Messages

1

Routes / Re: Southern Tier through Tucson

« on: January 13, 2023, 06:51:45 am »

I cycled that route, but I cannot remember it. Weeks ago I cycled from Tucson to El Paso. It was on the interstate. Great following wind, but too many tire wires.

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Routes / Re: Brit riding across the US

« on: January 13, 2023, 06:43:54 am »

That is the most outstanding planned route.

3

General Discussion / Re: West to East coast tandem tour with hotels?

« on: December 11, 2022, 11:54:05 pm »

 Every night in a motel all the way across the continent on a tandem bicycle? Anything like that is possible, but I think it unlikely. Variables influencing your progress could be many. Take a tarp and a sleeping bag, at least. That way you are covered. The big concern is healthful nutrition. Get on route with small-town junk food stores for a few days and you will see and feel why. Motel breakfasts seemed to be heavily sugared, empty-calory spikers of blood sugar. Nothing like processed carbohydrates kicking the pancreas into high gear first thing in the morning. Plan the journey for access to healthful foods and then motels..

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General Discussion / Re: Tme to revive the term SPORT TOURING for bikes plus gear less than 20 kg?

« on: November 28, 2022, 09:31:31 pm »

With so many different terms for bicycle touring over the years, I would think introducing a new one would be a temporary thing. People would use it and then start using something else other words. I hardly ever gave it any thought. For me it was just a matter of fixing the racks to the bike and the painters to the racks and loading and going. Whatever people called it formally was unknown for me. I just wanted to get going. Bicycle touring, sport touring, bike packing. It's all good with me.

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General Discussion / Continental gator skin bicycle tires.

« on: November 28, 2022, 09:21:19 pm »

When the first set of Continental gator skin bicycle tires arrived in the mail, I thought I had been taken. They were very light. The side walls felt almost like paper. The contact part of the tire was thin. Nothing at all like a schwalbe Marathon which I had come to trust. I decided the gator skin tires would be good for running around locally, and that was all. They looked substandard and cheap. However, I have had a complete change of mind about those tires since then. I just finished a bicycling tour of about 1300 miles. On the front rim was mounted a 700x32 continental gator skin. It had about 50 miles on it before it was used on this tour. It went through gravel, broke and glass, sticks and stones, berries, cones and all other manner of debris found on sidewalks and roads in America. Quite a few times the glass crunched and broke under this tire. It has held up and withstood all that. The only puncture came from long distances on the interstate highways in Arizona and New Mexico. Those wires flatted the back tire also which was much thicker and beefier than the gator skin. Interstate wires will flat marathons and Marathon supreme. Spend too much time on the interstate and you will find a wire in your tire. The Continental gator skin tire is stronger and more durable than it appears to be. It is lightweight, strong, and for its size and weight long-lasting.

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General Discussion / Re: Highway 20 on East-West axis across North Florida.

« on: November 28, 2022, 09:10:51 pm »

They just built it and then neglected it.

That happens so much.  I wish governments would factor in maintenance costs when deciding whether to build something or not.  While I am glad they built some bike infrastructure, if it is not maintained, then riders won't use it and then locals will go "See, the !@#$ bikers don't use their path! Why should we build more paths?"

That said, I do enjoy that a lot (relatively) of Florida's roads have a bike lane.  Much more than compared to many states.

.            People who have been exclusively motorists and others see the roadways and experience them in ways very different from long distance cyclists. For one matter, what motorists can run over and completely Miss and totally not even notice, can be a constant hindrance to cyclists. A bump they do not feel can go right up through your wrists and arms and into your shoulders. That's only one thing and they are completely unaware of anything like that. I have often said to myself, if the people in vehicles motor vehicles experienced slams constantly to their wheels in the same proportion that a cyclist experiences, they would be screaming all the way to Tallahassee and screaming all the way to Washington. Sometimes, when the cyclists will not use the path, it is because it is a minefield and an obstacle course. People who have been exclusively motorists are not aware of that.

7

General Discussion / Re: Highway 20 on East-West axis across North Florida.

« on: November 19, 2022, 06:25:46 pm »

IIRC, there are no sidewalks between Navarre and Mary Ester (town between Navarre and Destin).  In Mary Ester, I rode back roads and that was fine. Again, by riding off US-98, the ride is a lot better. 

Here is what I rode: https://ridewithgps.com/routes/41446033 

As mentioned earlier, the only stretch that was not overly enjoyable was between Navarre and Mary Ester as there is a TON of traffic.Other than that, it was fine or acceptable.

        east of Destin I took the first road North the causeway road across the water to get on 20 at that point. I have had some really consistent following wins on this trip wind on this trip. I have already come 93 mi today and that is largely because of a powerful following wind. I don't really remember Navarre and destined that well. There were some towns where it was Old Town style with narrow roads, no bike lane, and rough sidewalks strewn with debris. There was a so-called Greenway bike path running parallel along highway 27. It was as much a hindrance as a help and the side light on the road was a much better way to go. The so-called bike path Greenway had many potholes, cracks, crevices, large bumps were Roots grew up under the path and pushed upwards. Parts of it had limbs and cones and berries and branches and logs from The deadfall from the trees around it. They just built it and then neglected it.

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General Discussion / Re: Highway 20 on East-West axis across North Florida.

« on: November 19, 2022, 11:26:11 am »

I rode Hwy 98 a few years back going west to east.  I picked it up in Pensacola and rode it to Perry on my way to St. Augustine.  I really enjoyed the ride.  The only section I disliked was between Navarre and Destin.  It didn’t have much of a shoulder in the towns and they were doing construction so parts had no shoulder.  Really heavy traffic.  Other than in the cities the was usually a wide shoulder and very little traffic.  I did take hwy 319 through Sopchoppy.  Almost no traffic.  There is a nice bike trail from Wakulla to the St. Marks historic railroad state trail that will take you into Tallahassee.  Would definitely ride it again.

        yes Navarre and Destin where any semblance of a bicycle path disappeared and debris troon sidewalks began. It was slow going in that area. 

9

General Discussion / Re: Bicycle pump that works as advertised.

« on: November 14, 2022, 11:31:24 pm »

I never wanted a mini pump. The pump I used to have that would go to 90 PSI was more like a frame pump. It was about 18 in long before pulling out the handle. It had a hose that screwed on to the end of the pump. On the other end of the hose wasn't attachment that screwed on to the valve of the tube. I could get to 90 PSI fairly easily. I wonder why they aren't on the market anymore. They only cost $8 or $9. It was like a frame pump. Somebody stole it off the bike. I'm not interested in mini pump. They are junk as far as I am concerned

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General Discussion / Re: Highway 20 on East-West axis across North Florida.

« on: November 14, 2022, 11:24:17 pm »

I took 90 out of New Orleans all the way to the cut off for dauphin Island. I got the ferry across Mobile Bay. I cycle from fort Morgan to Pensacola and then follow the road south to get on to another road going east. I took that through Destin until I went North against the head wind and then East to get 20 on highway 20. From there I took 20 to just south of Tallahassee and 267, and 98 into Perry. I did not see any big detour anywhere except on 90. I did not take any pictures of the damaged bridge. Maybe it was a hurricane that damaged it. There was a deep scrape on one side of the bridge with pieces of what look like was torn off a truck or cars. There were two concrete barricades laid across the bridge. They were wide enough apart that I could walk the bike between them. On the other side it looked like a big pile of dirt or asphalt. I walked to the bike over it. There was another bridge farther east. It was blockaded the same way. I got around it pretty much the same way. Yes it was a typo. It was purlington. This is voice to text and I just do not want to go back and correct. Yes I went across Bay St Louis, to pass Christian. I followed the Google bike route for much of the coastal road mainly because there was a stiff wind coming in from the Gulf of Mexico. The Google route puts you further inland on railroad avenue and other streets where you are blocked from the wind or the wind is blocked away from you.

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General Discussion / Re: Highway 20 on East-West axis across North Florida.

« on: November 14, 2022, 08:24:28 pm »

I used highway 90 going east from New Orleans. A fairly long stretch of 90 is closed off to motor vehicle traffic. I first came to a bridge and there was a sign for a detour to I-10. The barricades were easy enough to get around with a bicycle. Farther down there was another bridge with barricades. I went around those barricades. On 90 the bridge at purlington over the Pearl River was open for traffic, but closed to traffic not far West of Burlington. I used 98 following the contour of the coastline in Florida twice and that was years ago. I remember a sea breeze coming in off the Gulf from the south as I was going west. It was a strong crosswind and frustrating. However, when it comes to small towns and side roads, cafes and restaurants and stores, 98 is much to be preferred over 20. I'm laid up in a motel in Perry Florida right now eating real food and trying to heal from this major junk food pork out I sustained on highway 20.

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General Discussion / Re: Phoenix to Tucson tour in January

« on: November 14, 2022, 05:04:19 pm »

Recently I bicycled 320 MI from Tucson Arizona to El Paso Texas. It was a good ride because the wind was behind me most all the way, and it was a fairly strong wind. I was flying. It was not a good ride because I used the interstate highway. The shoulders of interstates are debris fields. I had to keep my eyes glued to the road directly in front of me to thread my way in and out and around pieces of rubber containing small metal wires. The wires got my front tire and back tire. After that I put in tuffy tire liners. No problem after that, up until now anyway. After that I bicycle from New Orleans Louisiana to northwestern Florida where I am now. I'm heading out in the morning for the Southeast coast of Florida.

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General Discussion / Re: Camping in Churches

« on: November 14, 2022, 05:00:14 pm »

Just this past October I slept in a tent one night behind a church in the state of Washington. I was cycling. Of all my international bicycle touring, I cannot remember a time when I asked someone if I could sleep inside a church. Somebody did approach me one time and told me it was all right to sleep inside a nearby Church. And that I did. I had also slept behind that same church on another bicycling tour. When it comes to setting up a tent for the night a church ground, depending on where it is of course, is probably a good option.

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General Discussion / Highway 20 on East-West axis across North Florida.

« on: November 14, 2022, 04:30:07 pm »

There are three main east west or west east roads across North Florida. They are highway 90, highway 20 and highway 98. I just now finished doing highway 20. Highway 90 is the one designated for adventure recycling association. It is the one farthest north in the state. It can be quite hilly. It has its advantages. There are cafes and restaurants and food stores. There are designated campgrounds, hotels and motels and b&bs. You can visit areas and sites of local historical interest. South of 90 is highway 20 I just cycled it. It has a nice wide shoulder most all of the way except that some of it is chewed up for the laying in of asphalt which forces you out into the main roadway. It is much less hilly than 90. Motels are few and far between for a very long distance. Most all of the stores had nothing but junk food. Their is no designated campground anywhere for a very long distance. Occasionally a store sold bananas, maybe an apple, or slices of hot pizza. Aside from that it was all junk food. South of 20 South of highway 20 is highway 98. I'm sure that is 99% flat. It follows the contour of the coastline and is there for 55 or 60 miles farther from point a to point b then if you were to take highway 90 or highway 20.. if you do not mind cycling the hills and if you value your health, 90 is your road.. if you want to stealth camp all the time, and you don't mind surviving on junk food for a few days, 20 is your road. If you don't mind doing 50 or 60 extra miles to get from point a to point b, 98 is your road. 98 goes through several small towns with places where you can eat what is actually real food. I'm just getting back into Florida from West the West. I chose 20 because it is much easier going than 90, and much shorter than 98. I had taken it before and I had forgotten about the availability of almost nothing except junk food.

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General Discussion / Re: Bicycle pump that works as advertised.

« on: November 14, 2022, 04:10:42 pm »

When these pump manufacturers and sellers conceal the number of strokes it takes to reach a certain pounds per square inch in different sized tires, it means they don't want you to know. Why else would they conceal it? The fact is most are selling overpriced junk. I had the cheapest little Walmart pump, a stand-up pump. I could get 90 PSI absolute Max in 28 to 35 pumps. The last 8 or 10 would be very short as in lifting the plunger three or four inches and pressing in. The gauge said 160 PSI. It took absolutely every bit of my body weight and strength to get to 90 PSI. That is with a 700x32 tire tube. It used to be easy to get a portable hand pump that would go to 90 PSI in 30 or 35 strokes. They were cheap and lightweight and durable. I wonder why they took those off the market and replace them with junk.