Messages

31

Urban Cycling / top bicycle-friendly cities and towns

« on: November 27, 2006, 10:29:34 am »

I would agree with Char2006 that Washington DC is pretty hard to beat for a city its size, especially in the Eastern US. We have a growing network of hundreds of miles of bikeable trails including the Mount Vernon, Capital Crescent, Washington and Old Dominion, and Rock Creek Trails, and the C&O Canal towpath.  DC can't hold a candle to Davis California however. I visited Davis in 1979 and I was amazed.  Bike lanes and facilities everywhere.  A community that is totally committed to bikes as transportation. Great weather. And flat terrain.

32

Gear Talk / A recumbant for centuries and possible touring

« on: September 29, 2006, 05:08:18 pm »

I ride a Tour Easy recumbent (2 wheeler).  It costs about $2000. I bought it four years ago.  It has 20,000 miles on it.  Needless to say, I think it's working out for me.   I've done three tours on it and about 400 commutes.

I like it so much I am having a great deal of difficulty selecting my next bike which will almots certainly be a recumbent.

Another possibility for you is to look for a Burley recumbent. Burley just discontinued manufacturing recumbents so you may be able to get one at a substantially reduced price.

33

Gear Talk / Recumbent advice?

« on: September 29, 2005, 04:53:54 pm »

I had the same physical problems you are having and then some.  I have been riding a recumbent for three years and rarely touch my old touring bike anymore.

The best one for you is the one that you enjoy riding the most.  I recommend you go to a well stocked recumbent bike shop with a helmet and a water bottle and ride as many bikes as you can. (Let them know you are coming in advance.) I rode 10 different recumbent bikes, narrowed that down to the 3 best, then came back a few days later and did a ride off. My 3 best were the Green Gear's Bike SatRDay, the Sun EZ Sport Lite, and the Easy Racer's Tour Easy. The Tour Easy won.  I have ridden my Tour Easy nearly 16,000 miles in about 3 years including three multi-day tours.  I am a happy camper.  

Recumbents come in an amazing number of configurations so keep an open mind and try as many as you can.  You may find that some recumbent designs look great but don't match your body very well.   Others may look unimpressive but fit like a glove.

Good luck.

34

Gear Talk / Saddle Advice

« on: March 30, 2004, 06:33:48 pm »

Every one's anatomy differs.  My experience was that foam or gel cushioned saddles worked fine for an hour or two but were torture on long rides.  

Years ago most bikes were sold with leather saddles.  Over time manufacturers replaced then with lighter weight foam and gel saddles to save weight and cost.  

I recommend that you try a leather saddle with or without suspension (springs on the underside).  Ride it a month or two to break it in.  Then go for a long ride. You may come to the same conclusion that I did; leather is much more comfortable.  And you will not have (saddle-induced) problems with your DrScience baby making apparatus.  

You can find Brooks saddles on the internet at Harris Cyclery (Newton Mass), Bike Nashbar, and Wallingford Bicycle Parts.

Good luck.

35

Gear Talk / tires

« on: January 07, 2004, 01:01:28 pm »

I have been using Avocet II's (with kevlar belt) on my Sequoia for years.  They come in 700 X 38 which gives a nice cushy ride.  I use a Chengling kevlar belted tire (700X35) on the rear of my tour easy recumbent.  

My experience with tire liners was very negative.  I had no conventional flats, but did experience side wall blow outs.  Give me regular old flats anyday.  (I took the tire liners out.)  For a complete blow by blow (pun sadly intended, see www.indc2003.crazyguyonabike.com, and click on the seventh day of my trip into Rockwood, PA.)

I know Conti Top Touring tires are very popular but I thought they didn't roll as smoothly as the Avocets.  Still they are extremely popular with tourists and commuters.  

36

Gear Talk / tools - cross country

« on: January 05, 2004, 02:17:01 pm »

Bike touring puts stress on your bike big time so think about the worst disaster you can deal with and plan accordingly.  Anything beyond your mechanical capabilities will have to be dealt with by other means (such as hitching a ride to a bike shop).  (So if you don't know how to remove a cassette don't bring the tools.  They'd be dead weight.) On my recent trip (see www.indc2003.crazyguyonabike.com which includes a list of equipment) I took:
assorted allen wrenches, a Swiss army knife, electrical tape,  spare tubes, a patch kit, assorted nut drivers, tire levers, a spoke wrench, kevlar replacement spokes, replacement cables, some spare nuts and screws, a Zefal pump, and a chain tool.  

I wish I had taken spare tires and duct tape.

Good luck.

37

Gear Talk / Any suggestions on which bike is best for ....

« on: January 05, 2004, 02:07:45 pm »

Whether you buy a mountain bike, a traditional touring bike, a hybrid, or a recumbent, my advice to you is to find a bike that fits you.  You are going to spend a whole lot of time riding this machine and there is no sense in being uncomfortable while you are doing it.  

Ride before you buy.  Any good bike shop including REI will let you do this.

I commute most days by bike in DC and I use either a Tour Easy recumbent or an old Specialized Sequoia Touring bike.  My quess is that recumbents will generally be out of your price range.  I love mine and wouldn't thhink of touring without it unless I was going off road most of the way.

You should also consider a few essentials such as braze ons for attaching essentials (racks, fenders for and aft,and water bottle cages).  A wide range of gearing is a must.  Then you need to think about all the stuff you will be attaching and carrying.  A lock, pumps, basic tools, panniers, etc.    

But more than anything, fit is important even if it means spending a few dollars more.  Many years ago I went shopping to replace my trusty old Raleigh Grand Prix 10 speed.  As I test rode the lower end chromoly road bikes, my wife took the sales clerk aside and said "Sell him a better bike."  I ended up spending about 30 percent more than I planned for an alluminum Trek 1200. I rode it for about 10 years and never regretted the extra expense.  (I sold it to a freind who is still using it 5 years later.) So if you really plan to ride a lot (and it sounds like you do) a nicer bike will be worth it in the long run.

Good luck.  

38

Routes / East coast...but wich one!?

« on: December 27, 2007, 06:24:53 pm »

You have lots of options.  How about this one:  Take La Route Verte to NYS state Bike Highway 9 south until it intersects with the Adventure Cycling East Coast route (ACAECR).  Follow the ACAECR to the DC area.  Then you can take either the C&O Canal towpath or the W&OD Trail to the Blue Ridge Mountains where you can hook up with Skyline Drive and the Blue Ridge Parkway. (Or follow the ACAECR to the TransAm outside Richmond.  Then follow the TransAm west to the Blue Ridge Parkway.)  

39

Routes / Cleveland, OH to NYC

« on: July 12, 2006, 05:06:27 pm »

You could do the Erie Canal, NYS Bike Route 5 (both flat as a board) or the Adventure Cycling Northern Tier route which goes further north.  From Albany south you could take NYS Bike Route 9.  

ALternatively you go look into NYS Bike Route 17 which traverses the southern tier of NYS.

A third option would be to drop down from Erie to the PA state bike route across the northern part of PA.

These state bike routes can be found on the state DOT websites.  They are not necessarily the best routes.  

40

Routes / DC to Central Ohio

« on: April 05, 2006, 11:31:27 pm »

I don't know about depressing.  The hills do wear you down though.  Once you leave the rail trail in West Newton PA (following PA Bike Route S)  you have about 20 miles of straight up and straight down.  It's moderately hilly to the WV border where it flattens out.  Then you hit Wheeling.  Straight up and straight down to a traffic light! Bummer.

Across the Ohio you have to clmb out of the valley and that is a bear.  The hills roll on until you are forty or so miles from Columbus.  Then suddenly it's flat as a table.

So going East to West you'll have fun for a few days then there's work to be done.

All in all it's actually a pretty good ride.  

41

Routes / DC to Central Ohio

« on: April 05, 2006, 11:37:36 am »

I agree that you need to get a bunch more miles under you to do this ride.  I've done the ride twice (sort of).  Check out my journals at http://indc2003.crazyguyonabike.com and http://dcin2005.crazyguyonabike.com
Long story short you can do about half the distance on flat trails but the hills in PA and eastern OH will keep you honest.

42

Routes / AC maps doubts

« on: February 12, 2005, 09:50:22 pm »

Since I bad mouthed AC maps in one of my online journals, I feel I should add a comment here.  AC maps are exceptional at guiding you through mile and miles of the US in relative safety.  I have used AC routes in Indiana, Maryland, and Virginia.  They really are well researched.  For example, when a nearby military base on the east coast route was closed to the public after 9/11/2001 AC re-designed the route exactly as I would have.  My recommendation is that you get the maps and simply mail them home (or otherwise shed their weight) as you finish with them on your trip.


(Incidentally, I bad mouthed the maps because I used an old one with out of date lodging information )you should definitely bring the updates) and because they took me on remote roads in Indiana where I hoped top encounter other bike tourists.  It wasn't the maps fault that I didn't see any.)

In any case, good luck and enjoy the States.

This message was edited by rootchopper on 2-12-05 @ 5:57 PM

43

Routes / Indiana to East Coast

« on: August 23, 2004, 02:08:57 pm »

I just finished riding across New York using the Erie Canal and NYS Bike Route 5. The canal towpath between Lockport and Rochester is very nice.  It is not paved however.  From Palmyra to Canajoharie there is no towpath so you have to ride the roads.  I took Bike Route 5.  It is amazingly flat except for a couple of respectable hills.  There is high speed traffic (50 mph or so) but the shoulders are wide, smooth, and debris free.  East of Canajoharie there is a paved rail trail that runs along the south bank of the Mohawk River pretty much all the way to the Hudson.  I suspect that the Northern Tier route is superior to Route 5 in that it is somewhat more remote.

The C&O is nice but it can be a muddy ride.  Getting there from the midwest can be done in part using the Great Allegheny Passage (GAP) Trail.  For more information on these routes you can read my journals at www.indc2003.crazyguyonabike.com and www.route5.crazyguyonabike.com.

Good luck.

44

Routes / New Orleans to Chicago

« on: January 18, 2004, 08:00:16 pm »

I suggest you look into the Adveture Cycling Associations' Great Rivers route which follows the Mississippi from the gulf states to Iowa, just west of Chicago.

Good luck.

45

Routes / 2nd attempt

« on: January 02, 2004, 02:31:04 pm »

Well, speaking of second attmepts, this is mine.  

Last summer I attempted a ride from IN to DC via the Great Allegheny Passage.  The original plan was to use some of the OH bikeways you refer to, as well as a small segment of the Northern Tier route. I found the backroads in IN and OH to be great for biking and decided to just improvise my route from western IN to Wheeling WV.  I did use some bike paths and the Great Allegehny Passage (GAP).

Here is my two cents:
1)  Off road bike paths in the flat midwast are more trouble than they are worth.  One near Newark OH was so slippery I crashed.  Most of the back roads are flat to gently rolling and far more interesting.  

The main bike routes in OH F, CT may be good but so are the hundreds of other backroads to choose from.  I have read that parts of the CT route are chip sealed which can be a drag to ride on.  The people I encountered across OH were not accustomed to seeing touring bicyclists and were very helpful with directions and encouragement.

PADOT has laid out a grid of mostly on-road bike routes.  I used the "S" route to go from Wheeling to West Newton where it merges with the GAP.  You could use the GAP to go west around Pittsburgh and hook up with the CT trail.

The GAP isn't quite finished yet, but it is an incredibly nice ride.  And the towns along the trail are dying for your business.  The section of the GAP through Ohiopyle State Park is really wonderful.

The C&O towpath can be a quagmire so plan accordingly.

Check out www.indc2003.crazyguyonabike.com for a blow by blow account.