Touring: The fall itch

Ken M said:

I am getting the urge to get out of dodge for a couple of months. I am
thinking about doing the ' southern tier ' from Adventure Cycling. It
goes right through the Katrina battered south. Might be a good
opportunity to see the destruction first hand. Then again it could turn
into a cycling mis-adventure. Any opinions? Am I insane? Well maybe,
but the doctor says I am getting much better. Thinking of buying a new
bike for the trip. I have a good hardtail that I have hybridized. It's
a trek, with skinny road tires, riser bars and a sport type saddle. I
have riden it many miles and it's comfy enough to spend hours on in
street clothing. But then again I was looking at the Trek 7000, which
is the low end hybrid. And the ibex corrida flat bar road bike. The
Trek is the more known name, but the ibex looks pretty good too, even
though it is a couple hundred more than the Trek. Any other suggestions
on other bikes I should look at? Or should I just do it on my current
Trek?

Your current mountain bike might have the best gearing for what you have
in mind. The 7000 looks like it probably has taller gears than your
hardtail, but not any really LOW ones, which you'll want if you plan to
ride up any steep hills. The Ibex has even taller gearing, with the
lowest around 30 gear inches. This is fine for road riding, but not
great for touring. For loaded touring, I'd want something closer to 22
or less.

For a touring bike, you'll obviously need racks (front and back) and
panniers. Finding this shouldn't be too tough, but expect to spend some
cash on the equipment if oyu don't already have it.

I'd also recommend some fenders in the event that you ride over any wet
roads. And lights.

Can't say one way or the other about riding through the South in the
fall, though. I'd expect the roads to be clear by then, but who knows?

In article <[email hidden]>,

Ken M said:

I am getting the urge to get out of dodge for a couple of months. I am
thinking about doing the ' southern tier ' from Adventure Cycling. It
goes right through the Katrina battered south. Might be a good
opportunity to see the destruction first hand. Then again it could turn
into a cycling mis-adventure. Any opinions? Am I insane? Well maybe,
but the doctor says I am getting much better. Thinking of buying a new
bike for the trip. I have a good hardtail that I have hybridized. It's
a trek, with skinny road tires, riser bars and a sport type saddle. I
have riden it many miles and it's comfy enough to spend hours on in
street clothing. But then again I was looking at the Trek 7000, which
is the low end hybrid. And the ibex corrida flat bar road bike. The
Trek is the more known name, but the ibex looks pretty good too, even
though it is a couple hundred more than the Trek. Any other suggestions
on other bikes I should look at? Or should I just do it on my current
Trek?

I suspect that outside of New Orleans itself, such a tour is a perfectly
reasonable idea. I suspect the biggest issue would be to make sure the
weather is going to be to your liking at that time of year.

Quoted message said:

Here is the Ibex: http://www.ibexbikes.com/Bikes/COR-CT-Details.html

here's the Trek:
http://www2.trekbikes.com/Bikes/City_Bike_Path/Hybrid/Hybrid/7000/index.php

My guess is that you would gain very little by purchasing a new bike for
this tour; the Trek 7000 looks like it would be a step back from the
bike you've described as your current mount. I would do the trip on a
road bike, but I have one or more old road bikes in my shed already, so
I'm biased. You might want to add bar ends or even a clip-on aerobar, if
you can find one to fit your bars, just because these options will add
some extra hand positions.

I would recommend fenders if you don't have them, if there's any chance
of rain at all. They make a huge difference.

Quoted message said:

Oh yeah loaded bike or trailer? I am leaning toward loaded bike.

Camping or motels? My general inclination is to recommend travelling as
light as you can, probably lighter than you think you need to. The
packer's rule is this: half the clothes and twice the money you think
you will need.

--
Ryan Cousineau [email hidden] http://www.wiredcola.com/
"I don't want kids who are thinking about going into mathematics
to think that they have to take drugs to succeed." -Paul Erdos

Bill said

*Your current mountain bike might have the best gearing for what you
have
in mind. The 7000 looks like it probably has taller gears than your
hardtail, but not any really LOW ones, which you'll want if you plan to

ride up any steep hills. The Ibex has even taller gearing, with the
lowest around 30 gear inches. This is fine for road riding, but not
great for touring. For loaded touring, I'd want something closer to 22

or less.*

That was my thinking figuring the mtb has lower gears for climbing.

*For a touring bike, you'll obviously need racks (front and back) and
panniers. Finding this shouldn't be too tough, but expect to spend
some
cash on the equipment if oyu don't already have it*

Well I have a rear rack, and a set of panniers but think I may want
larger set. I will have to purchase front racks and a set of panniers.

*I'd also recommend some fenders in the event that you ride over any
wet
roads. And lights.*

Most definately lights and fenders.

*Can't say one way or the other about riding through the South in the
fall, though. I'd expect the roads to be clear by then, but who
knows?*

Well I have read some touring journals about the south in the fall, but
none after a hurricane.

Ken

Ryan said

*I suspect that outside of New Orleans itself, such a tour is a
perfectly
reasonable idea. I suspect the biggest issue would be to make sure the
weather is going to be to your liking at that time of year.*

Well I think the waether will be fine, I live in Florida now, so heat
is not an issue, and I have lived in the northeast, so cool weather is
also not a big deal.

*My guess is that you would gain very little by purchasing a new bike
for
this tour; the Trek 7000 looks like it would be a step back from the
bike you've described as your current mount. I would do the trip on a
road bike, but I have one or more old road bikes in my shed already, so

I'm biased. You might want to add bar ends or even a clip-on aerobar,
if
you can find one to fit your bars, just because these options will add
some extra hand positions.*

Yeap that was my thinking as well, the only reason I was thinking about
a new bike is for larger 700c wheels and tires, my current mtb has only
26' tires. And I have a set of bar ends already.

* would recommend fenders if you don't have them, if there's any chance

of rain at all. They make a huge difference.*

Oh yeah I don't have them now and I get pretty wet and dirt when I get
caught in the rain.

*Camping or motels? My general inclination is to recommend travelling
as
light as you can, probably lighter than you think you need to. The
packer's rule is this: half the clothes and twice the money you think
you will need. *

I would be camping where possible moteling where camping is not an
option. Packing, well I weight some supplies up and it was a lot light
than I thought it was. Some stuff looks like it weights alot but in
reality it doesn't. I like the *half the clothes and twice the money*
theory, Probably about right.

Ken

"Ken M" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

I am getting the urge to get out of dodge for a couple of months. I am
thinking about doing the ' southern tier ' from Adventure Cycling. It
goes right through the Katrina battered south. Might be a good
opportunity to see the destruction first hand. Then again it could turn
into a cycling mis-adventure. Any opinions? Am I insane? Well maybe,
but the doctor says I am getting much better. Thinking of buying a new
bike for the trip. I have a good hardtail that I have hybridized. It's
a trek, with skinny road tires, riser bars and a sport type saddle. I
have riden it many miles and it's comfy enough to spend hours on in
street clothing. But then again I was looking at the Trek 7000, which
is the low end hybrid. And the ibex corrida flat bar road bike. The
Trek is the more known name, but the ibex looks pretty good too, even
though it is a couple hundred more than the Trek. Any other suggestions
on other bikes I should look at? Or should I just do it on my current
Trek?

Here is the Ibex: http://www.ibexbikes.com/Bikes/COR-CT-Details.html

I own the Ibex Corrida CT 2.2 from a couple of years ago. It's my town
bike/shopping bike. I have put 2000 miles on it, and it's a good bike. The
Shimano 2200 components work just fine, and the Tektro mini-V brakes are
good stoppers. I picked mine up for $299 on clearance. Ibex is a good
company. The "touring capability" of the bike are a bit overblown. The 52T
large chainring is too big for carrying much of a load. The bike has a
braze-on front derailleur, so changing the ring for a smaller one would be
more difficult than if it had a clamp on derailleur. The mini V-brakes make
mounting fenders unnecessarily difficult. If Ibex wanted people to utilize
the fender eyelets easily, they should have specced a cantilever brake.
Other than those small issues, I've been very happy with my choice.

In article <[email hidden]>,

Ken M said:

Ryan said

Quoted message said:

Yeap that was my thinking as well, the only reason I was thinking about
a new bike is for larger 700c wheels and tires, my current mtb has only
26' tires. And I have a set of bar ends already.

I don't think there's any substantial touring advantage to running 700c
wheels versus MTB 26" wheels, assuming you have slicks on the 26"
wheels. Indeed, there are a fair number of touring bikes (even with drop
bars) that are built on 26" wheels, for the perfectly good reason that
the smaller wheel is stronger. The speed issues, if any, are
microscopic, and the cheapest, biggest improvement there would be to fit
aerobars to your MTB 🙂.

Quoted message said:

I would be camping where possible moteling where camping is not an
option. Packing, well I weight some supplies up and it was a lot light
than I thought it was. Some stuff looks like it weights alot but in
reality it doesn't. I like the *half the clothes and twice the money*
theory, Probably about right.

I haven't done any bike touring, but I have done some camping by
motorcycle. Weight will probably not be the enemy for the judicious
tourist: bulk is an issue, though. If I was doing this tour, I would aim
for all my gear to fit in two saddlebags and a tail bag, with the tent
being the prime consideration. I assume modern tents now pack down to
nothing at all, but I've camped with old pup-style tents that were a
pretty big piece of bulk.

Compression sacks are a great way of reducing the bulk of some
equipment, like sleeping bags and clothing:

http://www.backcountry.com/store/GRG0005/c3/s8/Granite-Gear-Round-Rock-So
lid-Compression-Sack.html?id=oy9pAnrA

Have fun,

--
Ryan Cousineau [email hidden] http://www.wiredcola.com/
"I don't want kids who are thinking about going into mathematics
to think that they have to take drugs to succeed." -Paul Erdos

Ryan Cousineau said:

Camping or motels? My general inclination is to recommend travelling as
light as you can, probably lighter than you think you need to. The
packer's rule is this: half the clothes and twice the money you think
you will need.

One thing some people recommend, when they go for an extended camping /
hikes (longer then say 2 weeks, could be applied to camping / cycling
as well), is plan a "day of rest" or sabbath, once a week. On this day,
your only going to ride a few km, you get a late start, because most
motels are not available until later in the day.

Once you have your room, you unpack all your gear, maybe have a shower,
take the clothes to the laundromat and run them through, sleeping bags
may not need cleaning, but if you had a few rain days, you could run it
through the drier to dry it out. Inventory your supplies, and pick up
whatever you need, maybe borrow a hose and wash the bike, and give it a
check over. Recharge batteries (you did bring the charger with you?).
Now you can carefully repack everything the way it was when you started
out.

Have a good nights sleep in a real bed, and then in the morning you can
have another shower and a full travel day.

W

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In article <[email hidden]>,

Ken M said:

Ryan said

if
you can find one to fit your bars, just because these options will add
some extra hand positions.*

Yeap that was my thinking as well, the only reason I was thinking about
a new bike is for larger 700c wheels and tires, my current mtb has only
26' tires. And I have a set of bar ends already.

_ IMHO, 26" wheels have a lot of advantages over 700c wheels
for touring. Particularly loaded touring, you get stronger
wheels and fatter tires that weigh less than they would in
the 700c size. Unless you plan to
stay on good roads and in motels I don't see much advantage
to getting a new bike just for larger wheels.

Quoted message said:

* would recommend fenders if you don't have them, if there's any chance

of rain at all. They make a huge difference.*

Oh yeah I don't have them now and I get pretty wet and dirt when I get
caught in the rain.

_ Fenders are a must, it rains ALOT in the fall in the south.
Getting wet and dirty is fun when you can take a warm shower
afterwards, it's the apex of misery when you eat the dirt
with your dinner and shiver the night away in your bag. I'll
take a 0 degree blizzard over a rain soaked chilly day in the
40's anytime.

Quoted message said:

*Camping or motels? My general inclination is to recommend travelling
as
light as you can, probably lighter than you think you need to. The
packer's rule is this: half the clothes and twice the money you think
you will need. *

I would be camping where possible moteling where camping is not an
option. Packing, well I weight some supplies up and it was a lot light
than I thought it was. Some stuff looks like it weights alot but in
reality it doesn't. I like the *half the clothes and twice the money*
theory, Probably about right.

_ The nice thing about bike touring is that you can easily get
more or mail back extra stuff as you go. Unlike backpacking where
stores are few and far between and you have to live with your
mistakes.

_ Booker C. Bense

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In article <[email hidden]>,

The Wogster said:

Ryan Cousineau said:

Camping or motels? My general inclination is to recommend travelling as
light as you can, probably lighter than you think you need to. The
packer's rule is this: half the clothes and twice the money you think
you will need.

One thing some people recommend, when they go for an extended camping /
hikes (longer then say 2 weeks, could be applied to camping / cycling
as well), is plan a "day of rest" or sabbath, once a week. On this day,
your only going to ride a few km, you get a late start, because most
motels are not available until later in the day.

_ And if you are doing a multi-week tour, start slow. Not making
your milage due to pain and exhaustion is very
discouraging. Think about what seems "reasonable" for daily
mileage and cut it in half for the first few days. Many long
tours end early when riders over do it the first few days and
nagging injuries turn chronic. If you dig yourself a hole early
on, it's very hard to get rested and enjoy the trip. Think about
how many hours a day you want to ride, how many daylight hours
there are[1] and plan on 10-12 mph[2]. It's much much better to be
ahead of your schedule that fighting to meet some arbitrary
deadline.

_ Booker C. Bense

[1]- Think about what you're going to do the rest of the day.
Even with only 12 hours of daylight, that's still a lot of time
not on the bike.

[2]_ First rule of reading trip reports: Racers lie about
how fast they ride, Brevet riders lie about how far they ride,
bike tourers lie about both.

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Ryan

*Indeed, there are a fair number of touring bikes (even with drop
bars) that are built on 26" wheels, for the perfectly good reason that
the smaller wheel is stronger*

Yes I am aware of the fact that some older touring bikes are built
around 26 inch wheels, but I was under (the wrong) impression that most
were being built around 700c these days.

*I assume modern tents now pack down to
nothing at all*

Yeah the tent and bag I have really pack down well, the tent weights
about 3 pounds and the bag is about the same.

Ken

Booker

*Unless you plan to
stay on good roads*

Quoted message said:

From what I have read most tourist prefer the rural roads for safety,

less MV traffic, that is also my plans, I don't want to become a
statistic.

*Fenders are a must, it rains ALOT in the fall in the south.*

I know it rain often here in FL in the fall, I am a bit unsure about
other areas of the south.

*The nice thing about bike touring is that you can easily get
more or mail back extra stuff as you go. Unlike backpacking where
stores are few and far between and you have to live with your
mistakes.*

My thinking exactly, and with bikepacking you can alway stop at the
local shop and pick up better supplies and send the not so good
supplies back home.

Ken

W

*is plan a "day of rest" or sabbath, once a week.*

sounds reasonable, but I am thinking less of a scheduled rest, more
along the lines of when I feel I need a rest day. But probably
somewhere in the 5 to 7 day range.

*Have a good nights sleep in a real bed, and then in the morning you
can
have another shower and a full travel day.*

Aye, sleeping in a real bed probably makes for a world of difference.

Ken

Booker

*Not making
your milage due to pain and exhaustion is very
discouraging. Think about what seems "reasonable" for daily
mileage and cut it in half for the first few days*

Well I don't plan on making this a race across the country. I have time
and money. I was planning on an average of about 60 to 70 miles per
day. With the first week or so being less than that to warm up. About
35 to 50 miles per day for the first week.

*[2]_ First rule of reading trip reports: Racers lie about
how fast they ride, Brevet riders lie about how far they ride,
bike tourers lie about both.*

Ah yes bragging! Well I know my physical limits and what I am capable
of, so that is how I am going to plan the trip.

Ken

Goose

*The bike has a
braze-on front derailleur*

Okay thanks for the info, that fact right there turns me off that bike.

Ken

Ken M said:

W

*is plan a "day of rest" or sabbath, once a week.*

sounds reasonable, but I am thinking less of a scheduled rest, more
along the lines of when I feel I need a rest day. But probably
somewhere in the 5 to 7 day range.

It might make more sense, to plan ahead though, you know roughly how far
you can go in a day, so you can always figure where you will be for the
next rest day, and book a motel in the general area, if you know it's
going to be busy, like a holiday weekend, ahead of time.

Quoted message said:

*Have a good nights sleep in a real bed, and then in the morning you
can
have another shower and a full travel day.*

Aye, sleeping in a real bed probably makes for a world of difference.

Actually I think the shower, and getting all your stuff cleaned, and
properly repacked has more to do with it, it's like starting out, all
over again.... What some hikers do (a biker could as well), is use a
full service campsite for the rest day, one that has showers, laundry
facilities, stores, etc. The bed of course it wouldn't have, but then
you may sleep better in your own gear anyhow....

W

*> *is plan a "day of rest" or sabbath, once a week.*

Quoted message said:

sounds reasonable, but I am thinking less of a scheduled rest, more
along the lines of when I feel I need a rest day. But probably
somewhere in the 5 to 7 day range.

It might make more sense, to plan ahead though, you know roughly how
far
you can go in a day, so you can always figure where you will be for the

next rest day, and book a motel in the general area, if you know it's
going to be busy, like a holiday weekend, ahead of time.*

The only disadvantge to the ' booking ' a room thing a week in advance
is then you are putting yourslef on a schedule. What if I were to have
two or three days where I didn't cover as many miles as I had planned?
I think I would prefer to do it without a schedule.

Ken

Ken M said:

*> *is plan a "day of rest" or sabbath, once a week.*

Quoted message said:

sounds reasonable, but I am thinking less of a scheduled rest, more
along the lines of when I feel I need a rest day. But probably
somewhere in the 5 to 7 day range.

It might make more sense, to plan ahead though, you know roughly how
far
you can go in a day, so you can always figure where you will be for the

next rest day, and book a motel in the general area, if you know it's
going to be busy, like a holiday weekend, ahead of time.*

The only disadvantge to the ' booking ' a room thing a week in advance
is then you are putting yourslef on a schedule. What if I were to have
two or three days where I didn't cover as many miles as I had planned?
I think I would prefer to do it without a schedule.

True, whether you walking, hiking or biking, IF you use a schedule, it
needs to be like a project schedule. Say you figure a project will take
6 months and cost $500,000 you tell your boss it will take 9 months and
cost $750,000. When it's done you look great because it actually took 8
months and cost $650,000.

Say your trip is 2000miles, and you figure it will take 4 weeks, and
cost $500, again pad the numbers, it will actually end up being
2500miles, take 5 weeks and cost $800. Then if you run into a detour,
or decide to go off and look at something, or have breakdown without
parts available, or a day where you don't feel like going anywhere, you
can, without being behind schedule. I assume you have a time when you
need to return, and a list of places you want to go, schedule or not,
you usually end up with one anyway.

W

**Say you figure a project will take
6 months and cost $500,000 you tell your boss it will take 9 months and

cost $750,000. When it's done you look great because it actually took
8
months and cost $650,000. **

Aye, I think that is how ' Scotty ' from Star trek always looked like a
'miracle worker ' , okay sorry had to throw that in there.

**I assume you have a time when you
need to return, and a list of places you want to go, schedule or not,
you usually end up with one anyway.**

Well actually I have already cleared it with my employer, and I have an
open ended return date there. I have no pets or anything like that that
need to be cared for. I don't have to worry about the rent, I alway pay
for a year up front and I just took care of that a couple of months
ago. SO REALLY I don't have any special timetable to follow, I can
pretty much just get on the bike and ride.

Ken

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In article <[email hidden]>,

Ken M said:

Booker

*Not making
your milage due to pain and exhaustion is very
discouraging. Think about what seems "reasonable" for daily
mileage and cut it in half for the first few days*

Well I don't plan on making this a race across the country. I have time
and money. I was planning on an average of about 60 to 70 miles per
day. With the first week or so being less than that to warm up. About
35 to 50 miles per day for the first week.

_ That seems reasonable to me. I've met a lot of people over the
years that think because they can do a century unloaded without
too much trouble, that doing a century on a loaded bike
every day should be not that big a deal...

_ I would also recommend a few shakedown weekend trips if you
can manage it. Not so much for the physical aspect as just
getting all your gear fine tuned. Even under ideal circumstances
most rack and pannier setups require a bit of tweaking...
It's a lot more fun to do this in your garage than in the
parking lot of a local hardware store.

_ Booker C. Bense

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