Messages

1

Southwest / Nov 1st 2013 Las Vegas Nv south then east towards San Antonio

« on: October 08, 2013, 06:45:38 pm »

Retired male bored going to ride from Las Vegas Nv south following Colorado river then southeast around Tucson Az and towards San Antonio Tx.  Have to be home for Christmas. Plan to camp, minimum cooking and occasional cheap motel. Smell the roses ride and flexible. looking to join up with anyone riding all or part way.

2

General Discussion / Re: touring without "eating out"

« on: April 19, 2013, 11:42:23 pm »

Why. 

3

Routes / Re: Great Divide South-to-North Start.

« on: January 31, 2013, 11:48:24 pm »

I rode the GDMBR in 2007, flew into El Paso with my bike and had to stay in a local motel for 3 days waiting for the 40+mph wind gusts out of the west to quit. Rode to Antelope Wells and north to Jasper Alberta then rode back home to Cahokia Illinois. Spectacular ride. If you ship your bike to a local bike shop it's a courtesy to pay them  to unbox and re-assemble it for a few bucks.   Shipping  UPS bikes can get expensive, they charge by size and weight. The train stops at Lordsburg NM if you take it, riding from Lordsburg to Antelope Wells will put the winds behind you until you turn south when you'll be leaning hard westward when it's blowing.

4

Gear Talk / Re: Bike box / carrier

« on: January 13, 2013, 11:40:52 pm »

Consider where you will store the box while your riding.
If you can't store box some airports won't let you throw away a cardboard box.
What will you use for return flight?
My hard case box was measured and considered oversize (> 62 inches)  by American airlines, cost more for my bike than my airfare.
Will you need to take your bike apart to fit in box?
I now use bike shop cardboard box (Free) and take my bike apart. Carefully pack it and keep total weight light.

5

Gear Talk / Re: sleeping bags

« on: January 13, 2013, 05:10:31 pm »

Three season synthetic?  Synthetic are great when you have unlimited space and a motor to carry your gear.  Car camping for instance.  When you have to carry the gear with your own muscles and have limited space like panniers or a backpack, DOWN sleeping bags are the choice.  Small and traveling on your bike with a synthetic sleeping bag?  Good luck.

If your a sweating or perspiring person or your tent has condensation problems your down bag will accumulate the moisture, become heavier and less effective keeping you warm. 

6

Gear Talk / Re: Schwalbe Marathon Plus 26 x 1.75 Comments?

« on: January 13, 2013, 04:36:01 pm »

Great tires, don't over inflate, Wore out 3 sets 26x1.75 and had 5 flats.   

7

Gear Talk / Re: Cheap Breathable Rain Gear and Shelter

« on: January 13, 2013, 04:30:20 pm »

Tyvek (New) makes a lot of noise, I tried it as a ground cover for my tent.

Tyvek is a material that is cheap, breathable, waterproof, windproof, and light weight. Trace lines on the material that will fit your size for jacket and pants. Cut out two pieces for each. Tape them together with Tyvek tape and there you are. Tents, bivy bags, jackets, rain flies, and tarps are easily made. It breathes like Gore Tex. It is more durable than Gore Tex. It is very light in weight.

Of course, it does not look all that spiffy like some people all decked out in $400.00 Gore Tex jackets riding $1500.00 touring bikes, but it does the same thing and has the same benefits to its users. One guy got a 50 foot by 9 foot roll of it for $50.00 at Craigslist. It could cost $150.00 at Home Depot or Lowe's for a 50 by 9 roll.  It sells by the yard in some places. It cuts easily but is very difficult to tear. You could make a breathable waterproof lightweight tent with plenty of space with a floor for maybe $25.00-$45.00, maybe less. No sewing. Just use Tyvek tape or outdoors, doublefaced, carpet tape for the seams.

8

Gear Talk / Re: Surly Disc Trucker v. LHT

« on: January 13, 2013, 04:20:11 pm »

My Cannondale F600 Mtn bike with disc setup with Burley touring trailer had serious overheating brake fade problems on very STEEP and long downhills. Only on very LONG STEEP down hills, gradual USA down hills no problem, overseas unregulated hwy design down hills were a problem. Reminds me to hookup both disc/lever on my Specialized Stumpjumper disc/canti lever wheels, should be bullet proof combination, could be a problem if braking causes some unknown wheel wobble or rim warping. Hmmmmm sounds like a spring project?

9

Routes / Re: riding from san diego east: hwy 94

« on: November 28, 2010, 11:31:33 pm »

I followed hwy 94  southeast out of San Diego (Southern Tier) ten years ago and even then I would have been more comfortable knowing some Spanish. The hwy went through small rural towns and I was warned to avoid some towns closer to the border with Mexico especially at night when illegals come across. You'll know the bad areas since all the windows and doors have security bars across them.
My last Southern Tier was 2006 and I went north out of San Diego up to Alpine then across to Quartzite. I stayed off the Interstates all the way so there are backroads to avoid I8.
I'm amazed the Southern Tier route maps continue going south along hwy 94 with all the problems down there.
I'm planning on doing the Southern Tier again late January or Early February 2011 and I will work out a new northern route out of San Diego.
Clyde   

10

Routes / Re: Death Valley Jan/Feb 2011

« on: November 28, 2010, 10:55:07 pm »

Hi Ed,
          One problem I had cycling Death Valley was camping is not allowed along the road unless you go a mile or two off the road. I assume the park rangers still enforce it, it's a park rule with a big fine.  I know you said you would use the lodgings but if you get caught between places on a windy day you may not make it to the next lodging.
           I  thought you bought a RV you retired?

Clyde (Your Southern tier to El Paso pafrtner)         

11

Gear Talk / Kick stands

« on: February 26, 2006, 07:04:06 pm »

Yes if it's setup right it should support a fully loaded bike provided the loaded bikes center of gravity is the lower half of the bike. If the center of gravity is above the upper half of the bike it will be very unstable. If your handle bar bag has 20 lbs of stuff in it it will fall over everytime for sure

I like parking my bike whenever I want to stop. I don't want to wait till the next mile marker, fence post, tree, railing, building or whatever HaHa.
Seriously. My kickstand is worth every ounce (< 16 oz)for the convenience. I use it many times each day stopping to take pictures, taking breaks, looking at the scenery, visiting locals and resting my tired legs.    

Regards: Clyde
The journey is my destination.

12

Gear Talk / Importance of Disk Brakes?

« on: February 06, 2006, 06:55:21 pm »

If your on pavement all the time then you can use panniers or BOB trailer.
OldManMountain.com has pannier racks with clamps for MTN bikes and others that don't have brackets for panniers.
Keep in mind that carrying loaded panniers will put a lot of stress on your wheels so your bike choice must have heavy duty wheels. High-end panniers (Ortlieb) plus racks cost $300 to $400 USD. A standard rear rack may not fit around the rear disk brake caliper so verify the fit before buying the rack if you have disk brakes. Old man mountain has racks that get around the rear disk caliper problem.

If you chose a trailer there's less stress on the bike and wheels so the bike and wheels aren't so critical. I pull a 2 wheel trailer (Burley Nomad) using standard 32 spoke wheels and haven't had any problems.  I think the BOB trailer cost around $275 and the Burley Nomads about $250. I traded my BOB trailer in when I bought the Burley Nomad. I won't go into all the reasons why I traded it in but one was the weight limit of 40-45Lbs for the BOB versus 100Lbs for the Burley. You gotta be crazy to haul 100lbs around but I can if I must.

I have also used panniers and old man mountain racks over my disk brakes when on un-paved roads. I had to upgrade to heavy duty wheels that cost me $300 more than std wheels. When I get back on paved roads I have my trailer shipped to me and I switch back to my Burley Nomad trailer because the bike handling is so much easier and I can carry more gear, weight with a lot less stress on the bike and wheels.

Hope my opinion helps.  Good luck.

Regards: Clyde
The journey is my destination.

13

Gear Talk / burley nomad

« on: February 12, 2006, 05:37:16 pm »

I assume your on paved roads. I would not use a 2 wheel trailer off road.
A BOB can go anywhere.
For paved roads I traded my BOB in to buy the Burley Nomad when my expedition loads got heavier and bulkier. With the Burley I sometimes forget it's behind me. My old BOB bag fits inside the Nomad with room to spare. There's no problems balancing or handling the Burley or the bike.

I plan to ride the continental divide some day so I would buy a Bob trailer again for off road touring.



 

Regards: Clyde
The journey is my destination.

14

Gear Talk / Cold Mountain front racks?

« on: January 20, 2006, 08:26:17 pm »

I've used the OMM Sherpa racks front and rear on horrible unpaved roads and had great results. They are built like a tank and clear the disk brake calipers. The only issues was getting the skewers in and out when I had flats. Their extra long skewers go through the racks and wheels. The Old Man Mountain company is good to do business with.  
Since then I bought the OMM front Ultimate Low Rider rack for my next trip to use with my Burley Nomad trailer instead of the rear rack.

Regards: Clyde
The journey is my destination.

15

Routes / Nation Geographic Back Roads Software

« on: January 22, 2006, 09:06:29 pm »

Anyone use National Geographic Back Roads software to create new routes?
I want to create routes (USA) traveling county and state roads then analyze the elevation (Hills) and mileage before picking the final route.
NG Back roads appears to have Topo and roads but can it be used the way I want to use it.
Thanks for any advice you can give.