Messages

3301

General Discussion / Maps: opinion on ACA maps

« on: January 31, 2008, 09:15:08 am »

> Asking people is useful too - but if they aren't riding a bike, be prepared for their distance and hill info to be wildly inaccurate.

True, much advice we got was worse than useless.  Someone would tell us the next town was exactly 12 miles and it was pretty flat the whole way.  Then it would be 25 miles with a 2000' climb just before you got there.

OTOH: Truck drivers advice seemed to be of uncanny accuracy.  They would say something like, "don't hold me to this" or "this is just a guess" and then give distances accurate down to the tenth and exact descriptions of where the hills were and how long and steep they were.  One even added, "It is pretty hot today.  There are nice swimming holes at ..." and listed three or for possible places to cool off.

3302

General Discussion / Maps: opinion on ACA maps

« on: January 30, 2008, 05:39:34 pm »

Pick up state maps as you go.  It is worthwhile for a lot of reasons including:
1. Perspective of where you are in the grand schems.
2. Necessary if there are detours.
3. Necessary if you need to go off route to find a bike shop,  On the TA there are no on route bikeshops in eastern colorado or kansas.
4. Necessary if you want to improvise a shorter or more interesting detour.

3303

General Discussion / Highway question

« on: January 27, 2008, 08:22:39 pm »

In some places yes it is.  It depends on where.

There was some discussion on Bike Forums at:
http://www.bikeforums.net/showthread.php?t=123478&highlight=interstate

3304

General Discussion / March on the East Cost

« on: January 22, 2008, 11:56:18 am »

Regarding the heat...  We did the TA last Summer W-E and the headlines seemed to permanently read "Record Heat Wave", pretty much everywhere we went.

We had MANY days over 100 degrees.  Before the trip both my daughter and I would have told you that we didn't tolerate heat well at all.  After the trip I think she would agree with me that you can really get used to it particularly in the West where it is dry.

FWIW: For me humid 96 degree days in the Missouri were worse than 106 degree ones in the Montana, but still tolerable.

In addition to acclimating to the heat you can also avoid riding in the hottest part of the day especially if there is a major climb.  Starting early in the day and finding a swimming hole or at least some shade in the afternoon, then riding some in the evening worked well for us.

3305

General Discussion / March on the East Cost

« on: January 21, 2008, 11:55:40 am »

I think the risk of snow is pretty low, but not completely nonexistent.  The route in Virginia and Kentucky stays pretty far south, but does get to 4000' or so if memory serves correctly.  Realizing that you may have a snow day or two may be enough.

3306

General Discussion / March on the East Cost

« on: January 21, 2008, 10:35:49 am »

My experience from the TA last year isn't too much help because we went W-E, but I am familiar with the Virginia area so I will comment anyway.

There is some luck of the draw there.  Weather is likely  to be OK, but it is a bit of a gamble. You will need to be ready for cold and wet weather, snow isn't impossible, but you have a good chance of avoiding it.  Will you have the option to push back the start at the last minute if it looks awful?

I wouldn't sweat the personal safety issues especially in remote areas.  We were amazed how nice just about everyone we met was.  People were almost universally kind and generous.

Any risk we felt was more from traffic than anything else, but we found the route to be OK in that regard too.  The most aggressive drivers were on what will be your first day or two, but overall we felt pretty safe.

3307

General Discussion / women cycling solo across the US

« on: January 13, 2008, 08:14:07 pm »

Solo women were in the minority among the folks we met when we did the TA, but they seemed to do OK.  I didn't meet any folks who weren't camping most of the time, but the motel, hostel option would not create additional issues that I can think of.

Especially if you are doing one of the Adventure Cycling routes I suggest that you stay in some of the churches that welcome cyclists.  Meeting the nice folks we camped with, the folks that invited us into their homes, and the folks at the churches we stayed at was one of the highlights of our trip.

I wouldn't rule out some camping if your only reason for avoiding is safety.

3308

General Discussion / biking yosemite and sequio nat. parks

« on: November 20, 2007, 09:37:55 am »

I really don't see how first come first serve helps bike tourists.  I know that I usually arrive at the camp for the night late in the day when bike touring.  First come first served means that the sites will all be full.

Places like Yellowstone or state parks on the west coast that never turn away bike tourists are great though.  I think that should be the case more places.

3309

General Discussion / Pacific coast

« on: January 05, 2008, 03:15:14 pm »

There seems to be a strong preference for North to South due to:
1. Prevailing winds
2. Wider shoulder/lane on the West side.
3. Better view of the ocean when riding.

I have only ridden a bit of the coast so I can't really claim much experience with the route, but the preference seems to be strong and widely held.

In "Bicycling the Pacific Coast" Spring and Kirkendall make it sound like the difference is huge.

3310

General Discussion / Pacific coast

« on: November 09, 2007, 02:52:03 pm »

3. The weather would be likely to be better mid-June or later.

4. I have heard that the Oregon Department of Transportation has a great map.  I think you can get it from their web page.  Not sure though.

Adventure Cycling has good maps with all of the services and points of interest along the way.

Bicycling The Pacific Coast: A Complete Route Guide, Canada To Mexico by Spring and Kirkendall is a great resource.  It is a pretty complete resource.

5. With a May start exoect cool wet weather.

6. Camping and rooms are both readily available.  Campsites in Oregon are nice and also inexpensive.

You will meet lots of riders along the way expecially if you start a bit later than your proposed May starting time.

3311

General Discussion / Bike insurance

« on: November 08, 2007, 06:51:55 pm »

Does such a thing exist?  It never occured to me to insure bike or gear for a trip.  I didn't really think that bike or gear were at much risk other than when in the airlines hands.

I guess that I am somewhat covered by home owners insurance, but maybe not when abroad?  It might be worth asking your agent at home.

You might also look into travelers insurance through your travel agent or whoever you buy your plane tickets from.

I will be watching to see what others have to add.

3312

General Discussion / Mosquitoes repellents?

« on: November 07, 2007, 01:41:43 pm »

No magic natural formulas here.  I use DEET based repellent but find that a relatively low percentage of DEET is adequate if used generously and is nicer feeling on the skin.

I like Skintastic Summer Splash (or one of the other scents from the same line) which has 7% DEET.  It doesn't have that nasty feeling on the skin that most higher DEET repellents have and as far as I can tell works just as well.  We used it on our TransAmerica until we ran out and then replaced it with something with similar DEET content.  We carried some higher DEET stuff but mostly didn't use it.

The lower DEET repellents let me down in the Big Hole Valley in Montana, but NOTHING worked very well in those conditions. Any skin not covered by THICK clothing was going to be bitten!  We were bitten through two layers of clothing with a higher percentage DEET repellent on them while riding over 15 MPH at 3 PM with no water in sight.

Everywhere else the lower DEET stuff was fine.

This message was edited by staehpj1 on 11-7-07 @ 9:42 AM

3313

General Discussion / Finding a touring companion

« on: October 20, 2007, 05:33:45 pm »

Where was your trip that you didn't meet anyone?  We met lots of riders on the TransAmerica and I often wondered how many we would meet on other routes.

Here (probably in the Classified section) and the Crazy Guy on a Bike Forums http://www.crazyguyonabike.com/forum/?o=1gci are two places that might be good to look for companions.

Also if you are a member of Adventure Cycling try:
http://www.adventurecycling.org/mag/companions.cfm

This message was edited by staehpj1 on 10-20-07 @ 1:34 PM

3314

General Discussion / Bringing pets on long trips?

« on: October 01, 2007, 09:44:25 am »

Sounds like a bad idea to me, but I guess it is possible.  Several extra pounds is a hardship on a long tour and I wonder how happy the dog would be.  I guess a lot depends on the temperment of the dog.

Plan ahead with regards to where you stay as some places do not allow pets, including some (All?) national parks.

In any case if you take the dog, I hope you both enjoy the trip.

3315

General Discussion / leg cramps

« on: September 29, 2007, 10:09:40 am »

I am 56, does that make me an older cyclist?  Anyway, I try to stretch during the first break of the day.  I think that works well for me, if I actually do it

I know I should just stretch every day, but sometimes just check to see how my flexibility is on that particular day and stretch if I feel I need it.  If my calves aren't tight and I can place my palms on the ground by bending at the waist I usually skip it.  Maybe not optimum, but so far it has worked for me.