Messages

1

Routes / Re: How many people ride the Northern Tier each year?

« on: September 26, 2024, 08:59:08 pm »

Others may wish to share, but I feel that long-distance, self-contained touring
has seen a huge drop-off over the past 25 or 30 years.
If it time? Money? Inclination?

Traffic volume increases? Distracted drivers?  Aging enthusiasts?  Antagonistic drivers?

I get the sense that long distance touring is in decline generally, and I bet AC thinks so too, as they are emphasizing shorter tours.  They are also offering few self-contained tours and more van supported.

The times, they are a-changin’.

2

Gear Talk / Re: Need a bike

« on: September 23, 2024, 09:52:08 am »

The unpaved parts of the Empire State Trail will be rolled stone dust, not gravel or dirt.  I agree that somewhat wider tires on a road bike would be adequate.  40mm tires will be fine, even 32mm would be ok.  I have ridden a lot on rolled stone dust (on the Erie part of EST), mostly with 40mm hybrid tires, and I never had any traction issues.

But to actually answer your question… you might look at a medium to high end hybrid such as the Trek FX series.  The 1x gearing is adequate, and they can be fitted with racks.  I outfitted my FX5 with rear rack and handlebar bag.  On a trip with indoor lodging, I use two small panniers, racktop bag and a medium handlebar bag.

3

Gear Talk / Re: CF Seatpost Length

« on: September 23, 2024, 09:30:17 am »

Don’t base your initial seatpost length on a historic value from a very different kind of bike.  The posture is very different.  I found that configuring a Rans/Phoenix bike to be a long and iterative process.  Changing one dimension or angle usually required tweaking another at tha same time.  For example, little higher might require a seat angle change, which needed a second height adjustment.  It took me about six months and several hundred miles of riding to dial it in.

FYI, my bike is a Sequoia with the stock flat seat used at the time.

You’ll be able to tell in a short time if your post is too long.  If not, I’d leave it full length.  I ended up with the seat higher as I dialed it in

4

Routes / Re: GART vs ACA TransAm?

« on: July 22, 2024, 12:06:58 pm »

  …
But we rode from Togwotee Pass to Jackson yesterday, mostly on roads and it was just glorious.

Coming down Togwatee, I had to stop and dry my eyes.

5

General Discussion / Re: Maximum Tire With on Amtrak

« on: July 19, 2024, 02:24:27 am »

Same (joined) train between Chicago and Albany. Eastbound it splits in Albany, part goes on to Boston and the rest goes to NY.  It does the opposite westbound, combining in Albany.

You can buy a ticket on the combined part, say from Cleveland to Buffalo, using either train number.  But it’s the same physical train.  Thus the confusion.

I think the Empire Builder does the same thing.  Westbound it splits in Spokane.

6

General Discussion / Re: Maximum Tire With on Amtrak

« on: July 18, 2024, 04:29:49 pm »

One example is trains 48 and 448, the Lakeshore Limited.  It splits in Albany NY for Boston or NY Penn.  Both numbers are active and used between CHI and ALB.  Sometimes prices are different for the two trains.  Probably has something to do with yield management. 

7

Gear Talk / Re: Short tours on 3 speed IGH

« on: June 26, 2024, 06:32:52 pm »

I dearly love hub gears, and have a special fondness for the AW (there are five in working bikes on the property).  I've even converted an old Raleigh International to hub gears, a five speed.  But for any touring that's not flat! flat! flat! I'd get more gears.  A bad headwind day can tax your low.  A marvelous tailwind day will have you overspinning your high.  Conditions will put you where third is too high and second is too low, that's a 33% jump there.

If you fall in love with touring, as many of us have, you'll want to extend beyond extremely flat terrain.  You made a good choice on the Aurora, it will serve you well - and it's gorgeous.

Here’s an update.  I updated that old International with a Nexus 8 and rode the length of Ireland last year (sagged).  The gearing was low enough for all but the steepest hills.

8

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

« on: June 13, 2024, 10:21:49 pm »

I have not stayed there but passed through.  There is nothing else at the junction, you could probably even wild camp.

9

Gear Talk / Re: What have you taken on tour and later wished you hadn't?

« on: June 08, 2024, 08:57:04 pm »

Depends if you are likely to need it.  I would only take one if I was going somewhere very remote, or I was riding a technical offroad route (i.e. likely to damage it).  Not on a road tour in the first world.

10

Routes / Re: From Cap May, NJ to NYC

« on: May 07, 2024, 03:43:02 pm »

Ride on or near the coast of NJ to Sandy Hook, then take the ferry to lower Manhattan.  The EST starts there.  Note that I haven’t taken this route, but it makes sense and others have recommended it.  Perhaps users here can give more specific advice.

11

Gear Talk / Re: How warm should your sleepingbag be?

« on: April 26, 2024, 08:54:57 pm »

It would be awesome and a practical application of our existing LLM technology if we used it to do ‘writing style transfer’ and modify English text to make it look like something written by Tom Robbins, Joseph Campbell, or Ernest Hemingway.  Although I’d be fearful of it if it could do Jack Kerouac.

Even crazier is if it could do your writing as Cold Mountain (Han Shan) poems.

Frankly, I’m tired of informational writing that has to throw in personal interest, statements on the human condition, general fluff, etc.  A description of sleeping bag temperature by Hemmingway would likely be better than one by most magazine writers, but I’d rather have it authored by a good technical writer.  I’ve playes with ChatGPT, and it seems to generate crap that sounds like advertising or a AAA travelogue.  Barf.

12

General Discussion / Re: How much water to carry?

« on: April 08, 2024, 12:25:28 am »

I'm not claiming any medical reason to avoid drinking hot water, I'm not a trained medical person.  I just know that it makes me feel ill.  Froze, do your wrapped bottles still fit in a regular cage?  If you can save some weight, that could help.  Though my complete rig, bike+gear+shared+food, came in around 85#, which was towards the low end of my group's weights.

13

Gear Talk / Re: What's your rain riding plan?

« on: April 07, 2024, 10:21:43 am »

Agree on two points: stay warm and stay visible.  Motorists universally do not understand how poorly they can see on a dark, rainy night.  They always out-drive their visibility.  I try to stay on lit streets.

You might stay dry on a short ride in moderate rain, but otherwise you will get wet, to some extent.

A personal annoyance: I hate water running inside my helmet. It annoys the hell out of me, and it can be cold.  The solution is a cover, made for purpose, or a cheap shower cap. Or put up your hood under the helmet.

14

General Discussion / Re: How much water to carry?

« on: April 07, 2024, 09:57:38 am »

The ice is a good hint.  I don’t need my drinking water to be ice cold, but having it not hot is important.  To that end, I use double wall insulated bottles, especially in hot areas.  I now carry two TravelKuppe hot drink bottles, which fit in standard bottle cages.  For refilling, I use Igloo 36 oz/1.06L bottles. 

The double wall bottles are heavier, but I was SO glad that I had them going across Kansas in July.  DWS bottles insulate noticeably better than plastic insulated types.

15

Gear Talk / Re: Jones Bar

« on: March 13, 2024, 09:59:13 am »

Revisiting years later...  I have now toured with the previous north roads bars on the bike in question, a Rans crank forward.  I find that I'm totally satisfied with them.  So I won't be converting to the Jones bars (requiring a new riser, adapter and stem).  I have north roads bars on four bikes that I've toured on (short or long tours).  The north roads bars provide a better wrist angle for me.