Messages

31

General Discussion / Re: First time long distance tour (Knoxville tn- Cincinnati ohio)

« on: November 25, 2021, 01:14:17 am »

Six days for 300 miles is easy. It could be done in four days. Google tells how many hours and days it takes to do certain numbers of miles. How realistic their estimations are may be another matter. It looks like they figure an average speed of 10-12 mph divided into the miles. 100 miles takes 8 to 10 hours. What they cannot predict is lower speeds for mountains and hills, head winds, side winds, rain storms, traffic lights, city riding as opposed to cruising along on open roads, detours and that sort of thing. A cyclist can lose a day when the rain comes down in sheets. An answer is an unknown quantity. Five or six days would be sufficient. Some might do it in three.

32

General Discussion / Re: coffee coffee

« on: November 22, 2021, 03:54:12 am »

The Bodun 15 oz travel press plastic mug weighs only 9 oz. Makes good coffee especially for the light weight.

It must be one hell of a device. I saw a man in a campground on the pacific coast route. He had a small espresso coffee brewer. He heated and drank at the table. Later I saw him in a coffee shop, and again in a food store, and again later on. He was cycling the coastal route. I love good rich delicious coffee. Though I would not carry a brewer, it is easy to understand why others would.

33

General Discussion / Re: Southern Tier in Winter

« on: November 21, 2021, 07:55:06 pm »

I cycled the southern tier five times, four in winter and one in summer. It was mostly stealth camping and some days in motels. The AC maps tell you where you can camp or rent. Stealthing in some areas is not as simple as it seems. So much land is fenced and posted. In the east there is so much undergrowth there is no room to pitch a tent. There may be space only to string up a tarp and sleep under it.

34

General Discussion / Re: ACA Accident

« on: November 20, 2021, 07:34:17 pm »

In relation to road bicycle touring, the most criminal drivers I encountered were in Louisiana. It had to be deliberate. When they pass that closely, within a few inches, over and over again repeatedly, it is deliberate. Now, I live in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. Road cycling here is risky. The new bike lanes add a margin of safety. They are an after thought. Cycling only two miles the other day, drivers cut me off twice. I was on my legal right-of-way. If I had not some to a halt, they would have hit me. Weeks ago I cycled to Planet Fitness at night. On the way back I was riding in a designated bike lane with an ultra bright white blinking light on the front, and a bright red light on the back. This was in a 45 mph speed zone on University Drive. Two vehicles came up from the rear, weaving in and out of traffic like maniacs, and crossing multiple lanes. They were going 80-90 mph, and blew by me so close I could have reached and touched them.

Occasionally the news here reports people killed while cycling. From what I have seen here, cycling roads is not safe. Florida had a reputation as the "dive or die state" for cycling.

35

General Discussion / Re: About trailering one's pet dog while touring?

« on: November 19, 2021, 08:31:44 pm »

There is no way I would take a dog on a long-distance bicycle tour, long distance being maybe transcontinental. What about transportation back from the final destination? The extra weight, extra food and water would be a drag. A small cat would be easier to haul, but why do it? People have done it. From the videos and journals I have seen, I would say trailering a dog is seldom done.

36

General Discussion / Re: ACA Accident

« on: November 17, 2021, 06:11:17 pm »

I read more about this. Some people around Houston believe it is acceptable to coal roll cyclists, swerve near them deliberately, and cause dangerous encounters. According to an article, a judge talking about the cyclists said they did not like their kind around there.

37

General Discussion / Re: Best pre-ride supplement?

« on: November 10, 2021, 03:23:56 pm »

Try raisin water. Heat water. Pour it over a bunch of raisins in a glass or jar. Cover the top. Let it set over night or 8 hours. I have not done it yet. I just now read about it.

38

General Discussion / Re: Cooking on the Road

« on: November 10, 2021, 03:20:49 pm »

Nobody should have boiled, foil-packet food on a transcontinental bicycling tour. Long distance hikers must use it because it is light and easily prepared. Cycling cross-country there should be many stores that sell real food. The cyclist should have access to nutritious real food all the time. If the cyclist is on a route that cuts him or her off from proper nutrition repeatedly, they should reconsider their route. Hiker fare is okay in a pinch. It is not good for long term use. In the long run it will bite you in your vital parts.

People eat whatever they want. They are dying by the millions from diseases caused by poor diets and lifestyle. Others are living long healthy lives caused by good proper diets and lifestyle. The long distance cyclist needs fully nutritional food for optimal health and performance.

39

General Discussion / Re: Cooking on the Road

« on: November 08, 2021, 05:10:18 am »

There is enough good food you can find at regular grocery stores that will pack just fine that is nutritious without resorting to Cheetos and the like crap.

On the TransAm, I think I got all the way from Yorktown to Missouri before I came across a "regular grocery store" on the route.

That is exactly what I mean. I found myself in the same quandary. Good, wholesome, nutritious food is second in importance only to water. The need for proper nutrition is multiplied many times over on a long bicycling tour. On this forum, "long bicycle tour" does not mean a twenty mile day on the weekends. It means fifty, sixty-five, seventy, ninety, sometimes one-hundred and twenty miles a day for weeks and months. You need fresh fruits and vegetables, whole grains, whole cereals, live vitamins, real organic minerals, live enzymes. Boiling instant slop out of a foil package is for survival. A cycling route that offers plenty of readily available nutritional food is more valuable than one that offers great scenery but health harming junk food. Cycling across a continent, you should not have to rely on emergency survival food at all. If you care about your health, you must eat the best food there is.

40

General Discussion / Re: Cooking on the Road

« on: November 08, 2021, 04:34:22 am »

There is enough good food you can find at regular grocery stores that will pack just fine that is nutritious without resorting to Cheetos and the like crap.  All those foil packed food that says they're for microwaving you can cook the pouches in boiling water or eat it right out the pouch without cooking it.  There are loads of videos on YouTube that show you how, and the stuff is a lot cheaper than prepacked camping specific meals.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YKjfpztwLGw

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ga7Qv_Mnn1Y


Such fare as displayed in the videos may be necessary for long distance hikers. If I had to eat that for any time, I simply would not go hiking. It is not really good for you. It may do in a pinch, but for long term nutrition it is not advisable. The people I mentioned in the videos who ate junk food made clear it was just about all there was in the stores they went into. Very small stores in very small towns have very little that is nutritional. I ought to know. I pedaled a loaded bicycle many times across the USA, north, south, east and west. Getting caught in the convenience store trap even for a day or two can sap your energy and your feeling of well being.

Those are just two of the many on YouTube.

41

General Discussion / Re: Cooking on the Road

« on: November 07, 2021, 05:02:56 pm »

Many eat for taste, which is fine up to a point. The main foods are fresh fruits and vegetables, whole grains, whole cereals, fermented foods such as kimchi and sauerkraut and kefir. On a long and strenuous tour on a loaded bicycle you need healthful nutrition. Do your gut microbiome a favor and nourish it. Some foods strengthen it. Others slowly deplete it and cause health problems.

Some of the stuff some cyclists display as food is scary. Long distance hikers eat stuff that is cringe worthy, lots of highly refined carbohydrates, non-food junk that can be chewed and ingested with a sugar rush and cheap synthetic vitamins and minerals. It is made to cause addiction to oral gratification. It will slowly wreck your digestive system.

I watched a group of young women on you tube. They cycled across the US on the transamerica route. Time and time again they got stuck in dinky little towns with a small store. The garbage they had to use for energy was terrible, but their choices were limited to what was available. One or more of them commented on not feeling quite right after a while. I did not have to wonder why--ice cream, cheetos, potato chips, candy bars and other slop. I watched another cyclist who went to convenience stores in small towns. The edibles she got were what I would try to avoid eating in any way I could. When you are young and at your peak, your gut biome may withstand the onslaught of processed junk foods for a time, but as sure as the sun rises in the east, they will inflict a deleterious injury to your health over the long run.

If you will be a long distance between towns that actually sell food, be sure to carry with you something nourishing you can eat until you get to the next store that sells real nourishing food. If you carry just enough good food to get to the next town, and then you are limited to unhealthful ingestion, you will see what I mean. Medical journals say 80% of colon cancer can be prevented by diet and exercise. Why get all that exercise and negate it with adulterated foods? Heart disease, cancer, hypertension, high blood pressure, gout, diabetes and a list of other diseases are caused by poor diet and lack of exercise, confirmed by medical science.  Some town up ahead has a store according to a map, but does it tell you what you will have to put in your body if you rely on that store for nutrition? Always carry enough real food to get you to the next real-food store.

42

General Discussion / Re: Tents, locks, kickstands, gear protection, and hauling stuff

« on: November 04, 2021, 06:49:04 am »

1. No need for a tent in a covered shelter. A little bug spray keeps the blood suckers away. Mosquito coils are excellent with no wind.
2. Carry the lightest strongest locking device you can.
3. Secure all gear camped over night. Leave nothing to chance.
4. Add front panniers. You will never regret it.

43

Routes / Re: Interstate Alternatives

« on: November 04, 2021, 06:34:21 am »

Here you can take I - 10 all the way...

Some cycle tourists' idea of heaven.  Some cycle tourists' idea of hell.

I am not sure it is hell anywhere, but there are reasons to take routes other than the side lanes of interstate highways. Some lengths are bumpy. There can be a lot of traffic noise. Ear buds with music or ear plugs can cancel that out. Services can be spaced out, and are posted on maps. You are much less likely to meet other long distance cyclists. I crossed the continent four times using interstates and saw only two. The conditions of the side lanes are the main problem in many extents. However, there is usually always much more than enough space for safe cycling. Often it is 8 to 10 feet. I liked it just fine except for the bumpity bump which was bad in New Mexico.

44

General Discussion / Florida coast to coast dedicated bike path. C2C.

« on: November 04, 2021, 06:16:39 am »

Also known as the c2c Florida bike path, its eastern terminus is in Titusville, FL about 98 miles south of the eastern end of ACA's southern tier bicycle route. It is mostly complete with 191 miles of exclusive pathways. There are about 50 miles more to be constructed.The gap roads are excellent for cycling. It is about 245 miles in all from Titusville on the Atlantic ocean to Saint Petersburg on the gulf of Mexico.
Another thought. Highway 41 from St. Pete southward will take you to Tamiami Trail near Naples, and west across the everglades to Miami, FL. From here you can go south to Key West.

45

General Discussion / Re: Rumble Strip location

« on: November 02, 2021, 04:44:14 am »

I have figured it out. People who design roads with rumble strips are covert bicycle haters, most of them anyway. The few favorably disposed toward cycling designed highway 190 going west out of Baton Rouge, Louisiana. The side lanes are quadruple wide. Patches of Rumble strips, each patch so many feet apart all the way, span the lane from the roadway to the shoulder. Going over them on a loaded touring bicycle is as smooth as silk. Very different from the deep, gouged-out holes on the shoulders of roadways in Georgia. Those would alert you when veering off the road in a car, and knock your front wheels out of alignment. Another thing they do is force the cyclist to the wrong side of the white line. The roads and highways of America were made for cars. At best, bicycles are an after thought. It is not China. There, the bicycle is the main transportation for more then 300 million people.