Messages

16

General Discussion / I need the TransAmerica Map section 3: Baker City, OR - Missoula, MT

« on: May 24, 2018, 11:41:20 pm »

I am leaving in early June on the TransAmerica route. The Adventure Cycling store is out of the:

TransAmerica Map Section 3

Baker City, OR - Missoula, MT (419.0 miles)

https://www.adventurecycling.org/cyclosource-store/route-maps/transamerica-bicycle-trail/sp/transamerica-section-3/

If any of you happen to have the map I would be grateful if you could mail it to me! Send me a private message for details.

I could even mail you a section 1 or 2 in trade! Or another section(s) AFTER I have gone over them and no longer need them. I already bought all the rest of the maps from the Adventure Cycling store. (Did anyone find a good substitute map for this section?)

I would be very grateful! Thanks!

17

General Discussion / Re: Custom touring bike vs. mass produced

« on: May 24, 2018, 04:22:06 am »

If you fly the best custom bike add on to get is those socket collars that let you split the bike in half. I think you can pay them 600+ and they will take a frame and put on the coupling collars but if you are going to pay that much is is better just to start with a coupled frame from the start.

18

General Discussion / Re: Car Storage - Yorktown, VA

« on: May 23, 2018, 11:31:57 pm »

If money is not an issue or you can not find a friend to park it with then store your car. I decided to ride my tour loaded bike to a local rent a car place, rent the car, drive to the coastal car return agency, return the car, ride to the coastal start and then start the ride. Car rentals are soooo cheap these days because of all the competition- you can be cheap and risky like me and refuse to buy the insurance they always try to sell you for it. Amtrack has roll on bike service but is an outrageously priced monopoly. I suggest you buy gas treatment (highly toxic but so is gas) and put it in your tank to avoid it gumming up after a few months storage. Stick steel wool up your exhaust pipe so mice do not crawl up it. Place mouth balls on top of your engine so mice do not eat your cables or start a home in it.  Also, I am going to remove the battery cables on my car so the battery will not get drained by stealth off car draining electronic systems in your car. Of course this is not a  factor if the person storing your car is going to check on the battery and engine.

19

Gear Talk / Re: My Bike Set-up for TransAm

« on: May 22, 2018, 12:01:57 am »

To avoid any sort of complex law issues (unless you do an exclusive Alaska trip or other unrestricted gun state full of bears) I would argue to go with bear spray. As to the effects of teargas and pepper spray both work great against humans- I am qualified by tears with both. I also would say an open carry bear spray holster like you had in your youtube demo right next to your stem is a great easy quick draw attack against a cougar or bear ( a cougar just slew a bikepacker). On the other hand if the law was NOT an issue, and if I was thinking I may well meet an animal attack; I would always opt for a firearm over bearspray-  but of course I fired countless rounds in the Marines so safety and effecriveness is high when I shoot. But I would worry more about racoons stealing your food and tearing your pack or dogs chasing you than bears.

To avoid bears just camp at a place with a bear box and put the food in it without sncking in your camp or tent- or string it up.

20

International / Re: Riding bikes in Vietnam tips ?

« on: May 10, 2018, 03:31:59 pm »

I did a tour trip in to that Bay. It had a stop in Ning Bing. I purposely did the paid tour because it had 2 nights on the bay in a boat- also it drove from the big city to the bay. Later, In Ning Bing the tour operator had rental bicycles that we road for about 15 miles. Ning Bing is famed for those one of a kind stone fingers that are 300 meters tall. It was a an hour or two drive from the bay- so it would take longer to get there via bike. I also later traveled to Phu Quok Island - the Island they got from Cambodia in a war. I rented a good mountain bike there I got from the main town the boat comes in on. I rode it all around the island. The big two big cities were rather scary just walking around in due to scooter and crazy car drivers. I guess it would not be such a terrible ride there if you have already had experience riding in a city like San Jose Costa Rica or in Thailand. You should just visit one of the many travel agents all about the tourist quarter and speak in person and tell them you want them to transport you and your bike on the bay. The tour boat also stopped on an tourist island for the night - I forgot the name. It had a nice beach and seemed like it would be good for less crowded biking. 

21

Gear Talk / Re: My Bike Set-up for TransAm

« on: May 10, 2018, 03:06:26 pm »

I have been bit in rural areas of Kentucky and Illinois by dogs. If I had had bear spray it would have come in handy. But, by the time I saw and heard the dogs and the time it took to get bit was short so I would advise you to have a mail man style diagonal chest strap pouch for quick deployment which also might frighten people if you walked into a gas station with it. Also, the rule for mace and sprays like that is to buy two cans- test one in mock spray defense scenarios and then carry the other one. But, bear cans are so big and expensive maybe you should but 1 and just test it once.