Messages

1

General Discussion / How to pitch a tent in USA?

« on: August 23, 2024, 01:57:06 am »

Hi,

I love riding/touring in the USA but I have 1 annoyance:

Pitching my tent.

I do very little wild camping, so I often stay in private campgrounds, USFS campounds, State Park Campgrounds, National Park Campgrounds etc.

To appreciate the gift of being able to stay on a covered concrete slab or a patio, I bought myself a freestanding tent.

But for a number of reasons it is still desirable to pitch the tent with stakes, it might be due to wind etc.

I estimate that in 80% of all my tent pitching cases the ground is extremely (gravel) hard packed and I seriously struggle to drive the stakes in. I spend a considerable amount of time trying to find the right spot. The beforementioned campgrounds are designed for heavy vehicles and finding a grassy spot is often impossible. Moreover, the staff really wants you to pitch on that designated hard spot and nowhere else.

The freestanding tent has solved many pitching issues for me (due to hardpacked ground) but it is also heavier and takes up more space. Its a trade-off.

How do you solve this pitching issue?

Lucas

2

General Discussion / Most dangerous roads

« on: August 11, 2024, 06:34:23 pm »

Based on my 40000 mi of bike touring I want to share the 2 most dangerous roads I have ridden on:

1 Sierra Cascades: East of McCloud on HWY 89. This road is marked in the map description as truly dangerous. I can attest this stretch is extremely dangerous due to logging traffic and no shoulder. I cannot remember if I rode the stretch on a weekday or during the weekend. There is a small detour S of HWY 89, but it barely covers this dangerous section. I cannot fully remember where the logging trucks turn off, but at the McArthur Burney Memorial Park they are more or less gone.

https://maps.app.goo.gl/rwtqfaNqpj6ETZEG8

2 Sierra Cascades detour: I had to make a big detour (going S on HWY 395 from Bishop) and started mapping myself only using google maps. It was a VERY big mistake and I had to switch back onto the official ACA route again due to safety. The problem road was the stretch is between Adelanto, CA and Lucerne Valley, CA. The biggest part was on HWY18. For the first time in my life I feared for my life on this stretch. No shoulder, cracked up, broken road surface and dangerous motorists. I got so scared in Lucerne Valley that I had to climb some 6000 ft up to Big Bear Lake and rejoin the route.

https://maps.app.goo.gl/aHrnyZuKW3SbjDUt7

What are your most dangerous roads?

Lucas

3

Gear Talk / Re: Tools / parts to carry on tour

« on: July 31, 2024, 07:31:25 pm »

I have the Tubus Cargo Rack as well. Its 25 years old and I have done some 60000 km with it. It never ever came loose and it's not rusty at all. I have not plugged any tubes except for the factory ones.

4

General Discussion / Re: Trade offs

« on: March 10, 2024, 09:46:17 am »

My trade off is to go slow but for more hours each day.

5

General Discussion / Re: Planning TA—Oregon logging trucks & annual highway closure?

« on: March 10, 2024, 08:02:51 am »

I can only help a little bit:

Last summer (2023) I did the Sierra Cascades which runs along the TA for some miles.

On HWY 20 between Santiam Junction and Sisters there was a lot of recreational traffic and almost no truck traffic - however I cannot remember if it was a weekend or not. But I felt safe.

I bicycled maybe 30000 miles in total following ACA routes and the worst section was between Mc Cloud and Four Corners on HWY 89 in California. There are high speed logging trucks, no shoulders and it is extremely dangerous. One of the few times I felt my life was in danger.

Lucas

6

Gear Talk / Women specific chamois on a male body?

« on: March 05, 2024, 12:29:01 pm »

Hi,

I have been looking for long legged tights (no bibs) with a chamois and have only been able to find them in a female version here in Europe. I usually wear size M, but the female version size XL fits me well (Assos).

To the male riders: Have you tried to wear bike shorts with a female chamois design and has it caused any problems?

I have the possibility to pull out (unstitch) the female chamois and sew in a male chamois but will only do so if necessary.

Lucas

7

General Discussion / Re: Stealth Camping? Sleep Site!

« on: March 05, 2024, 12:05:39 pm »

It isn't all or just homeless people.  There a lot of desperate people with really serious drug addictions, and bluntly there are also a lot of people who just like to steal stuff.

Yep.  I live in one of the country's largest cities.  See it all the time.  As you note, it's not just in big cities anymore.  Back in 2011 we stayed in a motel in Butte, MT. Walking around town, we saw PSA signs warning people to not leave their car doors unlocked or valuables in their cars due to drug-related petty crime.  In 2016, I had to shoo an itinerant tweaker out of the Bike Camp in Twin Bridges, MT, which is on the Trans America Route.  An officer from the Sheriff's office came by later that morning asking if anyone had seen him after a resident had reported him snooping around peoples' properties.  A shopping center in Brattleboro, VT had a security guard patrolling the parking lot checking on cars in the middle of the day when I was there in 2022.  Some of the lower-budget motels in towns like that have been turned into residences for the unemployed, many of whom are addicts.

I was shocked to read that last summer 2023, two Tour Divide Racers had their bikes stolen from the private campground in Helena, MT at 2am in the night. They were sleeping in their tent next to the bikes. As I recall the bikes were not found.

8

General Discussion / Re: Documenting my maiden TransAm voyage - Suggestions?

« on: February 27, 2024, 07:49:07 pm »

TL:DR

Look at www.polarsteps.com

Absolutely fantastic app.

9

General Discussion / Re: Stealth Camping? Sleep Site!

« on: February 05, 2024, 05:54:38 am »

If you are in an area that is so built up that you need to talk to someone about where to camp it probably ain't "stealth camping".

99 percent of my stealth camping experiences have been on public lands in the Western USA and Canada.  The short answer is that you can literally camp anywhere on USFS and BLM land in the states and Crown Lands in Canada if you are not directly observable from a road.  The longer answer is a little more complicated but if you pay attention to signs about closures (and usually they are very well marked and the signs are hard to miss) you will be fine.

I have bicycled combined 25000 mi in USA and Canada and I have never been able to tell what is USFS, BLM or Crown Land by just looking at the scenery. My biggest wish is that ACA would incorporate that information into their maps.

10

Gear Talk / Where: Hot weather padded long tights

« on: January 31, 2024, 03:09:28 pm »

Hi,

During my last trip through the Mojave and Sonoran desert I used some lycra UV sun protective leg protectors. They were an add-on to my cycling shorts and covered my legs all the way to the ankles. It worked but I would like an "easier" setup.

Therefore: Where can I get some good quality padded (chamois) cycling tights WITHOUT suspenders/braces covering the entire length of my legs and for summer conditions? I can only find versions with suspenders.

Lucas

11

General Discussion / Re: Stealth Camping? Sleep Site!

« on: January 22, 2024, 04:28:41 pm »

You need to be aware that even a tiny headlamp can be visible from an astonishing distance at night.  So best to get out of direct line of sight of nearby roads.  That can be harder than you think and is often impossible for all practical purposes.  So be careful and discreet using a light at night if you are stealth camping.

Even if you and your light are out of the actual line of sight of any nearby prying eyes, if your light illuminates tall trees or a nearby slope it can be almost as bad.

On my last trip I also realized that using my headlight inside the tent will make the tent "glow" from the outside.

12

Gear Talk / Where: Selling New Old Stock bike parts online?

« on: December 16, 2023, 03:18:48 pm »

Hi,

Can anyone recommend a place where I can sell high end new old stock bicycle parts online besides ebay?

Lucas

13

General Discussion / Re: A few notes on the Sierra Cascades route

« on: November 21, 2023, 04:33:08 pm »

I just want to add something slightly off topic:

The Sierra Cascades Route runs more or less parallel to the Pacific Crest Trail (PCT). Whereas I met 1 cyclist doing the Sierra Cascades I met maybe 100 PCT hikers. I actually envied the hikers: They had such a great companionship. Once in a while I stayed in the same campground as them (for instance Cascade Locks) and the vibe was SO great with maybe 50 hiker tents in one spot. Riding the SC felt lonely but whenever I saw a PCT hiker I stopped to chat with them - it was always fun and enjoyable. I also met a huge group on White Pass resting behind the store and inside the owners had arranged washers and dryers for them - which a cyclist of course could use as well.

I know the PCT is extremely tough but seeing how these people socialized made me want to do this hike as well.

14

General Discussion / Re: A few notes on the Sierra Cascades route

« on: November 18, 2023, 02:59:28 pm »

Hi Lucas:

Wow! Sorry to hear that! In 2015 I did this route and I loved it! I cc’d so camping issues didn’t affect me but that sucks that the NP doesn’t have a “don’t turn away” policy for cyclists.

I can’t remember exactly what I paid to get in each of the NPs but if it was $30 ea I would have remembered it, I pretty sure it was $10-15 tops. And 8 years can be a long time but Victorville felt okay when I was there.

And if I understand you right, staying on 395 south from Lee Vining to Victorville means you skipped Yosemite, Kings Canyon, and Giant Sequoia?! I remember clearly what a beat down the ride was as I went from 700 miles the first week to 600 to 500 to 400 the last week. and we all need to make these decisions for ourselves, but what a shame you missed those 3 parks. They were right at the top of the best places to ride through on that route.

I know from previous posts you’ve made over the years that you must be a really strong rider so it’s especially a disappointing to hear you had a bad experience with it. Previously, if someone asked me what the best of the ACA rides was, if I thought they could handle the climbing, I would have told them the SC.

Pete

Hi Pete,

1. I also met a German female cyclist doing the SC. She also skipped a number of NPs due to the campground issues. I was told that recreation.gov was introduced 1-2 years ago and since then motorists secure camp sites just like rock star concert tickets.

2. Victorville: Locals told me things went really bad about 2 years ago during covid when lots of drug addicts moved to rural areas. For instance in Mt Shasta I spoke to the guys in the local bike shop: 2-4 years ago they never had to lock their cars and homes. 2023 those times have gone. I was shocked when a young girl stopped me on the highway in the middle of nowhere between Ashland and Mt Shasta asking for water and 5 seconds later asked for crystal meth. She looked like a ghost just like in a horror movie.

3. The SC was beautiful - don't get me wrong. For instance the back road between Ellensburg and Yakima along the river - how beautiful and picturesque. I came down from Deadhorse, Alaska and had biked already 4000 kms before reaching the SC route in northern Washington. I would do the SC any day again with a car. But Deadhorse to Washington - never ever again. That was a Google Maps route and not so fun also with VERY dangerous sections in some parts of BC. Canada and Alaska is rough country, the US is cozy compared to :-).

15

General Discussion / Re: helpExtended touring in Europe

« on: November 17, 2023, 07:27:36 pm »

and there is no speed limit on the highway, but that is the exception.

That is not correct. It is true there is no speed limit in certain sections of the "Autobahn". But these sections are not very long anymore. Most of the time there WILL be speed limits such as 130 kmh. There are so many cars on the Autobahns right now compared to 30 years ago that they had to introduce lots of speed limits for safety reasons.