Show Posts

This section allows you to view all posts made by this member. Note that you can only see posts made in areas you currently have access to.


 

Messages - vt91

Pages: [1]
1
Gear Talk / Re: Does anybody sell a bicycle cargo trunk like this?
« on: August 06, 2021, 02:41:23 pm »
I only carried 45 lb of cargo at most during my journey.
This happened in the middle of nowhere after resupplying at a Dollar General.

Usually I carry less.
However, there are items such as a sleeping bag, a foam pad and winter jackets that take up a lot of space and sometimes need to hang on top of things to dry.

I still intend on using pannier bags.

Existing commercial trunks don't utilize the space around the rear wheel efficiently.

The blinker also needs to be visible.
Also I wonder if this trunk could be built to protect the rear wheel from collapsing during a rear collision.

2
Gear Talk / Re: Dynamo - What are you using for a light?
« on: August 06, 2021, 12:43:37 am »
At some point I decided that I get more bang for the buck with a 12 volt battery.
For my particular purposes I may need about 15000 mAh

3
Gear Talk / Does anybody sell a bicycle cargo trunk like this?
« on: August 06, 2021, 12:41:44 am »
I wanted to go on long bicycle journeys for years.
Last year my health was not great.
This year I became a caretaker and had to abandon my plans.

Yet in May, I was lucky to go on an 8 day bicycle journey through the Appalachian coal country that taught me a lot about how I need to prepare for longer journeys.
(Here are some pictures of my journey:https://www.instagram.com/vladimirtolskiy/)


I am looking for a bicycle trunk that looks like this:

I also had to make a custom part to go around the caliper, because none of the caliper-friendly bikes offered me what I wanted.

Does anybody make anything like this for a 29" bicycle with DISK brakes?

If I started selling touring trunks with such geometry and a kickstand incorporated into the design?
Would you buy one?

Thank you.

4
General Discussion / Re: Riding coast to coast
« on: August 21, 2019, 10:00:27 am »
I am going off weather maps that show how much snow fall takes place and where and temperature ranges.
A lot of little details to work out.

I am not going to travel in the NW Rockies. Neither am I planning to travel in a straight line East to West.

Presently I am weighing my gear and figuring out what I really need.
My gear comes from the 1980s because this is what I can afford / inherited what was left behind by people who moved on to more advanced stuff.
I am also practicing tying things to the bike using paracord.

I have PTSD and history of abuse. I have a dual level of endurance. I want to explore that area of myself.
Sometimes I collapse in regular day situations. Other times, I am an unstoppable beast.
I either make it across the toughest terrain or I collapse for no apparent reason.

5
General Discussion / Re: Riding coast to coast
« on: August 20, 2019, 12:35:55 pm »
If I can find alternative ways to download maps (wink, wink) I will attach to the tiers.
So far I wasn't able to find them there.

Otherwise I will just go using google maps data because I already spent most of my money on supplies.
I know about the snow. I need to buy good winter hiking boots.

6
General Discussion / Re: Riding coast to coast
« on: August 20, 2019, 11:07:11 am »
There is a good reason to hold on to phones that allow you to swap batteries.

I no longer have anything that uses AA batteries except for two speech recorders that I am not taking on this trip.

My only hope to get out of living in poverty with pain, on welfare with no prospects is....
content.

There is some engineering involved in this project mainly - how would I charge batteries, how would I send away content.
The generator output will be (maybe rectified if AC) wired to super-capacitors that would power a DC to DC converter/ stabilizer that will output USB friendly 5 volts (a small circuit board from Aliexpress)

This is why I am undertaking this risky adventure.
I have a tablet with a keyboard. That I can probably use in the libraries.

I will not disclose who I am and what the name of my channel is here.
All I am going to say is that I live in the state of Maryland.

7
General Discussion / Re: Riding coast to coast
« on: August 20, 2019, 09:59:52 am »
On the Trans America you will find that especially in the middle of the country the trail has been blazed a bit for you.  Town parks, picnic areas, church yards, and firehouse lots have been scoped out in many cases and are listed on the maps.

After using the maps a while you get a feel for what will and what won't fly.  I found that I could find places to camp in town and not be hassled on my own pretty well in other towns not on Adventure Cycling routes especially in the middle of the country.  I found that the people were open, kind, and generous if I was the same.  This despite the fact that they usually didn't approve of my politics or my spandex neither of which was usually mentioned.

I personally most often camped in town in the great plains in tiny towns.  I'd generally buy some of the stuff I needed any way at the general store and not actually as permission, but say something like "I am biking coast to coast, do you think anyone would bother me if I slept in the picnic area over there tonight?"  I find that leading with the biking coast to coast thing helps a lot.  Being open, friendly, and making eye contact (always take off sunglasses) is important.

Sometimes I do ask at the general store if there is a place I can camp for free.  I might ask other folks that I meet the wait staff at a diner, whoever might have seen others camp or know of a place.  The local police station is another, but I don't to often stay in towns big enough to have one, libraries are another place I have asked if they knew of anywhere.  Librarians can be a font of info and will often call around all over the place looking for someone who has a spot for you to pitch a tent.

I will just add the I was really impressed at the kindness and generosity of the folks I met in the great plains, eastern Colorado, Kansas, and western Missouri.  They were amazing.  My first coast to coast trip kind of restored my faith in humanity.

Thank you. I may go from library to library. They close at 5 usually.

8
General Discussion / Re: Riding coast to coast
« on: August 20, 2019, 09:49:33 am »
This is the problem: I am not well-funded.

I get food stamps and disability pension.
Food stamps do not cover eating out and amount to $6 per day. I can survive on raisins, oats and agave syrup. I have done that before.
Back home I have to pay rent that amounts to how much I get in disability pension.

For this reason I cannot afford to go out or to buy coffee at an establishment.

A generator can solve this problem for me because I found one that costs like ten cups of coffee at Starbucks.
Also it eliminates the need for me to buy an expensive power bank or too many extra batteries for my Galaxy 5 phone.

I also know that most municipal "poor people services" buy Grayhound tickets to people who are misplaced if they can prove where they came from.
(every town tries to drive out homeless people to another town)
This is how I plan to get home if my bike breaks down or my health goes too bad.

Don't forget that I live with chronic pain and spasms. However the amount of exercise does not effect the level of pain directly. (in most cases)

9
General Discussion / Re: Riding coast to coast
« on: August 20, 2019, 05:51:29 am »
Back on topic.   I highly recommend the American Midwest.    I do RAGBRAI across Iowa almost eatery year, it’s almost bicycling Nirvana.
Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

American Midwest is divided into 1 mile rectangles with roads. Those roads appear to have wide shoulders. This will help.
Bushes along the road are few and far in between. Where would I sleep there?

Presently I am working on a solution to supply all my equipment with power.

Also my health is creating some concerns at this moment. Should I spend all my money on a journey that may end very abruptly.

10
General Discussion / Re: Riding coast to coast
« on: August 19, 2019, 05:11:27 pm »
I am smart enough to avoid politics at all cost.

What should the 'right' attitude be?

11
General Discussion / Re: Riding coast to coast
« on: August 19, 2019, 03:24:30 pm »
There are several factors:
I am waiting for some things to arrive in the mail.
My YouTube channel dynamics suggest that I need to wait.
I receive SSI pension that is almost equal to what I pay in rent. Some 20 dollars would be left after everything is paid.

My health - this journey may easily end up in the hospital two states away.
This is why I don't want to attach people to myself.
If anything, I can travel hospital to hospital - something that many rich people can't afford to do.
Medicaid will cover it.

12
General Discussion / Re: Riding coast to coast
« on: August 19, 2019, 11:16:06 am »
You don’t need a generator. Electrical outlets are plentiful. Take a couple of power banks. Charge them every time you get a chance. Keep your gear simple.
I agree

Sent from my Pixel 3 using Tapatalk

All doors are open to a paying customer.

I want to test the hospitality of America in relationship to someone who is neither overly demanding, nor paying their way through.
A generator will give me autonomy. Plus it looks like some generators are cheaper then the power banks.
I will wire it so it charges my existing power bank when I bike downhill and apply brakes.

Maps are nice. I have a strong desire to stay out of Trump country as much as I can and cling to the Canadian border for some reason...
Perhaps I don't want to get shot. I would not mind the extra 10 kg of warm clothes that it would require for me to cross the northern border and travel through Canadian Mid-West instead of America Mid West.

I haven't figured out what I will do with the great lakes area yet.
I know that I will bike through areas with harsh continental climate. I am very aware of what it is like.
My trip is mostly planned around the climatic zones.

Wouldn't old maps get obsolete information?
I am looking at new maps and the cost is prohibitive.

13
General Discussion / Re: Riding coast to coast
« on: August 19, 2019, 07:29:44 am »
Thank you.
Right now I am doing a lot of math - energy density, miles that I will bike in one day, mass of food and water, etc.
Generator hub is an interesting subject.

I am tempted to buy one on Aliexpress, however I am not sure how well the bearings will behave. I would need spokes of a different length.

The goal is to film and to upload content on my channel. Storage would not be an issue since I can upload as soon as I reach a cell phone tower.
Power can become a greater issue. For this reason, it makes sense to charge batteries every time I go downhill.
If I buy a friction generator, I will have to stop at the top of the hill to engage it by hand or I would need to craft some lever so I can do it on the go.



14
General Discussion / Riding coast to coast
« on: August 18, 2019, 08:39:26 pm »
Hello.
I am thinking about biking across America before it gets too cold.

1) I have very little money (around $400 in savings) so I would prefer sleeping in the bushes to sleeping at a hotel.
I see that there is a bottle neck around the Great Lakes as that area is very densely populated and does not have a lot of woods by the rivers.
Where do people who bike around Chicago stay at if they have no money for hotels?

2) I have chronic pain and other severe health problems. In a way, I am planning my bike journey out of despair.
For this reason I don't want to be with a group of people, be slowed down by me, have them take care of me if my health begins to fail.

However it is nice to have other riders close by in case there are wild animals or uninvited guests who would like to pay a visit to my camp.
It is nice to have some other cyclists within reach. Is there a dense biking path where I am less likely to be riding a bike alone for miles?

3) Are there apps that allow cyclists to stay together and communicate the way truck drivers do?
I could get some support when it comes to good camping spots and other useful resources, like a water fountains in the park, stores where I can buy food.

4) With the general, increasing tendency of police to harass homeless people, how likely am I to be harassed?
My camping gear is a collection of obsolete tent, other very primitive gear.
My bicycle has also seen sights. It is reliable since I maintain it very well, yet it looks more like something that homeless people would use.

5) In case my bicycle breaks down, I plan to look for a replacement in the area where my previous bike goes bad.
Has anyone done that?

6) Does anyone sell a generator that uses a coil that mounts to the fork and a magnet that attaches to the spokes?
I looked at various ways to charge batteries on different devices such as cameras. A solar panel is clumsy and brittle, it relies on the weather too much.
The best way to charge batteries would be when I go downhill and I have to apply brakes. Does this exist?

I had an old-school generator that clamps to the tire - a lot of energy is wasted between the tire and the roller.
It would be nice if I could easily engage it when I apply brakes and disengage it when I have to pedal.



I am a youtuber. Among other things, I would like to show the hospitality levels in America.



If I am harassed by police for not having a rich man bike or having patches on my tent, I will upload the footage to Youtube as soon as I get a chance.
If I am allowed to camp, I will thank the person who allowed me to camp somewhere before all my subscribers.

I may end up in the hospital somewhere along the way and never make it to the West Coast.
My illness gets better under extreme conditions. So I want to create them for a month or two to see what happens, as a therapy.
I am disabled, I survive on SSI and food stamps and my only way to get somewhere long distance is to bike there or to take a grayhound.

From another end - I would like to bike through rural America and show the vibe, maybe interview some people.
I will carry some equipment with me and film everything I come across and upload it as soon as I can to reduce the need for storage memory.

Also there is a possibility that my camera or phone will break and I will stop updating my channel subscribers, yet I will still make it to the other side of the country. My friend is expecting me on the West Coast.

Thank you.

Pages: [1]