Topics

61

Gear Talk / Marathon tires. Schwalbe. Tires. Wheels.

« on: October 06, 2009, 02:25:39 pm »

I just paid $38.00 for a Marathon tire made in India. I passed up a Continental Plus that cost $60.00. The dealer said Schwalbe is a German company and makes a superior tire compared to Marathon. Does anyone know about Schwalbe vs. Marathon? I have 700 by 28-35 mm wheels. The dealer said the rims will take a 37 mm wide tire. The 700 by 37 tire seems to seat properly on the rim when inflated, but a 35 mm wide tire seats unevenly, and is very loose on the rim compared to the 27 1/4 tires I am used to using.

62

General Discussion / Southern Tier East to West.

« on: August 28, 2009, 08:22:12 pm »

I am giving serious thought to cycling from Florida to San Diego when the weather cools, starting October or November. I am a guy, 59. If anybody wants to do a duo trip around that time or trio or larger, I might be in for it. I am a teacher of English, ESL, EFL, TESOL. I have been teaching in Korea, China, and the Middle East since 1996. I have cycled and camped about 34,000 miles through 19 countries.

63

General Discussion / Violent Crime Alert Atlantic Coast Route

« on: April 25, 2009, 12:36:05 am »

This partial article appeared on the front page of Yahoo.com  25 April 2009. Miami, Florida is rated with the third highest rate of violent crimes in the United States.
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No. 1 Detroit, Mich.

(Detroit-Livonia-Dearborn, Mich., metropolitan statistical area)

Population: 1,951,186

Violent Crimes per 100,000: 1,220

No. 2 Memphis, Tenn.

(Memphis, Tenn.-Miss.-Ark. metropolitan statistical area)

Population: 1,295,670

Violent Crimes per 100,000: 1,218

No. 3. Miami, Fla.

(Miami-Miami Beach-Kendall, Fla. metropolitan statistical area)

Population: 2,401,971

Violent Crimes per 100,000: 988

No. 4 Las Vegas, Nev.

(Las Vegas-Paradise, Nev., metropolitan statistical area)

Population: 1,834,533

Violent Crimes per 100,000: 887

No. 5 Stockton, Calif.

(Stockton, Calif., metropolitan statistical area)

Population: 684,406

Violent Crimes per 100,000: 885

To determine our list, we used violent crime statistics from the FBI's latest uniform crime report, issued in 2008. The violent crime category is composed of four offenses: murder and non-negligent manslaughter, forcible rape, robbery and aggravated assault. We evaluated U.S. metropolitan statistical areas--geographic entities defined by the U.S. Office of Management and Budget for use by federal agencies in collecting, tabulating and publishing federal statistics--with more than 500,000 residents.

64

Gear Talk / Tough Touring Tire

« on: March 29, 2009, 02:06:01 pm »

I am sure people here can answer this with no problem. What is a really tough, high mileage, tire for touring, long distance touring. And I mean a tough tire, not IRC or those cheap Kenda tires. I want to hear from those who have been there and done that.

65

Gear Talk / Four gears in hub.

« on: February 27, 2009, 07:39:22 am »

I have heard about rear wheels with four or more gears inside the hub. I imagine such wheels would not be dished. Can such a wheel be used with a triple chain set on the front? The three speed hubs have been around forever. I had a Raleigh with a three speed hub when I was  a kid. Are there hubs with more than four speeds?

Does anyone know of any particular advantages or disadvantages to using an internally geared wheel?

66

Routes / Van Horn, TX and its restaurants on the southern tier.

« on: February 23, 2009, 08:23:41 am »

I always liked Van Horn. Whenever I cycled through there I would lay over at least a day or two and rest in one of their inexpensive motels. However, there is one particularly unhealthy aspect of eating in their restaurants---DYSENTERY; and it wasn't only myself who experienced it. I have read a number of journals written by cyclists who ate there; some of them complained of dysentery. One cyclist was so impaired by it he could not continue his tour. The fact of the matter is I contracted dysentery every time I ate in restaurants in Van Horn, Texas. For what it's worth, I just thought I would pass this information along.

If one can ignore dysentery, Van Horn is actually a nice little town to stop in and rest a while.

67

Routes / Warning Alert: Southern Tier, Mexican-American Border Areas.

« on: February 21, 2009, 12:24:53 am »

This alert was on the front page of www.yahoo.com today. It does not say to avoid Mexico. It says to avoid areas along the border where prostitution and drugs are commodities. The problem as I see it is this. Unless you already know where these trouble areas are, or unless somebody tells you places to avoid, you would have to already be in such a place before you would be able to recognize it. I suppose you could try to flag down border patrol and ask them about certain stretches of road and towns where you will be going.
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MEXICO CITY – The U.S. State Department has renewed a travel advisory warning Americans about an increase in violence along the U.S.-Mexico border.

The alert does not recommend staying away from the country or any particular part of it, but advises American to stay away from prostitution and drug-dealing areas.

It recommends visiting only legitimate business and tourist areas.

The alert issued Friday says violent crime is particularly worrisome along the U.S.-Mexico border, where automatic weapons and grenades have been used in clashes between police and drug traffickers.

More than 6,000 people were killed in drug violence in Mexico last year.

68

Gear Talk / Sealed bearings--How many miles?

« on: October 25, 2008, 12:38:45 pm »

I am considering another tour across the southern tier east to west. I am just beginning to purchase new components. Today I got a freewheel remover, and yesterday I bought a chain and a freewheel.

One thing I already have installed in the bottom bracket is a set of sealed bearings in a cartridge  that just screws into the bracket. It is not a top end cartridge; it cost about $30.00--$35.00. It already has something over 1500 miles on it. Does anyone have any idea about how many miles it is good for in loaded, long distance touring?

69

Routes / Dedicated Across America Bicycle Path

« on: October 01, 2008, 01:38:52 pm »

What this country needs is a dedicated, across America, bicycle path. An excellent model for such a path can be seen in the Tammany Trace in Louisiana. It runs some 31 miles between Slidell and Covington. It is about 12 feet wide, smooth asphalt, with tables along the way. A transcon path would need sheds and leantos along the way like they have on the Appalachian trail. No connecting roads and emergency lanes, just dedicated bike path all the way. Tammany Trace is already there. Multiply its distance by 100 and you have a path all the way across the USA.

Google Tammany Trace to see pictures of it.

70

General Discussion / Transcontinental touring.

« on: September 26, 2008, 12:13:34 pm »

I have cycled 34,000 miles through 19 countries, and six times across the USA. I rough camp most of the time, and use motels on occasion. I am considering another US transcon in a year or two. I might be trying to locate a cycling partner for that one some time now or in the future.