Messages

1

General Discussion / Re: Assistance with cycling tourism thesis

« on: January 27, 2013, 01:41:44 pm »

Hi,

I did a cycling holiday (sort of) in ireland a couple of years ago. The trip consisted of riding from Dublin airport to Birr and back. (that was two days of my 5 day holiday). The rest was spent in the town of Birr and it's direct surroundings

if I can help you please let me know.

Kind regards,

Wouter.

2

General Discussion / Re: Bike and Cars - share the road

« on: January 23, 2013, 02:52:28 pm »

I actually agree with you.

as a tourer people consider you something as an adventurer; which many people have a lot of respect for. Alos you're a less common sight making you stand out more to begin with; so those two things combined might make motorists pay more attention to you and be more cautious.

the opposite happens too.; people who have a bad bias against those wannabe racers etc; are anyed by you even before you do anything wrong..

So perspective matters a lot. people will give little kids on their bike waay more room than adults,... many example where the mindset of the motorist plays a large role

kind regards,

3

Gear Talk / Re: Brooks B67

« on: January 22, 2013, 01:34:49 pm »

Hi,

Why not go for the middle ground? the brooks flyer; it's the suspended version of the B17. I have it and I love it.

Wouter.

4

Gear Talk / Re: Purchasing a new bike, have found a couple within my budget, any advice which?

« on: January 09, 2013, 01:09:29 pm »

Hi,

I personally would advice the following:

- Sports hybrid/trekking with a slightly bent over position but nowhere near racing position like on a road/CX bike; This will make it easier to keep your eyes on the road, ahead of you instead of on the road right in front of you. I often have the tendcy to look down when on a race bike or at least it takes more effort to look ahead of me.
- Make sure it has a fixed fork. for commuting you really don't need a suspension fork. A good steel/aluminum rigid fork is all you need. It will have much better steering and they usually can't break unless you collide with something.
- A rear rack is a bless. Then you can add a small pannier to carry your stuff you need, also a good place to store a rain jacket/ trousers, spare tyre and other stuff
- Bottle cages, make sure you have at least one, a good bottle cage and a good bottle are indispensable on longer rides. dehydration is the nr 1 cause of early fatigue.
- Check for eyelets to install fenders. You stay clean and dry with good fenders

Oh, and most important of all, make sure you can testride the bike to make sure it really fits you and is comfortable.


Kind regards,

Wouter.

5

General Discussion / Re: Bike and Cars - share the road

« on: January 09, 2013, 10:20:20 am »

A lot of the frustration comes of both drivers and cyclists not/hardly understanding eachother. I believe that a lot can be done by better educating both groups. The main rule should be to use common sense and being courteous to, and cautious of other road users, regardless of your rights. And that counts for every road user.

Now cycling is something that is still gaining a lot of popularity in the US where cars were (and still are) king for a vast amount of time. Many people are not used to bicycles and hardly know how to deal with them in traffic. For instance  people are often not aware of the suction effect when passing a cyclist at high speed. These are things that can be included in drivers eduction for the new drivers. But is harder to bring down to the older generation of drivers.

The same counts for cyclists. Over here in belgium (when i was young at least) cycling was an important chapter in elementary school. A lot of time was spent on riding skills and traffic law.

Now as a cyclist you should be aware that you are in a very weak position on the road. So act accordingly. And whatever happens, stay friendly, assume that people just make mistakes and don't mean you any harm.

Kind regards,

6

General Discussion / Re: how safe is it to ride in the US?

« on: February 25, 2012, 06:26:03 am »

Hi ,

Thanks for the many replies. I am from europe indeed, more specifically Belgium. Which has pretty busy traffic. But in general I don't feel unsafe on whatever roads i've riden over here. I'm happy that the impression I was getting (mostly from a rad racer/rider forum) is a wrong one. So that leaves me to gettich my fitness back on par and get saving some money to pay for the trip. Won't be this year but hopefully next year.

This year i plan to ride in France.

greets,

Wouter.

7

General Discussion / how safe is it to ride in the US?

« on: February 21, 2012, 03:10:29 pm »

Hi,

I'm considering a bike trip in the US some day... But the more I read in american cycling forums the more I have the impression that US isn't the most cyclist friendly place. I hope i'm wrong but sometimes I have the impression there is a growing annoyance (I really don't want to use the H-word) between cyclists and motorists.

Please tell me I'm wrong. and give me some pointers on what to look out for and how to behave on US roads.

Over where I live people are very used to cyclists and in general both groups understand eachother fairly well...

Thanks for any advice.

Wouter.

8

General Discussion / Re: planning my first big trip to the U.S. might need some advice

« on: August 03, 2010, 03:57:27 pm »

Thanks fot all the good advice.

I appeared to have a Topeak MTX seatpost rack.; (Didn't know i still had it) apparently fairly big bags are available for it (Up to 22L) add a hadlebar bag and i'd get close to 30L of storage space.; should be enough for the credicard traveller. LOL. Guess i just get the bags, fill em up and strain with loaded bags.; Suppose the bike will handle a bit differently loaded or not.. And it's good for the legs..

Think I'll continue training and see what kind of mileage i can get ,better do some good hill training too..  I'll see how fit i get by newyear and make final plans then. One option one of my friends gave was just to bike back and forth between Charlotte and Nashville. He'd than drive me back and forth between charlott and savannah to visit my friend living there. Creativity might go a long way. Another option would be to take greyhound between savannah and nashville.. so many options to explore.; make it fun.; planning and stuff.

keep the good advices coming..

thanks,

Wouter.

9

General Discussion / Re: planning my first big trip to the U.S. might need some advice

« on: July 31, 2010, 10:52:55 am »

Didn't Belgium also give us the Smirfs or was that Holand.

Thanks for the good advice.

The author of the smurfs, Péyo was a belgian.. Thoug a dutch artist made the smurf song.

cheers,

Wouter.

10

General Discussion / planning my first big trip to the U.S. might need some advice

« on: July 31, 2010, 06:38:00 am »

Hi,

I'm Wouter. I'm a 29year old male from Belgium (yes, the land of beer, choclates, waffles and totally nuts politicans) I'm planning to make a roadtrip to the U.S. next year and at the same time visit a few friends i made over the internet in the last few years. (I just needed to get an excuse to justify this trip.. LOL)

Goal would be to ride from Nashville TN to Savannah GA then to Charlotte NC and back to Nashville TN. Total length of the trip would be more or less 2000km (1300miles) and i would have 3weeks to complete this trip. A total of 23 days including days for flights.

Since this is the first time I do this ( well i did a very small trip last year to ireland but that's not to be compared with this plan, though it got me hooked )  I was considering staying at Motels, B&B or other affordable lodging. For food I'd like to support local merchants. So i'd be travelling (very) light.

I'd like to gather as much information and advice to prepare for this trip and to organize things. Also i'd like to get as much info as possible on how to behave on the road (different countries might have different customs) and how to act towards other roadusers. (I'm looking for other advices than be polite and don't get in the way more than required, I have enough common sense)

For my bike i'd want to use my Scott CR1 roadbike. May fit it with a seatpost rack and bag and use a small backpack if that would not provide sufficient cargospace. A handelbar bag will be included to store some food for during the ride and other items like camera, phone,... For hydration i'd be using a bladder and two bottles.

I hope this provides you with sufficient info on my plans to help me ahead and be well prepared by the time I take off to the U.S.

Hope to hear from you soon,

Cheers,

Wouter.