Messages

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General Discussion / Re: The free-ranging dogs on long tours. Temporary annoyances, possible dangers.

« on: June 15, 2023, 03:01:28 pm »

I had a couple of farm dogs chase me for about five miles in MO. I lost them when I went down a hill and around a curve where they lost sight of me and gave up. What gets me angry is when I'm in a state park where there is a leash law and folks seem to think it's okay to let them off the leash. Last summer, I was on a ride in south western MN at a state park called Blue Mounds. I was on a little used but official trail in a part of the park where if I had lost my footing, I could have been badly injured. Two large dogs sprang at me from out of nowhere with their with their owner showing up moments later. The excuse I got from the owner was that no one ever uses that trail. In south eastern MN Beaver Creek Valley state Park on that same trip, another dog came at me with a growling tone and bark. I opened up on that dog owner, with every nasty word I had as  a truck driver, to the point that by pulling out my smart phone and chasing him out of the park, into his car and getting a screen shot of his license plate as he fled. I reported both of these to park rangers the first on they had had contact with before but the last one was from WI and they might not have him on their records.

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General Discussion / Re: No refusal laws or practices nation wide.

« on: June 15, 2023, 02:39:16 pm »

Yeah, I thought it was kind of a stretch. I had made a reservation at the Indiana Dunes at Warren Beach state park in Michigan because my original plan was to wing it and hope for a site being available because it was on a Sunday. I had burned off two extra days at Holland Beach MI state park so that I could be at Van Buren state park MI on a Friday, Warren state park MI on a Saturday and the Dunes park IN on a Sunday. Memorial day weekend, was another, kind of stressful weekend where I had to plan out state park stays to make it through. At Orchard Beach st. park MI there was a nice auxiliary site but at Mears st park MI they put me behind the maintenance garage. It had no picnic table so I had to improvise with an old windsurfer board and a couple of empty plastic barrels. It was also kind of quiet in a crowded campground right on the beach. The bonus was that there was an electric outlet behind the garage that I could plug my C-Pap into. Anyway when I heard about this universal no refusal policy, it kind of lifted my spirits for the possibilities of extended travel. I really wish it was true for national parks.

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General Discussion / Re: Cpap machine (powering)

« on: June 14, 2023, 01:20:14 pm »

For many years I have been using a Somanetics, Transcend C-pap for long distance cycling trips. I carry two of the so called multi night batteries that I recharge either with an electric source or a solar panel attached to the top of my BoB trailer. After a week or so, I find that I can make it through most of a night without the C-Pap, usually by accident. I'll be laying in the tent waiting to get sleepy and all of a sudden it's 3 am. I don't think it's great, REM sleep that I get this way but sleep is sleep sometimes. The batteries are kind of heavy and charge slowly. I pay the extra for electric camp sites when I can so that helps with any anxiety about battery life. I've been wondering if a dynamo front hub could be used to augment the charging of a solar panel to ensure a good recharge but I don't know much about that.

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General Discussion / No refusal laws or practices nation wide.

« on: June 14, 2023, 12:59:36 pm »

Dear friends, Its been awhile since I last posted. I was on a self supported, self contained bicycle trip recently. The route took me around the eastern shore of Lake Michigan. When I was in the Indiana Dune State Park, a member of the park staff told me that there is a law, He called the "squatters law", that allows me the privilege of, self propelled, no turn away camping at any government, city, county, state or federal, camping area in the country. There are of course limits on this such as how many nights allowed and where camping would be allowed. I was just wondering if anyone else heard of this or is it an old park staff tale.

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General Discussion / Re: New BOB trailer owner observations

« on: July 04, 2015, 04:32:27 pm »

Hey moonie! Awesome tip! I just put this on my BoB with a kickstand I got off a trek 300 that I use as a beater. I think I need a smaller tennis ball or some other type of soft ground foot. Didn't have to drill any holes but did use some shims to keep the clamp surfaces parallel. I start on a trip to the east coast tomorrow and I've always had tipping issues with the rig. I was using a kickstand that attaches to the chain and seat stays. I clamped it on the fork of the bob.

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Gear Talk / Re: Panniers vs. BOB?

« on: February 18, 2015, 09:15:33 pm »

I used my bob last summer between Portland OR and Bismarck ND.  I think the speed limit for the bob depends somewhat on the bike you are riding. When my old trek 7500 had a rockshock fork, I had to watch the downhills because of the graveyard (like your going to die) shimmying it would get into. Now that I have a solid fork, the problem seems less pronounced. On Amtrak, I put it in a large duffle bag with my sleeping bag and assorted other gear so it was less than fifty pounds and they were just fine with that. I'm always amazed at how little gear some folks pack for a long trip. I like to cook dinner and have my creature comforts along the way so I just put up with the load. I like the way the bob makes the bike feel less like a small unpowered motorcycle in the front end at least. Seems like I always get flats in my rear tires, but it's nice to pull in off the road and unhook for a run into town, light for groceries. I don't know, I did a lot of touring with panniers back in the day. I think I'll stick with the bob until I want to lighten up.

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General Discussion / Re: That go-to meal

« on: November 23, 2014, 09:34:17 pm »

 my go to meal is a can of spaghetti with meatballs, A can of some kind of vegetables, some kind of packaged or canned meat and some instant mashed potato's.

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General Discussion / Re: Portland to Seattle by bike, Are there Trees to hang?

« on: November 02, 2014, 08:38:33 pm »

Given the environment of the area of your proposed route, I would have to take a guess that trees would be quite abundant.

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Routes / Northern Tier map number 6

« on: November 01, 2014, 05:37:27 pm »

There is now a trail connecting downtown Stillwater MN to the Gateway trail into Saint Paul MN. It is called the Browns Creek trail and follows a railroad grade to the north out of Stillwater and to the west connecting to the Gateway trail. The Gateway trail no longer crosses Interstate 35E due to construction and trail changes.

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Gear Talk / Re: From the road: least used gear, most appreciated gear

« on: August 13, 2014, 05:50:23 pm »

I stuffed a couple wads of toilet paper in my ears. Helped muffle the sound somewhat. The other time I needed plugs was at the riverside town camp in Kamiah ID. There is a lumber mill right next door and they keep it up till late into the night though it seemed they shut down after midnight. I live very close to a BNSF main line through St Paul and I like the sound and rumble of trains passing by my open windows at night. It's the horns that drive you crazy.

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General Discussion / Re: dogs and security

« on: August 09, 2014, 06:08:44 pm »

I had a pair of large dogs chase me about five miles in the Kansas City area on my way to the Katy trail. They would tag team each other but finally quit the chase when I went down a hill and around a corner. I have used the, "get back in the house", yell with some success. Squirting with water worked well one time when a dachshund was chasing me from a lower elevation. When the water hit the little weiner dog, it was so startled that it did a somersault and rolled back down the hill it had just come charging up. Almost fell off the bike laughing. Had a rotweiler get its teeth into one of my panniers and shake it and me on the bike like a rag doll. It let go and gave up once I got past its territory.

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Gear Talk / Re: From the road: least used gear, most appreciated gear

« on: August 08, 2014, 10:46:57 pm »

I recently did a ride from Portland OR to Bismarck ND over a three and a half week time period. Among the items I wish I'd had would be ear plugs. I was at a town called Arlington OR camped out at the marina with a RR crossing a hundred feet away and interstate 84 fifty feet beyond that. One item I didn't use was a water filter pump system. I thought about using it when I got short on water but couldn't bring myself to imagine that I could actually drink the water that was presented in some scummy smelly ditch out on the range somewhere. I could have left my cell phone at home because I couldn't get it to work anywhere, even downtown Bismarck. My most appreciated stuff would be my Moss Starlet tent, REI Incamp insulated air pad and my medium weight sleeping bag. And also that lifetime of songs and ditties floating around in my head to keep me supplied with tunes throughout the day.

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Connecting ACA Routes / Musselshell River as alternative

« on: July 26, 2014, 10:42:24 pm »

I rode the musselshell river a couple weeks ago, from White Sulfur Springs to Forsyth. I wish to tell people to check out Ingomar if you go that way. Ingomar is about 40 miles up US Hwy 12 from Forsyth and I found it enchanting as a classic western town, out in the middle of nowhere. There are no services, other than a saloon called the "Jersey Lill' and an old school house with what the locals call a bunk and biscuit that rents for thirty dollars a night. You can also campout in the town park. Food is really good at the saloon but they are only open from ten am to ten pm so no breakfast served.
 There was a stretch of the road that was under construction just west of Harlowton. Roundup had a city park down by the county fair grounds but only one metal picnic table. Harlowton has a nice park called Chief Joseph park. The Conestoga RV in White Sulfur Springs was very nice also. All in all it was a very nice alternative to the interstate hwy along the Yellowstone river or hilly hwy 200 east of Great Falls.
 

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General Discussion / Re: how to keep my feet warm!

« on: January 23, 2014, 08:55:24 pm »

Putting something warmer on your head, (helmet liner) might help too.

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General Discussion / Re: A New Accessory (Looking for Feedback)

« on: October 21, 2013, 07:19:56 pm »

HA! I've got that one beat. On my trip to new Zealand, my front fender got torn off somehow. I was descending a very large hill just as a sheep rancher moved his flock out on to the road ahead of me. The sheep all decided to defecate on the road and I got a face full as I swooped down through them. LOL