Messages

1

General Discussion / Re: Missoula bike shop

« on: June 23, 2025, 02:57:11 pm »

Hellgate did a bang up job getting my bike ready for my trip at a great cost.  They even offered to arrange for the Bikeflights shipping when I return next week.  I would definitely contact them to see if they can have a box ready for you.

I assume when you wrote "at great cost" you meant "at a very reasonable price," not "and charged me like a government contractor would."  Hellgate worked me in, fixed me up right, and I was tempted to ask what they wanted for lunch after I saw the (very reasonable" bill.

2

General Discussion / Re: Costs per day?

« on: January 22, 2025, 04:58:03 pm »

One of the biggest cyclist-unfriendly things I encounter at motels is that many of them do not allow you to keep your bike(s) in your room.  And they rarely offer any kind of secure bike storage as a substitute.  The other is multi-floor lodgings with no elevator.

I've only run across this twice; both times the owners were very helpful in finding someplace to keep and lock our bikes.

3

General Discussion / Re: Montana Proposes Bill to Force Cyclists to Ride the Wrong Way in Traffic

« on: January 21, 2025, 10:14:53 am »

Hopefully this fulfills Montana's need for one stupid bike bill every year.

4

General Discussion / Re: To whom can I send my bike in Denver/Salt Lake City/Seattle or nearby

« on: December 19, 2024, 11:42:31 am »

If I understand you correctly, you're going to fly with your bike as checked luggage into Chicago, or ship it separately to the start of your tour.  I suspect it will be less expensive to fly into and out of Chicago, paying to check the bike twice, than to ship it separately.  You might check out Shipbike or Bikeflights to ship it from Chicago, but the checked luggage fee was less expensive (on American, at least) this year; who knows what it will be next year?

That would just leave you needing a large car or small truck rental to drive up to Wisconsin, or take a shuttle bus (with a large luggage bay) to Madison or Milwaukee, or pay for a large vehicle Lyft or Uber.

5

Gear Talk / Re: Best rear cassette touring hub? 26" Velocity Dyad 36-spoke rims, rim brakes

« on: December 16, 2024, 01:09:40 pm »

While I don't know about XT hubs being lightened, my older hubs have been remarkably problem-free.  I've had a lot more problems with spokes, FWIW.  I have a feeling you're past the point where you'll spend more time, money, and effort preventing potential problems with an XT hub than dealing with real problems that do pop up.

6

Gear Talk / Re: Best Rim Brake Wheels?

« on: November 06, 2024, 09:58:12 am »

There is a number of good rims available.  Sun CR-18 or Rhyno Lite, Mavic 319, Velocity Dyad come to mind.

Curious though, are you doing a full Campagnolo group?  You might want to think about a Shimergo (Shimano hub and cassette with Ergo shifters) for lower gears if you're planning to tour in the mountains.

7

Temporary ACA Route Road Closures / Re: TransAmerica Section 11 October 2024

« on: October 15, 2024, 03:43:56 pm »

Latest I could find, the Creeper is open from Abingdon to Damascus.  Given some of the video I've see of U.S. 58 east of Damascus, I wouldn't count on the Damascus to Whitetop stretch being rideable the rest of the year.

Damascus saw a couple "100 year floods" a month apart back in the spring of 1977.  IIRC the town was back in business by the end of the summer, but the high trestle washed out and it took a couple or three years to get the money and rebuild.  I'm not going to guess how damage of that magnitude would be treated today.

8

Gear Talk / Re: Tour Bike Build

« on: August 13, 2024, 09:57:45 am »

So, anyway, one thing that I know I want to change is the saddle to a Brooks leather saddle. Does anyone have a preference between the B17 & the B17 special?
Apparently the special has recessed rivets? Any thoughts appreciated.

I've had a number of Brooks.  On a couple of them, after 10's of thousands of miles, have had a rivet get tilted; it'll then start rubbing even through a good pair of shorts.  It's possible, but difficult, to hammer it back flush.

The big rivets on the specials are easier to correct.  The copper is softer than the standard steel rivets, and it's got a larger head, so you can bend the edge of the rivet over rather than the saddle frame on the standard.  Plus, they look really cool.

So you pays your money and you takes your choice.

Make sure you have an Aardvark saddle cover or two to keep the saddle from soaking on a long, hot, sweaty ride, or a ride through a downpour.  And have something (fender or plastic bag under the saddle) to protect the saddle dry from tire spray.

9

General Discussion / Re: Bike 'friendliness' of US hotels?

« on: July 31, 2024, 04:16:43 pm »

I don't ask anymore; I assume they'll let me wheel my bike right through the lobby.

I was asked to lock it up outside once at a small "historic" hotel in eastern Colorado, and a B&B let me store a bike in their barn.

If you're in an outdoorsy area (lots of hikers, hunters, fishermen), ask if they have an old towel to clean it up before you roll the bike inside.  That's after a towel was a room towel, a pool towel, and finally a cleaning towel.  Most places are happy to provide you with one.

10

Routes / Re: TransAm Alternate Routes You Would Recommend

« on: July 16, 2024, 09:28:49 am »

Has anyone ridden thru Varney, MT instead of Ennis, MT?   It would be a shortcut, but my real interest is possibly being more fun (less traffic) than 287 thru Ennis.  It is entirely gravel, so not sure how tough it would be, but google thinks it is a good bike route (and google is often conservative on gravel, but sometimes wrong).  No services, although I have had good luck (tour + restroom + water fountain) visiting fish hatcheries in other states.

https://ridewithgps.com/routes/47532082

Your shortcut may be shorter in distance, but I'm not sure how it would compare time-wise.  Both the U.S. and the state 287s are well paved, and flying down from the top of the ridge to Virginia City was a high-speed (for a loaded tourist) blast.

11

Routes / Re: Eads CO to Sugar City

« on: June 17, 2024, 08:36:50 am »

I think this is the situation 2 L foldable water pouches were made for.  Fill up one or two in the morning, stuff them into the middle of some clothes in a pannier, and pedal off with the sunrise.

Some people advocate reusing 1 L water bottles or even coke bottles.  That's doable, but the foldable pouches are easier to store.

12

General Discussion / Re: Is GDMBR worth it if one has done 14K+ moutains and passes in S. America

« on: June 05, 2024, 09:53:38 am »

The answer to almost any "is it worth it?" question is another question.  Is it worth it to you?

What are you looking for?  What excites you?  Can you afford it?  Would it be worth a couple months of your time to add "rode the GDMBR" to your bragging rights?

13

General Discussion / Re: What difference can the weather cause on a long ride?

« on: April 17, 2024, 09:33:05 am »

As a friendly FYI, it is highly recommended you do NOT seek shelter under a bridge during a tornado, especially up near the top of the retaining slope.  Over the years, I can think of a small handful of times I have heard of deaths from people doing exactly that.  I don't understand why (I still think it would be safer) but the weather people usually remind us not to do that here in tornado country.  Best to lay in a depression or culvert.

I think there was a video (from early in the video days) of a couple who parked underneath an overpass and survived.  But the boffins say an overpass can funnel the wind so it's faster and harder under a bridge than in open territory.

Of course, the closest I got to a tornado, a cop stopped us all underneath the overpass near home and wouldn't let us go until the storm had passed.  Guess he hadn't seen the (years old) update.

14

Classifieds / Re: touring bike

« on: April 02, 2024, 08:45:25 am »

Good bike (I rode the TransAm on one in 2009).  You might add the size to your description to help interested parties.

15

Temporary ACA Route Road Closures / Re: Pacific Coast Section 4, Harris Grade Road, 2024

« on: March 26, 2024, 10:08:02 am »

I get chicken when a road is sliding off the hill and there may be heavy construction equipment.

CA 1 is a 4-5 lane road with light traffic except around rush hour (and an extra hill) up to the Vandenberg gate and back down.  IMHO it's a reasonable detour.