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I don't carry the pincer tool that is used to break apart a master link. I have to do that by hand during a tour.
I do have a Park master link pincer tool at home that makes it super easy to break apart a master link.
Yes I carry a Park chain tool. I have only needed it once in all my years of touring.
2 months agoSince you carry a master link, do you also carry the tool to go with it?
One year, approaching McClure Pass in Colorado, Jacinto had a flat. The tire looked pretty worn, and he was carrying a brand new spare tire, a Slumgullion tire (which of course we found amusing, because I love Slumgullion pass). Jacinto got mere miles down the road when that tire had a blow out! He was very fortunate to not be descending the pass. He put the old tire back on and all was fine. The Slumgullion tire was (is?) a Rene Herse tire. $$$ - I took photos of the blowout, and the wrapping the tire came out of. No quibble about refunding the money. I was told (not by them), that they had a run of bad tires. We weren't the only ones.
I used to have dried up patch kit glue when I lived in Texas. It's less of a problem in the cooler climate of Oregon. I do check my patch kit glue before tours to make sure it has enough for several patches. Today I patched the 2nd flat of this tour.
2 months agoI never carry a spare tire but I start every tour with tires that I expect to last for the duration of the tour. I have done a good job of avoiding catastrophic tire failure. Maybe I'm lucky. Maybe I'm careful. Maybe both.
2 months agoI carry one spare 20 inch tube and one spare 26 inch tube. And of course a patch kit, pump, and tire levers. Plus 3, 4, 5, 6 mm hex wrenches, spoke wrench, 4 inch adjustable wrench, chain tool, and 2 Fiberfix spokes. And a little bag with spare bolts and nuts, spare master link, and spare derailleur cable. I also carry a spare mirror which came in handy near the end of this tour.
2 months agoMovie theatre!
2 months agoHow many tubes do you carry on tour? Spare tire? Usually we have a spare tire, but this year I had the new bike, which has 700 wheels. Jacinto's bike has 26". We couldn't share, so didn't take a spare tire at all. That ended up okay. We each have two tubes and a patch kit. I had the only flat of the trip. When I went to patch the tube, the glue was dried up! It's a happy day when I have a flat so infrequently that the glue dries up. I would have been less happy if it had been more of an emergency situation.
2 months agoAh, yes, you did visit. I knew you would.
2 months agoI wonder what their lobby area looks like? Did you check it out?
2 months agoLook at all of that neon!
2 months agoEvery couple of years, my wife and I drive back and forth from Minneapolis-St. Paul to Spokane to visit her side of the family. Usually, in the interest of time, we stick to I-90. That area around Livingston is the best part of the route. We never plan far enough ahead to nab any kind of motel reservation there, nor can we afford The Murray (or its fancy restaurant), but we love the mountain setting and walking around those downtown streets.
2 months agoIt would have been interesting to go inside to see a bit of the Wild West fur trapper/hunter experience.
3 months agoIn Anaconda, MT there was a business that bought hides. I don't remember if they sold the tanned hides.
3 months ago
Back in the day, when we rode tandem with the kids, I could install/remove the kiddie cranks like a pro. Now I look back at how efficient I was with a chain tool and wonder at myself. I've tried to pinch the new master links to remove them and don't have the hand strength. I'd need a tool. I've debated buying one.
2 months ago