One of the great things about being involved with Bike Touring News is the opportunity to live vicariously through the people we meet. Soon (next month), Asa will fly to Europe with his bike for a year long “literary pilgrimage”. We got a chance to talk to him first about his planning and preparations.
Find out how the Schengen Agreement gave shape to the tour itinerary. How does a person get their bike and gear across an ocean? A trip of this duration might require a different solution than a trip of a few weeks. What about phone service? I’m getting stressed out….we should just listen to the podcast.
I hope we will get updates on how the trip is going and some good stories we can share here with the focus on the logistics of pulling off a trip like this. Maybe we can Skype it up when Asa is on the road and do podcasts off those if we can figure out how to record them. If you have pointers and tips for Asa and others who might be interested, add them in the comments.
90 percent of the Bike Hermit’s trips around town are made by bicycle. He doesn’t care if you ride your bike or not. He is not out to change the world or to save the environment. He just enjoys riding his bike and he truly thinks it’s just as quick and infinitely more convenient than driving an automobile. He doesn’t think there should be a “cycling community” any more than there should be a “motoring community”. Sometimes we are cyclists and sometimes we are motorists. The Bike Hermit thinks words can be divisive.
## END RANT ##
Notwithstanding the aforesaid, this post is about how to ride a bike. Not how to improve strength or stamina or speed, but how to safely ride a bike to work, to school, to the pub or to the grocery store. I know that the main barrier to people who might consider using a bicycle for some of their short trips is the fear of riding on the same road with cars and trucks and buses. Here are a couple of educational resources to check out:
The League of American Bicyclists has been in existence for well over one hundred years and their mission is; To promote bicycling for fun, fitness and transportation and work through advocacy and education for a bicycle-friendly America..
Recently, while touring the forums over at bikeforums.net I rolled across this video which shows how a couple of League certified instructors navigate some of the challenges one can expect when using a bicycle in a designed for autos world.
In fact, according to the Boise Street Smart Cycling website;
–those who ride in a predictable and safe way will dramatically reduce their chances of ever experiencing a significant accident!
And while most people are concerned about a collision with a motor vehicle, that doesn’t happen very often – in fact, only 18% of cyclist falls have anything to do with a motor vehicle.
Boise Street Smart Cycling and the Treasure Valley Cycling Alliance provide education and work to raise awareness about the benefits of riding bicycles. In past years we have invited the TVCA to present their Street Smart Cycling course and the response was good. We are considering sponsoring another course in Boise. It will be in the evening of a to be determined date and will last two to three hours. The L.A.B. certified instructors at TVCA do a great job with these classes and even if you have been riding for decades, I almost guarantee you will learn something you can use. We would like to set this up soon and would like to get an idea of the amount of interest. If you have an interest in attending one of these courses, let us know in the comments.
Asa thinks I’m an (expletive deleted) because I mock him for naming his bike Rocinante. But it’s just because the Bike Hermit is a rough, illiterate man. And because I’m jealous of him. He is leaving next month for a year long bike touring trip in Europe. He is twenty something. Actually I am not jealous, I simply hate him…..just kidding Asa. There were three other bike touring novices on our trip around Lake Cascade this weekend. But every one of them represented!
A bout of dehydration resulting in nausea, headaches and chills for Paul prompted Scott to retrace the previous thirty miles in order to fetch a car for the rescue. Meanwhile we fed Paul ibuprofin and an electrolyte replacement drink…he actually recovered enough to put me in a spot of bother on the last day while trying to stay on his wheel. Scott met us at the second night’s camp and drove into town to buy beer and steaks! That’s what I call bike touring!
Paul was on put on a strict regimen to replace fluids and to balance electrolytes.
Exercise induced dehydration can actually be real problem when touring. According to Wikipedia- “Physiologically, dehydration, despite the name, does not simply mean loss of water, as water and solutes (mainly sodium) are usually lost in roughly equal quantities to how they exist in blood plasma” which means that simply drinking water can still result in dehydration if electrolytes are not also replaced. In fact, drinking too much water without replacing other nutrients can lead to hyponatremic dehydration, basically a low level of electrolytes, sodium in particular. Fruit juices, coconut water, sports drinks, milk, fruits and vegetables contain electrolytes. Fruit juices can contain a good deal of sugar which makes them more difficult for the body to digest and use. I prefer an electrolyte tablet that can be dropped into a water bottle because the tablets are small and easy to carry. Nuun brand tablets have no sugar and a little bit of effervescence, and they taste pretty good. Checking urine color can be an indicator of hydrated-ness, should be light, like lemonade, not dark, like apple juice.
The second night, we shared the full to overflowing campground with some very impressive RVs, pickup trucks and bass boats. At O Dark:30 in the morning a dozen diesel motors clattered to life and I extruded myself from my hammock to watch the start of the day’s bass tournament. After heating some water for coffee I wandered down to the boat ramp to watch the launch…all the boats were already in the water!…these guys have it down. The official’s boat was being circled by the school of bass boats as the lights on its mast changed from red to yellow to green. Then, in a display that would make any American (or OPEC member) proud, one by one the boats took off at 80 m.p.h. to their preferred fishin’ hole. They would fish and drive their boats really fast until 3 PM when the official weigh in took place. Almost wished I could’ve stayed.
It is well known that the Bike Hermit can be socially challenged. I enjoy being on my own and unknown in new to me places. But I’m finding that touring with other people can be rewarding. Something about it seems to bring out the best in a grumpy old man. I bear the discomfort and I realize that most of the others are committed to the well being of this little temporary micro-society we have formed. Feelings of sovereignty are put aside and group mindedness prevails…nobody wants to be the one who ruins the trip for the others. There is a tacit understanding that this is no place for competitive instincts.
Seeing how people solve the problem of carrying gear on the bike is instructive and entertaining too. From trailers to panniers to frame bags to wire baskets, there is no right or wrong way. This old hermit is looking forward to the next group tour!
Second in a series on bottom brackets. Numero uno is here.
The newest (2012) Long Haul Trucker complete bikes come with the Shimano UN55 square taper bottom bracket which is an improvement over the UN-P.O.S. used in earlier years, but when asked what I might upgrade on a stock Long Haul Trucker I am likely to recommend a new bottom bracket. Don’t get me wrong, the bottom bracket that comes standard on the stock LHT is perfectly adequate. But there are bottom brackets that will last longer.
With bottom brackets, one gets what one pays for. In this case more money buys better bearing seals, higher quality bearings made to stricter tolerances, and better materials throughout.
Phil Wood Company designs, manufactures and assembles precision bike parts in San Jose, CA. USA. Their bottom bracket uses two adjustable cups to hold the bearings and spindle in place which makes it possible to achieve the perfect chain line, since the bottom bracket can be positioned within a 5 mm band of “normal” centered position. The cartridge bearings are plainly visible when the unit is installed, which might make one wonder about the durability when used in extreme conditions, but Phil Wood Co. uses “seals which are as good or better than those found in the highest quality submersible motor and pump bearings”. I have only seen one Phil Wood bottom bracket that needed servicing though, and even that was straightforward….the unit can be sent back to the company for new bearings at a reasonable cost.
Phil Wood cartridge bottom bracketThe left and right cups use an interference fit with the bottom bracket and require the use of the Phil Wood bottom bracket tool
SKF is a German company (Correction: Thomas K. correctly points out that SKF headquarters are in Gothenburg, Sweden) which has been a leader in bearing technology since 1907 and today is the largest bearing company in the world. Their approach to bottom bracket design strives to incorporate the best of old and modern technology. Rather than using cartridge bearings pressed onto the spindle and into the bottom bracket cartridge they use bearings which are received by races which are part of the spindle and the shell. Custom seals are used to keep contaminants away from the assembly. This way they can use roller bearings on the drive side and over-sized bearings on the non-drive side increasing durability and strength. This design has some appeal to the retro-grouchy Bike Hermit, and SKF is proud of it too….they offer a 10 year or 65,000 mile warranty (just be sure to keep track of your miles) 😉
SKF bottom bracket. The little bit of bling afforded by the red cup is not undesirable.
The mechanical seal designed to keep the bearings cozy and happy in the most inclement weather
