Author: Bike Hermit®

Categories
Tours and Rides

Sub 24 Hour Overnight – S24O

Sarah is a friend of mine who flies Lear jets for a living. She also races bicycles on the road, but I won’t hold that against her 🙂  She borrowed my BOB Yak Plus Trailer (with Dry Sak) (yes, this link takes you to Amazon.com but if you follow it and buy a trailer I make a little money, so if you’re going to buy one anyway………..)
and some of my camping gear last summer for a decidedly slower paced trip and her first ever bike tour. She went solo to Tenmile Campground northeast of Idaho City. She tells the tale here.

It was fun to help her plan her trip and it was interesting  listening to the questions of a noob to bike touring.  This is a great way to get a shakedown tour, figure out if you like it and the things to take and those to leave behind. So, it doesn’t need to be a grand, complicated, time consuming venture. Anybody can do it!

Categories
Touring Bicycles

How to Size a Touring Bike

I have finally completed the series of pages about sizing for a touring bike. The first one is here.   This is always a controversial topic and usually engenders the longest threads on most forum sites, and so it’s sure to ruffle some feathers but that should be entertaining. If you have comments or specific questions please reply to this post or leave a response on any of the specific pages or email me.

Categories
Touring Bicycles

Steel Bikes And Comfort

Even though I’m a fan of steel bikes, it’s mostly because of the durability of the material. I certainly like the ride quality too, but I think the idea that steel is a more plush or forgiving ride because it flexes or dampens is hogwash. The idea has almost become gospel now just because it’s been repeated so many times.  Don’t get me wrong, I know my steel bike frames flex…. I can hear my fender and/or brake and/or front derailleur rub from time to time if they are a little out of whack and I am pressing hard on the pedals. But that is torsional flex.

It’s the idea of vertical flex of a bicycle frame I have a hard time envisioning.

Scientific diagram

Imagine the arrows to be balancing the downward force of the rider and the bike.

Continue reading “Steel Bikes And Comfort”
Categories
Living Vicariously

Welcome!

Relaxin' in the Valley of Death

A site about all things bike touring, a term that can mean a number of different things. Is  overnight bicycle camping touring? Does riding out to the state park for a picnic qualify as a tour? We think the answer is yes. Stay and look around – Shop, get inspired and maybe learn something new too!

Categories
Bike Touring Tips

Cold Weather Cycling – How To Dress

Yesterday I decided I needed an attitude adjustment. So I went for a 2 1/2 hour bike ride. And it worked! Riding even a short distance can change the thought patterns in the brain. It was about 42 degrees F. when I left and about 39 when I returned. Other than the toes I was quite comfortable for the whole ride. In fact when climbing the hill to my turnaround point, I ended up shedding my jacket.

I know, I'm no Velouria...I'm workin' on it.

Unless there is snow on the roads, it’s possible to ride all year round. Some people ride when the roads are snow covered, but a fall on the ice happens too fast and I don’t think it’s worth it.

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Categories
Louisiana Our Trips Texas

Bike Touring the Southern Tier

I came across this YouTube channel the other day. Dave is bike touring across the US and documenting it in videos. It’s pretty cool, especially if you have been to some of the same places he travels through.

He’s traveling from west to east on Adventure Cycling’s Southern Tier route with a Bob trailer hooked onto his bike. If you’re thinking about following all or parts of the same route, might want to check it out, because he points out some of the tricky intersections, talks about traffic, and about where he stays and eats. His YouTube channel is called ThreeWheelJourney. He was nice enough to link to my site and my YouTube channel too.

I thought this video journal was highly entertaining, a nice twist on the photo journal. I am going to try to figure out a way for people to share their stories here. Since I’m a rookie at this WordPress thing, any suggestions about how to do that are welcome!

Categories
Fenders

Touring Bicycle Fenders- An Overview

Arguably, fenders are one of the essential accessories for the touring bicycle. Even in Death Valley, one of the driest places in the world,  it does rain.  And I say arguably, because, as you can see on this Adventure Cycling forum, people argue. When riding offroad in wet conditions, mud packing between the tires and fenders can bring the bike to a standstill pretty quickly.  Aside from that, when it does rain or there is water on the road, without fenders you will be soaked in short order with spray from the front wheel on your feet and spray from the rear wheel on the back of the legs. Besides being uncomfortable, on a cool day it could add to the possibility of becoming hypothermic.

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Categories
Planning Resources

Bike Touring – Another way to ship a bike

In a previous post I talked about one way to get your bike and gear to the start of your tour. This post will talk about another way to pack your bike, this time to take it on the plane. I helped a customer pack her bike for a trip to England, using the Pika Packworks soft sided bag. The packing of the bike went smoothly. There is minimal disassembly of the bike required…..removing the pedals, seat and seatpost, and the handlebars and rear derailleur. But there is no disconnecting of cables so the shifting and brakes don’t need to be readjusted before riding the bike. Here is a video:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GGhhxdAPyL8

The size of this case  allows it to be checked as luggage and the weight should be less than the 50 pound limit, even with some other items included in with the bike. If you are worried about the soft case and the protection it offers to the bike, you can always wrap more protection material around the frame tubes and add a brace made out of pvc pipe between the dropouts of the frame and fork.

Categories
Touring Bicycles

The Touring Bicycle – Update

I’ve decided to insert a post to update my previous posts about touring bicycles. From the previous posts in might appear that the choices for bikes with which one can travel is limited to pretty traditional designs. This is far from the case as evidenced by this journal at crazyguyonabike. A mountain bike with an Xtracycle attachment obviously is a viable way to carry gear for self supported touring.

So, even though I have my opinions and preferences, it is not to say that there are no other good options for touring bikes.

Now back to our regularly scheduled program!

Categories
Lights and Electronics

Touring Bicycle Lights

Inevitably, if you are traveling by bicycle, you will get caught in the dark. Whether you are just getting an early start to meet the day’s mileage goal, or you get lost looking for that camp site. Either way you will wish you had a reliable, efficient and powerful light source. One on the front to light the way and one on the rear for safety.

There are three options for power sources for your headlights. And they each have pros and cons.

Option one: Lights powered by disposable batteries.

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