Category: Bike Touring Tips

How to articles and resources for the bicycle traveler.

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Austin to New Orleans Tour Planning Resources

“Goin’down groovin’ all the way”, Prologue

“…now the sky is gettin’ light
everything will be alright
I think I finally got the knack
just floatin’ and lazin’ on my back

I never really liked that town
think I’ll ride the river down
just movin’ slow and floatin’ free
this river swingin’ under me

wavin’ back to folks on shore
I should have thought of this before
I’m goin’ on down to New Orleans
pick up on some swingin’ scenes

I know I’ll know a better day
goin’ down groovin’ all the way…”

Micky Dolenz, “Goin’ Down”

Yep, the bike hermit is goin’ on down to New Orleans. Since we are going to be in Austin for the North American Handmade Bicycle Show in  February, I started to think about ways to take advantage of being in the south while Idaho emerges from the cold, wet winter months. That thinking has evolved into a bicycle tour from Austin to New Orleans.  I will load Chief and journey out on section 5 of the Adventure Cycling Association‘s  Southern Tier Route, from Navasota, TX to St. Francisville, LA., and from there down to the Big Easy. Since I am self-absorbed and delusional enough to think people I don’t even know might be interested, I have decided to document my daily planning and preparation tasks,  the ride, the trip home and any epilogues.

A simple Google search will uncover a plethora of web pages with itemized lists of what other people take on a bicycle tour , and I think those lists are boring. So I won’t be doing that. Some people have created spreadsheets to plan their itineraries and to document the daily mileage, weather, lodging, food and probably bowel movements. I’m not going to do that either. I want to speak in more general terms about the process of conceiving, planning and executing this bike touring trip as I figure it out. About things that I find out and discover as I explore how to get from here to there by bicycle. The whole concept to me is about freedom. I’m free to ride my bike all day if I want. Indeed, I’m free to ride all night if I feel like it. I’m free to stop whenever and wherever I want. I can go as fast or as slow as I want. All this freedom within limits of course. I do need to complete the ride and come home on the designated day. But everything in between getting on the bike in Austin and getting off in New Orleans is going to unfold as it will. I am literally just along for the ride. And the beer.

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Bike Touring Equipment Nutrition for the Bike Tourist

Cook Stoves for Bike Touring

Back in the day there were not a lot of choices in lightweight backpacking or bike touring stoves. The bike hermit used (and still has) a Svea brand stove. Aside from being dangerous, unreliable, inconsistent, inefficient, heavy and difficult to use, that stove is great. Nowadays there is a better selection of stoves from which to choose, with various models burning everything from white gas to isobutane/propane to denatured alcohol to sticks. The different fuel sources all have pluses and minuses and most people will have a preference for one or the other based on their own demands.

My most recent experience has been with the Primus EtaPowerTrail EF Stove

Primus EtaPower stove in use. The black knob on the line attached to the top of the fuel canister allows for flame adjustment.

This is an isobutane/propane stove so the fuel source is a sealed canister with a screw fitting for a fuel line which connects to the burner. The fuel is pretty easy to find at most outdoor stores and even Walmart, so even though you can’t fly with it or ship it, you can get it on route.

The kit I purchased includes the burner unit with fuel line , a base, a windscreen, a 1.7 liter aluminum pot with a lid and a pot handle.

All the parts

This is not the most compact stove available but it has some features I like.
Namely;
-Relatively large and very stable base.
-Windscreen
-Easy to light
-Great heat output Boils about 3 cups of water at 32 degree F. ambient temp. in about 4 minutes.
-1.7 liter pot is good for cooking pasta dishes or for making freeze dried food with water left over for coffee or cleaning.
-Separate, light, easy to use pot handle
-Piezoelectric start precludes need for matches

The burner unit snaps into the base.
The burner in place. The piezoelectric starter button is the black button in the lower right of the photo above
Base unit with burner attached, ready for windscreen
The windscreen sits on the base and is secured by rotating counterclockwise to engage the helical cut outs with the bases of the pot support wings. The wings are then folded down to provide a level pot surface.

Pressing the piezoelectric ignition button creates a current in the wire which is suspended over the burner plate and a spark generates between the end of the wire and the plate, igniting the fuel coming through the line from the canister. If the wire gets bent and is too close to the plate, no spark will generate and the wire needs to be re-positioned away from the plate surface until the spark is visible when the ignition button is pressed.

The space between the end of the wire and the plate may need to be adjusted to achieve a spark when the ignition button is pressed.

Even though this might appear to be a complicated kit, it is well made and durable. I need to be more diligent in making sure all the connections are tight between uses. The entire kit (minus fuel canister) weighs about 27 ounces or 765 grams. Now I see on the Primus website they have a stove that is slightly lighter but much more compact, the Primus Eta Lite

Primus ETA Lite Stove

The Primus ETA Lite Stove sets a new standard for compact, all in one backpacking stove… [More]

Price: $99.95
Buy Now

I think when it is time to get a new stove for Sky King we may be looking at that one.

Categories
Bike Touring Tips Hermit's Workshop Saddlebags

@#!% Flat Tire

There are dozens of videos out there about changing a flat tire. None with background music by Sonny Stitt.  Here’s one!

A couple of things. Notice that I just lay the bike on it’s side with the derailleur up. That’s an easy way to do it when you’re on the side of the road. Also, I shift the chain into the smallest cog. When I put the tire back on it’s easy to remember what cog to put the chain over so that the wheel will be centered.

This is what I carry on the bike to change a flat:

Pump. I use a Zefal HPX frame fit pump. This pump is all aluminum and the barrel is long enough to push a decent amount of air, so the tire is up to pressure relatively quickly. Plus, unlike CO2 pumps,  it has never failed or frozen. It mounts to the underside of the top tube

on  bikes that have a pump peg.

Or it can be mounted in front of the seat tube, but this precludes the use of a water bottle there.

Spare tube, tire levers and patch kit. The simplest and quickest way to fix a flat is to change the tube. But I only want to carry one spare and if I get another flat I need to be able to patch one of the flat tubes.

Seat bag. For shorter day rides I use a Zimbale leather saddle bag to carry these items plus a multi tool.

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.

Continue reading “Cold Weather Cycling – How To Dress”

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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
Planning Resources

Planning A Bike Touring Route

Deciding where to go on your bicycle touring adventure and planning the route is an enjoyable part of the experience. Maybe there’s a part of the country or world you have always wanted to visit, and doing it on a bike can be a profound pleasure.

But…how does one know what the roads are like?…Is the area safe?…..What about auto traffic?….

There are some good sources  for route planning.

The Adventure Cycling Association publishes excellent maps outlining almost 41,000 miles of bicycle routes which have been researched and refined over the last 4 decades. These have descriptions of what to watch out for and how to plan. They also offer supported trips, a Cyclist’s Yellow Pages, and a print publication that always has great useful articles.

Google Maps is another good resource. Just click on any area in the world and you can look at the topography, with elevations included, or a satellite view, or the straight up map view. This application also allows you to view a photograph at almost any point along most roads, by simply dragging an icon, placing it on the highlighted road and dropping it. Very, very cool. In Google Earth one can “fly” over the route.

Another idea is to use routes identified by companies which specialize in guiding supported tours. These routes are usually  researched thoroughly  and a person can find information on camping and other places to stay, where to eat, topography, traffic, etc.

Crazyguyonabike.com is another fantastic resource. This is a free, independent website for hosting bicycle touring journals, forums and resources. The content is contributed by people from all over the world. There are currently (2010) almost 5000 journals and over ½ million photos contributed by people doing their own bicycle tours. Many of these are updated daily by people during the tour, so you can follow them every day!

When planning the route, take into consideration how much time you have, your fitness level, the fitness level of your traveling partner(s) if any, and expected conditions such as weather and elevation changes. Consider where you want to end up each night. With these things in mind plot out your daily mileage, remembering that, if you are self supported, you will be  carrying additional weight. So, even if you are in great shape and regularly do 80 to 90 or more mile training rides, those are not realistic numbers for touring. Some days 40 miles might feel like an epic ride. Other days 100 miles will be doable. Allowing plenty of time to complete your route,…more than you think you need…will give you time to stop at points of interest, or even just (gasp) relax! Remember, this is supposed to be fun.