Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunter's Campfire A hundred miles on a bicycle

Birdie when I am on the touring bike or just casual riding I often wear pants with zip-off legs that are light weight and quick drying. During hot weather REI's padded underwear work well for the sweat factor when doing all day rides.

Sure hope you log this summers adventure at crazyguyonabike.

You're making the 37 miles I rode today seem pretty insignificant

Great job, keep it up and keep us informed, it's nice to have a thread worth following.

I'm pretty much a minimalist...I don't take much with me at all.
I have Continental Gatorskins on my Ultregra bike. I like em'.
I wear riding shorts with a chamois in em' and I wear gym shorts over those, and a tank top or a t-shirt. I don't wear any of the Ricky Bobby stuff. And I ride a lot.

Birdie...

Ima gonna do that too!
You inspired me!

Such was my intent

I'll say it again, I am NOT in exceptional shape, and "bicycle shape" ie. the ability to ride a bike for some period of hours, can be attained pretty quick, even by an overweight guy in his mid-fifties with knee issues (mine do not permit me to run any distance).

And once you're in bicycle shape, the time you have on hand on any given day to put in on the bike is the main limitation on the distance you can cover.

Note the part about me covering "an easy fifty miles" the next day. I meant it; just a dawdling afternoon around town stopping in at points of interest, thing unimaginable to me just last fall when I started this whole endeavor.

And steel frames rock


Birdwatcher

If on your trek you are traveling thru the buffalo area you have a place to stay for the night. I'd be glad to put you up if you don't mind my lab slobbering all over you.

Thanks, in the still-hypothetical event I'm still riding 1,500 miles later I have two choices across Pa....

North along Lake Erie and down through NY on the Erie Canal path, or thru Wheeling and then south on the Yougeheny (sp??)_ and then downstream along a river toward Philadelphia to pick up the Delaware upstream to Matamoras/Port Jervis. Strangely enough the mileages are similar.

Riding THROUGH Pennsylvania apparently takes forever over all those ridges.

So, if I go through Buffalo I'll look ya up.

Birdwatcher

Seriously, the biggest difference between 37 miles on a bike and 110 miles on a bike? Maybe eight hours, thats it.

I'm right on the Erie canal path. If you choose that path it goes right past my place. The path is across the road from me.

This is a great thread. You have 2 years on me in age. I've lost 60 pounds on a bike over the past 7 months, having ridden some 1500 miles and climbed over 40,000'. I use a Brooks B17 and absolutely love it, as well as the Gatorskins. A good friend and his 14 y.o. son rode coast to coast last year and have memories to last several life times. Riding a bike is just plane fun, but I do loathe headwinds.

I'll be following this thread. Good luck!

Birdy,

Thanks for this post and for the tips on what you're finding works and doesn't. I'm in my early 40's, but have put on a bunch of weight in the past year. I've started riding my bike to work a couple of days a week for the exercise. I've got a Schwinn Moab mountain bike that I bought about 12 years ago and hadn't ridden since.

It's almost 10 miles one way and it's half wash-boarded dirt roads and half rough pavement. I've only been at it for 3 weeks now, but every time I ride I've changed or added something to my setup. It's amazing the difference the tread on the tires makes on your pedaling effort (something I would have never thought). I switched out the aggressive mud tires and went with a Maxxis Holy Roller. Big difference. Also changed the stem and handle bars to fit me better. I'd like to use a road bike, but the dirt roads wouldn't be fun.

Generally, traffic isn't a problem for me. But, this morning I had a stare down with 2 pit bulls on the dirt road (no houses around). They were blocking the road and acting aggressively. Fortunately, a car came by and when they ran out of the road to get away from the car I booked it out of there. Will have a "deterrent" with me next trip.

Anyway, I'm enjoying reading your updates and progress. It's giving me motivation on my rides. Although, the way I feel during the days I ride is pretty good motivation too. That, and the 7 lbs I've already lost.

Ryan

i did a hundred miles on the bike, saw all kinds of interesting stuff. mountains, forest, desert, city's and all kinds of weather, then i turned off the TV and got off the bike.

Birdwatcher, you have inspired me also, I dragged my 15 year old Trek down into the basement and tore it down to the bare frame. I rode the hell out of the thing up till 5 years ago. It was in tough shape. I'm In the middle of a full OH on it now. The lower end has been rough for the last 2 years so I didn't ride it too far. Just finished the lower bracket, working on the pedals now. Just a couple new tires and reassemble,I'm ready to go.
Time for this fatazz to loose 50 lbs

Check out the Novara Safari from REI, billed as a "mountain-bike/touring hybrid that can handle dirt roads and heavy loads".

Never mind the lack of suspension, steel frames soak up a surprising amount on rough surfaces. In the reviews you'll find one guy rode one of these from Spain down around the west coast of North Africa and then followed that up with 280 miles of Canadian logging roads. He rates the bike as "highly recommended".

http://www.rei.com/product/807245/novara-safari-bike-2014#reviewsTab

Birdwatcher

"Only" put in eighty miles this weekend (Friday was a Fiesta holiday around here).

Here's where I'm at at present (photos taken at an establishment where they just happened to sell beer

The bike; a comfortable all-day mount. I was hauling 60 pounds around everywhere, including my first century (100 mile day), now I'm down to about 40 in camping gear/clothes etc. That figure will probably come down some, however early indications are that on more isolated stretches I may pack an extra gallon or two of water in those front panniers.



Note the trecking bar ($35)covered with gel foam ($25), Ergo grips ($50) where my hands are 99% of the time, mt bike-type brake levers ($20). Cheapo Wal-Mart mirrors ($9 ea.) work well and are absolutely essential. Right one covers the area right behind me, left one covers the road to my immediate left.

Front rack is Bontrager, rear rack is Racktime (highly recommended, a stout rack that lets you set the panniers a couple of inches lower), both about $60 ea. Fenders are Bontrager, about $40, a little bit out on account of was still running 27" wheels when I put them on. If you look hard you can see a section of shoelace tied onto the rear wire mount of the front fender, it developed an irritating rattle, the shoelace fixed it.

I must have $500 in those four panniers, Ortlieb makes good stuff, and worth every penny if you use 'em hard as I have been lately. Entirely waterproof too.

$55 Nashbar Mt Bike crankset, came recommend but was cheap for the genre, no problems yet.

$140 Brooks B17 leather saddle, a British classic. Counterintuitive that a hard saddle should be tolerable, but it is. Supposed to get more comfortable as you break it in, mine clearly ain't broken in yet.

Hand spun 700c wheels built to order from Universal Cycles out in Oregon, Shimano 105 hubs, 36 hole Mavic A719 rims, 17ga. spokes. $400 delivered. Again one of those things worth every penny and actually cheap as good wheels run.

Only thing left to do is ditch the cheapo ($17) platform pedals (aready getting rough)for a similar Nashbar set with sealed bearings ($45).

My next big endeavor has been working out a wardrobe. East Texas and Arkansas in June are hot and sunny places but I need the ability to pedal a bike all day out in it, just above that hot summer road surface. Gotta limit sun exposure, only way to do it. If I can arrive in NY after a month in the sun in lilly-White condition, that would be perfect.

I stepped into the men's room or a quick selfie. From the top, big mushroom-looking silver helmet over cheap broad-brimmed hat w/slits in the rim to admit helment straps. Looks definitely "Fred" as the Brits say, but works well, about like a pith helmet overall. Keeps the sun off of my face and neck.



Plain cotton t-shirt, oversize Magellan synthetic (nylon) fishing shirt, UPF 30 rated, left untucked, $25 at Academy. Prone to do the Lawrence of Arabia thing in a strong breeze, but otherwise works well. Half-finger padded cycling gloves.

Pants are nylon "Adventure" ("Expedition"?)pants from REI ($50) UPF 50, over nylon boxers from the same source. Cool, comfortable, quick-drying and not abrasive.

I wear 'em bloused into ordinary cotton ankle socks.



Note the footwear. Platform pedals do not have the advantage of you being locked into the pedal but do let me move my feet around to change the load angles on my knees, which is critical. Sorta along those lines, what has been working great for me is these cheapo slip-on sandals from a dollar store ($3). Note the unlimited toe room, cooler than any enclosed shoe, and so far my feet ain't gotten sunburned through the cheap socks.

I looked everywhere for a better version of the same sandals but everyone I found had the strap closer to the toes, crowding them. As it is I bring running shoes in the bags everywhere as back up in case these cheapo sandals break, but so far after six weeks of frequent use they show hardly any wear in this application. I may end up just stitching the uppers in place to reinforce the Velcro closure and set out with these same sandals, plus a spare set in the bags.

Anyhow, all this stuff worked in the sun but disappointingly it only just broke 90 this weekend, with a steady breeze. Supposed to hit 97 tomorrow, hopefully I'll be able to put in some hours out there in it.

Birdwatcher

you did a really nice bike ride