Messages

1

General Discussion / Re: Trans America Trail The Eastern Third (video)

« on: February 06, 2023, 10:10:16 pm »

Another great video Paul!

I cannot believe that you will actually place you camera on those steep uphills, ride past for our entertainment, and then have to go back to retrieve it. I am not sure I would have been happy about having to go down the "wrong" side of the mountain at Rockfish Gap to get a hotel in Waynesboro, only to have to climb back over the next day. I would have probably been stealth camping at the point. For starting out easy you kicked up the mileage pretty quickly.

A couple of questions:
- How much does your rig weigh? That looks like a different bike than previous videos.
- It looks like you carry a drone, which one?
- You carry a tent, do you carry a stove?
- What do you use to edit your videos?
- What do you carry to charge all your electronics?

You probably found the C&O and GAP a bit boring after all of those hills, but we love it.

Thanks again for watching. You're right, I go to some lengths, but it's not just for your entertainment. I get a lot of kicks from making and watching the video myself. Did you notice, you don't see me zooming down a hill past the camera. Stopping on a downhill to go back and get the camera is worse. About stealth camping at Rockfish, that was an option, but I had no food (no dinner, no breakfast) and the nearest place to get food was Waynesboro. It was 4 miles down into Waynesboro and 4 miles back up a relatively easy hill the next day. And back on the trail I went. Relatively painless.
I took more rest days than normal. Along with the 21 days of riding, I took about 7 rest days during the trip. It never really got easy.
I've never weighed my rig. I guess 40-50 lbs. of gear. I don't travel particularly light. I use to tour on a 1981 Miyata 1000 (burgundy). I've since acquired several other bikes. I'm now riding a 1987 Miyata 1000 (gray). But my rig is constantly evolving over time.
Drone, yes. DJI Mavic Mini. I love it. I'm studying for my part 107 drone pilot license. Soon.
I carry a very light weight stove, some fuel and a small aluminum kettle to boil water. I seldom use it but I carry it, just in case.
I started out using Adobe Premiere Elements to edit video. I've since upgraded to Adobe Premiere Pro. It's more expensive, but slicker than whale snot.
Charging cords for cameras, drone and phone are pretty lightweight. The batteries are heavy. That can be a limiting factor. More batteries means more weight. Less batteries means I have to charge up more often. I mostly stay at hotels, so charging at night is no problem. But I don't think I could go more than 2 or 3 days without a serious charge up.
The C&O and GAP were not boring at all. They were quiet, quaint and car-free. Big hills are sometimes over-rated. Nice level trails are nice.   

Thank you so much for sharing the video and answering the questions!
If you have the opportunity, how much time did you spend learning how to work with Adobe Premier Elements? Do you use someone else's help or study the program on your own?
All the best!

2

General Discussion / Re: Out Of Shape and Wanting to ride the TransAm

« on: August 25, 2022, 12:19:33 am »

Wow,  thanks for all the advice folks.  I am really intrigued by the eastern express option that could really work for me. I'm going to guess that by the average persons definition of fitness I am not as out of shape as most might think.  My health has just made for ongoing significant setbacks but with the problems hopefully identified I am optimistic about my abilities to start making progress again. I wouldn't show up without any training with it.  After my first transplant I was doing 50 mile rides in the Colorado front range within a year, and even last summer I had a stretch were I was doing ok and I managed to do some pretty long rides,  so I think I could get back there.

On a philosophical note I am very grateful for the perspective my illness has given me.  Permissions to step of the American hedonic treadmill is a wonderful thing, and aside from the challenges covid has handed a severely immunocompromised person I continue to embrace the idea of living for today.

There is also the chance I could convince the wife to drive our cargo trailer conversion camper as a sag wagon with my daughter, but at least out west here finding a place to camp without a plan months in advance is getting really hard since covid hit - even in dispersed camping areas for half the week. I'd always wanted to do it self supported, but I could accept that change.

First of all, I want to wish you good health! You did well that did not allow the disease to deprive you of love for life and movement, I am proud of you! You will definitely succeed, I am sure of it.

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General Discussion / Re: Mountain trip with the kid

« on: May 30, 2022, 09:27:27 pm »

The simple answer - it needs to fit. They'll be comfortable from the first pedal stroke.

Although you don't mention the age, my philosophy is to never make a child carry more than required to replace an inner tube.

I recall some great trail trips with a couple young sons and a BOB trailer.

He is 7 y.o. He is not experienced in several day's trips so we are concerned. Your advice seems to be right, we should try the bike before buying

4

General Discussion / Mountain trip with the kid

« on: May 26, 2022, 10:30:15 pm »

Hello members!
I am going to visit my sister and her kid in 2 weeks and she asked me to help with the choice of special mountain bike. We want to have 2-3 day riding. Honestly, I do not know how to choose bike for a kid! I have a Fuji Declaration, and it would be easier to have the small version of it He grows so fast, and it is important to remember about it. I found this Diamondback Bicycle for mountains, but is it a good idea to choose bike without trying it in the store? I think that kids should see the bike and try to ride it dor several minutes before choosing. So what would you say? What is the right way of choosing kid's bike?
Thank you in advance!

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Great Lakes / Re: Indiana Tippicanoe State Park Camping

« on: May 26, 2022, 12:05:42 am »

Good to hear about no reservation

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General Discussion / Re: coffee coffee

« on: May 17, 2022, 11:43:34 pm »

Agree with the others about using press, that is the easiest way of making coffee for me. Also, if you like creamer, I found this one - this is powder (keeps long) and have a convinient package so it does not take up a lot of space.

For boiling water I use a little stove which is also light-weight.

Enjoy your coffee!

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General Discussion / Re: The famous bicycle

« on: May 17, 2022, 12:34:00 am »

Very good quotations, thank you! Especially I like the quote by John Howard

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Food Talk / Re: Best Foods for Training

« on: May 17, 2022, 12:28:36 am »

Agree with the others about balanced diet, proteins and high-quality carbs. Also do not forget to stay hydrated during trainings and in ordinary life. It would be great to visit a doctor to have your personal plan of meals

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ACA Mobile Route Apps / Re: Base maps are "ghosted."

« on: May 17, 2022, 12:11:36 am »

Hi Mark, there are 2 scenarios where you cannot change the base map, so they appear "ghosted" or disabled. First is when you're navigating. You know you're in navigation mode when the bottom of the screen shows speed, distance and a stop button, and the map moves when you ride.  Second is when you're viewing a map offline. In this mode, we assume that you don't have network access so cannot change the base map to use google. Hope this helps.

Didn't know about scenario about viewing map offline, need to remember. Thank you!

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General Discussion / Re: Best SIM card provider for Oregan/Idaho?

« on: May 16, 2022, 12:09:39 am »

Thanks for answering this question, so useful!