Messages

31

GPS & Digital Data Discussion / Re: How do you use the Adventure Cycling GPS waypoints?

« on: August 10, 2012, 07:55:30 pm »

Jennifer,

Yes - segment = section = map panel
Yes - route markers (waypoints?) and points of interest which may / may not be on the route

I wish you the best,

Pat

32

GPS & Digital Data Discussion / Re: How do you use the Adventure Cycling GPS waypoints?

« on: August 10, 2012, 12:40:22 pm »

Jennifer,

The team at ACA does a great job pulling everything together.  For us, the routes have been reasonable and safe.  And the information provided for campgrounds, motels, etc, is a lifesaver - often considerably cheaper than the first place you come to down the road.  I really appreciate your efforts.

During the Spring we used the material from Pacific Coast Map 4 as field tests.  This summer, we did two, two week tours, one in Washington State, and the other in Oregon, using Maps 1 and 2.  We also used a combination of the maps and waypoint data.  We used the data in a combination of ways:

(1)  In the preps phase, I use GPSIES.COM to build routes to load into my Edge 705.  The routing waypoints are valuable in making sure I haven't misunderstood the maps (some of the Washington map segments were a little confusing).  Since I have trouble loading the non-route Waypoint into my Garmin, I make an Excel spreadsheet of the remaining data, and put it on our iphone and Kindle.  If the waypoints have contact information embedded in them, I have not found a way to unlock that.  The Waypoint segments don't line up with the Map segments, which makes a little extra work.  (For our in-route replanning, we work from the map segments to get the "next day" down).

(2)  During actual touring, we use the Garmin to figure out where we are and how much further we have to go (are we there yet?).  And the information on the back of the maps is very useful for locating phone numbers and which campgrounds and motels, etc.  The spreadsheet is handy to figure out end of day and other mid-day replanning.

If I were king for a day, I would hope to see the following:

(a)  Waypoint and Map segments aligned, with the same distances and same names
(b)  Contact information for Waypoints that are actual locations.

But, from a business model, I'm not sure how you make this data fusion work.  You charge, understandably, for the maps.  And you provide downloads of the waypoint data.  If you put all the requested data into the downloads, this would probably cannibalize the hard copy revenue source.

Happy Trails,

Pat

33

California / Re: San Fran to Santa Barbara

« on: August 08, 2012, 12:07:39 pm »

Hi - I second the motion on the traffic south of San Francisco.  The sticky spot is Devil's Slide, going up and down.  That ride was pretty hair raising for us (our first ever tour segment).  From Montara all the way to Santa Cruz is a good road and fine scenery.  From Santa Cruz to Monterey it is mostly back roads, so not much traffic there either.

Just sayin,

Pat

34

Gear Talk / Re: Panniers and Racks

« on: August 05, 2012, 01:03:36 pm »

We are happy with the Ortlieb Roller Classics...absolutely bullet proof for water!!!!

No outer pockets, but that is what a trunk bag or a handlebar bag is for.  There is one mesh pocket inside for smaller stuff...and a place to slip papers or solar arrays behind against the plate.

No inner pockets.  But, we find we pretty much take everything out when we camp except for clothes and have to repack in the morning.  So it doesn't make that much difference.  We are sold on plastic bags to keep things organized.

Happy trails,

Pat

35

Temporary ACA Route Road Closures / Pacific Coast Map 17 road.closure

« on: July 19, 2012, 06:54:08 pm »

Slab Creek Road appears to be closed for road work - if this hasn't already been flagged.

We went over the hill on US101, along with all the traffic - fortunately, there is a passing lane for the auto traffic.  101 might have had a higher climb than Slab Creek Road.  We are glad to be done with it.

Again, if this has been reported, sorry to clutter the blog.

Pat

36

Gear Talk / Re: Frame Saver or T-9?

« on: July 13, 2012, 12:27:36 pm »

Cool Dave - if that works for you.

Happy trails,

Pat

37

Gear Talk / Re: Frame Saver or T-9?

« on: July 12, 2012, 03:57:22 pm »

Our LBS used boiled linseed oil.  They buy it by the gallon, and use it to coat the insides of everything.  They swear by it.

Pat

38

Gear Talk / Re: Tire Failure - Not Sure How It Happened

« on: July 09, 2012, 06:37:56 pm »

Adding duck tape to my list of things to carry...good point

39

Gear Talk / Re: Tire Failure - Not Sure How It Happened

« on: July 08, 2012, 11:48:45 am »

In Elma, when I got replaced her tire, I got two...different manufacturer.  We kept the old front tire and it is now her spare.  My trucker has the Michlin tires, like I said, but no problems so far.

The Amazon review was interesting.  Just goes back to the old "buyer beware" approach.

Thanks for the feedback.

Pat

40

Routes / Going From Vancouver to Longview Washington - A Route Question

« on: July 07, 2012, 02:09:04 pm »

Hi,

Last week, my wife and I were touring in Washington State.  We found ourselves back down in Vancouver, getting some work done on her bike.  We were then faced with how to get from Vancouver back to the ACA route, outside Longview, where Coal Creek Road merges in with Washington Highway 4.  I had appealed for help, and many of you responded - thank you very much for your advice - I never felt more happy to have joined ACA - you are a wonderful support group!

The route we decided on was to take back roads paralleling I-5 from Vancouver up to Longview.  I used the GPSIES.COM website to map it out, from the Vancouver Library, and confirmed it with the Google Maps in WALK mode.  I was unable to load the route into my Garmin, so fell back on, of all things, writing down the turn-by-turn directions -- that is so yesterday.

We were pleased with the route, and there were a lot of twists and turns to keep us entertained.  Overall, except for one small section that was almost our undoing, everything was a remarkably easy ride.  The one section that was extremely difficult was between Woodand and Kalama.  The only choices seemed to be Green Mountain Road, or I-5.  At the time, I did not appreciate the climb (and lots of pushing) we did to traverse that four miles or so.  Only after the fact did I wonder if we would have been allowed to ride onto I-5 and take the easy way around.

QUESTION:  Does Washington State permit riding on I-5 at that point?

Thanks,

Pat

41

Gear Talk / Tire Failure - Not Sure How It Happened

« on: July 07, 2012, 01:51:12 pm »

Hi - My wife and I recently did the Washington State portion of the PCH.  We had intended to do much more, but the rain continued to fall.  So, we decided to regroup and try Oregon in a week or so.  Anyway, my wife's Surly had a strange failure.

Background:  We bought her Surly via Criag's List, and put new tires on, back in March.  We began training, staying almost exclusively on good paved surfaces.  I could get the exact distance from the logs, but we certain put less than 1000 miles on the tires, with about 250 miles under various loads.  We've always been careful about the tire pressures.  I did a general check of her bike before we left, and did some general tuneups.

Tour Preps:  We took the Starlight up, with the bikes safely boxed in their AMTRAK boxes.  We unpacked and assembled the bikes in Portland, and rode to our motel.  The next morning, we rode back to the station and took the Cascade up to Seattle, rode to the Bremerton Ferry, and on to our motel.  I don't think the bikes were ever out of our sight.

Touring:  The first tour day was from Bremerton to Shelton, with rain and drizzle most of the way.  The second morning, we were trying to do at least Shelton to Elma, also in the rain.  Almost immediately in the ride, my wife noticed her rear wheel was rubbing against the brake.  So, standing in the rain, I looked it over, noticing the wheel was a little out of true.  Thinking I could work on it when we got to our next hotel (since camping was slipping away in the rain, I opened up her brakes a little and we set out.  After about 20 miles, she blew out her rear wheel.  I looked the tire over closely as I replaced the tube, looking for something that would cause the blow out.  I saw the damage to the tire and knew the old dollar bill trick would never work.  So, we hitched a ride to Elma, and eventually got another tire (a whole different story).

More Bike Work:  She had several loose spokes, which were tightened.  But her rear wheel was making "funny" noises.  We rode to Centralia and caught a train down to Vancouver, since Centralia has no bike shops.  They repacked the rear hub and put in new bearings, and professionally retrued and retensioned the wheel.  And then, no more problems.  They thought that, since her wheels were in almost pristine shape, but had sat around in a garage for a couple of years, that maybe they had never been properly tensioned, and somewhere on one of our two legs in Washington, the right bump or the right hole came along and loosened up the spokes.  But they couldn't figure out how this would have caused a tear in the tire (too bad I didn't know the relationship of the loose spokes to the tire damage locations.

If this has worked properly, you should be able to see the damage to the tire.  I was really surprised, and immediately looked my bike over, since I am running Michlin City Proteks on my Surly, although I have a 700 and she has a 26.  Anyway, it was kind of strange.

Lesson Learned for Me:  Always check the wheels and tires, every day.  Never take it for granted we can get to the next stop.  And a spare tire can be a life saver.

Thanks,

Pat

42

Routes / Re: Help - Is there a safe route from Portland to the sea?

« on: June 26, 2012, 02:11:36 pm »

Jay - that is a generous offer, and I hope we are well clear by then.  We went to a Vancouver library (they kindly let us use their computer for an hour even though we are obviously from out of town).  We are still considering - and will post something when we decide.  We are reading through the other links also.

Pat

43

Routes / Help - Is there a safe route from Portland to the sea?

« on: June 26, 2012, 12:36:43 am »

I am sorry if this is an old topic - I am on tour, and only have a Kindle, and topic searches are torture.

Is there a reasonably safe bike route from Portland to the sea?  We were on the PCH tour.  The hub on my wife's bike required a real bikeshop, so we took AMTRAK from Centralia to Vancouver.  We are in the "now what mode ".  We really don't want to go back ul to Centralia (getting really bad vibes from there and just want to movenon.

Thoughts?

44

Gear Talk / Re: Help. needed in Elma Washington

« on: June 26, 2012, 12:16:52 am »

Just to close this out, it seems there are no real bike shops.in Centralia, either.  Willie's sells a little bike stuff, but cannot assist in bike repairs.  The other bike shop referenced in the GPX file is gone.  The bike gear sign should be removed from the ACA maps (if it hasn't already happened and I just missednit).

Anyway, thanks for the help!!!!!

45

Gear Talk / Re: Help. needed in Elma Washington

« on: June 25, 2012, 11:52:13 am »

Thanks for the feedback.  It turns out that Terry, owner of the Lavogue Bicycle and Apparel Bike shop in Aberdeen borrowed a car and met me half way.  The little town of Montesara was only 11 miles away with nice wide shoulders.  An unloaded Surly can fly!

Terry is a great guy!!!!!!!!!!