Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunter's Campfire On the road again.

Couple suggestions:
Lighten the load.
Leave earlier, before the heat of the day sets in.

In the south we would start about 2 hours after sunset and go until sunrise. It was a lot cooler at night.

It would be damn scary traveling those two lane roads at night on a bicycle the way traffic is nowadays. 😳
Not to mention all the great scenery you’d miss.

Hey Mike, I am in Denver metro... if you pass within a 100 miles I can get you parts and stuff as a good friend owns a bike shop <grin>

Give a heads up here if that would work.

Ya got lite salt and powdered chocolate milk with ya?

God willing, ten - fourteen days or so. Lite salt? Ever since ya told me five-six years ago ain't been without it Chocolate milk, I use the liquid form but only full fat.

The thing is, at night its not easy to tell what lane the vehicle is in approaching in your mirrors.

Well I got it done It was bugging me to come just 25 miles from the NM line and turn away, but all day there was a storm cell training between here and there. I had given up but coming out of Walmart at 3:30 I checked and the cell had dissipated at last.

50 mile round trip in four hours and ten minutes, which is what can happen when your hauling only a few groceries and not four bags full of depleted uranium





Day Nine: 50 miles, 435 total.

Awesome!

Ya, what other device would allow guys in their sixties victories like that? I just rode 400+ friggin miles from my front door through the heart of Comancheria clear to New Mexico.

The guy who invented the “safety bicycle” design should be dug up and awarded the Nobel Prize

Good thing there were no Comanches around to chase ya! 😜

Sir, with an answer like that I guessing you’re all about helmets, those silly spadex outfits, and those horrible crotch pad shorts that after just a couple of days on the road let EVERYBODY anywhere you stop know exactly how yer sweaty a$$ crack and crotch smells.

I ain’t gonna argue with the helmet but I am at a loss to know how to lighten my bicycle. 33 pounds gets you a wonderfully compliant steel frame that just soaks up chipseal vibes.

Ortleib panniers rock 😎 mine have been in daily commuting use for five years and 10,000 plus miles with nary a bobble. Likewise the top-of-the-line Tubus racks. But that combo does come in at about 20lbs.

Two gallons of water out here is nonnegotiable, add another 16lbs. So I’m at 70lbs BEFORE I start adding tent, bag, clothes, tools etc. If you got any ideas, I’m all ears



Tks Captain Obvious Point of fact my best days ever have always started late morning, ride ‘till dark. I don’t even bother checking the forecast for temps anymore. I just assume it’s gonna be hot above the asphalt. Water, salt, calories and breaks as needed.

My single best day like this was 96 miles, noontime ‘till dark, when crossing Ohio in July of 2016. 90lb bike. Had I known how close a “Century” was I woulda pushed on another four miles.

Now that I’m getting the hang of it on this particular occasion I’m gonna shoot for 70 mile days next week.

Keep pedaling and may the winds come from behind the rest of the way.

Geno

Lighten the load !


Went sheep hunting w two different guys that claimed we only needed one rifle. 🤷🏻‍♂️

Ok leave yours behind, even though my rifles are left hand bolt.

I’ve prolly more experience using a right hand bolt than either of those guys did using a left handed one. 🤷🏻‍♂️

Mike likes his steel frame bike.

I like being armed in country 🤷🏻‍♂️

OK, instead of thinking up insulting responses, try actually listening to advice offered to help.

90 lbs of loaded bicycle? Waiting until 11:00 a.m. to begin crossing a desert? Come on! Use your head.

Mr. pal:
I would submit that Birdie knows a heck of a lot more about what he is doing than you. Remember, he rode from Tx. to NY and a considerable number of miles in Europe with pretty much the same outfit.
I myself ride a 50 pound Pashley that is not near affected by wind as a many pound lighter bike, remember this is not the TOF.

I did not find his response insulting, but I did see your post as coming from a condescending, self-righteous, know-it-all-prick, to be not only rude but inappropriate, targeted toward derailing this wonderful thread.

If you are dressed correctly and have the water, desert heat is not something to be terrified of, I am from the Deming, Lordsburg, Rodeo, Hachita, NM area where I have worked and played outside all my life so I feel I may know a bit about the desert.

The Birdwatcher is taking the time to keep us up to date and post pictures of an epic journey, he does not need the drivel that you posted. Sir, you should apologize to the Birdwatcher and then stay off of this thread.

Rock on Birdie!!!.

To All
Su Amigo Whistle

Golly

Sir, if you are a bicycle guy the tone of your responses strongly suggests you are one of those guys who self-righteously holds up traffic while dressed like a homosexual bondage submissive because after all, you’re riding fifty miles and that’s SERIOUS.

Or maybe not......

But here’s the deal, heavy as it is, steel is still the favored material for touring bikes because of the way it soaks up road vibration. And the rack/pannier combination I use is top of the line, likewise for a reason. So heavy touring bikes are common, it’s on hills where you feel it.

Dressed for the sun I’ve never worried much about the time of day. I picked up a 3X 100% cotton sports shirt to try out here nd have it on over my usual getup and I’m happy to report that here in the arid West, a heavy cotton overshirt keeps you much cooler in the sun.

Wow. Good luck!

Gee, you think them AyRabs might have figured out something about loose fitting cotton (/goat/camel wool even?) garments in the desert?

Enjoy your ride today Birdie. Looking forward to your evening posts with pics.

Geno

PS a few years back pal seemed like a nice enough fellow in some PM's we had. Perhaps he's just looking at things from a different perspective?

Be safe Birdie.