Messages

16

General Discussion / Re: Average Weight Loss/Gain on Cross Country Tour

« on: April 10, 2022, 02:18:06 am »

A few years ago I did a four month, 2,500 mile tour of Southeast Asia, I am 5'8" and started at about 140lbs going down to around 130lbs and I felt pretty bad at the end of it. The problem was the lack of quality nutritious food in rural Cambodia, Vietnam and Laos with several days between bigger towns with more choice, good food was not such a problem in Thailand, I am not sure how cyclists get on crossing developing continents such as Africa but I would imagine nutrition would be a problem.

17

General Discussion / Re: What I have found 4 me as a partial answer to how to bike during the Covid times

« on: April 09, 2020, 02:25:11 am »

It's a similar thing this side of the pond, lots of lovely empty roads and great weather, although we are only supposed to go out for an hour I still make the most of it. 

18

General Discussion / Re: Australia cracking down on drivers using phones.

« on: November 01, 2019, 04:57:19 am »

It has been against the law since 2003 in the UK and they are just about to update the law to include other uses of a smart phone including taking photos or video. The police do seem to implement the law when they catch people but with so many cameras checking vehicle registration and insurance now there are few police cars on patrol to catch people so the law is widely broken still.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-50250730

19

Routes / Re: Definitive rail to trail map

« on: February 18, 2019, 10:19:30 pm »

Thank you to everyone who has replied, there is plenty to keep me busy for a while.

20

Routes / Re: Definitive rail to trail map

« on: February 15, 2019, 11:27:50 pm »

Thank you for your reply, that looks like a very useful resource. It is a similar situation here in the UK where the surface of the canal towpaths and bridleways I like to ride can vary greatly and I have found myself pushing and even carrying my bike on a few occasions. I expect it will be 2020 before I can do this trip, other plans for this year and I am sure things will change before then.

21

Routes / Definitive rail to trail map

« on: February 15, 2019, 09:12:04 pm »

Is there such a thing as a definitive rail to trail map for the whole of the US? I am planning a route from Washington DC to Washington state using trails where possible and have found the railstotrails.org site very useful but get the impression that there are a lot more through the northern states not shown on this site.

22

International / Re: How do you keep your passports/ID?

« on: February 12, 2019, 10:40:25 pm »

I keep mine in a plastic bag in my money belt, I usually carry a few photocopies of the information page and visa to hand in at hotels so they don't need to have the original.
I am currently in India and was recently in Pakistan and Nepal where all hotels are required to take copies of documents.

23

Gear Talk / Re: Rohloff Speedhub

« on: March 15, 2017, 04:29:03 am »

I have a Rohloff hub fitted to a purpose build Roberts Roughstuff and find it an excellent piece of kit in all circumstances, the bike is used for everything from off road touring to carrying the shopping. It is expensive and does put more weight on the back of the bike which I don't notice on the road and has been totally reliable and has a perfectly adaquate range, I have a 36 tooth chainring which is lower than recommended but I only weigh 10 stone, that is 140 pounds to Americans so do not think I am overloading it.

24

Routes / Cycling Route 66 west from Flagstaff

« on: January 18, 2017, 11:56:09 pm »

I am attending Overland Expo West in Flagstaff this coming May and am planning my trip back towards California and would like to cycle along part of route 66 which runs through Flagstaff but it is national highway for part of it which I understand cycle are not allowed on. Does anyone now if there is a service road or cycle path which runs along this piece of highway 40 or have an alternative suggestion? I am from the UK so not entrely familiar with US traffic regulations.

25

Canada / Re: Trans-Canada Trail V The Great Trail

« on: September 07, 2016, 03:12:56 am »

Thanks for your reply geegee,
Good information that is not plain to see elsewhere, I will look up your alternative suggestions as I am considering a long tour in North America.

26

Canada / Trans-Canada Trail V The Great Trail

« on: September 07, 2016, 01:31:23 am »

Can someone explain to me the difference between the two above trails or are they the same thing? I have looked both up and find conflicting information ranging between a great way to cross Canada mostly or entirely on traffic free trails to a dreadful commerical scam, yes that word was used, where you have to pay for maps and some of it is on busy and dangerous roads or trails that are shared with motorcycles and atv's.
Any links to ride reports or people's first hand experience would be appreciated, as with many things there seems to be a lot of opinion out there from keyboard warriors who have not actually ridden it which is basically useless.

27

General Discussion / Re: USA visa at Canadian border.

« on: April 13, 2015, 04:14:25 am »

I looked into this a couple of years ago and the bad news seems to be that once you enter any US territory your 3 months starts and will keep on running until you leave North America, that is the US, Canada and Mexico, only then can you return and ask for another 3 months.
You can apply for a full tourist visa in the UK before leaving but your period of entry will still be at the discretion of the immigration officer, do not expect them to be understanding of your trip and if you have no home in the UK, job or return ticket they will not let you in at all, make sure all that is in order.

28

General Discussion / Re: New York to San Francisco Ride

« on: April 09, 2015, 06:29:36 am »

Some of them drive you nuts because they are run by Indians, East Indians as they say here, and at the check-in you get a lovely aroma of Indian food but there isn't an Indian restaurant for many miles around.

That will drive any Brit nuts, we love Indian food and regard it as our national dish. Good luck with your ride.

29

General Discussion / Re: Crash number 6.

« on: April 02, 2015, 12:55:26 am »

This rider has had over 70 motorists convicted using his film of bad driving by other road users, he is not very popular.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-31017422

30

International / Re: Heathrow Airport to ...............

« on: February 21, 2015, 02:32:42 pm »

There is no train to the South or Southwest from Heathrow, you need to get a bus to woking station, I have done this a couple of times with a boxed bike but don't think they will take one on the bus that is not packed.