Cycling thread

Tristan · May 29, 2016

Not sure how many cyclists we have here ( @Bare Lee @happysongbird @Longboard others? ) but I thought I'd make a thread we could share our cycling trips, workouts, weekly mileage, gear, etc. I know we had a good discussion going on the barefoot bike pedal thread, but I wanted to post more non-pedal and non-triathlon related stuff. And I'd love to include all cyclists, regardless of recreational or racing, cycling shoes or barefoot, since I don't believe on a bike that going minimal really makes things any more natural since it's already an unnatural machine.

I'll start by talking about my century ride this week... first time ever hitting the 100 mile mark! And I did it barefoot without any issues there. I also did it loaded with touring gear... as a test run of my new racks and panniers. I simulated a few days worth of travel gear, probably 20-30 lbs more. On my 1988 Schwinn Voyageur that I got a couple months ago. I was however still breaking in a leather saddle and I knew it would probably get uncomfortable by the end so I brought a slip on memory foam cover. That was a life saver around the 80 mile mark, but the real problem was I discovered the saddle was slightly uneven... it tilted up on the right hand side and it was my right side of my rear that started to get sore. So still debating what to do about the saddle but for now I swapped the original back on.

I did a few side trips, visited a waterfall, also stopped in a couple towns for lunch and ice cream. Had a blast. Even brought along my dSLR and tripod and snapped a few pics along the way. Had a great time and felt pretty strong throughout, even at the end I could still keep a pretty good pace. Though after 80 miles I did feel I was straining my system. It didn't help mentally either that I was doubling back, and the last 20 miles was all on part of the trail I am always on so rather mundane at that point. Furthest I've ever rode in a day was a little over 50 and that was a year ago. This year I haven't rode much at all yet, this trip almost doubled my outside mileage for the year! I did get back home before 100, think I was at 88, and decided to grab a bite then go back out on another loop just to officially hit 100.

I did this since I am planning a possible tour in another week, and wanted to see if I could pull off doing 100 miles loaded, and maybe back to back. Well, I don't think I could do two back to back in my current shape. But now with the defective saddle I'm debating what to do. Without hardly any miles on the original saddle I'm not sure if I want to chance it being uncomfortable on a 4-6 day trip. And I don't think my other road saddles would be great choices either. So not sure yet what to do.

Abide · May 30, 2016

Shoot I've got a couple thousand km's on my leather saddle and it feels exactly the same as the day I took it out of the box. I still think people are lying when they say you can break a brooks in. Maybe you should look into getting a nice/nicer pair of the gel undies?

This year I have a long fastpack planned in August, but next year I am looking at doing a MTB/running tour in the mountains somewhere. Need to figure out the bike situation though.

Tristan · May 30, 2016

Well I think part of the breaking it in isn't about breaking the leather saddle in but breaking your butt into the saddle lol. That being said I warmed it up and applied a good coat of proofhide (even though you don't have to right away it helps soften it more and I figured since I'm a lighter person I might need some extra help breaking it in). It does feel more comfortable to me now for longer. But it is definitely off level. here is a pic I took after I realized it. Ignore that the wheel is off center too please, that was corrected after the pic.

But to be honest I've been biking with the original suede saddle the rest of the week since, have done about 60 miles on it (total) and I think it might be alright. While the Brooks looks nice, a well worn and discolored suede saddle seems to fit the '88 Voyageur well I think, and might make my new bar tape / hoods I want to put on match better. meanwhile I'm not sure if I want to try to get a replacement (and probably have to pay international shipping and start my breaking in from scratch) or just bend the thing with a pry bar.

Good look with your trips, Abide. Is fastpack where you go from hotel to hotel without having to carry a lot of gear? Sorry I am not terribly familiar with cycling terms. The MTB trip sounds fun too, but man I don't like biking the hills. I'll save em for my hiking trips.

Abide · Jun 4, 2016

Tristan said:
Good look with your trips, Abide. Is fastpack where you go from hotel to hotel without having to carry a lot of gear? Sorry I am not terribly familiar with cycling terms. The MTB trip sounds fun too, but man I don't like biking the hills. I'll save em for my hiking trips.

That seat almost looks like a defect? Wonder if you could email them and get a new one? Yeah MTB is like trail running for me. Hills suck but you can always hike and bike.

Fastpacking is basically backpacking but running and hiking or whatever you want to amke of it. Lighter pack, less gear, you can pack food but over here the wild isn't really wild and you can find food along the way. I'll probably intermix staying at hotels and tent only when necessary. I picked up a tent, bag and sleeping pad to use and all of it ways about 4lbs. The goal is to get the pack at 7-8kgs or 16-17lbs with water.

Tristan · Jun 4, 2016

This week I was fortunate to work at our backup center, away from downtown, and right across the street from the bike/mup that is many miles long and actually ties into the Ohio to Erie Trail. So I got a little biking in Monday-Thursday, 67 miles total. It's suppose to rain over the weekend so probably wont get any more cycling miles this week but maybe. 67 miles on the bike.

Abide said:
Fastpacking is basically backpacking but running and hiking or whatever you want to amke of it. Lighter pack, less gear, you can pack food but over here the wild isn't really wild and you can find food along the way. I'll probably intermix staying at hotels and tent only when necessary. I picked up a tent, bag and sleeping pad to use and all of it ways about 4lbs. The goal is to get the pack at 7-8kgs or 16-17lbs with water.

Ahh I see. Usually when I am hiking I'm out for a few days and I only get further from the road so have to pack it all. Maybe some of my trips could be done and back out though if fastpacking instead of staying the night on the trail. But I like to take my time, carry photography equipment, and enjoy the hike. I still try to hike light, and have upgraded most of my gear in the last few years to better lightweight options. For warmer weather 40F and up... tent is 1lb 10 oz, bag is a hair under a lb (I think 14oz if memory serves), and pad is 12oz. So only about 3 lbs for those but somehow I still end up 35+ lbs with a full pack!

Abide · Jun 10, 2016

I put in a heavy cycling week for me, did a total of about 180kms and will add 25 more today. I think I will keep the distances up while I taper for my 100 the next few weeks to keep busy.

Bare Lee · Jun 10, 2016

Speaking of saddles, I got a Specialized Romin Expert Gel last summer and I've been pretty happy with it. I was skeptical about the gel, as I had bad experiences with a gel seat in Africa, but the gel is pretty minimal in the Romin. I had a leather-style seat most of the time I was traveling by bike, but I found it uncomfortable for casual recreational riding. I think it needs higher frequency in order to settle.

Funny to hear about guys talking about Centuries. One of the mechanics at my local bike shop was talking about doing his first. Back when I traveled by bike, I did 100 miles every day when the surfaces were reasonable, fully loaded with gear and provisions (up to 13 liters of water!). It took about four hours in the morning and four hours in the afternoon. Did almost 200 miles one day in Syria, back before Hilary and Barack decided it would be fun to blow it up just to spite Russia and Iran. Just shows you what consistency can do. I'll never come close to being in that kind of aerobic shape again.

Anyway, barefoot biking thread, good idea. Thanks Tristan.

skedaddle · Jun 10, 2016

Bare Lee said:
Speaking of saddles, I got a Specialized Romin Expert Gel last summer and I've been pretty happy with it. I was skeptical about the gel, as I had bad experiences with a gel seat in Africa, but the gel is pretty minimal in the Romin. I had a leather-style seat most of the time I was traveling by bike, but I found it uncomfortable for casual recreational riding. I think it needs higher frequency in order to settle.

Funny to hear about guys talking about Centuries. The guy at my local bike shops was talking about doing his first. Back when I traveled by bike, I did 100 miles every day, fully loaded with gear and provisions (up to 13 liters of water!), when the surfaces were reasonable. It took about four hours in the morning and four hours in the afternoon. Did almost 200 miles one day in Syria, back before Hilary and Barack decided it would be fun to blow it up just to spite Russia and Iran. Just shows you what consistency can do. I'll never come close to being in that kind of aerobic shape again.

Anyway, barefoot biking thread, good idea. Thanks Tristan.

I'm half way through reading Mark Beaumont's world record cycle attempt from Cairo to Cape Town. He got a lot of stones thrown at him in Ethiopia and had to have an armed escort for many of the countries. Oh how the world has turned.
Must have been an amazing experience for you Lee, memories like that must be so precious.

Bare Lee · Jun 10, 2016

skedaddle said:
I'm half way through reading Mark Beaumont's world record cycle attempt from Cairo to Cape Town. He got a lot of stones thrown at him in Ethiopia and had to have an armed escort for many of the countries. Oh how the world has turned.
Must have been an amazing experience for you Lee, memories like that must be so precious.

Thanks, I do regret settling down. Not a day goes by where I don't wish I was out of my routine. One day of traveling is like a week of settled life, in terms of stimulation and what you remember.

I feel a little ambivalent about those kind of guys. Did he have a support crew? For me, cycling is the perfect way to tour, but it's kind of pointless if you never stop to talk to anyone. But I've never had the racer mentality. I'm in it for the adventure.

I got the rocks in Ethiopia too! I chased one kid to his house, where his father (uncle?) promptly set to beating him. In one village I had about 30 kids chasing and stoning me, with a few adults futily trying to stop them. And the road was in bad condition so I couldn't go much faster than the kids.

Anyway, good to hear from you Ske!

Tristan · Jun 10, 2016

Bare Lee said:
Back when I traveled by bike, I did 100 miles every day, fully loaded with gear and provisions (up to 13 liters of water!), when the surfaces were reasonable. It took about four hours in the morning and four hours in the afternoon. Did almost 200 miles one day in Syria, back before Hilary and Barack decided it would be fun to blow it up just to spite Russia and Iran. Just shows you what consistency can do. I'll never come close to being in that kind of aerobic shape again.

Anyway, barefoot biking thread, good idea. Thanks Tristan.

Well my first hundred wiped me out so that is majorly impressive you could do em back to back

However I am a relative newby to cycling, think I'm just hitting the 2,000 mile mark after ~2 years. And I feel that just that one century ride really helped me improve, since I just finished up my first short tour and felt much better. 83 miles the first day and I felt fine. 82 the next but included several miles of pretty big hills. Struggled but wasn't hurting at least at the end of the day. Third day was just going home, 60 miles, and low on energy (had to go back through the same dam hills) was wiped out at the end of the day but not as bad as that first century ride.

One thing I realize now, you can get a lot of miles in if all your doing all day long is riding, with a few rest/food stops.

That's also impressive about travelling in Syria, especially getting stoned and such. I'm pretty thin skinned I get flustered when someone flips the bird at me on the road just around my house, don't think getting stoned in a foreign country is my cup of tea.

I kind of have a different take on 'touring' myself anyhow... I'm not much of a people person and don't really go to meet local folks. Now I do love to converse to someone willing, don't get me wrong, just a shy introvert I guess. But I love just going out and taking in the scenic countryside, not really stopping into towns and cities. I even had the campground all to myself on my trip and that's perfect by me.

Oh and the thread is just about cycling as another sport some of us do, not specific to barefoot

I'll have to type something up in a bit about my trip, give me a minute to get my photos together...

skedaddle · Jun 10, 2016

Bare Lee said:
Thanks, I do regret settling down. Not a day goes by where I don't wish I was out of my routine. One day of traveling is like a week of settled life, in terms of stimulation and what you remember.

I feel a little ambivalent about those kind of guys. Did he have a support crew? For me, cycling is the perfect way to tour, but it's kind of pointless if you never stop to talk to anyone. But I've never had the racer mentality. I'm in it for the adventure.

I got the rocks in Ethiopia too! I chased one kid to his house, where his father (uncle?) promptly set to beating him. In one village I had about 30 kids chasing and stoning me, with a few adults futily trying to stop them. And the road was in bad condition so I couldn't go much faster than the kids.

Anyway, good to hear from you Ske!

No support crew Lee, just armed escorts that he didn't want and a camera crew that joined him from time to time.
I agree with you though, it's not the most exciting of books i've read recently, more a document of what he ate and what he threw up the next day because of what he ate. :vomit:

It's just about getting from a to be in the shortest possible time.

Tristan said:
I'll have to type something up in a bit about my trip, give me a minute to get my photos together...

Sounds great Tristan, I love reading about others adventures, especially when there's pictures. :snaphappy:

Bare Lee · Jun 10, 2016

Tristan said:
Well my first hundred wiped me out so that is majorly impressive you could do em back to back

However I am a relative newby to cycling, think I'm just hitting the 2,000 mile mark after ~2 years. And I feel that just that one century ride really helped me improve, since I just finished up my first short tour and felt much better. 83 miles the first day and I felt fine. 82 the next but included several miles of pretty big hills. Struggled but wasn't hurting at least at the end of the day. Third day was just going home, 60 miles, and low on energy (had to go back through the same dam hills) was wiped out at the end of the day but not as bad as that first century ride.

One thing I realize now, you can get a lot of miles in if all your doing all day long is riding, with a few rest/food stops.

That's also impressive about travelling in Syria, especially getting stoned and such. I'm pretty thin skinned I get flustered when someone flips the bird at me on the road just around my house, don't think getting stoned in a foreign country is my cup of tea. I kind of have a different take on 'touring' myself anyhow... I'm not much of a people person and don't really go to meet local folks. Now I do love to converse to someone willing, don't get me wrong, just a shy introvert I guess. But I love just going out and taking in the scenic countryside, not really stopping into towns and cities. I even had the campground all to myself on my trip and that's perfect by me.

Oh and the thread is just about cycling as another sport some of us do, not specific to barefoot

I'll have to type something up in a bit about my trip, give me a minute to get my photos together...

My first day I cycled 60 miles (km?) from London to Oxford and it nearly killed me. I could barely walk the next day, and I was in decent shape at the time. Two months later I was handling the Pyrenees with ease. It's a lot easier to adapt to cycling than running, because it's mostly thighs and cardiovascular conditioning--none of the joints and ligament stress you get with running, although it takes a while to build up stamina in the shoulders. By the time I got to Africa I could beat locals who would playfully race me for a few miles, even though they had fresh legs and I was fully loaded. When I got home, I went for a run after a few weeks and could do five miles no problem.

The secret to hills, of course, is a good granny gear.

Syria used to be a beautiful, very hospitable country. It kills me to see our corrupt politicians lay waste to these places. Libya used to have universal health care and education before Hilary gave it her Midas touch. Trump is actually less of a warmonger, but I could never vote for him either.

Yah, touring is whatever you want it to be. For me, the big advantage of traveling by bike, beside the physical challenge and satisfaction, was being forced to stay in villages that you would normally zoom by in motorized transport. The world's peoples are fundamentally good, it's just the leaders who suck. The stone-throwing was confined to Ethiopia and Jordan. Basically spoiled little boys.

Bare Lee · Jun 10, 2016

skedaddle said:
No support crew Lee, just armed escorts that he didn't want and a camera crew that joined him from time to time.
I agree with you though, it's not the most exciting of books i've read recently, more a document of what he ate and what he threw up the next day because of what he ate. It's just about getting from a to be in the shortest possible time.

Sounds great Tristan, I love reading about others adventures, especially when there's pictures.

Cool, sometimes you read about these westerners using the third world as their playground for heroic feats and then you realize they had support the whole way and stayed in nice hotels. You'd be surprised how many people ride solo like I did. I met three guys during my travels 25 years ago, so there's must have been lots more I didn't meet, and even more nowadays. Everyone tells me to write a book, but for me, that would cheapen the experience, unless I made it into a parody.

I'd be interested to see how he got across the Sahara. My plan was to build a bike-powered platform I could use on the rails that follow the Nile out of Ethiopia into Sudan. But my brother got married, so I flew to Germany, where he was based, then continued my bike travels up to the North Cape, down through Eastern Europe and the Middle East, finishing in southern Egypt. I never made the connection between Ethiopia and Egypt through the Sudan. I had had enough. After two years of cycling and 10 years total of traveling, it was time to come home, and leaving a little section between the North Cape and the Cape of Good Hope seemed more poetic anyway. Coming down on the other side of Africa, I flew over the Sahara, as it wasn't politically possible to travel through Western Sahara at the time, and flew over central Africa as well, due to various political instabilities, although one of the guys I met made it through, so I kind of regret that.

skedaddle · Jun 10, 2016

Bare Lee said:
Cool, sometimes you read about these westerners using the third world as their playground for heroic feats and then you realize they had support the whole way and stayed in nice hotels. You'd be surprised how many people ride solo like I did. I met three guys during my travels 25 years ago, so there's must have been lots more I didn't meet, and even more nowadays. Everyone tells me to write a book, but for me, that would cheapen the experience, unless I made it into a parody.

I'd be interested to see how he got across the Sahara. My plan was to build a bike-powered platform I could use on the rails that follow the Nile out of Ethiopia into Sudan. But my brother got married, so I flew to Germany, where he was based, then continued my bike travels up to the North Cape, down through Eastern Europe and the Middle East, finishing in southern Egypt. I never made the connection between Ethiopia and Egypt through the Sudan. I had had enough. After two years of cycling and 10 years total of traveling, it was time to come home, and leaving a little section between the North Cape and the Cape of Good Hope seemed more poetic anyway. Coming down on the other side of Africa, I flew over the Sahara, as it wasn't politically possible to travel through Western Sahara at the time, and flew over central Africa as well, due to various political instabilities, although one of the guys I met made it through, so I kind of regret that.

There is now a perfect road running through the Sahara recently built by the Chinese, the biggest problem he faced was getting sand blasted by 24 wheelers and nearly squished several times by mad coach drivers.
Man you and Tristan have really inspired me today, thanks for sharing guys.

Bare Lee · Jun 11, 2016

skedaddle said:
There is now a perfect road running through the Sahara recently built by the Chinese, the biggest problem he faced was getting sand blasted by 24 wheelers and nearly squished several times by mad coach drivers.
Man you and Tristan have really inspired me today, thanks for sharing guys.

I met a Belgian guy coming up from Capetown when I was a few days out from arriving. He had cycled through the Sahara coming down, back before the new road was built, but he said the biggest problem was having to beg water from the truckers. There weren't enough places to get water along the way. Maybe it's different now? Even in the Namibian Desert, I would go through all 13 liters of my carrying capacity in half a day. I was drinking about a liter every 20-30 minutes. Luckily, the road I was on had settlements every 40-50 miles or so.

The Belgian, by the way, had a classic leather seat, probably a Brooks. He had been chased by a lion near Lake Victoria, but was fortunate to be going downhill at the time, and lions are sprinters, not built for endurance . . . .

Tristan · Jun 11, 2016

Ok so thought I'd throw up some pics and brief report on my cycling trip. Mind you this is my first overnighter, and just down the rail trails here in Ohio, nothing like Syria

The gear...

I got this old '88 Voyageur a few months ago. I love the old 80's steel Schwinns and they've done me well and saved me a lot of money compared to today's bikes. I had several upgrades in mind (like the Brooks saddle I talked about earlier) but ended up getting used to stock stuff and just went with that for now. For touring, I equipped the bike with stainless steel Tubus racks, low rider rack in front. And to keep with the classic theme I went with these Carradice cotton duck & leather bags. Very happy with how it all worked well. If I would have went with my ultralight gear I could probably have limited my load to just the rear panniers, but I decided to take out my 'B' gear which spilled over a bit what the rears could hold so went with all 4. With the extra space up front I also used one pannier with nothing but photography stuff - my Canon SL1, 10-22, and 70-300 lenses as well as my carbon tripod which I actually never used. Guess I'm a glutton for punishment... I could have just as easily done the credit card/hotel thing and gone with no panniers at all and just a change of clothes and toiletries in the saddlebag. But I like a bit of a challenge and camping and self supported.

Repurposed trestle bridge over the Kokosing River - at a fork in the rail trail. Actually the rail trail takes the other fork, but they reconditioned this bridge to allow trail users to access the downtown area of Mt Vernon across the river there, very nice! And right on the other side is a Comfort Inn for thru-cyclist to have a place to stay right there trailside.

'Art' at Ariel-Foundation Park in Mt Vernon. Presumably part of the actual factory that used to be there.

Restored Alco 0-6-0 #63 coal fired locomotive with tender, flatbed, and caboose. Might have posted this before elsewhere on the forum, still part of my home area, near Kenyon College in Gambier.

You can hop on board this one, and many of the controls still move.

Stopping for ice cream at Killbuck Sweet Shoppe, in the tiny town of Killbuck.

Ohio's longest covered bridge - the Bridge of Dreams over the Mohican River, which also accommodates horse and buggy traffic on one side and has a rubber matting on that side. This trail (the Mohican Trail) and the next (Holmes County Trail) cater to the local Amish populations by allowing horse on the trail.

Marshy area along the Holmes County Trail

Red-headed woodpecker in the aforementioned marshy area.

Setting up camp... just a small family owned primitive campsite. Had the place to myself.

I skipped over day one, which was a trip down to the big city - Columbus. I mostly used my phone for pictures day one, and the usb plug seems to be damaged now and it won't communicate with the computer. But I did get a nice shot of the evening sun that day which I did get out the big camera for...

I was going to head to the city, eat lunch and watch a movie on the Imax screen. Except when I got there I realized I forgot the key to my lock! I didn't want to leave my bike just laying around next to the front door of the very populated Easton Mall so had to skip the movie. Hard enough trying to find a place to eat where I could still see the bike but found Cosi a sandwich kind of place that a partly gated outside sitting area I was able to just roll the bike into, and the whole wall there was glass so I doubt anyone would try anything while I was just on the other side of the glass ordering. Luckily day one took me back by my house to load up for the rest of the trip and I grabbed the key.

Had a really fun time! I got to experience the big hills on the road stretch in Holmes County where they haven't finished the rail trail. That was pretty challenging, especially loaded. Half of the unfinished section is suppose to be paved shortly, and the other half next year. That will get trail users off the roads entirely (currently 12 miles) and reduce elevation change a lot (google currently says that stretch is 604' up 722' down, but it seemed worse than that to me). In another year almost all these trails will be complete linking all the small trails into the Ohio to Erie trail that spans the state. So nice to have this nearby and not deal with all the 55mph traffic on the roads.

skedaddle · Jun 11, 2016

Wow Tristan your Canon really takes some crisp shots! I love the woodpecker with the depth of field. I'm also a sucker for big sky's, wonderful.
Are you allowed to wild camp in your state? It's illegal here in England, which sucks. Not so bad on a bike but if you're on the hoof it can be almost impossible to span distances between campsites.
Thanks for taking the time, It's great to see the world through the eyes of others

skedaddle · Jun 11, 2016

Bare Lee said:
I met a Belgian guy coming up from Capetown when I was a few days out from arriving. He had cycled through the Sahara coming down, back before the new road was built, but he said the biggest problem was having to beg water from the truckers. There weren't enough places to get water along the way. Maybe it's different now? Even in the Namibian Desert, I would go through all 13 liters of my carrying capacity in half a day. I was drinking about a liter every 20-30 minutes. Luckily, the road I was on had settlements every 40-50 miles or so.

The Belgian, by the way, had a classic leather seat, probably a Brooks. He had been chased by a lion near Lake Victoria, but was fortunate to be going downhill at the time, and lions are sprinters, not built for endurance . . . .

Wow, I never realised how much water you would need on a journey such as this, that's amazing.

I thought Belgians were famed for their chocolate, not their cat food. Nothing like the motivation of a predator to keep the legs spinning. :cat:

Tristan · Jun 12, 2016

skedaddle said:
Wow Tristan your Canon really takes some crisp shots! I love the woodpecker with the depth of field. I'm also a sucker for big sky's, wonderful.
Are you allowed to wild camp in your state? It's illegal here in England, which sucks. Not so bad on a bike but if you're on the hoof it can be almost impossible to span distances between campsites.
Thanks for taking the time, It's great to see the world through the eyes of others

Thanks! Yeah that woodpecker was being photogenic and I sat there for quite a while. I needed the rest anyhow. I got a few shots on the wing too but wasn't able to change camera setting for that and they didn't come out so well.

I'm not sure what you mean exactly by wild camp but I don't think so. There isn't much state owned land around Ohio it's mainly all private and I believe trying to camp on state easements around roads and bridges and stuff is not legal but I see some do it from time to time. Yeah on foot would be challenging between official campsites. In my home state of NY the state owns a lot of land and much of it you can camp, fish, hunt, whatever. Especially in the mountains this would be no problem.

skedaddle · Jun 12, 2016

Great shots Tristan!
Yeh, the only place you can camp in England is on designated camp sites with the exception of dartmoor. Many of the coast to coast attempts are hampered by this once you leave Scotland, which has no such restrictions. It can make things very expensive as you're forced into finding accommodation.

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