Bike Across USA blog – Page 6 – Traveling by Bicycle Across America

Days 1 through 9

On September 25, 2014

Rain and wind have dominated the trip so far. I am writing from the Tillamook County Library. This is the first time I’ve had internet access.

This is my first rest day. I am camping at Cape Lookout State Park south west of Tillamook, Oregon. There have been lots of hills and strong head winds.

I am journalling daily. There are lots of stories to tell. When there is more time. I have a load of groceries and will be heading back to fix supper.

I’ve met other traveling cyclists in the last two days.

Preparing for Bicycle Travel on the Pacific Coast

By Shular

On September 14, 2014

In Bicycle Routes, Cycling in 48 States

Route guide book

I am in the Seattle area preparing to ride the Pacific coast from near the Canadian border to Mexico.

Traveling by Amtrak from Chicago to Seattle worked well with the exception of a long delay caused by a freight train waiting for a crew change. The train ride followed parts of the route I used to ride coast to coast in 2012. I’m staying with Rod, who I met in Maine on that ride.

Pacific coast rote

The back cover of the guide book shows the route. It follows highways 101 and 1 most of the time. Each day is laid out from campground to campground. Average daily mileage is just over 53 miles.

Bicycling from Colorado to New Mexico

By Shular

On June 27, 2013

In Cycling in 48 States

This picture was captured by my wife and SAG driver Terry. We are visiting her sister at Four Winds in Colorado. This is my first time riding in Colorado and New Mexico. I rode to Questa, New Mexico and then up the mountain to Red River. At times the grade was a 15 percent slope. That is rising 16 feet for every 100 feet. While it was slow going up, I hit almost 45mph on one section going back toward Questa.

One of the interesting sites was a small group of bighorn sheep.

Southern Tier Route Across the USA: Is San Diego East of Reno

By Shular

On May 24, 2013

In Bicycle Routes

A recent comment from Rick Landers suggested I should check the first paragraph of my Bicycle Routes page where it says San Diego is East of Reno, Nevada. So I checked the facts. As you can see by the map to the left, San Diego is indeed East of Reno. This fact is part of the reason why bicycle routes across the southern portion of the United States are shorter than those starting in northern California, Oregon or Washington.

Looking at the Eastern Seaboard, you can see the rest of the story. St. Augustine, Florida and Savannah, Georgia are East of Yorktown, Virginia and Bar Harbor, Maine where Adventure Cycling Association’s TransAmerica Trail and Northern Tier routes end.

If you have questions about bicycle touring across the USA or cycling questions, leave a comment or send me an email.

Riding on Faith: Keeping Your Balance When the Wheels Fall Off

By Shular

On December 28, 2012

In Uncategorized

Alice Teisan’s new book Riding on Faith in Kindle format is available for free download at Amazon today and tomorrow. Alice is the Executive Director of His Wheels International, the organization that I raised money for on my bicycle ride across America last summer. I started reading the book. I think you will find it worthwhile. Here is ythe link: http://www.amazon.com/Riding-Faith-Keeping-Balance-ebook/dp/B009YLG2TY/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1356745995&sr=8-1&keywords=teisan%2C+alice

Please consider a year end gift to His Wheels as well. Find out more at: http://www.HisWheels.org

What Items Did You Carry Coast-to-Coast and Not Use

By Shular

On September 6, 2012

In Uncategorized

Unused Items Carried Coast-to-Coast

I was asked if I carried anything coast-to-coast on my bicycle ride across America, that I did not use. Above the photo shows most of the items I did not use. The long sleve shirt was to have gone with a pair of khakis that I left at home during my rest days in July. I also left a pair of jeans, my rain coat, a long sleeve jersey and light weight cycling tights home at that time. Early on I mailed about 6 pounds of gear home from Columbia Falls, Montana, including a cotton polo shirt, a metal pot for cooking, a long sleeve jersey and a small duffle bag.

Out of curiosity, I weighed each item not used. Long sleeve cotton shirt: 240g; Kleenex: 20g; wrenches (for brakes) 180g; tube2: 120g each; patch kit: 20g; tube for B.O.B trailer: 110g. Not included in the list is a small box of Park self-adhesive patches and another tube carried in an under-seat bag. The total is 1040 grams or 2.3 pounds.

This was my first loaded bicycle tour. Next time I will be more selective about what I carry. Some of you may be thinking, what difference will a couple of pounds make. I was told there was more than 50,000 feet of climbing from Ticonderoga, New York to Bar Harbor, Maine. A rider has to lift all of that weight. That means an additional 115,000 foot-pounds of work for that portion of the ride.

I read a book early this year in which a mountain climber that had been to the summit of Mt. Everest cut the handle off his toothbrush, even on less challenging climbs. Later I read of a cycling tourist that does the same thing. I’m not sure I will go that far. On this bicycle tour the weight of my gear, trailer, bicycle and 3 full water bottles totaled 60% of my body weight. My goal for the next tour is to reduce that ratio substantially.

People You Meet

By Shular

On August 18, 2012

In Other People's Tours, People you meet

Rod, Shular and Denny in Belfast, Maine

hostel cabin

On August 6, I missed a turn and lost about 3 hours, adding about 25 miles to my day. When I realized I was off route I called Terry. I had phone service! I had to leave voice mail. What I did not know was when she tried to check voice mail, she was getting her own message instead of the mail box. I have had this problem with t-mobile before. When Terry saw Rod McDonald and Denny Andrie with loaded touring bikes she asked if they had seen me. If I had not been off route they could have. They were planning to stay at a hostel that night. Terry went over to arrange for us to stay also. It was 20 dollars for the night. The owner provided us with fresh eggs for the morning. Denny and Rod came down to visit. They both live in the Seattle area. It turned out that we had met some of the same people, including Ken Gomez from the Syracuse, New York area and his cousin Bill. I met Ken and Bill in Shelby, Montana. I was amazed by his detailed listing of sites to see, diners, places to stay and warmshowers.org hosts. Ken had to cut his tour short. He had recently sagged for Rod and Denny in the Adirondacks.

Denny Climbing

They asked if I would like to ride with them Tuesday. We started about 7:00am. That is the day we stopped for the pictures with lobsters posted earlier. The Adventure Cycling maps give great information about places to camp. I found a listing for cyclist only camping with a request to call ahead. I left voice mail. It was another day up and down hills. We arrived at Alex Allmayer-Beck’s house in the late afternoon. I was checking voice mail for a response from Alex when he opened the door. He has been involved in cycling since 2004 and is a gracious host.

Alex and Rod 173rd Airbone bumper sticker

Alex and Rod 173 Airborne

As he escorted us to the backyard, Rod spotted the 173rd Airborne bumper sticker. It turns out that he and Alex had both served in Vietnam with the 173rd. What a coincidence. Alex and Rod shared stories and memories throughout the evening. Alex drove us to the grocery store to pick up dinner and supplies and gave us a quick tour of Belfast. Alex has been CEO of the local soup kitchen for the last two years. He has been successful in building coalitions of people to help those in need and finding volunteers. His plans include renaming the organization to the Belfast Community Kitchen. The town is thriving. I think Alex will accomplish his goals for the program.

Nathsha, Denny, Robert, Phil and Rod at cafe

Natasha, Denny, Robert, Phil and Rod

Wednesday morning was foggy as Denny, Rod and I anticipated our last day of riding. Our energy was high. Down the road from Belfast, Rod spotted three loaded touring bikes. We found the riders in a cafe. Natasha is from northern California, Robert is from Arkansas and Phil is from Michigan. We must have talked for nearly an hour. We rode together to Bar Harbor. It was an amazing day for six of us to complete our dream of riding coast-to-coast together. We were less than 70 miles from our goal. Robert, leader of the other group, did a great job keeping us together. Denny, Rod and I were riding without gear. The others still had their full loads.

Blackwoods Campground Full

At lunch, Robert mentioned it would be good to reserve a campsite at Acadia National Park for the evening. I was having trouble with my phone. It showed that I had service, but I couldn’t hear anything except the voicemail messages that were recorded to the phone. I borrowed a phone and called Terry. She didn’t want to give up her parking spot, but went to the park to see what she could arrange. Terry was told the campground was full!

Site G1Blackwood Campground

It turns out, however, they had one group campsite left. They didn’t think anyone would want to pay the $50 fee. With seven of us, including Terry, the site was perfect. Terry lost her parking spot, but was able to make provision for all of us to camp after our final day of riding. Our neighbors were two troops of Boy Scouts. They were good troops with great leaders.

What Equipment Failures Did You Experience

By Shular

On August 17, 2012

In Uncategorized

Dura-Ace Bar End Shifters

Riding up and down hills on the Northern Tier Route requires a lot of shifting. At times I shifted more in a day than I might in a month at home. The continual shifting caused the front derailleur cable to break on July 26 in Evans, New York. Fortunately, I had a spare cable. In a short time, I changed out the cable and started riding again.

front derailleur cable

My Bianchi Volpe was fitted with Shimano Dura-Ace bar end shifters. Before the cable broke, shifting became more difficult. After I installed the new cable, shifting was much easier. The next time I was near a bicycle shop, I picked up a spare derailleur cable. With a front derailleur, when the cable breaks, the chain moves to the smallest chain ring. This lets you ride, but limits your range of gears to adapt to the terrain. You are stuck in the low range. I knew if the rear cable broke, the chain would move to the smallest rear cog, leaving me in a relatively high gear regardless of which chain ring was used in the front.

Eventually, the rear derailleur became very difficult to shift. Rod, Denny and I spent Tuesday night, before our last day of riding, camping in Alex Allmayer-Beck’s back yard. Alex told us he had every tool in the Park Tool catalog and asked if he could help with any problems. I mentioned the shifting on my rear derailleur. He said there was a simple adjustment. The next morning it only took him moments to tell me it was a cable issue, not an adjustment. Alex helped me get the new cable installed and adjusted. The old cable had failed. Broken strands of wire were jamming at the end of the housing. The shifting improved dramatically after with the new cable. Maine is full of hills, all the way to Bar Harbor on Mount Desert Island. I was really glad to have easier gear selection again.

For many people the ride across America might represent many years of riding and shifting, still it pays to check the condition of your shifting cables, before they break or become difficult to shift.

How Many Flat Tires Did You Have Biking Across America

By Shular

On August 15, 2012

In equipment

Continental Contact Tire

As amazing as it may seem, I did not have any flat tires in my 4540 mile bicycle ride coast-to-coast across the USA! I did wear out the first set of tires. I rotated the front to the back in Circle, Montana and replaced those tires on my rest day at home in Illinois in mid-July. I installed a set of Continental Contact tires 700c x 28mm. These were a little narrower than the tires I started on. the Continental Contact tires had less rolling resistance. According to the advertising they have Continental’s SafteySystem. “The SafetySystem Puncture Protection is made of a strong and tight Nylon fabric. This fabric is additionally reinforced with Kevlar®. The result is a tire construction that is highly resistant against pinches and cuts.” One of the common hazards for a bicycle tire on a tour is the debris and small pieces of wire from failed truck tires that litter the shoulder of the highways and by-ways. Puncture resistance is a big plus. Many of the touring cyclists that I met had fitted Schwalbe Marathon tires, usually 700c x 32mm or larger. The Marathon comes in a Plus or Supreme versions. These tires have a reputation for being very durable and capable of long life.

Schwalbe Marathon Plus bicycle touring tire

Schwalble Marathon Plus Touring Tire

The Specialized tires that I used at the start of the trip seemed to wear faster and did not roll as easily as the Continental Contacts. Remember this is not a direct comparison, since the Contacts were a narrower tire. The tread and casing design seems to be superior on the Continentals. I didn’t have any flats on the Specialized tires for more than 3200 miles, so they did a good job too. I wore them down to the Kevlar under the tread. I tired to keep these tires inflated to about 75psi. I know that some of the time they were down around 60psi. A heavier rider might well have experienced problems at that pressure.

Tire After 3200 miles

While I didn’t have any flats, I did talk to other people who did. A rode and camped with Thomas Mach, a German citizen here on vacation. The day we rode to Fairhaven, New York, Thomas experienced his 24th flat tire. He pulled B.O.B trailer like mine with his Stevens road bike, using narrow 700c x 23mm tires. He had also experience a flat on the trailer tire. As he examined his tire that day, he found a very small embedded piece of wire from a truck tire. I do not recommend touring with regular road tires. In the interest of full disclosure, the front tire developed a slow leak in Vermont, after my wife joined me for the last ten days of the ride. I used the floor pump in the morning and in the afternoon, and it made the duration of the trip. If I had to pump the tire up every day with the frame pump, I would have installed a new tube. You will find an article on bicycle touring tires at the Bike Across USA website: http://www.bikeacrossusa.com/bicycle-tire-selection.htm

Lobsters cheaper than beef

By Shular

On August 13, 2012

In Food for the ride

Shular with Lobsters

Outside Rockport, Maine on August 7 Rod and Denny wanted a picture with lobsters. At $3.99 a pound, the live lobsters seemed like a real deal. Unfortunately, we had no way to carry or cook the lobsters.