notes:

• On the average, I'd expect something over half of the daily food weight to be considered "lunch".
• A fast breakfast might often roll into lunch with the addition of coffee.  In some cases then "breakfast" might be a granola bar, an apple, and a cup of coffee.
• Cream cheese or hummus are sometimes welcome on my tortillas as well for variety
• The ziploc containers that tortillas, beef jerky, and nuts come in can also be used as trash bags as the days go by
• On "energy bars".  There are quite a variety and availability can be limited to nonexistent depending on where you are.  Snickers bars can be fine as a substitute.  The fancy and expensive Bhu and Core bars are marginally healthier for you, but require refrigeration and are difficult to find.  Also, caffeinated Clif Bars are a powerful tool if used wisely, usually one is good for about 25 miles of riding
• One thing not shown here is electrolyte supplements.  That might be a powdered drink mix, it might be like those weird Nuun tablets (although personally I prefer the Hammer Endurolyte Fizz tablets).  Clif Bloks are good if you can find them.  But it might be the little "Emergen-C" packets you see in gas stations.
• None of the above implies that a deli salad, a cheeseburger, or a bag of chips would be beneath me on a long day!

12

Routes / NE Washington State: the Gravel Tier

« on: February 15, 2024, 07:54:40 pm »

I've done variations of this route a couple of times.  If you get off of the main ACA route (mostly to the N) you can get onto interesting country roads and through some odd little villages.  There is interesting and undiscovered country that most cyclists never see...



Above Barstow, WA before dropping to the Kettle River.



Between Chesaw, WA and Oroville, WA



W of Oroville, WA along the Similkameen River



Snake in the road S of Loomis, WA



On the long climb out of Conconully, WA


You can check out one variation of the route at:

https://ridewithgps.com/routes/45602710

Note that while most of the country you are traveling through is fairly built up, there are very limited supplies in a lot of sections and until the very end even the towns with most services often have very limited options.  The off-pavement sections are easily manageable on 47mm tires.

Parallel to the Northern Tier in Idaho and Western Montana there are similar interesting and challenging options.  Some of them appear in ACA guides and some do not.

13

Food Talk / Things you can mooch along the way

« on: February 02, 2024, 06:23:14 pm »

These are a few small things you can often find in gas station mini marts, coffee shops, and delis along your route that can make your eating better.

• Small containers of half and half.  Either for coffee at breakfast or to add to whatever pot of hash you are making that night.
• Little packets of butter.
• Packets of hot sauce
• Packets of mustard (especially if you can find dijon mustard)
• Little things of jam and honey.  Great in oatmeal.
• Wasabi horseradish
• Soy sauce
• Blue shop towels from mini mart gas stations.  These are awesome.  Both for cleaning up your bike, cleaning dishes, and cleaning your body.

14

Gear Talk / Clothing List

« on: January 12, 2024, 10:11:26 am »

This is approximately what I carry on a long tour.  On shorter tours of one or two nights I might carry a bit less.

I don't actually have a lot of cycling-specific clothing (really none except padded shorts and a few pairs of gloves).  Most of these clothes work fine for hiking, trail running, and cross-country skiing as well.  And I use them for such.

This is a "skin out" list including all clothing carried and worn.

Feet



Trail runners.  Usually Salomon with the toggle lace system rather than typical shoelaces.

3 pairs of socks, of various types.  I like both Smartwool and Darned Tough socks.  On a short trip I might only bring two pairs (only one spare pair) of socks.

Base Layers:  Top



Two short-sleeved wicking shirts
One long-sleeved wicking shirt

Merino wool or synthetics are fine and both have advantages and disadvantages.  One a shorter trip I might just bring one short-sleeved shirt.  In colder weather I might bring two long-sleeved shirts and one short-sleeved shirt.  It is also a good idea if the long sleeved shirt is cut or sized so you can layer it over a short sleeved shirt.

Bottoms



Two pairs of padded shorts.  I usually want two different brands so they rub in different places.
One pair of regular underwear.  Usually compression shorts.  Can be worn on the bike just fine.
One pair of regular shorts.  To be worn over the above.
One pair of tights or long underwear bottoms.

In colder conditions I probably bring a thicker pair of long underwear bottoms.

Shell Layers



Wind shell
Wind pants
Hi-vis vest

These windproof layers are not raingear.  They are very lightweight insulating layers.  Typically you can find decent wind pants that weight about 2oz and wind shells that weigh 4-5oz.

Other top layers



Insulated Jacket
Rain Parka

In warmer climates I might substitute a light fleece sweater for the insulated jacket.  In colder climates I might bring the sweater along in addition to the above.

Hats and Gloves



Fleece hat
Buff
Bandana
Gloves

In colder situations I might bring more gloves.  In very wet conditions I might bring three pair of gloves.

Luxuries



Sun Hat
Camp Sandals
Fleece Sweater
Rain Pants (not shown)
Button-front cotton shirt (not shown)

These are things I sometimes but not always bring along.  Usually I find that rain pants perform poorly, are expensive, heavy, bulky, and hard to justify because legs are usually pretty waterproof.  The button-front cotton shirt is nice to wear in camp, on a hot and sunny day, and if you want to hit a decent restaurant or just not look like a bike tourist for a few hours.  The camp sandals shown are Mayfly Imagos and weigh in at about 1.8oz -- they aren't well-suited for hiking but are great for hanging out in camp.

15

Gear Talk / My cooking gear

« on: December 31, 2023, 03:57:54 pm »

What I typically carry on a long tour:



Clockwise from top left:  GSI Soloist cookpot (nonstick), Sea to Summit sippy cup, MSR Pocket Rocket Deluxe, Sea to Summit collapsible bowl, kitchen knife from Target, awful little spork, spoon with can opener.  The puppy is usually not carried.


I might not bring the bowl or the spoon with the can opener if I won't need 'em.  The bowl is handy for soaking foods like tabouli and for carrying a salad on the ride.

Some stuff I might bring or might substitute in on a faster-and-lighter trip:



L to R:  gold filter coffee maker, bic lighter with duct tape, BSR-3000T stove, small Snow Peak Ti pot.


The smaller pot and BSR-3000T stove are a better choice if you are on a tour where your cooking is all boil-water-and-stir.  The larger nonstick pot is good when you might be reheating food out of a can.  The MSR stove simmers better and consumes less fuel, especially at lower elevations and lower temperatures.

Opinions, pet peeves, and suggestions welcomed!