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Topics - PeteJack

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31
Gear Talk / REI tubes
« on: March 06, 2012, 12:09:56 pm »
REI is so handy for bike tourists it's pricey but you have: everything in one place, knowledgeable help (usually), decent quality and a return policy second to none. BUT their tubes are rubbish. If you get a flat with an REI tube and can't find where something went through the tire, chances are the tube is coming apart at the seams. This happened to me a couple of days ago. I fixed the leak and by next morning the tire with zero miles on it was soft again.  Another leaking seam about 2" from the one I'd just fixed! I'm not the only one who thinks this if you check out the reviews of their tubes there are a couple of dozen negative ones. I've also had the join of the valve stem and the tube leak. Completely unrepairable.

Some people find that pumps slip off the stems without threads. I took some sandpaper and roughed up the stem and that seemed to fix it.

And these tubes are not cheap.

32
Gear Talk / Ortlieb trunk bag question
« on: December 30, 2011, 07:50:46 pm »
Has anyone had experience with the Ortlieb rack bag? http://www.ortliebusa.com/CartGenie/prod-212.htm It seems to be a new product and I can't find any reviews on the web (well three actually). They also sell an adapter that allows you to hang paniers easily which would be nice. I currently have a cheap Novara bag with velcro attachment and it's a bit of a struggle sometimes to attach my Sport Packers.  The zip top seems really handy too.

33
Gear Talk / B17 issue. Am I the only one?
« on: December 11, 2011, 12:07:04 pm »
About a year ago I was touring in Washington State and called into a bike shop in Ellensburg to buy a tube. While there I decided my saddle needed tightening so I asked the owner if he had a Saddle wrench I could borrow. He said he didn't but very kindly took one from a new B17 saddle he had for sale (Both saddle and wrench were mounted on cardboard for display. You know the sort of thing I mean) to my surprise the wrench didn't fit! It was too small. I know they are a bit fiddly so I had the bike shop man try. He couldn't get it to work.

The old nuts were an imperial size. My guess is that Brooks couldn't get any more imperial stock to make the nuts out of and went to the nearest metric size. Brooks website only advertises one wrench so if I buy one will it fit? I tried contacting Brooks via their site but got no reply. Was this all a bad dream or what?

34
Routes / How much climbing does the Sierra Cascades route involve?
« on: December 05, 2011, 06:47:33 pm »
I did the SC last summer and would dearly love to know what my total climbing was. Anybody figured it out?

35
Routes / Great Parks Questions
« on: November 27, 2011, 06:45:37 pm »
I want to ride the ACA Great Parks route from Jasper to Whitefish MT next year and I have some questions

a) what's the earliest I can start and have a hope of all the roads being passable

b) is it possible to do this route without camping? if so should I be booking places now?

c) I plan on catching the train from Vancouver to Jasper. Any known problems with that?

Thanks for any input

36
Routes / Sierra Cascades Piedra route mystery.
« on: November 25, 2011, 11:13:44 am »
Perhaps someone can help me figure out exactly where we were this summer at a derelict bridge across Kings River on what we thought was Pine Flat Rd. (See Map 53 of Sierra Cascades route.)
http://www.crazyguyonabike.com/doc/page/?o=4&page_id=267508&v=c

Here's the mystery. Google maps shows a bridge and I can find no reference on the Web to a derelict bridge anywhere near Piedra which has me wondering exactly which road were we on? The bridge in the picture above, to me, looks as the it may have been a railroad bridge: it's too narrow for a road bridge and the timbers look as though they may have been railroad ties. There was around 1910 - 1920 a railroad spur to a quarry in Piedra. Perhaps this is a remnant of that line and we were not on Pine Flat Rd at all? We were trying to get to the Corps campground without a lot of backtracking.


37
Gear Talk / DEET dissolves helmets
« on: August 25, 2011, 08:48:29 pm »
Climbing up to Sequoya a cloud of flies gathered round my head so I sprayed Jungle Juice all over my head and neck including of course my helmet. The stuff worked. It kept the flies off. When I got to the campsite I noticed black sticky stuff on the collar of my jacket like dirty bike chain oil as if I'd tossed my jacket over my bike and the collar had rubbed on the chain. Then I saw the sticky stuff was on my hand and coming from my helmet. The DEET was dissolving my helmet into black sticky goo. One of my co-riders had done the same as me with a different repellant containing DEET and was having the same problem. So don't spray DEET on your helmet.

I washed the stuff off with water and the styrofoam looked like it had acne; REI was good enough to exchange the helmet which was a relief it was only about six months old

38
General Discussion / Possible cause of crashes?
« on: April 13, 2011, 02:20:09 pm »
I came across this http://news.softpedia.com/news/Why-Do-People-Faint-after-Strenuous-Physical-Activity-37715.shtml while trying to find an explanation for the mysterious death of a friend (climbing not cycling) and it occurred to me that it may be the cause of some unexplained bike crashes. Is it possible that people can faint going downhill after hard climb?

39
Routes / Seattle to Long Beach info please.
« on: April 04, 2011, 04:03:42 pm »
I tried posting this in the Pacific Northwest section but got no replies

I'm thinking of taking the train to Centralia then riding Hwy 6 to Long Beach, return from Long Beach via Hwy 4 to Kelso then train back. Should be about 200 miles total. Has anyone experienced these roads or got any comments about accommodation etc.? There's supposed to be a bike trail that goes that way http://www.traillink.com/trail/willapa-hills-trail-.aspx I get the impression you need a mountain bike and a machete to ride most of it. Be nice if I'm wrong. The quick way back would be Hwy 30 on the Oregon side but that would mean crossing the infernal bridge at Longview. On the other hand is the Puget Island ferry a feasible way to avoid the Lvw bridge? Or is this another victim of budget cuts?

40
Pacific Northwest / Seattle to Long Beach info please.
« on: March 31, 2011, 03:58:05 pm »
I'm thinking of taking the train to Centralia then riding Hwy 6 to Long Beach, return from Long Beach via Hwy 4 to Kelso then train back. Should be about 200 miles total. Has anyone experienced these roads or got any comments about accommodation etc.? There's supposed to be a bike trail that goes that way http://www.traillink.com/trail/willapa-hills-trail-.aspx I get the impression you need a mountain bike and a machete to ride most of it. Be nice if I'm wrong. The quick way back would be Hwy 30 on the Oregon side but that would mean crossing the infernal bridge at Longview. On the other hand is the Puget Island ferry a feasible way to avoid the Lvw bridge? Or is this another victim of budget cuts?

41
Classifieds / Looking for Cycling British Columbia guide book.
« on: March 30, 2011, 01:48:31 pm »
Does anyone have a copy of Cycling British Columbia by Paul Wood to sell?

42
General Discussion / West Nile anyone?
« on: December 20, 2010, 12:34:43 pm »
Has anyone contracted West Nile virus or known anyone who has? Has anyone changed tour plans to avoid WNV? I've asked around in Seattle and can't find anyone who has but my friend in the UK seems to think you're likely to drop dead of it if he comes over here.

43
General Discussion / Are insects a problem in Alberta?
« on: December 16, 2010, 08:14:58 pm »
In 2012 I'm hoping to ride the ACA route from Jasper to Whitefish. I'm trying to get a friend in England to join me and he's terribly worried about mosquitoes and possibly other bugs. Are they a problem on this route? If so how do we deal with them?

44
Routes / Is Vancouver Island this bad?
« on: December 12, 2010, 10:28:49 pm »
I was hoping to ride from Sidney up to Port Hardy then ferry across to Prince Rupert, perhaps train to Jasper, then down to Montana etc. But this write up makes it sound like rumble strip hell. Is it as bad as this guy makes out?

http://www.crazyguyonabike.com/doc/?o=RrzKj&doc_id=7714&v=lY

45
General Discussion / Lost from Bike Bits - 1940s tour
« on: March 08, 2010, 08:25:04 pm »
A past edition pf Bile Bits had as link of the week the diary of two young women who rode from the northeast to New Orleans in 1943. It was a marvelous look into the past, with two exceptional ladies. Unfortunately I didn't bookmark it. If anyone can give me the link I'd really appreciate it.

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