Messages

616

General Discussion / WHAT IS THE BEST VALUE PANNIER.- help

« on: June 01, 2008, 03:00:04 pm »

http://www.mikebentley.com/bike/panniers.htm

Lots of dead links but fun to follow. So many choices from around the
world.

"best" and "value" may not be compatible terms. PUrchasing panniers
is also based on your needs for flexibility, utility, field repairability,
ease of mounting-dismounting. Capacity is another issue. If you buy
big panniers, you will fill them with stuff you shouldn't be carrying.

david boise ID

go, ristretto, FCP/AE
"Read the manual."

617

General Discussion / Sun protection

« on: May 18, 2008, 02:47:10 pm »

I have my own shade.
http://www.easyracers.com/images/IMG_2316.jpg
For touring the Idaho desert, I run a bodyskin on my recumbent. Extra
sunscreen on my exposed head/face and legs.

david boise ID

go, ristretto, FCP/AE
"Read the manual."

618

General Discussion / Portland's Agony

« on: May 04, 2008, 02:19:40 pm »

Perhaps you have seen the roadside memorials for car-related deaths?
You know, those odd crosses/shrines?
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roadside_memorial
http://pruned.blogspot.com/2006/02/
roadsidememorialamericacom.html

Great shrine photography:
http://webpages.charter.net/dnance/descansos/index.htm

See this site for a type of civil disobedience/political/social statement
that is uniquely bicycle-centric:

http://www.ghostbikes.org/

david boise ID


go, ristretto, FCP/AE
"Read the manual."

619

General Discussion / Speaking of Tires

« on: April 23, 2008, 10:45:49 pm »

when adventuring in remote areas, an ideal situation is everyone has the
same size tire and tube.

david boise ID

go, ristretto, FCP/AE
"Read the manual."

620

General Discussion / What to buy??? Bent or straight up???

« on: April 21, 2008, 10:07:55 am »

Recommending a recumbent for you is impossible, sadly. Your body,
energy, budget, propensity for standing out in a crowd, need for
speed, and ultimate goals are all factors no one but you can assess.
The online discussions are endless.

Wheel size/tire availability: the 405 is a BMX wheel, universally
available. The 451 is weird so I buy them two or three at a time and I
always take one on tour. There is no reason to assume I can find one if
I need one.
USS/ASS: strictly personal. European bents and classics like the Ryan
are USS but the trend in the USA is toward upright steering. Your
choice is easy to make if you can sample the bikes.
Bottom bracket height: Strictly personal. There may be valid
physiological situations but only you would know.
Wheelbase: There are so many choices; they're all fun and cool and
totally applicable to touring.

crazyguyonabike.com has dozens of recumbent touring articles.

Have fun shopping. It's an exciting and difficult decision.

david boise ID




go, ristretto, FCP/AE
"Read the manual."

621

General Discussion / What to buy??? Bent or straight up???

« on: April 19, 2008, 11:22:51 pm »

Have you actually ridden the TE? If you were not instantly captivated by
the feel and can clearly see the wonderful potential of this classic bike,
then you're not ever going to be happy with a recumbent.

If you have not ridden the Tour Easy, or any other long wheelbase
recumbent, you will forever wonder if you made a dumb decision
getting the wedgie.

It's a no brainer for me. If your goal is to tour, the comfort and
spectacle of heads-up, high-def bicycling cannot even be imagined by
committed upright bicyclists. Their inability to imagine a better ride
makes us a very special and elite clique that, curiously, has no elitist
prejudices.

You want to spend a few days lurking at  
www.bentrideronline.com
and the user forums on the Easy Racers site. Be sure to visit the "ERRC"
folder. ERRC used to stand for Easy Racers Recumbent Club but we
have since evolved to embrace all human powered vehicles.

We see dozens of "which bike" inquiries every month. Your answers are
all on the sites but you must test ride the bike.
Or not.
I bought mine sight unseen 30,000 miles ago in 2002. Never had a
single regret. Not ever. Handmade in America, the Easy Racers
machines represent astounding long distance and commuting
transportation values and they are very groovy sleds.

I run a fairing and a bodyskin when touring. I don't do self-contained
but we know of many (hundreds?) of TE people who run all kinds of
trailers including Burleys, Bobs, and those German units that have the
single wheel in the geometric center. The Bob, IIRC, requires a special
skewer so you want to make absolutely certain that whatever bike you
buy can be modified.

david boise ID (Where the BOB is made.)

go, ristretto, FCP/AE
"Read the manual."

622

General Discussion / c-pap machines when "tenting" on group rides

« on: March 29, 2008, 09:23:14 am »

I have a buddy who uses c-pap unit at home but a mouthpiece when
traveling. His apnea may not resemble your condition, though. Can
your doctor fit you with a temporary system for adventure traveling?

david boise ID

go, ristretto, FCP/AE
"Read the manual."

623

General Discussion / Where's your bike taking you this summer!?

« on: March 20, 2008, 11:59:29 pm »

I'm an organized tour-type buy.
August: Ride Idaho #4 a loop around the Idaho Falls area and into
Wyoming.
September: Cycle Oregon #21, loop from Elgin into Hells Canyon on
the Idaho end and up to Joseph.

david boise ID

go, ristretto, FCP/AE
"Read the manual."

624

General Discussion / Laptops while touring?

« on: March 21, 2008, 12:33:42 am »

> I have some notion that maybe I should just get away from it all and
leave computers at home.

Well, that's my suggestion. I'd never want to take a $1-3K toy along on
a tour. Easy to have it ripped off. And it's three to five pounds of
absolutely dead weight (include the charger, universal power adapters,
cables, protective case, some blank DVDs, some movies, maybe a
system restore disk, oh, and thyat bluetooth headset, that's cool, and,
hey, why not the wireless mouse, and that groovy USB LED thingy for
typing in the tent in the dark, oh, an maybe that solar charger.  

How did we ever get along with cell phones, computers, Internet, and
GPS back in the olden days?
We hit the road and we made a few collect telephone calls and we
wrote postcards.

david boise ID

go, ristretto, FCP/AE
"Read the manual."

625

General Discussion / Eating on Tour

« on: March 21, 2008, 12:07:22 am »

Recipes are too subjective. Suggest you examine any of the several
backpacking recipe books like the Roughing It Easy series. There are
incredibly delicious freeze dried meals on the market these days.
Expensive emergency rations but light, easy to prepare, and nutritious.
I'm not a fan of carbohydrate-based bike touring plans. Eat lots of
locally produced foods. if you can find them, like fresh fruits and
veggies. Here in Idaho, you might run into locally superb peahces,
cherries, strawberries, melons, lamb, veal, buffalo, beef, ostrich,
steelhead, crawfish, trout, salmon, and sturgeon. Wines. Baked goods.

The trick is to get off the bike and walk around the little towns. Stop at
those roadside stalls.

david boise ID




go, ristretto, FCP/AE
"Read the manual."

626

General Discussion / Transporting a tandem

« on: March 03, 2008, 09:55:56 am »

http://www.adventuresportsonline.com/club/tandemclub.htm
http://www.co-motion.com/faq/resources.html
http://www.co-motion.com/faq/resources.html#Org
http://www.thetandemlink.com/TLLinks.html

david boise ID

go, ristretto, FCP/AE
"Read the manual."

627

General Discussion / Communication from the road

« on: February 29, 2008, 09:40:49 am »

Here's what we used to do just ten years ago: Send postcards.

david boise ID

go, ristretto, FCP/AE
"Read the manual."

628

General Discussion / Highway question

« on: February 14, 2008, 10:03:44 am »

> I see them riding south of Boise sometimes.

Lots of training possibilities in the Boise area, several charity rides and
centuries. Drop by one of the bike shops and look for the posters and
pamphlets. RIDE IDAHO would be your perfect first tour. As of Feb 15, it
was already half full.

rideidaho.org

david boise ID

go, ristretto, FCP/AE
"Read the manual."

629

General Discussion / Single Riders on Tours

« on: January 27, 2008, 12:33:51 pm »

What's the real question?

Cycle Oregon is 2,000. I'd say 2/3 of them are singles but they might
be affiliated
with a group or club, another 1/6 are unmarried with a riding partner
with no intimacy implied.

On Ride Idaho, about 200, is the same cross section. Several married
couples, several partners, lots of singles riding alone or as part of a
larger group or club.

david boise ID

go, ristretto, FCP/AE
"Read the manual."

This message was edited by bogiesan on 1-27-08 @ 8:34 AM

630

General Discussion / Getting in shape

« on: November 24, 2007, 02:26:32 pm »

calisthenics; these kinds of exercises can help you look better but they
won't help you ride better. You need cardiovascular development and leg
work. Seconding DaveB's reference to Amazon, tons of books on riding
fitness.

david boise ID

go, ristretto, FCP/AE
"Read the manual."