In honor of my first real bike trip with Sky King and The Bike Hermit, I give you stuff bike touring chicks say…
Seriously, is this headwind for real? Is it always uphill? I hate bike touring. I should have trained more. That cheeseburger was a bad idea. Does that sign seriously say “chain up area”, sh*t. Pedal 1,2,3,4, pedal 1,2,3,4. Okay my legs aren’t working. My butt hurts. Do I have a flat? How much sugar is in these shot block things anyway? Was that guy cute? Do I look cute? Wow, it’s like so pretty out here. Oh crap, I’m in the middle of the road again. Oh crap, I almost went off the road again. I swear to god if the bike hermit says “you’ll have this in bike touring” one more time, i’m pushing him off his bike.
If you follow any of our posts you have already noticed we aren’t afraid of touring on dirt and gravel roads. In fact in the last few years we have probably covered more miles on dirt than on pavement… AND we cover most of them on loaded touring bikes. Certainly, riding a fully loaded touring bike on dirt/sand/gravel is not the same experience as the rider on a “fat” bike or a “mountain” bike. Sometimes our descent will be slower or we may have to walk a few stretches but overall we rarely shy away from following that enticing road and going exploring.
The last few weekends have found us seeking sunshine in the Big Jacks Creek Wilderness Area, south of Boise. Evan Worthington, the Owyhee Wilderness Ranger from BLM took the time to share his knowledge and passion for the area at a recent Wandering Wheels meeting (a loose group of people who like to ride bikes). What makes the area special for biking is the existence of many cherry stems- from the BLM website:
“Cherrystems are spurs of roads in Wilderness areas that do not themselves have wilderness status. The boundary of a Wilderness area extends up one side of a cherrystem route, around its terminus and down the other side of the roadway, to allow for motorized or mechanized activity on the roadway that is prohibited in the Wilderness area.
The Omnibus Public Land Management Act of 2009 also designated a few cherrystem routes that cross entirely through the Big Jacks Creek, Bruneau-Jarbidge Rivers, and Owyhee River Wilderness Areas.
All cherrystem routes are signed and open to motorized and mechanical transport unless posted otherwise. Please stay on established cherrystem routes to protect adjacent wilderness.”
Photo by Aileen Frey
Evan also blessed the shop with several excellent maps of the area so if you live near by feel free to come in and plan adventures. The recent ride involved a section of road that is best described as double track. Some sections were rocky, others quite sandy and a few of the descents would be described as somewhat challenging regardless of the type of bike a person was riding.
Roads really aren’t my topic though. My topic is what bike can I, do I, choose to ride for Adventure Cycling. My answer is – it really doesn’t matter – much; I am taking a big leap of faith that if you are reading this, your bike of choice probably isn’t of the road racing variety. Taking a bike with a tire narrower than 32 mm may lead to frustration but other than that we say don’t underestimate the ability to try the intriguing dirt road on your current bike. (see Chris Kostman’s Rough Riders Blog) Understand that the riding experience will not be the same as a full suspension mountain bike and personally, we think that is fine. Our group of back road adventures often will have a wide variety of bikes – Touring style, Mt. Bike Style, Fat Bike Style, Adventure Bike Style. Some cover ground faster than others but everyone who shows up to ride realizes we are in a group and nobody seems to get their bike shorts in a twist about waiting for others or having others wait for them.
Things to consider and to include on your adventure:
Sky King and Sky putting the Grand Bois Hetres through the paces.
Tire Width & Tread – A width of 32 mm is a minimum. Skinny tires don’t do well in soft dirt, sand or deep gravel. Tread – while I have ridden my Gran Boise Hetre’s on many dirt roads & also have used Schwalbe Marathon Supremes I do need to pay attention to loose/deep gravel and have walked sections others have been able to ride because these tires aren’t heavy on the tread. Don’t over inflate either! If anything start out in the mid range of PSI for your tire and adjust accordingly.
Some good tire choices: (l. to r.) Surly Knard 700×41, Bontrager 29×2.1, Schwalbe Big Apple 700×2.35
Pedals & Shoes – I have the Shimano A530 which is a two sided pedal, giving me the option to clip or go clipless. I typically ride clipped in and will clip out if I am concerned about needing to put my foot down quickly on a tricky descent but ride with many who don’t use a clipped in style. Some use a BMX style pedal. The 45North pedal with the hi traction pins are great for those who don’t want to be clipped. The Power Grip is another alternative.
Bags & Bottles – For day trips or overnighters I never ride without at least one bag on my bike. We have had many discussions about to ride or not to ride with a front bag. The front bags we like and offer for sale rest on the front rack so the weight is on the tire and not weighted on the handlebar but others will argue that the weight of the bag affects the handling. Once again I will just say riding a loaded touring bike on dirt/gravel is going to be a different ride than a bike with suspension sans bags. If you ride in heavy brush or trees, using panniers can be an issue. Frame bags aren’t just for Mt Bikes and work quite well on touring and adventure bikes. Several of our biking buddies take their hydration packs for back road rides. I don’t happen to own one so I always make sure I carry plenty of water and we often will throw the water filtering devices in the seat bag if we know we will be in an area that has water. For day adventure rides I take a saddlebag. This last trip I used a Frost River Gunflint Trail and had so much room I carried extra clothes for a few others.
The Gunflint Trail bag on the Nitto M15 rear rack. Note the riveted and sewn leather attachments.
Be Prepared – Day trips or overnighters; always bring more than you think you’ll need. Getting stuck out in the middle of nowhere and not having the right tools, clothing, food is not going to be any fun for anyone. We always have the essentials – tube, patch kit, pump, tire irons and other simple tools. In addition- strike anywhere matches, flint tool, tactical flashlight, emergency blanket, first aid kit, chemical toe warmers, jacket, hat, gloves and pants (based on the season) and extra food – fruit, nuts, gorp, sardines or whatever you’d appreciate if your ride takes a sudden unexpected turn.
Riding a touring or adventure style bike on loose gravel, deep sand or rocky roads does take some practice. Learning to power through deep sand and to not back off when hitting the unexpected were two things I had to concentrate on when I began to leave the pavement. Rough roads can be tiring on the hands and the arms, but at the same time perhaps that reminds you to stop, take a break, enjoy the scenery and remind yourself it’s about the journey, not the destination.
The new VO frame, the Camargue fresh off the boat for Interbike 2013. I’m afraid this bike might be pretty dang close. Made at the same factory as Surly and Rivendell.
Great color on this touring bike!I’m a sucker for the bi-plane forkExtended head tubeSingle ring and IG hub optionSemi horizontal drop out
The Path Less Pedaled made this video about how bike travel can help the economies of small town America.
Sounds good in theory but I wonder how it works out practically. There is not a large volume of people traveling by bicycle. I know the whole idea of advocacy is to get more people to do it, but it’s sort of like building a community; there needs to be enough “rooftops” before investments in infrastructure like shopping and services make sense. Or like mass transit; there needs to be a critical mass of users to make it viable. To get communities to invest in bicycle friendly amenities or to get them to promote bicycle travel may be putting the trailer in front of the bicycle, so to speak.
Personally, I would much rather ride a bike around town than drive a car. I can use the bike for almost anything I can do in a car. I have more fun too and I can feel superior to the poor slobs stuck in traffic. I also think traveling by bike and living more or less on my wits is a blast. Would I like to see more people doing it? Obviously it would be good for my business if more people were buying from me and if more people used their bikes around town there would be fewer cars to worry about, but those are pretty self-serving reasons.
At any rate, I think the best kind of advocacy is just to be out there on the bike as much as possible. In this country, using a bike for everyday routines is not exactly a mainstream activity. Utilitarian bikers in this country (except Portland) can be categorized roughly as:
-homeless
-court appointed commuters
-hipsters
-wacky hippies
When I spoke to Jobst Brandt (R.I.P.) a few years ago at Interbike and mentioned the excellent crazyguyonabike website he said he would not want to be associated as being a “crazy guy” just because he was using a bike. I think that is key. Until using bicycles is considered a normal, viable way to conduct daily business it will be a fringe activity. Jobst Brandt on the Tenda Road, French Alps in 1989. From trentobike.org
There may be some downsides to more people traveling by bikes too.
One thing I worry about is the popularity of so called “stealth camping, a practice I’ve heard described as “hiding in the woods”. Camping is generally legal on Bureau of Land Management and Forest Service land but when tourists start trespassing, and if they leave garbage and/or cause damage to property, then all the advocacy in the world will not repair the good will towards bike riders.
I try to remember that I am an ambassador for cycling every time I swing a leg over the top tube but I know I have probably not always represented the way I would like. In the October/November 2012 issue of Adventure Cyclist magazine there is a letter from a person who lives on the TransAmerica route and who has provided hospitality to cyclists for over a decade. This person is removing her home from the ACA map and from the Warmshowers site because of a trend for traveling cyclists to be rude and demanding and to have a feeling of entitlement. She says, “It used to be commonplace for the cyclists to notice that the property was a project in motion- stuff being built, painted or maintained in some way. Without exception I would be asked, ‘Is there anything I can do for you?’…….But it seems different these days. Out of the 115 who stayed so far this year, only three people offered to help” Ouch. She goes on to say that not only do people not offer to help but they leave trash strewn about and seem to take her hospitality for granted.
Sorry to be such a curmudgeon. I really like seeing people like Laura and Russ and like Velouria at Lovely Bicycle writing about and promoting bicycles and bicycle travel. And I truly would like to see more people using bicycles. I think it would go a long way to reducing the levels of anger, anxiety and stress we feel in our everyday lives.
Canada to Argentina on Surly Long Haul Truckers
Randy and Cheryl had been living their dream for two weeks when they arrived in Boise to stay with us for the night. Starting at the Canadian border they pointed the handlebars south and started riding, with the aim of eventually making it to Argentina. When I mentioned that I would have difficulty wrapping my head around a trip of that length and duration their response was reassuring. Before taking on the breathtakingly empty, desolate and beautiful Nevada desert they took time to let me record this rambling, background noise filled, (put the mic on a tripod, Mr. Hermit) interview.
Randy and Cheryl stopped at Bike Touring News on their way to Argentina.
Cycling Home From Siberia
A reader sent a link to a video of this talk by Rob Lilwall recounting his three year trip by bicycle across Siberia and Eastern and Central Asia. Rob’s an entertaining speaker and his tale is inspiring. Thanks for the link Yanyan!
From Adventure Cycling we received this email today: Dear Member Club or Shop-
I’m writing today to invite you to help Adventure Cycling Association spread the word about our 3rd annual Build It. Bike It. Be a Part of It. fundraising campaign for the U.S. Bicycle Route System (USBRS). The campaign kicked off May 1, 2012 and runs through May 31. May is also National Bike Month, and what better way to celebrate than by supporting the creation of a national system of cycling routes?
Last year, we raised more than $32,000 for the project. This year, we’ve upped our fundraising goal significantly, hoping to raise $50,000 as well as spark excitement about the progress so far.
Here are the details:
The U.S. Bicycle Route System is a visionary project similar to the national and international cycling systems blossoming across the globe. Adventure Cycling is working with dozens of state agencies, national organizations, nonprofits, volunteers, and the U.S. Congress to realize this vision.
Here is what you can do right now: (If you do share this project, let me know and we will add a linked listing listing to your club or shop on our project page!)
I’m hoping that today and tomorrow you can help us get the word out about some cool offers for people who donate to our campaign in the next few days — these donations will also help us meet our matching challenge from TeamEstrogen.com, so donors will double their impact. Here’s the skinny:
We’ve raised over $4700 in 10 days, but we have a long way to go to make our $50,000 goal by the end of May.
Can you help us get the word out today about two special offers for anyone wishing to donate? Basically, anyone who donates $25 or more before Saturday, May 12 at 11:59 EST will be entered to win a Brooks B-17 Saddle. And, if they donate at least $50, they will receive a Walz cycling cap designed specifically for the campaign, while supplies last. If you would be willing to share this message on your blog or Facebook page today or tomorrow, that would be great!
Here’s sample text for you to use — feel free to edit to fit your style and voice:
Support the U.S. Bicycle Route System & Win
Here’s a chance to help the future of cycling in America and an opportunity to win some great prizes.
For the month of May, Adventure Cycling Association is conducting its 3rd annual Build It. Bike It. Be a Part of It. fundraiser to raise money and support for the implementation of the U.S. Bicycle Route System (USBRS). This national network of bicycle routes will help people travel short and long distances by bike.
Donate $25 or more before Saturday, May 12 at 11:59 EST, and you will be entered to win a Brooks B-17 Saddle. And, if you donate at least $50, you will receive a Walz cycling cap designed specifically for the campaign, while supplies last. Better yet, you’ll also be directly impacting the future of bicycling in America.
Adventure Cycling still has $2,230 to go before they meet this week’s fundraising challenge from TeamEstrogen.com. So, when you donate you’ll double your impact!
Please donate today.
Adventure Cycling is offering many more prizes and fundraising challenges throughout the campaign. To keep track of these offers and to support the project: like the U.S. Bicycle Route System on Facebook or follow it on Twitter, or learn about other ways to get involved.
Adventure Cycling is a great organization – they promote and facilitate riding and using bicycles. And they do it in many ways. Their maps are indispensable to anybody considering an extended tour in the US. Check out the Adventure Cycling site and, if you can, donate to this worthy cause.
” ….mixing with people is wonderfully appropriate. So are visits to foreign lands……..mainly learning of the humours of those peoples and of their manners, and knocking off our corners by rubbing our brains against other people’s.” – Montaigne
Traveling by bicycle puts one literally at the ground level. We are subject to all of nature’s whims and to the topography. And we have no choice but to be exposed to and sometimes to participate in “the humours of those peoples and of their manners”. We are not floating in a four wheel, air-conditioned capsule watching the scenery as if it is on TV. Sometimes when “bike touring” is mentioned I wonder if the vision that comes to mind is one of purple mountains majesty or amber waves of grain. That’s why when the Adventure Cycling Association announced the new Detroit Alternate to the Underground Railroad Bicycle Route I was immediately intrigued. A trip by bicycle through the deep south and the heart of the rustbelt might be a sure way to knock off some corners!
The campsites at Fay Bainbridge State Park, normally $21 are $5 apiece for bikes. Coin operated showers too.
August 1, 2011
It’s only about 46 miles from Fay Bainbridge State Park to Fort Worden State Park in Port Townsend. By the time we were finished riding on the day we had covered 58 miles.
After a few miles on the scenic pastoral backroads we were back to the treacherous 305. Crossing the Agate Pass Bridge on a bicycle is not for the timid. Sky King went first and did it exactly the way it should be done. Timing her entry in front of a big box van, she rode in the traffic lane, since there is no shoulder, and the truck slowed to follow her across, with traffic backing up behind. There is no choice but to hold up traffic in situations like this and most people are not psychopaths and they will not, usually, mow down a bicycler.
Immediately after crossing the bridge we took a right onto Suquamish Way up to Suquamish and to Port Gamble. Winding back roads with low traffic brought us to the town of Port Gamble where we stopped for lunch. Then we were on the ACA West Coast route up to Fort Townsend.
The hills are numerous and steep, but, thankfully, usually short.
We passed by Fort Townsend State Park south of town because it was our intention to stay at Fort Worden State Park. It is not evident on reaching Fort Worden that any camping is even offered. We rode around the barracks and other buildings and found a campsite but the sign said pre-registration was a requirement and that the campground was full anyway. I flagged down a passing vehicle and the driver told us the office was closed but directed us to the hiker-biker camping area. A network of trails connects primitive campsites for tent campers all of which were available except for one which contained a tent already pitched. We stopped at site adjacent to this one to leave our bikes and reconnoiter the area.
A man of normal build and maybe 40 years, wearing basketball shorts, a t-shirt, gym shoes, a short hair cut and a goatee walked passed us and said, “How’s it goin?” in a voice that was maybe a little too loud and forced, before he turned into the next campsite which apparently was his.
“Fine” I replied.
We could still hear him talking and as we continued past his site we saw him standing on the bench of his picnic table facing away from the trail towards the woods and reading aloud from the bible. We thought that was a little different and looked for a site as far away as possible. When we came back to retrieve our bikes he had changed his demeanor and was assuring some person who remained unseen that,
“They are all f****** liars. They’re all f******* liars and they aren’t going to get away with it.”
When our eyes met his words to me were,
“Yeah, I’m talkin’ to you”
We secured our bikes and gear and took them and exited out of the other end of the hiker-biker area. We rode down to the beach camp ground which was also full. I told a passing city cop about the incident in the hiker-biker area. We saw him again a few minutes later and he told us he had spoken to the park ranger who was going to have a talk to the individual, and who was not happy that we felt too threatened to stay in his park. Both the city cop and the park ranger took us seriously and they were concerned about keeping the area safe and so I’m sure this was an isolated incident.
As we were riding back towards Fort Townsend State Park I couldn’t help but feel sorry for this fellow. I can’t even imagine what it must be like to live inside his scrambled head, but it must be terrifying. He might have been a high functioning schizophrenic but still he doesn’t have a lot of choice but to scuffle around and try to find someplace to stay until he gets run off. There are not really any social services for these poor people. I don’t know what can or should be done for them but it’s really sad.
Adjacent to the boatyard, through which runs the bike path, the Port Townsend Brewing Company is located just off Haines Place on 10th Street. This is just a tasting room with no food but the beer is good and there are nearby places to eat. After doing our due diligence here, we proceeded to the Safeway across the street and bought a baked, whole chicken and some broccoli to take back with us to Fort Townsend State Park, where we ate and collapsed into our sleeping bags.
The last section of the ACA route into Port Townsend is on this bike path. Slow down here because the brewpub is adjacent to the boatyard, and the Boatyard Coffee Shop is in the yard.You look purty to me boy. Where do you think yer goin'?I was taking pictures and the proprieter said everybody in the port rides it. So......"
“One of the qualities that draws me to deserts is their sparseness. I go to be scoured by their winds, purged by their silence, humbled by their searing sunsets. The desert dirt, which accumulates in the chapped cracks of my fingers and the pores of my face, brings me solace. It somehow stills the subtle anxieties produced by living in a culture in which what you do is so often mistaken for who you are, where artificialities obscure essences. Immersing in the desert’s simplicity is akin to a ritual purification. As the earth stands naked, so I am stripped to my unadorned self, with little to distract me from the truths of my life.” So writes Michael Benanav in his excellent account of traveling through the Sahara with a camel caravan to the salt quarries of Taoudenni and back to Timbuktu, Men Of Salt.
Apparently I find something about deserts intriguing as well. I live in Boise, Idaho which with 11 inches of rainfall annually is a high desert environment. Early in 2010 I traveled to west Texas to ride my bike through the Chihuahuan Desert and in early 2009 I rode through Death Valley, smack dab in the middle of the Mojave Desert. Granted, these trips were designed to escape the doldrums of February in Boise, and I’m not sure I would be as fascinated by these deserts in the summer with temp’s in the low triple digits.
I came across this article about Ballarat Ghost Town in Death Valley and a hermit known as Seldom Seen Slim on the Rough Riders website.
Seldom Seen Slim aka Charles Ferge
Chris Kostman is behind the Rough Riders website as well as AdventureCORPS Chris organizes several rides in Death Valley and southern California. I intend to take part in one of his Rough Rider Rally rides soon.
The Adventure Cycling Association’s Utah Cliffs route is another desert trip I want to take. Sky King and I did an overnight bike trip in Zion National Park a couple years ago and that country is really beautiful with red rock cliffs and sub alpine forests.
Admittedly, the bike hermit is a little different. My brother doesn’t understand why I would go off and submit myself to the deprivations of bike touring and he doesn’t understand why I go to remote and barren locations to do it. Let me do some ‘splainin; The severe climate of the desert breaks my life down to the most basic elements like it breaks the rocks into sand. The detrition of the wind loosens the sediment in my brain and the subsequent silence when the wind dies makes it possible to listen to the voices in my head. The scenery takes some effort to appreciate sometimes but like anything that requires effort, the rewards are more satisfying. Unlike Montana where around every bend is another postcard view, and you become numb to it after a while. The trips through the desert that I have taken, by myself, have been among the most memorable and rewarding experiences of my life.
