Messages

1

General Discussion / Re: 2017 General weather forecast: North America?

« on: June 29, 2017, 09:23:06 am »

Hi,

In 3 weeks I plan on biking across Canada (East to West) and then down towards Mexico following the Sierra Cascades route. I was wondering if there are some general weather forecasts for the summer of 2017. Extreme heat, El nino, etc etc. Anyone with info?

Lucas

Yes...you'll see it all on a trip that long.

Enjoy the ride,
Jay

2

General Discussion / Re: Anyone using the Schwalbe marathon Mondial DD Tires for Bike Touring???

« on: June 25, 2017, 12:53:37 pm »

My wife and I have toured on this tire on single bikes for over 10,000 miles with no flats or problems. They're a bit heavy but give lots of confidence when the pavement disappears. If you are staying exclusively on the road, I'd recommend the Supreme or a similar tire.

Jay
Enjoy the ride

3

Gear Talk / Re: Surly, Trek, Soma....???? I'm overwhelmed; please help!

« on: May 01, 2017, 09:29:26 am »

Keep in mind that all of the components are replaceable. If everything else on the Marrakesh works for you, just factor in the the cost of changing a few components to make the bike exactly how you like it. It'll be a small price for your own comfort and piece of mind.

Enjoy the ride,
Jay

4

Gear Talk / Re: Tubeless

« on: March 22, 2017, 12:14:08 am »

I have a few hundred miles on my marathon supremes and love them.  I mounted them in 30 minutes with a floor pump and stans sealant.  I plan on running them on Pacific coast tour in may.  You should alway use sealant with tubeless tires, it almost eliminates flats.  I carry a couple tubes for the unlikely event you puncture tire in a way sealant will not seal.  I will also cary folded used tire in case tire is damaged to the point it is unridable, both of which I would do even if I was riding on clinchers with tubes.  IMO tubeless is the way to go.

I guess I don't understand the allure of touring with a tire that requires a floor pump and 30 minutes to mount...especially when you'll be carrying spare tubes and a tire anyway. How many flats are you getting? Excluding the first solo tour I did back in the late 70's (a flat tire disaster), I can recall only a small number of flats (less than 5) between my wife and I. This includes on and off road, fully loaded tours around the globe.

Jay

5

Gear Talk / Re: Recommendations for thermometers?

« on: March 22, 2017, 12:06:40 am »

If you are riding a bike like this...



then I suggest a weather rock...



Either way, enjoy the ride.
Jay

6

Classifieds / Re: WTB: 1983 Trek 520 Fork in Pewter Grey

« on: February 11, 2017, 10:29:16 pm »

That frame looks great!  I sold my 1985 520 not that long ago. If you have any local framebuilders, I'd recommend having a custom fork built. They aren't much more expensive than anything off the shelf and you can have any geometry you'd like.

Enjoy the ride,
Jay

7

Routes / Re: Looking for a multi-day wine/beer/bike trip in Pacific NW

« on: February 10, 2017, 02:06:23 pm »

We live in the Dundee Hills, only a few miles from the start of the Willamette Valley Scenic Bikeway and home to many, many vineyards and wineries.

Email or contact us via WarmShowers as jjpeterberger if you have any questions.

Enjoy the ride,
Jay

8

General Discussion / Re: What to do with a bike box?

« on: August 06, 2016, 11:08:29 pm »

Using bike boxes from bike shops that were disposing them (always free except in Bankok  )...

In Hobart, the airport security guard offered to dispose of them for us!!!

In Portsmouth, our BnB host wasn't too bike friendly. So after building the bikes, we cut the cardboard into smaller pieces, strapped them on the back and randomly deposited them into dumpsters and trash cans over the next hour.

In Oslo, we left them with our friends hosting us...I'm sure their kids loved to play with them.

In Denver, I left it in the luggage security area (@ $10/day) because It was only a few days and DIA is way out there. Storing the box was cheaper than a taxi back out to the airport.

That's all I can recall,

Enjoy the trip,
Jay

9

General Discussion / Ignore user?

« on: August 03, 2016, 01:04:23 am »

Is there a setting anywhere that would allow me to not see posts by certain users?

Thanks,
Jay

10

Gear Talk / Re: Single best modification to stock LHT for cross-country tour?

« on: July 23, 2016, 12:30:36 am »

Personally, I find no difficulty shifting on the road, off road, uphill, downhill, or any other time on my bikes with thumb shifters, bar ends or downtube shifters. I guess that's why I don't see any advantage to integrated shifters.

Of course, YMMV.

Enjoy the ride,
Jay

11

Gear Talk / Re: Single best modification to stock LHT for cross-country tour?

« on: July 15, 2016, 09:42:00 pm »

I am thinking of doing a cross country tour next summer (Sierra Cascade or Atlantic route) and looking to make some modifications to my stock-component 2009 Surly LHT, primarily to make it as comfortable as possible to climb with load for long stretches. I have done long-ish trips before (RAGBRAI, Red Ribbon Ride, and multi-day hotel camping trips with friends) but not with a loaded bike. So, my question: what is the single best modification/investment I can make to my Trucker? TIA!

#1 Make sure the bike fits you and your style of riding. This is the single biggest problem I've seen on the road that keeps people from enjoying their ride.

#2 Contact points - butt, feet and hands. Get these organized to your liking...or else the remaining discussions of components are pointless (most are pointless anyways)

#3 As Pat has already said, ride the bike as much as you can before you head out - loaded and unloaded. Yes, you will ride yourself into shape but your enjoyment will start so much sooner with a decent base of fitness.

Enjoy the ride,
Jay

PS - Yes, I know you only asked for 1..couldn't help myself!

12

Gear Talk / Re: Installing rack and fenders tomorrow, quick question

« on: April 12, 2016, 09:40:35 am »

If clearance allows, nylock nuts beat loctite by a long shot.

I'm curious why you think so.  The only advantage of nylock nuts I can think of is the ease of installation.

For a bike used at home, it makes no difference since I always have Loctite available. Out on tour, Loctite is just one more piece of gear I leave behind so the security of the nylock nut is peace of mind... especially while flying as disassembly and reassembly of racks and fenders becomes necessary.

Jay

13

Gear Talk / Re: Installing rack and fenders tomorrow, quick question

« on: April 11, 2016, 10:39:38 pm »

If clearance allows, nylock nuts beat loctite by a long shot.

14

General Discussion / Re: Reflections on First Rain Ride

« on: March 04, 2016, 09:16:29 pm »

But it nearly never rains on bike tours... 

Enjoy the ride,
Jay

15

General Discussion / Re: Estimating travel days to arrive on specific date

« on: February 29, 2016, 10:33:51 pm »

Do you know about WarmShowers?

Leave either coast on the day of your choosing, maybe as previously planned. A week or two before you need to be in Bozeman, locate a WS host along your route willing to store your bike and gear for a week, or however long it'll take for you to return. From that location, catch a plane, train, bus or any other form of rapid transit to MT and return to your trip after the wedding.

Enjoy the ride,
Jay