Final thoughts, equipment, clothing, logistics & other geeky stuff:

June 22, 2012

More details than you probably want to know

This section will be under construction as I edit the rest of the journal. I'll include information and pictures that will probably only be of interest to cyclists planning a long tour of their own.

The rig loaded the morning of our departure. While actually moving, the tandem was easy to balance and in fact it was hard for me to detect the presence of the B.O.B. trailer at all. The weight was heavier than when utilizing panniers. We never once experienced any wobble or shimmy during high speeds (reaching 39 mph) or under severe braking. However, walking or pushing the rig took considerable attention and some strength. Rhona was only able to move the rig on flat ground. Parking it was also a bother since we had to always find a long parking area where we could lean the bicycle against a tree, wall or railing to the right. We could not lean the bicycle to the left because of the presence of two mirrors on the left handlebars. We also had to secure the front wheel so that the handlebars would remain immobile and the front wheel could not turn. I used a cloth strip with velcro to loop down through the spokes and over the middle bar on the frame. It worked as well as any system I've devised, but it still was a hassle to have to do this each time it was parked. One advantage to utilizing the B.O.B. trailer is that few if any criminals would have the ability to steal the bicycle. I doubt many could have managed to move it five feet.

A Planet Bike rear light worked well. The biggest problem was attaching it to the rear racks. In this case zip ties were functional if lacking in elegance.

The Princeton Tec front light was outstanding. We usually left it on all day feeling we didn't want to give motorists any reason for claiming later to accident investigators that they "didn't see us".

Three AAA rechargeable batteries were charged every other day. I never tried to go longer than that. Perhaps charging once every 4-5 days would have been sufficient.

On our last tour I was concerned that our tail light was somewhat obstructed by items stored on top of the rear rack. This time I mounted an additional light on the frame of the B.O.B. We usually had it on all day.

We bought a stronger version of pepper spray for this trip. It fit in the same holders as our standard HALT, but has a longer and wider spray pattern. We never had to use it on this tour, but after returning to West Virginia, Rhona reports it has been effective on pursuing dogs.

This helmet mounted mirror is an American made product from EVT (Efficient Velo Tools). Their web site is at www.biketoolmaker.com It is a very rugged large size mirror that really takes a beating. I fully tested it by repeatedly walking into Port-a-Johns and goring the side of the Port-A-John while using the urinal. I never learned. After a while your brain just doesn't see what looks like a mutated unicorn horn sticking out of the side of your helmet.

From the rear, it is not too obtrusive, but a problem for me was with my riding position I had a difficult time positioning the mirror so that I could easily see over my left shoulder. I had to push the mirror as high as it would go which then made it difficult for me to rotate my eyeball up to see images in it. Images were very large and I did learn to use it reflexively in high traffic situations. If you are the type of rider that stretches out to the handlebars (non-upright position) you may have the same issues I had.

Having only owned one cycling GPS (Garmin E-Trex Legent HCx) I can't compare it to other cycling units. I was able to get 8+ hours using two AA rechargeable batteries. It's pretty rugged, turning off only twice as a result of jarring bumps. It's fully waterproof. I like playing around with technological gadgets but found this unit to be hard to learn to use. The included directions are useless. The memory is not sufficient to load much more than the North American map set I purchased. When I wanted to load half of the American Cycling Association Underground Railroad route, it quickly filled up the memory and I was no longer able to load additional waypoints (such as the location of our hotel). I had to unload the routes. It doesn't matter which mode you set the routing function to use (pedestrian, bicycle, car, UFO etc...) it's going to take you whatever direction it pleases. One feature is unique, however, if it detects you are on a bicycle, it will frequently route you off a perfectly safe, flat road up onto the side of a cliff (you should see the look of surprise on the face of mountain goats when you pop up around the edge of the cliff).Having said all of that, there were numerous times when having the GPS saved us from unfortunate and wrong turns.

The Schwalbe tires made it through the tour without any flats and I actually never even needed to add additional air. Since I wasn't sure how well the rear tire would hold up to pulling a loaded trailer on a tandem, prior to the tour I replaced the rear tire which looked like it would be unlikely to get through a 2,000 mile tour without wearing through to the cords. I left the used tire in Pittsburgh at my parent's home in case the new tire was badly worn by the time we reached Pittsburgh (only three days from the end of the tour). Although the rear was worn and "squared" off, I didn't bother to change the tire. After getting home, I noted a significant cut in the sidewall parallel to the rim. If I had seen the cut in Pittsburgh, I would have changed the tire immediately. I'm not sure what caused the cut, it wasn't located where a stone or road object could have caused the damage. It is possible (but unlikely) the damage occurred while mounting the tire. I took a picture of the damage, but accidentally deleted it from the camera. The front Schwalbe tire now has over 4,000 miles and still looks good for several thousand more.

Clothing: The Keene sandals worked out well for both of us. I did experience some discomfort on the sole of my left foot, which may have resulted from a relatively flexible sole. Rhona experienced plantar fasciitis in both feet the last three days of the tour. We don't know if the Keene sandals were a contributing factor or if the problem would have surfaced if she had worn her regular cycling shoes. My biggest complaint about the sandals were that my sandals were very long and narrow and needed to be that way to fit my feet. It looked like I was wearing clown shoes. In spite of their length, I didn't seem to trip over the sandals. I guess your brain can adjust to almost anything. It was nice to have the sandals dry in a matter of hours instead of the days it usually takes for our regular cycling shoes.

Two traditional cycling shirts were sufficient for me. Two Pearl Izumi Elite series cycling shorts were alternated each day. I had one pair of light weight REI convertible pants which worked out for all weather conditions we faced. Three pairs of smartwool socks were packed, although two would have been sufficient. I planned to wear them in cold weather inside the sandals, but most of the cold days were also the wet days, and I got used to just ignoring cold feet while on the bike. They were nice to put on after arriving at our motel.

An REI Bellwether rain jacket was functional. I no longer attempt to wear 'breathable" jackets since they seem to eventually leak and I perspire so much that I soak them from the inside anyway. Mine is school bus yellow because I want to be highly visible on the road. However, the color does not speak well to my fashion sense when worn in the evening. I did not take rainpants, deciding to just let my legs get wet when raining. This worked out on this tour, although at least once we had to stop at the top of a mountain pass in the rain as I put on cycling tights. Although the tights got wet, they were sufficient to prevent hypothermia on the descent. I also wore a pair of "earbags" http://www.earbags.com/ when it was both cold and rainy. One "smartwool" long sleeve shirt was usually used as an underlayer. It was great on some of the cold and wet days and yet was presentable enough to wear by itself in a restaurant in the evening. I also took a Performance woolen cycling sweater/jersey which I've had for 15 years. I like wool.

Tour Negatives: -Nor'easter weather is more impressive when actually experienced out in the open on a bicycle than when watched on the Weather Channel from the comfort of an easy chair.

-In many towns the "Village Idiot" drives around apparently with the sole purpose of blaring the horn or yelling obscenities at visiting cycling tourists. Fortunately, there is usually only one "Village Idiot" in a town and others in the town make up for the idiot with friendliness and hospitality.

-Black Flies

Tour Positives: -State Bicycle routes

-Welcoming and helpful relatives

-A wife that not only enjoys bicycle touring, but is also willing to spend 6 weeks 2 feet distance from me.

-Trip Adviser smart phone "app". Good for finding and choosing hotel and motel accommodations.

Final Thoughts: Once again we enjoyed a relatively carefree (and car-free) lifestyle on an extended cycling tour. There is something so enticing about cycling down a road and not knowing who or what you will encounter around the next corner. So many times the resulting encounters served to broaden our understanding of our country and appreciation for the people we met. On this tour we learned our bodies don't bounce back as fast as they did on a cross country tour in 1996, but we can still be pretty tenacious when we have to be. Years from now, I will still remember the thrill when cycling through the fog in Maine when we first saw the Atlantic Ocean waves break along the road. Realizing that we had cycled to that location from our home in West Virginia qualified as an "adventure".

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