Messages

16

Routes / Re: Parks, Peaks, Prarie

« on: August 26, 2024, 10:55:14 pm »

I can confirm what John said about the people who run the bar in Leiter being very nice folks. As I said before, I didn't stay in the cabins because they weren't open when I was there.

And since John posted a picture of this stretch, I'll post a few too from my ride through there last year.

17

Routes / Re: Parks, Peaks, Prarie

« on: August 26, 2024, 05:34:10 pm »

I called them before posting to confirm they had cabins (and camping) available and she said yes, that they were around $65 a night

Good news. Thanks for the update. I should have known that you wouldn't post something without verifying.

Leiter to Gillette on US 14 is 8 miles shorter than Buffalo to Gillette on I-90, but hillier. Both routes are pretty desolate. Don't rely too much on the Spotted Horse Bar being open when you pass (it was closed when I got there on a Saturday morning). It has unpredictable hours. Be sure to carry plenty of water.

18

Routes / Re: Parks, Peaks, Prarie

« on: August 26, 2024, 04:56:02 pm »

In case you did not know, there are cabins available at the Leiter, WY Bar & Grill

In 2023, the cabins were closed. They had some water issues. They hoped to fix them, but it’s just one guy with a full time job, so progress was very slow.

19

Routes / Re: Parks, Peaks, Prarie

« on: August 26, 2024, 04:51:59 pm »

Not dumb. Here’s a journal of someone who did it in September, 2020.

https://www.crazyguyonabike.com/doc/page/?o=3iQ&page_id=606808&v=1h

20

General Discussion / Re: How to pitch a tent in USA?

« on: August 23, 2024, 03:03:19 am »

Very rarely do I find ground so hard that I can’t get stakes in if I can find a big enough rock. Be sure to carry stakes that don’t bend. These are rarely the stakes that came with your tent. I’m a fan of MSR Groundhog stakes.

But if I can’t get them in (e.g., pitching on concrete), my first preference is to tie the tent to picnic tables. If that’s not possible, I sometimes tie my tent to rocks.

21

General Discussion / Re: Florida criminalizes sleeping on public land.

« on: August 14, 2024, 12:38:14 am »

If they roust you out of a sound and well-earned sleep at 1am and tell you to move you won't be sleeping much that night, one way or the other.

The police did once roust me out of a sound sleep at 2am, but after talking with him a while, he agreed to let me finish out the night where I was.

22

Routes / Re: Route 66 thru Chicago Safety

« on: August 12, 2024, 01:29:29 pm »

The route out of Chicago on Bicycle Route 66 doesn’t really follow the original Route 66. That’s because it’s not really feasible to ride a bike on what are now quite busy roads.

Bicycle Route 66 out of Chicago uses a dozen different bike paths connected together by some street riding. There are many turns, so navigating by the paper maps alone requires frequent stops to study the map. I would recommend that you supplement the paper map with a GPS to make the navigation easier.

But nothing about the route seems dangerous.

23

Routes / Re: Oregon fires

« on: July 31, 2024, 06:03:03 pm »

I still don't see how affect can be a noun since I "think" a noun is a thing and a verb is an action.  So the sentence "the heat has an effect on you" to me is saying "the (thing) has an (action) on you.

"Action" is a noun.

24

Routes / Re: Oregon fires

« on: July 31, 2024, 04:39:17 pm »

the heat now affects/effects me (never get that right)

The heat affects you, or has an effect on you. "Affect" is a verb. "Effect" is a noun.

25

General Discussion / Re: Bike 'friendliness' of US hotels?

« on: July 31, 2024, 04:35:57 pm »

I've never been refused. I don't ask. I leave my bike outside when registering. Then I wheel my bike in through the front door directly to the elevator (if there is an elevator). If they say anything to me at all, it's usually an offer of help.

26

General Discussion / Re: Ludlow to Needles

« on: July 27, 2024, 11:31:38 pm »

Disclaimer: I rode Route 66 in 2015, so this information is nine years old. I don't really know, but I somehow doubt that much has changed in those nine years (except the world has gotten hotter).

I rode from Needles to Amboy on September 19, and Amboy to Newberry Springs on September 20. I left Needles at 5:30 am and arrived in Amboy in the middle of the afternoon. Yes, of course it was hot, but it was only 103 degrees when I arrived in Amboy, so it's unlikely to kill you unless you didn't bring enough water or don't drink enough of it (take multiple gallons). Note that there was nothing in Amboy in 2015, not even water (there was a gas station that sold gas for twice the going rate, but only during the day). The town of Amboy died a long time ago. So you have to take enough food and water for two days. It's quite heavy but doable. And it's unlikely that a passing car will be able to rescue you, because there are no passing cars. But you can pitch a tent pretty much anywhere.

After getting to Ludlow, I rode the shoulder of Interstate 40. Because of all the exploded truck tires littering the shoulder with tiny wires, I got more flats on that section than I have gotten in my other 20,000 miles of touring. Be sure to take tweezers, as truck tire wires are hard to remove from your tire.

Most of the bridges in the Mojave Desert are over dry washes, so it's usually possible to get past a bridge that is out by going through the wash. And there will be washed out bridges. And the road will probably be closed, but you can probably ride it anyway. Get local information before proceeding.

By the way, I really enjoyed my ride through the Mojave Desert.

27

Routes / Re: GART vs ACA TransAm?

« on: July 26, 2024, 09:21:00 pm »

Does ACA have estimated #'s by year for Trans Am and other routes that go thru Missoula?

No.

28

General Discussion / Re: Camping in Banff after flying in for GDMBR

« on: July 19, 2024, 08:21:31 pm »

My usual MO is to fly, assemble the bike in the airport, and ride to my first camp, all in the same day. Of course, as John Nettles points out, that entails various risks. But a lot of things on a bike tour involve risk. We adapt. Get the earliest flight you can and hope there are no flight delays. And always have a plan B.

29

Temporary ACA Route Road Closures / Re: Chicago to NYC Section 3, map 24, road closure Summer 2024

« on: July 03, 2024, 10:58:25 pm »

What it looked like on June 2 when I went through.

30

Routes / Re: TransAm section 5 muddy gap camping CS?

« on: June 14, 2024, 06:13:43 am »

When I was there many years ago, they wanted money to camp there, and you got absolutely nothing in return.