In a previous post I compared and contrasted the Surly Pugsley and the Pug Ops. The Moonlander is Surly’s fattest fatbike with mammoth 4.8″ Surly Lou and Bud tires with 120t.p.i. (25% bigger than the Pugsley tires) on 100mm “Clown Shoe” rims. In order to make room for the fatter tires the Moonlander’s rear triangle is offset a little bit more than the Pugsley or the Pug Ops with a corresponding additional offset in the rear wheel. And the Surly Offset double crank gets a few more spacers so the chain won’t rub on the tire in the lowest gear. Surly Nate 3.8 tire on Pugsley is on the left. On the right is the Surly Bud 4.8 on the Moonlander. Both bikes use the same Moonlander fork.
You can see the 180mm brake rotor on the front of the Moonlander compared to the 160mm rotor on the Pugsley. A little more leverage to deal with the momentum of those taller, wider tires. The Pug Ops is spec’d with 180mm front rotors too.
The huge tires on 100 rims on the Moonlander can be ridden at very low air pressures for more flotation and traction on snow, sand, gravel and/or roots. Surly claims this bike is “designed from the ground up to ride where there are no roads, no trails and no people.” When the sandy single track gets wet in the Boise foothills two inch wide mountain bike tires dig in and cut up the trail, but the Moonlander barely leaves a mark! A bike like the Moonlander can expand the riding season as well as the areas and terrain that can be explored by the bicycle traveler. If you still think fat bikes are limited, look at this article in bikemag.com about the Walmart fat bike tearing it up at Sea Otter. The 4.7 inch wide Big Fat Larry tires (top) leave a very low impact footprint compared to a standard mountain bike tire below.
The March 2013 Wandering Wheels ride took us from Mountain Home, Idaho to Bonneville Point along the Main Oregon Trail. The trail is easy to find traveling north from Mountain Home on Canyon Creek Road thanks to frequent signage. Once on the trail the surface is nicely graded hard dirt and parts of it could be challenging in wet conditions. The tourist traveling east or west between Mountain Home and Boise needs to be prepared for some sharp climbs, and there is no place to get water for over 40 miles. Camping on BLM land is permitted but there is private land interspersed with BLM so it’s a good idea to get a Surface Management Status map from the Idaho Bureau of Land Management or from the US Geological Survey beforehand.
It’s eerie to listen to the voice. The transmission starts out chirpy, almost a forced chirpyness. As the voice goes on, loneliness and a sort of uncertainty come through. The voice is not real time but it’s still chilling to realize it’s coming from the middle of the Antarctic, the middle of that frozen desert. He’s alone. I can see pictures of him crouched in the orange glow inside the little tent, or huddled beside the bike trying to get out of the wind.
Eric Larsen just returned from an attempt to ride a Surly Moonlander to the South Pole…and I complain about a little bit of snow on the local roads! Spoiler Alert: He didn’t make it. At first he saw it as a failure, but on the ride back to the pickup point it sounds as though he started to enjoy the routine. That brings to mind a paradox; one needs a goal when setting out on a journey, but if the ultimate, original goal is not reached, is that necessarily a failure? What is the point of the journey after all? Sure, Eric had sponsors and he felt as though he let them down but at the same time he was being realistic. He calculated that he would be out of supplies before he reached the South Pole. How would his sponsors look and feel if he died?
Tom Allen set out on his own journey. He didn’t know what he was looking for, but when he found it he was self aware enough to know it. And lucky for us, he made a movie titled Janapar. We will be screening it twice this month (January 2013) so if you want more information about that leave a comment.
Paul Salopek is planning to walk from Ethiopia and across Asia before crossing over to Alaska and continuing the length of the North and South American continents, ending up at the “end of land”. That’s 21,000 miles. On foot. What’s scary is that I sort of get this trip. He is a journalist and his “goal is to cover the major global stories of our time by walking alongside the people who live them on a daily basis”. To me the hardest part of this trip would be the mental aspect. He plans on walking for seven years. Thinking about reaching the end, or even the day’s stopping place- o n f o o t- might drive me mad. His website is called Out of Eden
The temperature is going to be well below freezing this New Year’s Eve day and several inches of snow have fallen in the last 48 hours. A combination of de-icer, sand spread by the highway district and traffic has left the busiest roads mostly bare and dry. But driveways and side streets are covered with (one after another, or all at the same time) patches of snow, ice, slush and gravel. I’m not riding the bike today.
Would even studded tires help here?
This morning I looked in a supplier’s catalog at tires with 400 or so carbide steel studs in the tread. I’m tempted to buy a pair but I’m not sure if even that would keep me upright on the ice. And the use for such tires is limited…I don’t really want to be taking them off and putting them back on every time it snows. If I had a bike with disc brakes I could try the old zip-tie snow chain trick.
Earlier this month, before the snow was sticking, we went on a day trip from Three Horse Winery north of Eagle, ID to Montour, ID where we ate lunch before riding back. Scott and Aileen scouted this route prior and they were going to show us the fabled passage between Eagle and Montour which we had been unable to discover on our overnight trip last year. This turned into sort of an epic slog through mud and water and emphasized the importance of the right bike for the job… those of us with fenders spent quite a bit of time digging packed mud from between the tires and fenders. We even ended up taking Sky King’s front fender off when her front wheel completely bound up and stopped turning. For those on bikes without fenders and using disc brakes the going was relatively easier.
Here is a map of the route for those who might want to repeat it.
Even with the mud everybody had a great time and there was more smiling taking place than cursing although there was some of both. That is partly a testament to the cohesiveness and the great attitude of our fledgling bike touring group wherein everybody is quick to help others and nobody complains. Plus, every rider is competent and able to take care of themselves on and off the bike.
A touring bike continues to open my eyes to the scenic and solitary places within an hour or two of where we live. Places I never visited in the previous two decades of living here and probably would not have experienced in another 20 years, but which are suddenly accessible on my country bike. Not to mention a new group of friends….a group of thinking, entertaining and interesting people who make this hermit happy to be a part of it.
What are the basic essential articles of clothing needed for a successful bike tour? Obviously it depends on the season and local climate. My last three trips have been in late winter in the southern and southwestern US. Still, it can get cold…down to 25 degrees in Marathon Texas last year. And rain and even snow are always possibilities. So I carry what I consider to be the bare necessities for comfort without going overboard and bringing too much.
Clothing for a Bike Tour
At the top I have long johns and a long sleeve polypropylene t-shirt. The long johns and sometimes the long sleeve t for sleeping on the cold night. I have a Woolistic brand wool trainer, a rain jacket, this happens to be a Bellwether, a long sleeve cotton t-shirt and some Endura Humvee pants made out of nylon.
On the floor, wool leg and arm warmers and a pair of knee warmers, a Club Ride jersey and a Surly wool jersey, riding shorts (yes, I prefer bibs), flip flops, for the inevitable gross showers and for hanging out, socks, (I carry 2 or 3 pairs of undershorts too), a wool cap and gloves. When I’m riding I, of course, wear my helmet and bike shoes.
Every two or three days I can hit a laundromat and wash everything. In a pinch I can wash the basics in the shower at night and hang them to dry. Even though my trips of late have been shorter than 3 weeks, I don’t think I would need to carry much more even if I were going for 3 months.
The bike hermit is only interested in useful bikes. Randonneuring, commuting and touring bikes with racks or at least eyelets and with fenders are the only bikes that make sense. And the only ones that look proper. Ellis Cycles’ owner Dave Wages has a resume that includes stints with Ben Serotta, Dave Kirk and Waterford. Pretty good resume. And it shows in the details.
Ellis Cycles cool touring bike
Custom fender stay bolts
Cable hanger. Stout
Custom rear tail light, wired inside fender.
Another view of Ellis Cycles touring bike
And I’ve decided what a crummy photographer I am. The pictures of the light wiring inside the front rack and the custom brake cable hangers and the engraved head tube logo were not done justice in the photos I did take. This bike ended up with the Best Of Show award and it was well deserved. Everything well thought out designed, built and integrated into a seamless whole. Making simple look easy.
Adventure Cycling Southern Tier maps sections 4 and 5
There was new snow on the ground again this morning with more forecast for the rest of the week. I check the forecast for Texas and Louisiana and am pleased to see that temperatures are predicted to be in the 70’s during the day and merely down to the 50’s at night for at least the next week. There is some rain in the forecast and according to the Adventure Cycling map I just got on the mail, Louisiana receives on the average in February and March as much precipitation as this part of Idaho gets in a year. Since my hammock and sleeping pad will travel strapped to the sides of my rear rack I decided I better address the probability of them getting wet.
After brushing the snow off the car we made our way to the Army Navy store where I found some compact and lightweight dry sacks of the perfect size. Since I already have a waterproof compression sack for my sleeping bag, I think I am all set in the riding-in-the-rain department.
The remainder of the afternoon has been spent developing a reasonable schedule so that I could book a hotel room in New Orleans and a flight home. That and reading Sue Gray’s account of her ride on the same part of the Southern Tier earlier this month in some abberantly cold weather. My last two tours have been sort of aggressive from a time allowed standpoint, especially last year, when I did 850 miles in 11 days of riding for an average of 77 miles per day. This year’s route is about 700 miles and I figure I can do it comfortably in 12 days which averages to about 58 miles a day. As an extra cushion I am allowing for one rest day, with zero miles, and one day in New Orleans to get the bike packed and ready to ship back.
We are leaving for Austin on Wednesday. I still need to pack my bike and get it to FedEx tomorrow in order to feel comfortable about it getting there before the end of the week. Stacy flies back home on Tuesday March 1, my first day on the bike.
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 aboveBase unit with burner attached, ready for windscreenThe 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
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.
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.
