I thought of posting this elsewhere but I wanted as many as possible to see it. Sorry if it is in the wrong place. Ya'll know of my transformation from fat man to cyclist.

I am getting stuff together to ride a bicycle from Alabama to Colorado. I am going to try to leave around May. Lots of change in my life and part of it is that I am more financially broke than ever before.

I am looking for super light weight camping equipment that I can carry on a bicycle. If ya'll have any top notch equipment that you can let go for cheap or possibly some outdoors stuff trade.please PM me the details. I need tent,and bag most since I can build an alcohol stove but open to any suggestions. Also need rain gear in a medium to small tall.

You close to Tuscaloosa

I'm NW Alabama,Winston county.

Post your route for members to offer support along the way.

If Birdwatcher doesn't chime in, shoot him a pm. He's the resident expert...

I plan too when it gets closer. Going to ride the Natchez Trace in a few weeks

We see a whole lot of bicycle tourists out in Wyoming in the summertime. Many of them have a little trailer they pull behind them, might work out for you.

I've considered it. I about to buy a classic steel touring bike and set it up with racks and bags. I want to see how I like that before trying a trailer. In some ways it seems great and in some it might be a pain. I don't have a lot of cash to experiment with right now and am buying everything used.

I have a badlands/ black ovis tent you can borrow. Just send it back when your done. Never been used.
PM me your address and I'll get it to you.

Appreciate it buddy. I might need to hit you up in a couple weeks if I don't trade up anything.

Yes Mike knows a thing or two about long long long distance bicycling. I would look to him for advice and tips.

Timbermaster went out of his way to give me a down sleeping bag when I needed it going up into Yellowstone 😎 I’d be happy to pass it along to you. What sorta altitudes are you planning to hit in Colorado?

I prefer racks and bags, never have tried a trailer, but I hear the constant slight tug can wear on you, deciding factor for me we’re stories of jackknifing when folks hit the brakes going downhill.

I’m a tad worried about your tight budget, I think I averaged about $50 day including meals and a motels about every third day if thee was no place to camp.

This. Come through OK.

Most, "not most"... all of the the ultra light or backpack tents I've seen and used are not durable enough to withstand the rigors of their intended design.

I haven't planned the route yet. Going close to Boulder where a cousin lives. I figured some of the guys on a biking forum could give me suggestions on routes. Any advice is appreciated.

My plan is to carry a 1983 Schwinn Voyager SP to my upcoming masters mechanics classes and make sure it is in tip top shape. I need to get all my kit together by March including the bike that I am going tomorrow to get. Then I am going to test it out on the Natchez Trace. That 440 miles will be a proving ground so to speak on me and equipment. It's close enough from home that I could be rescued and my wife will meet me along the way for a couple days anyway. Ideally,I want to leave for Colorado in May but I am just starting actual planning.

Shoot me a PM if you like. I'll pick your brain as much as you want about cycling. I would be interested in what you spend $50 a day on. Once I have my kit,I don't see spending money on anything really except food.and I can eat really cheaply. I thrive on whole grain rice and dried beans,and I'm not above skinning a fresh killed rabbit for the pot. LOL

Well, you have a great bike anyway, I tour on an ‘89 Voyageur, the steel frame touring bikes of that era were/are awesome.

Big mistake I did was take a 20+ yo bike in 2013 and start riding the heck out of it, the wheel hubs had never been repacked in all that time and I ruined ‘em.

No matter, I was of course on 27” wheels, I had a 700c wheelset built. I would highly recommend this. Wheels have come a long way in the last 30 years. The cantilever brakes on my bike accommodated the slightly smaller wheel, I would expect yours would too.

Cut corners on everything else if ya want but not tires. 27” tires are gonna be hard to find. You want at least as puncture-resistant tires on a par with Continental Gatorskins or Schwalbe Marathons. I also bring five spare tubes and an extra tire folded up. I’ve actually needed that spare tire on two of my three tours and once I went through three tubes in a single day (defective tire) miles from the nearest supply.

This is the website where I learned a whole lot....

https://www.bikeforums.net/touring/

Our own Paul Barnard hangs out there too sometimes.

Headsets and bottom brackets. Assume the grease in those of your bike have dried up too. If they are in good shape you can replace the bearings and repack them good enough for a tour.

Since my bike is also daily transportation I quit messing around and got a Chris King headset ($130??) and a sealed RG bottom bracket (‘nother $130). Now I hardly ever have to mess with ‘em.

Saddle, obviously important. I am absolutely sold on Brook’s traditional leather saddles (B17). They rock (another $130).

And if you can find them and they fit your budget, Ortleib panniers front and back are absolutely the way to go. Completely watertight and mine have seen hard use for seven years now, battered but still good as new functionally.

I hear you on all that equipment and components. I have been thinking much the same. I don't have the Schwinn in hand yet. I do have the sellers word that it will be there tomorrow. It is supposed to have been completely serviced at a LBS including packing bearings. I have a series of master mechanics classes scheduled through a local bike Co Op and intend to completely go through it anyway. Then the Natchez Trace before Colorado. Going to try to stay with the 27's for a while. I've had some good suggestions for touring tires at the bike forums.

Ringman
I am a little hesitant to just post my address. Sort of feels like if I do I might be expecting gifts for nothing. I'm gracious enough to accept a gift,I just want to be classy enough not to ask,so anyone can PM me and talk cheap equipment or trades or whatever. Besides,I could wind up with more than one of something if folks just sent me something they were done with.Thanks!

Join the club! I once rode a bicycle from central Georgia, to Steamboat Springs Colorado. Fun trip.

Re touring tires: I’d be curious as to your tire recommendations. I’m funny about tires, over the last seven years I’ve destroyed about every model of tire there is, including THREE Schwalbe Marathon Plus Tours, which is the toughest/heaviest street tire I’ve found.

So when I read some tire recommendations I wonder where these people have been riding. In particular avoid Panracers like the plague, they get their “compliant” ride from thin sidewalls, I tore em the first time out.

‘Nother thing to watch is how low a gear you can get on that ‘80’s Voyageur. The available five-speed freewheels don’t go that low and I dunno if the early Voyageurs had a triple crankset up front.

Your steel frame bike will weigh a tad north of 30lbs, racks and panniers will add another 15, so your looking at a 45lb bike BEFORE you add gear and water. Plan on riding a 70lb bike, add another gallon of water in reserve some stretches out West.

When you get your bike, load it up and then go find some hills to climb, you will quickly learn if you have low enough gearing. If not, this can be remedied somewhat by switching out cranksets, but you’e gonna have to stick with freewheels on those 80’s hubs.

My brother ran into a guy who was hiking across the country on foot. The guy would mail supplies and gear to different Post Offices along his route.

10-4 on all that. Tripple on the voyager up front. It should be closer to 25 unloaded but that's fine. My MTB is close to 45 with just one rack and bag.I might tour on the Schwinn or just learn if I like a drop bar touring bike. I had considered buying a new bike but it would be a stretch and I don't need to buy before I've spent some serious time with a drop bar touring bike anyway.

I could stretch things and buy either a Surly Ogre or Long Haul trucker. The Ogre would be much like my current MTB so I know I would like it but I want to try a more road oriented bike first before buying a LHT or Ogre for that matter. Worst case,I'm just renting the Schwinn to learn on and I shouldn't even take a loss if I sell it as long as it is represented correctly.

I have no use for drop bars on a touring bike myself, partly on account of my target speed is only 7-10mph, I prefer to just dawdle but ride all day. I'm using figure-eight "trekking" bars but 99% of the time my hands are on the bar adjacent to the steering head anyway, just as they would be 99% of the time on a drop bar. I ride slow in a large part so I can actually look around at the scenery and stuff, otherwise the faster you go the more your eyes have to be front and center. 'Nother thing with riding relatively slow and upright, it lets you see cars and avoid potholes and stuff easier. Eight hours averaging 8mph still translates to 64 miles in a day.

You asked about my $50 a day. A good day for me goes like this:

Wake up at first light at an inconspicuous spot at the side of the highway right-of-way (unlike a lot of guys, I never trespass if I can help it). Quickly pack up bedding and tent (if I used the tent). Drink Coke Zero (ya its warm but its also caffeine).

At first opportunity stop to eat big, greasy, local breakfast (in France this was a problem), my main meal of the day. Get a sense of the locals, read the local newspaper, charge your phone or backup battery as needed. Mid-morning or shortly after, roll out again. Stop along the way for snacks as needed (you can eat all day on a tour, you become a bottomless pit). Ride until darkness is gathering. At an inconspicuous spot, roll out the bedding and put up tent (REI Quarter Dome) if needed due to bugs or weather.

I bring along a 32oz copper mug I use in re-enacting. After stopping for the night I fill it equally with dry old-fashioned oatmeal and granola, add water or milk (bought at the last convenience store I passed) and eat it. Not fancy but it IS calories and that's all that counts, plus if you do not consume fiber you may not crap again until you get back home.

Breakfast, newspaper and tip + $15-$25 . Miscellaneous stuff along the way ($5-$10) = $20 to $35 for mostly food.

Throw in a $75 to $100 motel about every fourth night works out to about $50/day.

Remember what they say about travel money: Figure out how much money you are going to need and then double that figure.

Appreciate it buddy. I don't eat processed anything anymore. The Oats are great and I would get some fruit to go in them. I make my own trail mix with toasted oats,nuts,dates,raisins. I might mix some with a banana or apple. I would cook beans rice and meat every night as well. Heck I ride 30 miles in a day sometimes now and only eat once a day. Still need a couple weeks on the road refining everything though. I still have to get most of my kit together too. I had cheap big tents and heavy sleeping bags but too heavy to carry on a bike.

Both the Surly Ogre and the LHT are nice bikes. My 62 cm LHT weighed about 28 pounds unloaded with a cheap Topeak rack setup on it. I never weighed it bare. The Ogre was about 31 or 32 setup with the same rack. They both run a little long in reach for a given size.

For tires I had good luck with the Continental Tour Ride for riding on the gravel and paved roads here near Colorado Springs. Those were on the LHT. I'm not sure they are availablle in a 27 though.

For a dedicated pavement bike I usually buy the Continental Ultra Sports. I've had good luck with those even though our driveway gets quite a few goatheads. They are cheap too.