Messages

1

General Discussion / Re: USA Specific Safety Tips, ie Wildlife, Crime etc.

« on: April 24, 2022, 08:11:21 pm »

Things happen crime-wise nation wide. Of all the journals I have read, quite a few, and videos, nobody on the TAT fell victim to any of it. I had unfriendly experiences but not on the TAT. A hard looking scruffy woman threw a can of beer at me. It missed. That turned out to be Aileen Wuornos, a deranged serial killer of 7 men in Florida. A similar attack happened in Walker, Louisiana.

When it comes to keeping food out of the tent in some places, I say take that advice to heart. Animals will claw through the fabric to get at it. I know two people whose tents were ruined that way.

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General Discussion / Tour on southern tier commencing Friday, January 14, 2022.

« on: January 13, 2022, 09:55:11 am »

All this boring nothingness is getting to me. Tomorrow I will head out for a bicycle ride along the southern tier of states. I start about 275 miles south of Saint Augustine. I am on the east coast. My version of the southern tier is different from ACA's for the largest part, and it is the same in some lengths. At my advanced age I cannot guarantee myself the ride will end in San Diego. I will just have to wait and see. One possibility is making it to San Antonio, Texas, and looping south to Galveston, and returning by way of gulf coast roads. That would eliminate the costs and logistics of getting back from the west coast. However the trip turns out, it should be the elixir that lifts my spirit out of the doldrums. It will be mostly stealth camping.

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General Discussion / Re: Advice for Newbies about the Weather.

« on: January 05, 2022, 02:36:08 am »

Not long after the first posting of this subject, a storm they said was unprecedented covered 75% of the contiguous US, cut power from millions in Texas, stoved in roofs, froze water pipes and caused catastrophe.  The storms of these past few weeks are called unprecedented. I got caught outside in weather similar to that. In weather events I survived, No light weight tent could have stayed up. There is not any tent or tarp that can protect you.  Keep a close frequent watch on forecasts.

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General Discussion / Re: Water?

« on: January 01, 2022, 04:36:45 pm »

The need for water is a vital concern. The thing is this. I have Bicycle across the continent of North America five times east to west. I have also bicycle over the roads all around the United States and some in Canada and Mexico. I have cycled extensively in Europe and Asia and the former Soviet union. The availability of water was never a problem. With a little planning and foresight in remote areas it is not a problem. However, Cycling long distances over dirt and gravel roads in remote areas is a different matter. I have never done that so I have never been presented with the challenge of finding water in those circumstances.

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General Discussion / Re: coffee coffee

« on: December 23, 2021, 05:03:08 pm »

It is a cold cold winter morning on the southern tier. You roll out of your tent. You pack, push the bike out to the road, and set out. You come to someplace that sells coffee. It could be a coffee shop, Denny’s, Burger King, Starbucks, McDonald’s, Or the local small town diner. That’s when coffee a hot cup of coffee really hits the spot. Generally speaking I am far from being a coffee hound. Some people revel And scarfing up coffee all day long.  That’s not me.

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General Discussion / Re: coffee coffee

« on: December 22, 2021, 08:19:00 pm »

McDonald’s has some kind of coffee. Starbucks coffee tasted different from McDonald’s. The small coffee shops brew The best coffee. They brew up a mean cup of coffee in Ukraine. East coastal Italy had excellent coffee. I could not stop drinking it, and I rarely slept. As for myself, I am not what you would call a coffee drinker. I drink it occasionally I actually rarely and when I do I Keep it to the minimum.

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General Discussion / Re: coffee coffee

« on: December 20, 2021, 03:52:01 pm »

Juan Valdez must be beaming with joy at all this.

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General Discussion / Re: coffee coffee

« on: December 19, 2021, 12:19:34 am »

Somewhere they sell coffee in small bags the same way they sell teabags. That way all you have to do is heat the water and dip the bag in the water.

9

General Discussion / Re: Starting in January-February 2022

« on: December 14, 2021, 04:51:17 pm »

The southern tier west to east starting January is fine. I am starting January east to west. To avoid higher elevations you can use a more southerly route than one stretch of ACA's mapped trail. From San Diego, if this is your starting point, follow ACA to Jacumba and hysterical highway 80. Get on I-8 to Ocotillo, CA. Suffer the road from hell to highway 78 to Ogilby and go south, and east to Yuma, AZ. After Yuma you can take I-8 to Casa Grande, AZ and I-10 to San Antonio, TX. You can take Texas hill country from that vicinity and stay with ACA. That will keep you off the higher elevations in winter.

Another thing, too. They are calling for winter temperatures of unprecedented warmth. The ACA route may be just fine at all locations in January-February. In fact that route has been cycled in the absolute dead cold of winter. The word is be prepared. With the right equipment, e.g., clothing, tent, sleeping bag, maps, and a watchful eye on weather forecasts you can tough it through any time of year.

I have cycled and camped the southern tier a number of times in cold cold winters, and way farther north than some parts of the ACA route. It was OK. Did I ever run into weather events that made me question my sanity for being where I was? Why, hell yes. But so what. That is part of the challenge and adventure. You cannot expect it to be a bed of roses from sea to shining sea. I assure you it will never be that. If it were that easy, why do it? The difference between cruising around town on your bike, and cycling across the continent is like the difference between sailing a boat in the river at home and crossing an ocean.      Another alternate route is this one. After getting on interstate eight E. of yuma Arizona, take it to Casa grande and yet on interstate 10 to Las Cruces. Take the side roads west of I 10 to El Paso. Take a 10 from El Paso to Vanhorn Texas. In Vanhorn you can get on 90 going South. That will put you back on to the mapped out route and still keep you off the highest elevations in winter. From VanHorn Texas you can follow ACA’s Route all the way to Saint Augustine Florida.

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General Discussion / Re: Is a TransAm Ride Coast-to-Coast

« on: December 14, 2021, 03:42:28 pm »

And don't forget -
With plate tectonics, the continent I rode across in 1987 has moved.

Are the plates moving apart or together? 

If the plates move apart, is your ride still consider entirely across the continent?  I mean, you might need to go back and ride those few inches that you cheated on by riding it 35 years ago.  So will I of course.  That sucks because between the two of us, we have probably crossed the country (by one or more definitions) close to 15 times. 

If the plates are moving toward each other, do we get credit on our next tour?  Can we give that credit to other riders who decide dipping is not for them?

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General Discussion / Re: Is a TransAm Ride Coast-to-Coast

« on: December 10, 2021, 07:47:43 am »

And don't forget -
With plate tectonics, the continent I rode across in 1987 has moved.

Are the plates moving apart or together? 

If the plates move apart, is your ride still consider entirely across the continent?  I mean, you might need to go back and ride those few inches that you cheated on by riding it 35 years ago.  So will I of course.  That sucks because between the two of us, we have probably crossed the country (by one or more definitions) close to 15 times. 

If the plates are moving toward each other, do we get credit on our next tour?  Can we give that credit to other riders who decide dipping is not for them?

.     Not just LOL. I am howling.

12

General Discussion / The more expensive tires are the least expensive.

« on: December 09, 2021, 08:38:06 am »

Paying seven or eight dollars for a tire on a bicycle might seem like a good deal. I used to pay that. Then I would take off from Florida to California fully loaded and camping. If the tires are readily available along the way you might end up using four or five on the back and three on the front. Not only that you could have 40 or 50 punctures along the way. That was my experience. Then I started using Schwalbe marathon tires. One set went all the way across from Southeast coastal Florida To San Diego or Los Angeles. I had eight punctures total. The marathon tires cost a little bit more upfront but the saving in time fixing punctures and stopping to buy new tires is more than worth it. Add to that the carefree worry free cycling on good tires and the more expensive tires are the least expensive.

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General Discussion / Re: Is a TransAm Ride Coast-to-Coast

« on: December 07, 2021, 04:15:27 pm »

People who dip their wheels in both oceans walk their bikes down to the water. Therefore, they do not cycle the entire distance. But what does it matter? I started transcontinental tours from Stuart Florida about 200 miles south of Saint Augustine on the east coast. I had to cycle well over 300 miles to get to Perry Florida where I could go West. On much of the ride I could look to my right and see the Atlantic Ocean. When I finally get to California I am on an estuary. That is coast to coast. It’s not that important. Reno Nevada is farther west than San Diego. If someone wanted to make a strict point going coast to coast, you would have to start from Saint Augustine for example or Virginia and go to the west coast that is the farthest west. That would be west of Reno Nevada into California and to the coast. I never thought about designations. To me it’s the adventure and the exhilaration. It’s the excitement. All that other stuff is for the nit pickers.

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General Discussion / Re: Is a TransAm Ride Coast-to-Coast

« on: December 06, 2021, 04:11:02 pm »

I started in Seattle, went to Bar Harbor, ME, turned south to Philly and then ended up on the boardwalk in Ocean, City, NJ looking at the Atlantic Ocean. I consider myself someone who has ridden across the country even though some of the W-E mileage was actually in Canada.

.           Of course it’s cross country tour. What is all this nonsense? What is somebody trying to say? Are they saying that if you don’t dip your wheels it’s not a full transcontinental tour? That’s nonsense. I wouldn’t even talk to anybody who defined it that way.

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General Discussion / Re: Is a TransAm Ride Coast-to-Coast

« on: December 05, 2021, 11:24:11 am »

You bicycle from Florida to California. You fly back from California to Florida. Therefore, you and where you began.