Messages

1

General Discussion / Re: map help

« on: April 18, 2021, 10:00:15 pm »

thanks. i'm very loyal to the ACA maps, but of course i often wonder the same things you do about distance an hills. yes, i may buy the GPX. i just love the paper maps. old man.

2

General Discussion / Re: map help

« on: April 18, 2021, 12:59:49 am »

absolutely. finished the transamerica route last year, faithful to ACA  maps. ready for the atlantic coast in a month or so,  but ACA's map 5 is missing. suppose i will fake that one, based on the links with map 4 and 6. still hoping to find map 5.

3

General Discussion / Re: map help

« on: March 26, 2021, 01:54:02 am »

ACA finally got most of the maps in, except for No. 5. I ordered and they arrived. They believe they will have No. 5 in stock soon, so I've got about 5 weeks before I had planned to start.

4

General Discussion / Re: Lots of touring 2021 or not? Whadda ya think?

« on: March 09, 2021, 11:00:24 pm »

wow, thanks, will do. roger

5

General Discussion / Re: Lots of touring 2021 or not? Whadda ya think?

« on: March 09, 2021, 09:52:00 pm »

I finished the Transam last year in the depths of the plague. My wife drives camper van support and we stayed away from people as much as possible. Planning the Atlantic Coast route this spring/summer, with same rules.

6

General Discussion / map help

« on: March 09, 2021, 09:40:17 pm »

HELP? Anyone have a full or partial set of the ACA Atlantic Coast route they would sell or rent for the spring/early summer? I tried to buy from ACA, but many not available. thanks.

7

General Discussion / Re: XC Cycling and the Coronavirus .... is anyone riding XC ?

« on: April 25, 2020, 12:14:10 am »

i have an idea that i'm a lot older than rusty. i've moved my start for the last leg of my transam from missoula to florence to july 1, from june 20. could take it a week later if conditions apply. wish everyone luck, including myself.

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General Discussion / Re: XC Cycling and the Coronavirus .... is anyone riding XC ?

« on: April 18, 2020, 08:19:38 pm »

for sure

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General Discussion / Re: XC Cycling and the Coronavirus .... is anyone riding XC ?

« on: April 17, 2020, 09:04:28 pm »

i'm very flexible, except my wife/support driver has to return to brazil sometime in the fall for some professorial duties. of course trying to get over the last of the rockies from missoula, the ranges in idaho and eastern oregon, the cascades and the coast range too late in the fall is obviously problematic. i will be 71 in a month, and with congestive heart disease and diabetes (controlled) i do not feel i have an unlimited  number of years to get the transam off my bucket list. and as jimmy buffet sings "i'd rather die while i'm living than live while i'm dead."

10

General Discussion / Re: XC Cycling and the Coronavirus .... is anyone riding XC ?

« on: April 17, 2020, 12:15:33 am »

i had a plan for the third leg of my transam trek to commence in missoula about june 20. thinking about july 20 now, in light of closures. i am optimistically hoping the virus itself will abate by then. since my wife drives support van and we therefore have food and water, a camp stove, etc., all we need is a place to park the van.  too optimistic?
 

11

General Discussion / Re: ACA Maps & 2-lane Highways - how often?

« on: April 16, 2020, 11:59:36 pm »

in my transam quest i did 800 miles from yotktown in 2018 before a fall sent me home. in 2019 i made it the next 2,000 to missoula, as planned. there are some scary places, like narrow roads with rumble strips, no shoulder, etc. but despite the big-tired trucks and confederate flags, i really only felt truly scared four or five times, when i sensed intentional crowding. the big farm trucks and tractor-trailers were the worst. more than a few of them just would not give an inch, and i felt like i was leaving the ground when they blasted by. it was nerve-wracking enough that i increased my mirror time and tried to concentrate even more on the road ahead. i could see and hear when a monster truck was coming at speed. i would try to find a spot where i could get even 12 inches off the road and simply stop. doing that four or five times a day didn't cost more than a few minutes, ad saved my nerves.

12

Gear Talk / Re: light tour bike

« on: April 14, 2020, 02:59:21 am »

thanks to all for the advice. for now i will keep the straggler. i was impressed by the physics lesson (was it danno?) about wheel/tire weight. i had been running schwalbe marathon plus tires (700x35) for their bombproof reputation. and the reputation is deserved. no flats over two years from yorktown to missoula, plus thousands of training miles. but they were sluggish, compared to gatorskins and armadillo i ran  on my previous two bikes.  so a few weeks ago i switched out for schwalbe marathon supremes in a 32. world of difference. easier pedaling and better response. we'll see if flats become an issue.  may be some placebo effect there, but it seems a world of difference. another factor may be that i have lost 17 pounds since originating this thread  in february. (someone on here had nicely enough suggested that it was my fat ass that was the problem, not so much the weight of the surly.) i took the point, as well as a diagnosis of diabetes about the same time.) still planning/hoping to return to missioula about june 20 and finish the transam to florence.

13

General Discussion / Re: transam june 20

« on: April 04, 2020, 11:46:03 pm »

maybe see you on the road out there.

14

General Discussion / Re: transam june 20

« on: April 03, 2020, 11:12:00 pm »

mostly what i was thinking, but even worse. i have been trying to be optiimistic that the actual virus will have largely run its course in most areas by mid-late june. i ride supported, by the way. my wife drives our ford van and we sleep in it and cook outdoors. no plumbing, but we can carry plenty of food and drinking water, so i would be better off than a solo cyclist. i have lived in 10 states and one territory, including montana and oregon and the deep south, and  never had issues with "the locals." i am worried if every blm and forest service road is closed, since we had already expected some rough-ish camps. (yes, i expect no tears from self-supported and solo riders.)  so, for now just ride and wait and watch. thanks.

15

General Discussion / transam june 20

« on: April 03, 2020, 12:14:39 am »

i am still hoping to do the third leg of my transam ride this summer, starting from missoula around june 20, westbound. i realize it is too early for a definitive answer, but what is the general feeling about whether services will be available west of missoula? my thought is that the  light population on most of the route would make it safer than staying in florida. of course if stores and campgrounds are closed, life might be a bit harsh in idaho and eastern oregon.