1
Routes / Re: GDMBR from Banff to Whitefish
« on: July 21, 2017, 11:44:43 am »
That was a very big help.
Thanks,
Pete
Thanks,
Pete
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2
Routes / Re: GDMBR from Banff to Whitefish
« on: July 21, 2017, 09:44:53 am »
Question for Iowariz:
I leave next Friday from Banff on the GDMBR. After I read your answer regarding the detour you took I pulled out my map to check it out. South of Fernie & Morrisey Rd, there is a Lodgepole River Rd, which may or may not run into a Lodgepole Rd (obscured by text), which may be contiguous to Harvey-Lodgepole Rd., which runs back into the official route at Flathead Rd.
Are these 3 variations on the Lodgepole name in fact 1 contiguous road that you are referring to as Lodgepole Pine Rd & when I turn off 3 I can stay on it till I get back on route? Or is it more complicated then that?
Thanks,
Pete
I leave next Friday from Banff on the GDMBR. After I read your answer regarding the detour you took I pulled out my map to check it out. South of Fernie & Morrisey Rd, there is a Lodgepole River Rd, which may or may not run into a Lodgepole Rd (obscured by text), which may be contiguous to Harvey-Lodgepole Rd., which runs back into the official route at Flathead Rd.
Are these 3 variations on the Lodgepole name in fact 1 contiguous road that you are referring to as Lodgepole Pine Rd & when I turn off 3 I can stay on it till I get back on route? Or is it more complicated then that?
Thanks,
Pete
3
Routes / Re: Two Weeks/Early Oct/900 miles max
« on: July 21, 2017, 08:14:52 am »
Hi:
I don't know if you've already been to these place but the loop of Grand Canyon to Monument Valley to Moab (Arches NP & Canyonlands) then over to Hanksville where in quick succession you hit Capital Reef NP, then Grand Staircase, Bryce Canyon, and finally Zion NP simply can't be beat. I've been thru this are in late September a couple of times and the weather was pretty good and the crowds are diminished although there is always a lot of people at Arches and GC in particular. I haven't calculated the milage but I'm guessing it should be close to 900. If your short and have time at the end you can spend a couple of days doing the iconic hikes at Zion (Angels Landing, The Narrows, Observation Point). A large portion of this ride is a section of ACA's Western Express Route.
If you've already been to these places or you want REALLY remote, Big Bend is a pretty special place. I've never ridden there but spent 2 weeks hiking it 30 years ago and I still remember it as one of my favorites.
Pete
I don't know if you've already been to these place but the loop of Grand Canyon to Monument Valley to Moab (Arches NP & Canyonlands) then over to Hanksville where in quick succession you hit Capital Reef NP, then Grand Staircase, Bryce Canyon, and finally Zion NP simply can't be beat. I've been thru this are in late September a couple of times and the weather was pretty good and the crowds are diminished although there is always a lot of people at Arches and GC in particular. I haven't calculated the milage but I'm guessing it should be close to 900. If your short and have time at the end you can spend a couple of days doing the iconic hikes at Zion (Angels Landing, The Narrows, Observation Point). A large portion of this ride is a section of ACA's Western Express Route.
If you've already been to these places or you want REALLY remote, Big Bend is a pretty special place. I've never ridden there but spent 2 weeks hiking it 30 years ago and I still remember it as one of my favorites.
Pete
4
Gear Talk / Garmin Etrex Mount
« on: July 10, 2017, 02:24:31 pm »
I'm going to be leaving for the GDMBR at the end of this month. I bought a Garmin Etrex for the trip as it's battery operated unlike the regular Garmin cycling units which need regular recharging.
For mounting there appears to be 2 choices. There is a small plastic mount that relies on zip-ties that every review of them has multiple people who lost their computers because they fell off. Or there is a mount from a company called Ram that I bought and have mounted but it's quite the extended group of plastic pieces that looks like it would not weather the impact of a crash.
Is there a something else out there I haven't found?
Pete
For mounting there appears to be 2 choices. There is a small plastic mount that relies on zip-ties that every review of them has multiple people who lost their computers because they fell off. Or there is a mount from a company called Ram that I bought and have mounted but it's quite the extended group of plastic pieces that looks like it would not weather the impact of a crash.
Is there a something else out there I haven't found?
Pete
5
General Discussion / Re: 6 week trip from Seattle to Sant Francisco
« on: July 05, 2017, 02:26:10 pm »
Alessandra:
I have done the Sierra Cascades but have not done the Pacific Coast route. That said, I think the general outline of your trip is pretty obvious.
There seems to be 100% agreement that the way to do the Pacific Coast route is north to south. They say there is a very consistent prevailing wind out of the north and the ocean is on the correct side for your best and most consistent views. So you start up north and ride down the PC until Mendicino County or maybe even till San Fransisco , then you make a left and head to Lassen or if you went all the way down to San Francisco you go over to Tahoe and then head north on the SC.
That's the big picture, now you have to dial in what gets you to around 1500 miles. Maybe you want to start the PC in Oregon and just finish in Seattle. You can also cut the top part of the SC off and go directly from Mt Ranier to Seattle and save yourself 300-400 miles and not miss a lot of great stuff.
Pete
I have done the Sierra Cascades but have not done the Pacific Coast route. That said, I think the general outline of your trip is pretty obvious.
There seems to be 100% agreement that the way to do the Pacific Coast route is north to south. They say there is a very consistent prevailing wind out of the north and the ocean is on the correct side for your best and most consistent views. So you start up north and ride down the PC until Mendicino County or maybe even till San Fransisco , then you make a left and head to Lassen or if you went all the way down to San Francisco you go over to Tahoe and then head north on the SC.
That's the big picture, now you have to dial in what gets you to around 1500 miles. Maybe you want to start the PC in Oregon and just finish in Seattle. You can also cut the top part of the SC off and go directly from Mt Ranier to Seattle and save yourself 300-400 miles and not miss a lot of great stuff.
Pete
6
General Discussion / Re: 2017 General weather forecast: North America?
« on: June 29, 2017, 12:49:24 pm »
Lucas:
You may (or may not) be familiar with a statistition named Nate Silver who turned his talents towards forecasting political races here in the US and for being quite accurate. He wrote a book titled "The Signal & the Noise" in which he detailed how probabilities are determined and why prognostication in many fields is so often wrong. It's not as dry as it sounds and is a pretty good read.
One of his favorite ways to demonstrate his points in the book is talking about weather forecasts because it's real easy to check it out that when a forecast calls for 20% chance of rain, whether or not it rained the 2 out of 10 times that was predicted.
Here's where I get to the point of my reply:
Statistically, the 10 day forecast is 0% better than finding out what the average high /low/ chance of rain has historically been for that given place on that given day. The weather service keeps putting out the 10 day (& longer) forecasts hoping to fine tune the modeling so it works better than the average and people want to see it, but it's really pretty useless.
You've done a lot of touring so I'm sure you know already, the weather will be what the weather will be.
Have a good trip,
Pete
You may (or may not) be familiar with a statistition named Nate Silver who turned his talents towards forecasting political races here in the US and for being quite accurate. He wrote a book titled "The Signal & the Noise" in which he detailed how probabilities are determined and why prognostication in many fields is so often wrong. It's not as dry as it sounds and is a pretty good read.
One of his favorite ways to demonstrate his points in the book is talking about weather forecasts because it's real easy to check it out that when a forecast calls for 20% chance of rain, whether or not it rained the 2 out of 10 times that was predicted.
Here's where I get to the point of my reply:
Statistically, the 10 day forecast is 0% better than finding out what the average high /low/ chance of rain has historically been for that given place on that given day. The weather service keeps putting out the 10 day (& longer) forecasts hoping to fine tune the modeling so it works better than the average and people want to see it, but it's really pretty useless.
You've done a lot of touring so I'm sure you know already, the weather will be what the weather will be.
Have a good trip,
Pete
7
GPS & Digital Data Discussion / How Often are WayPoints Updated?
« on: June 19, 2017, 11:56:19 am »
Hi:
I'm leaving from Banff July 29 on the GDMBR and due to my terrible sense of direction I am more intimidated by the idea of trying to stay on route then the actual ride or bears or anything else.
I have down loaded the addendum and I see right near the beginning there's a detour at Spray Lakes Rd due to bear activity. I'm not sure if this is a permanent or a temporary detour, but if it's permanent, does this detour and any other permanent detour get reflected in the way points?
Thanks,
Pete
I'm leaving from Banff July 29 on the GDMBR and due to my terrible sense of direction I am more intimidated by the idea of trying to stay on route then the actual ride or bears or anything else.
I have down loaded the addendum and I see right near the beginning there's a detour at Spray Lakes Rd due to bear activity. I'm not sure if this is a permanent or a temporary detour, but if it's permanent, does this detour and any other permanent detour get reflected in the way points?
Thanks,
Pete
8
General Discussion / Re: The latest time to head out east to west on the TransAmerica trail
« on: May 17, 2017, 04:41:59 pm »
Not the dreaded "my grades are steeper then your grades" fight! 
I live on the east coast in the Appalachians. The 5 trips I've taken have all been in the mountain west and I've gone over more than 50 passes out there but that still means there are many I haven't gone over.
If the thin air at altitude affects you badly then I'm sure the climbs out west will be hard. I have yet to go up one of the big passes in the west that I didn't just settle in for the 1 or 2 hours of going uphill and have never been put in any real trouble by them. I have several local climbs here in eastern Pa that are in the 1 or 1.5 miles of length variety that just leave me cracked.
My humble opinion.
Pete
I live on the east coast in the Appalachians. The 5 trips I've taken have all been in the mountain west and I've gone over more than 50 passes out there but that still means there are many I haven't gone over.
If the thin air at altitude affects you badly then I'm sure the climbs out west will be hard. I have yet to go up one of the big passes in the west that I didn't just settle in for the 1 or 2 hours of going uphill and have never been put in any real trouble by them. I have several local climbs here in eastern Pa that are in the 1 or 1.5 miles of length variety that just leave me cracked.
My humble opinion.
Pete
9
General Discussion / Re: First Black Woman to Complete TransAmerica Trail
« on: May 12, 2017, 02:20:14 pm »
Hi Stephanie:
That would be both sad that it took this long and worthy of congratulations if you turn out to be the first. It has struck me when out on my trips the dearth of african-americans out there, & hispanics as well. I've seen in the ACA magazine they are aware of this lack of diversity and are trying to change that.
I tried typing "african-american/female" into the search engine over at CGOAB and nothing came up about the trans-am. There was a young black women who's journal on Crazy Guy I followed for awhile, but if I remember properly she was going from DC to NO.
Good luck w your search but if I were you I wouldn't be too reluctant to take the mantel and make it known. Maybe it will inspire someone else to follow in your path.
Best of Luck,
Pete
That would be both sad that it took this long and worthy of congratulations if you turn out to be the first. It has struck me when out on my trips the dearth of african-americans out there, & hispanics as well. I've seen in the ACA magazine they are aware of this lack of diversity and are trying to change that.
I tried typing "african-american/female" into the search engine over at CGOAB and nothing came up about the trans-am. There was a young black women who's journal on Crazy Guy I followed for awhile, but if I remember properly she was going from DC to NO.
Good luck w your search but if I were you I wouldn't be too reluctant to take the mantel and make it known. Maybe it will inspire someone else to follow in your path.
Best of Luck,
Pete
10
General Discussion / Re: Shipping bike from US to Vancouver Canada to start Pacific Coast tour.
« on: April 21, 2017, 09:30:38 am »
Hi Lachlan:
You read my post exactly as I layed it out. But as I mentioned I have only done the bike shipping part, not the travel w bike alternate, and the refunded customs fee I have been told is the case but did not hear about it until after my last trip.
The whole customs business seems to have a lot of discretion. I don't know if they never assess customs on a bike you fly with or ride across the border or rarely do or they are one budget shortfall of instituting a new policy.
pm
You read my post exactly as I layed it out. But as I mentioned I have only done the bike shipping part, not the travel w bike alternate, and the refunded customs fee I have been told is the case but did not hear about it until after my last trip.
The whole customs business seems to have a lot of discretion. I don't know if they never assess customs on a bike you fly with or ride across the border or rarely do or they are one budget shortfall of instituting a new policy.
pm
11
Routes / Re: Colorado Springs to Minneapolis route?
« on: April 12, 2017, 03:30:51 pm »
Not to pile on but the 30 mph struck me as soon as I read it as well. We have a fair number of southern hemisphere (Australia, NZ, Argentina etc.) olympic team members who spend our summers (their winters) in the area to race at our local velodrome. They can barely hold 30 mph for an hour.
Just because you should have a realistic idea of time/speed before you leave you should get a bike computer and nail this down. Seven hours a day on the bike averaging 10 mph vs 7 hours a day at 15mph is a 500 mile week vs a 700 mile week.
Or, you could be a prodigy which might be interesting to know.
Pete
Just because you should have a realistic idea of time/speed before you leave you should get a bike computer and nail this down. Seven hours a day on the bike averaging 10 mph vs 7 hours a day at 15mph is a 500 mile week vs a 700 mile week.
Or, you could be a prodigy which might be interesting to know.
Pete
12
General Discussion / Re: Do i need lights and a handlebar mirror for Pacific Coast in July?
« on: April 10, 2017, 03:16:51 pm »
"And you need to do it without turning your head, because looking over your shoulder will cause you to drift the way you're looking"
Over the years I've gotten a number of people into cycling by going out with them after they buy a bike and taking several rides w them until they feel safe(r) and confident on the road. I try to do this by emphasizing the fundamentals. Those are things like riding in a predictable manner in a straight line, where to place yourself on the road etc.
One skill I always hammer home is to be able to look over your shoulder and to maintain a straight line while your head is turned. Primarily whats required is to not twist your
shoulders when you turn your head. I don't happen to use a mirror but I think this should be part of the skill set of every rider, even those that use a mirror, and worth practicing on a empty piece of road until it become second nature.
Over the years I've gotten a number of people into cycling by going out with them after they buy a bike and taking several rides w them until they feel safe(r) and confident on the road. I try to do this by emphasizing the fundamentals. Those are things like riding in a predictable manner in a straight line, where to place yourself on the road etc.
One skill I always hammer home is to be able to look over your shoulder and to maintain a straight line while your head is turned. Primarily whats required is to not twist your
shoulders when you turn your head. I don't happen to use a mirror but I think this should be part of the skill set of every rider, even those that use a mirror, and worth practicing on a empty piece of road until it become second nature.
13
General Discussion / Re: Shipping bike from US to Vancouver Canada to start Pacific Coast tour.
« on: March 28, 2017, 11:58:35 am »
Shipping into Banff last year I was assessed something like $170 Canadian on my bike in which the declared value was $3000. I have since heard, but do not know definitively, that if you save your customs receipt you can get that fee refunded at the customs office when you leave. The amount of the customs fee is a bit of a mystery but whoever signs for your box will need to be willing to pay up for you or you will need to send them a check proplahalacticly and work out your change when you get there.
I have always shipped my bike to the LBS because I trust there wrenching ability more that mine. If you have no concerns in that regard you may be better off shipping to a host or hotel as then you don't have to work around the bike shops hours.
Use either ShipBikes or BikeFlights for shipping. The rates they have negotiated are a fraction of what you will pay at the window. They will also provide you w/ all the proper paperwork. Also note that there is a maximum size for your package for international shipping before it falls into another, more expensive, category (sorry, can't remember the dimensions). Depending on how big your bike is it may require quite a bit of dis-assembly to fit in a box that size.
That's what I got.
Pete
I have always shipped my bike to the LBS because I trust there wrenching ability more that mine. If you have no concerns in that regard you may be better off shipping to a host or hotel as then you don't have to work around the bike shops hours.
Use either ShipBikes or BikeFlights for shipping. The rates they have negotiated are a fraction of what you will pay at the window. They will also provide you w/ all the proper paperwork. Also note that there is a maximum size for your package for international shipping before it falls into another, more expensive, category (sorry, can't remember the dimensions). Depending on how big your bike is it may require quite a bit of dis-assembly to fit in a box that size.
That's what I got.
Pete
14
General Discussion / Re: Bears in Canada?
« on: March 27, 2017, 12:46:44 pm »
I understand the reasoning now for the question. You may want to hang your food because of raccoons, regardless of the bear situation but that doesn't have the same level of danger.
Below is a link to the page on Chris Poutney's journal on CGOAB from his RTW trip. He was camping somewhere in Quebec when his pannier got demo'd by a bear.
https://www.crazyguyonabike.com/doc/page/?o=1fs&page_id=479620&v=5P
I'm sure by spending some small amount of time reading the journal you can determine exactly where he was if you're curious. I would have but I need to get back to work.
pm
Below is a link to the page on Chris Poutney's journal on CGOAB from his RTW trip. He was camping somewhere in Quebec when his pannier got demo'd by a bear.
https://www.crazyguyonabike.com/doc/page/?o=1fs&page_id=479620&v=5P
I'm sure by spending some small amount of time reading the journal you can determine exactly where he was if you're curious. I would have but I need to get back to work.
pm
15
General Discussion / Re: Bears in Canada?
« on: March 26, 2017, 09:31:40 pm »
Hi Lucas:
Over the years on this forum some people's posts have stood out for me and I make it a point to see whatever they have posted. You are one of those people. Because of that I know you have previously ridden the TransAm, the NT, and the GDMBR. So you have already pedaled thru some of the most densly bear populated areas of North America.
A look at a bear distribution map says your route will have at least black bears almost the entire way. And as you well know, you then always take the standard set of precautions and then you put it to the back of your mind.
Since you made this post I assume you have some special concern and I'm wondering what it is.
Pete
Over the years on this forum some people's posts have stood out for me and I make it a point to see whatever they have posted. You are one of those people. Because of that I know you have previously ridden the TransAm, the NT, and the GDMBR. So you have already pedaled thru some of the most densly bear populated areas of North America.
A look at a bear distribution map says your route will have at least black bears almost the entire way. And as you well know, you then always take the standard set of precautions and then you put it to the back of your mind.
Since you made this post I assume you have some special concern and I'm wondering what it is.
Pete