Messages

16

Gear Talk / Re: Challenge Strada Tires?

« on: July 15, 2015, 01:48:17 pm »

 I can't comment on the Strada.
However, the Challenge Gravel Grinder 38 x 700 tire has earned high praise from folks who ride mixed surfaces. They really well with relatively low pressure which makes for a nice smooth ride. Worth considering if they fit your frame.

http://ridinggravel.com/gravel-news/challenge-tires-gravel-grinder-38mm-tires/

http://www.gravelbike.com/?p=3245

I installed the similar Clement X'PLOR MSO 40 x 700 on my touring bike. No touring yet, but the tires are quite nice. Smooth on gravel roads (30 lbs. front/35 lbs. rear - 145 lb rider), very quiet on pavement. The MSO also comes in 32 x 700.

http://velophoria.blogspot.com/2013/07/clement-xplor-mso-review.html

http://www.gravelbike.com/?p=839

Wayne

17

Gear Talk / Re: Touring Bike Selection

« on: July 14, 2015, 11:39:27 pm »

  I'm planning to put fenders on my bike and convert the MSO tires to tubeless.
I currently have tubes installed. Running 30 psi front and 35 rear unloaded. They are very nice on hard packed gravel.

Wayne

18

Gear Talk / Re: Recommended Temperature Rating for Sleeping Bag on TransAm

« on: July 13, 2015, 10:08:52 pm »

When do you expect to reach the Rocky Mountains? I suggest a 40 degree bag before the mountains and a 20 degree bag through the mountains to the coast.
A backpacking quilt would work well on tour. Lighter and more compact than a sleeping bag. They come in 40 & 20 degree models. A warm hat and extra clothes help extend the range of whatever you choose.
Have a great trip.

Wayne


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19

Gear Talk / Touring Bike Selection

« on: July 12, 2015, 08:15:14 pm »

I also own a Co-Motion Americano. I recently installed Clement X'Plor MSO 40 x 700c tires. They are lighter than the 35 x 700c tires I replaced. No fenders yet. They will be next. After that, Old Man Mountain racks. USA made. I ride gravel roads. I hope to ride the GDMBR.
Oh, 24-34 low gear. I won't tour with anything less.
I plan to tour with an all up weight under 235 pounds. If I hit my target, my touring weight will be less than some riders without touring gear.

Wayne


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20

General Discussion / Re: Natchez Trace Parkway - Cell Phone Signals

« on: July 05, 2015, 11:54:29 pm »

That makes sense. I shall investigate Cypress Swamp. I like swamps. Thanks.

Wayne



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21

General Discussion / Re: Natchez Trace Parkway - Cell Phone Signals

« on: July 05, 2015, 10:47:54 pm »

Verizon has better coverage. Take it from someone who lives in the woods miles from a town of any size. For total SOS coverage, use a Personal Locator Beacon, PLB for short. They work anywhere anytime.
Have a safe trip. I'm not sure where the swamps are on the Trace, but I have not traveled all of it.

Wayne



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22

General Discussion / Re: Natchez Trace Parkway - Cell Phone Signals

« on: July 03, 2015, 10:40:24 pm »

The Natchez Trace is hardly a wilderness trail. It does, at times, pass through rural areas. It also passes through cities. I imagine cell phone coverage to be on par with any other non-interstate highway bike route east of the Mississippi.
There will be other traffic on the Trace and Park Rangers as well.
Does anyone really need 100% phone access 100% of the time ?
Have a great trip.

Wayne


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23

Routes / Re: Dallas to Black Rock City, NV

« on: July 01, 2015, 11:22:38 am »

When in doubt, check the Adventure Cycling routes...
It looks like the Western Express route from Dolores, CO to Fallon, NV would be your best bet to get close to Black Rock City, NV.
Enjoy.

Wayne

I posted this late yesterday. It looks like the best way across Nevada. Unless you really want to stay south and go to Las Vegas.
I have driven from Amarillo to Durango, CO & up to Moab, UT several times and ridden my bike from Durango to Dolores, CO where the western Express starts. It is really nice country. Santa Fe, NM to Durango, CO is one of my favorite parts of the country. I realize that covering that route in a day in a car is nothing like riding it on my bike. However, the area is on my "To Ride" list.
I drove to Albuquerque through Lubbock once when I-40 across the Panhandle was iced over. The roads in New Mexico were decent as I recall. Sparsely populated. I always stop at Billy The Kid's grave. No idea why, I just do. 
Just out of curiosity, what bike & gear are you taking?

Wayne

24

Routes / Re: Dallas to Black Rock City, NV

« on: June 30, 2015, 04:49:52 pm »

When in doubt, check the Adventure Cycling routes...
It looks like the Western Express route from Dolores, CO to Fallon, NV would be your best bet to get close to Black Rock City, NV.
Enjoy.

Wayne

25

Routes / Re: Dallas to Black Rock City, NV

« on: June 30, 2015, 04:24:03 pm »

On Topic for this thread:
Getting to new Mexico from DFW & NOT riding along US 287 is tough. There are Farm to Market roads that more or less parallel 287. You might even be better off riding west across Oklahoma to Amarillo or Dalhart.
Northern New Mexico is really nice. Piece together a route that will get you to Farmington.
Farmington northwest to Hanksville, UT. This may take some research. You'll need to find a way across Lake Powell. Halls Crossing-Bullfrog or Hite, not sure which one works the best.
Hanksville, UT to Cedar City, UT. Use Utah Hwys 24, 12 & 143 if possible.
Cedar City to Black Rock City. Panaca, NV-Crystal Springs, NV - Warm Springs, NV - Tonopah, NV - Coaldale, NV - Fallon, NV - You're on your own to get to Burning Man after Fallon.
I'm piecing this together from memory and GOOGLE MAPS at work. VERIFY! Grinning. The theory is sound. There are a lot of trip journals at Crazy Guy on a Bike covering New Mexico, Colorado, Utah & Nevada.

Wayne

26

Routes / Re: Dallas to Black Rock City, NV

« on: June 30, 2015, 03:50:57 pm »

 
WOW! Awesome trip. Leaving DFW in August might make you The Burning Man. Just kidding. August is the month that I try to be somewhere high in the Rockies.
Now, as for daily average mileage...
In a previous lifetime I flew to Salt Lake City. SLC was in a heat wave, 105+ during the day. I rode out of the airport about 10pm & stopped about 8am the next morning in Logan, UT. 70 odd miles as I recall. For the next 12 days I rode anywhere from 35 miles to 75 miles. The first week heading to the Tetons & Yellowstone and climbing over passes all the time nearly killed me. By the time I got to Yellowstone I crossed the Continental Divide 3 times, the first time in the afternoon & twice the next morning. Piece of cake. My only mileage goal was the 750-760 miles I needed to ride to get back to the airport. In between I stopped where it was convenient for me at the time. Example: Afton, WY to a forest service campground on the Snake River, 35 miles. I picked that spot because I did not think that I could get to a campground in G.T.N.P. before dark and knew that Jackson, WY would be expensive. Quite by accident, a group of Boy Scouts and adult leaders camped next to me. They invited me to join them for a raft trip down the Snake. Afterwards they made me eat elk steaks cooked over an open fire. A day I'll never forget. I made up the miles from my short day later in the trip on flat to slightly downhill grades in Idaho and arrived back in SLC the afternoon before my flight.
Good luck!

Wayne

ps: OOPS! I got this thread confused with your other thread about daily averages. My C.R.S. must be acting up.

27

Routes / Re: Great Divide: Tour Divide's 2015 reroute around the Great Basin

« on: June 27, 2015, 07:27:33 pm »

Thank you!

Wayne


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28

Routes / Re: Great Divide: Tour Divide's 2015 reroute around the Great Basin

« on: June 26, 2015, 12:29:32 am »

Hopefully someone who is riding the TD will share the location with the rest of us.

Wayne


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29

Routes / Re: Great Divide: Tour Divide's 2015 reroute around the Great Basin

« on: June 25, 2015, 09:04:15 pm »

No doubt the folks in Wamsutter appreciate the visitors patronizing the local businesses. I also read at Bikepacking forum about a solar well 40 miles from Wamsutter. Is that well listed in the new route information?
One of these days I'll get there. Assuming that I can ever decide which bike to ride.

Wayne


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30

Temporary ACA Route Road Closures / Re: GDMBR temporary detours in Colorado, summer 2015

« on: June 21, 2015, 09:01:43 pm »

Apparently the snowpack vanished. Sublimation?
Happy hiking and biking.

Wayne


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