# Bike bums? Gonna do it up.



## DudeDuderton (Apr 6, 2016)

I've been traveling on and off the past 7 years, the majority of those 7 have been spent on the road. I've kind of been weird about posting online for travel companions because of bad experiences, not to mention the guff I've heard from people I have traveled with about rideshare boards, facebook, and StP's road dog board.. I guess you can say I've started ruling it out as an option, but I feel like this time it can't be avoided..

Unavoidable mostly because everyone I've traveled with in the past has always given me an odd look when I say I traveled by bike, as if it's only acceptable to hitch or hop a train or somethin.. Well, I wanna do it differently this time..

I'm not opposed to hitching now and then, but I wanna try and travel mostly on two wheels this time, with a FOLDING bike! Yeah, they fit in trunks. I'm kind of assuming that I'll be starting this journey alone, since the NE is a boring deadzone for travelers, but hey.. I'm throwing this out there.. Maybe someone in the NE has the same idea and would like some company. Warm weather is coming.


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## Matt Derrick (Apr 6, 2016)

i hear ya man, i wish there were more travelers willing to go the bike touring route. i made a big post about doing this a while back, but life happened and got in the way for a while, but goddamn if it hasn't been on my mind ever since. i think about doing it just about every day! in fact i've been struggling to decide whether i should get a van or just go bike around a few other countries that aren't the usa.


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## DudeDuderton (Apr 6, 2016)

You know what, Matt? If you wanna do it, do it.. Even alone.. I've accepted already that I may have to do it alone, and while that sucks, every adventure yields social contact.. If it's somethin' ya wanna do, ya just gotta do it..

Hopefully this spurs something, though. Because you're right in hearing me, bikes are just viewed as some silly option by most travelers.. Odd since it's not hard to move 30 miles a day on the things when there's nothing else to do, and you can walk your pack around on the rack, always nice.

Also, I'd say I'd join you but I can't afford to leave the US.. Haha.. Or you could always get a van, AND a bike, and do both, but bike the US, and r-tramp it after. Lol.


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## Wawa (Apr 7, 2016)

Hey welcome here. 

I get what you're saying. I lived on a bike for three year, and have a folding bike with me now, and even if I don't see it as my main form of transportation anymore, I still see it as them ost reliable... also kinda puts you on the outside, in a way. Most people I might have traveled with where either too bikey or not at all bikey.

For over a year, though, I was "on the road" without even realizing it was a thing to be on the road. I remember discovering in Quartzsite AZ that the "traveler community" was more then RV clubs. Nowadays I have a lot of arguments over the difference between bike touring and living on a bike.

Bla bla bla me talking about me.... and fuck yeah folding bikes.


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## DudeDuderton (Apr 7, 2016)

Haha, Folding bikes are the shit.. I wanna get an aluminum one if possible.. So nice cause if you run in to people who aren't biking that you wanna travel with, you can fold that shit up and put it in any trunk. I'm excited to try this method.


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## liberationmoves (Apr 8, 2016)

Ya but what kind of travel do you want to do? Regional? Folding bikes are no good for long distance travel in my opinion. Even if you hitch and bike you then have a lot more to carry. How do you plan on using this? What kind of distance?


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## Wawa (Apr 8, 2016)

Folding bikes can be great, just fine, or shit for long distance travel. It depends on the bike. I have a Bike Friday with 20" wheels. It felt kinda twitchy for about two hours, now it just feels normal. As long as the gearing is set up right, its just like a normal bike it most ways.

The only real disadvantage I've found is that it is harder to control on rocky surfaces because the smaller wheel has a tighter angle when it hits... its worse with front panniers. A trailer balances the whole thing out real smooth, though.

Really, thing is, I'm not on a bike tour. I'm not following a daily plan and budget until I go back to wherever I came from. If I'm pushing the damn thing, Its still easier then walking with a big pack.


If this guy has been on the road for 7 years, I think he'll be fine with not flying like a lycra clad racer, if that is what you mean.


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## Wawa (Apr 8, 2016)

Actually, I'm not done yet.

A folding bike is GREAT for long distance travel. Its the best of everything. You can hitch easily, but you can also explore backroads with no traffic. You can ride through town, or load it up on public transit. It fits into a large home depot box, which counts as normal luggage on buses, amtrak, airplanes. You can throw it on a freight train, you can put it on a packraft. You can hoist it over fences, hide it easily. You can move like a cyclist but camp like a backpacker.

This is all personal experience, except for the bike/train and raft/bike, but I'm doing those soon as I get back to the US.

Meh, I really want to post a picture but internet here is junk.


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## DudeDuderton (Apr 9, 2016)

Wawa said:


> Actually, I'm not done yet.
> 
> A folding bike is GREAT for long distance travel. Its the best of everything. You can hitch easily, but you can also explore backroads with no traffic. You can ride through town, or load it up on public transit. It fits into a large home depot box, which counts as normal luggage on buses, amtrak, airplanes. You can throw it on a freight train, you can put it on a packraft. You can hoist it over fences, hide it easily. You can move like a cyclist but camp like a backpacker.
> 
> ...


This guy sums it up perfectly.. Technically you can do it all with a folding bike, even hop a train.. I dunno if I'd try it, I mean what the hell, I can't say I wouldn't either.. I can be a risk taker. Though if I were to do it, it sure as hell probably wouldn't be on the fly.. Not to mention I never learned to identify where different cars are going or switching up.. So wether or not I hop a train depends on who I'm with..

I'm getting a 26'er, mostly because I've learned to travel light over the years and I can handle the extra size of the 6 inches on the tires, I even stopped using a pack and started using lashing straps and a tarp as a pack to eliminate the weight of the pack itself, the tarp and lashing straps obviously have multiple uses beyond being my pack, so that's a plus.. It has disadvantages like getting in and out of it fast, but what the fuck ever, I just keep most of my shit I wont need until night in there, and keep the rest of it in something else, like a regular old bookbag.

As for the travel I plan on doing, Lib.. Haha, we'll see, you never know what's gonna happen on the road, man. But I'm going the long haul.


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## DudeDuderton (Apr 9, 2016)

That's what I am getting, selling my BMX and switching up.

26 inch Columba


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## Psylock1045 (Apr 9, 2016)

I live in Baltimore, MD. I have all my gear, but I'm having a little trouble getting out of the area. There's hills everywhere and they beat me down and kill my motivation. Would be nice to have someone else to ride with to help keep the motivation up.


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## DudeDuderton (Apr 9, 2016)

Psylock1045 said:


> I live in Baltimore, MD. I have all my gear, but I'm having a little trouble getting out of the area. There's hills everywhere and they beat me down and kill my motivation. Would be nice to have someone else to ride with to help keep the motivation up.


Have you ever traveled before, or by any other method? I've been talking to a couple people here, gonna try and coordinate something over the next month, see if we can get everyone in one spot, if it all works out right, agree on a direction and start moving.

Don't worry about the hills man, it happens to all of us.. I'm out of shape now from sitting in a fucking apartment, lol, I'm sure I'll be walkin up a lot of hills, but it's not like any of us doing this have a job to get to.. Plenty of time to fuck around.


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## DudeDuderton (Apr 9, 2016)

Everyone interested is close enough to meet up in one spot with a 60 dollar bus ticket, too.


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## Psylock1045 (Apr 10, 2016)

Not exactly. I've tried a couple short weekend stints last year. Hitchhiked about 80 miles northwest of Baltimore, got stuck, turned around and came home. Also rode my bike up into PA for a couple days. Got just a few miles over the state line and stayed there for a bit then turned around


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## DudeDuderton (Apr 10, 2016)

Why'd you turn around man? Get cold feet?


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## Tude (Apr 10, 2016)

@DudeDuderton Hey FYI - I also admin on a fb group - and have a kid out there now touring - he's in FL atm, made his own panniers/trunk - he has a nice set up. Want to touch base with him? I believe he started out from one of the carolinas.


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## DudeDuderton (Apr 10, 2016)

I think Florida might be too far away, especially if he's getting around by bike, lol. Honestly I want to head west, by the time I got too far south it'd be getting hot as hell.

Someone messaged me about heading out, he wants to go south too for some reason. Waiting game engaged. Wish more people were in to bikes. Never met anyone traveling that thought it was a good idea to bring one.. Now I have this hair up my ass.


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## Psylock1045 (Apr 10, 2016)

The trip to PA, I turned around because I had severely overpacked and couldn't pedal on level ground for more than a minute before I had to take a break.

The hitchhiking trip I got stuck in hagerstown, md. I couldn't get picked up for shit. Had horrible blisters and a too heavy pack, so I started walking towards frederick to greyhound it home.


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## Psylock1045 (Apr 10, 2016)

Finally got picked up after I had walked from one side of hagerstown to the other....about 6 miles on already badly blistered feet. It sucked lol


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## DudeDuderton (Apr 10, 2016)

I messaged you Psy.


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## liberationmoves (Apr 10, 2016)

Na, look you want to pretend it is perfect but it is not. You cannot put panniers on a folding bike, cant just throw a real rack on it. All of that makes it cumbersome and difficult. Even if you somehow get racks that come off easy then you have to lug those around. Then when you have to always worry about it being stolen. Advantages and disadvantages.


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## DudeDuderton (Apr 10, 2016)

Rear rack, and my chain to lock it.. don't need panniers. I know there are disadvantages. But I'm sure it'll fold enough with a basic rear rack.. I really don't travel with much.. alcohol stove, isopropyl, gauze and wraps, sleeping bag, one change of clothing, bibs and jacket, compass, road map, head lamp, knife, lighters, twine, one change of spare batteries, a bit of food and water, kiddie tent, aint much else, all that is wrapped in a tarp with lashing straps, and some is in a bookbag. I know I'll have to undo the tarp roll when I fold it, I just lash the roll to the bookbag and lug that.

Yeah it's not the most simple, but I like the freedom of movement the bike offers when it's not chained up or loaded in a trunk. I mean I have done this for a short while before, with a bike that didn't fold.. I can only imagine folding it would make it even easier.


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## Matt Derrick (Apr 10, 2016)

very tempting... but i think my only realistic option right now would be to do the west coast tour north to south starting in june, that way i could end up in slab city for the jamboree in october.


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## Matt Derrick (Apr 11, 2016)

liberationmoves said:


> You cannot put panniers on a folding bike









you sure about that?


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## liberationmoves (Apr 19, 2016)

Matt Derrick said:


> View attachment 30022
> 
> 
> you sure about that?


Great, now just disassemble all of that and put it on your back or push it when you want to hitchhike or hop a train.


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## DudeDuderton (Apr 20, 2016)

Doesn't matter anyway, I don't have the time or funds to do this. Just getting my old pack together.


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## Matt Derrick (Apr 25, 2016)

liberationmoves said:


> Great, now just disassemble all of that and put it on your back or push it when you want to hitchhike or hop a train.



doesn't sound that unreasonable to me, and i've hopped trains with a regular bike and a pack before...


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## Wawa (Apr 26, 2016)

Right now I have a folding bike and folding trailer. It's way more versilatile then at least one person here seems able to believe.

I just sold my bulky waterproof panniers and made new ones out of canvas tote bags. The panniers clip on a rack on the bike like any other, by the way.

My backpack is on the trailer, my food and water in the panniers. When I need to downsize, I eat the food and stuff the panniers into my pack. When I need to load up the bike onto another vehicle, the pack goes on my back, the trailer folds into a bag in one hand, and I can lift the bike in my other hand. 

If someone can pick up two hitchhikers, or a kid with a pack and a dog, they can pick up me and my bike. I can go from riding the bike, to loaded into a backseat in about five minutes. 


Coulda saved a lot of typing with a picture, but the internet here is too flickery.


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## Hillbilly Castro (May 10, 2016)

Wawa said:


> Actually, I'm not done yet.
> 
> A folding bike is GREAT for long distance travel. Its the best of everything. You can hitch easily, but you can also explore backroads with no traffic. You can ride through town, or load it up on public transit. It fits into a large home depot box, which counts as normal luggage on buses, amtrak, airplanes. You can throw it on a freight train, you can put it on a packraft. You can hoist it over fences, hide it easily. You can move like a cyclist but camp like a backpacker.
> 
> ...



Yo, this post got me super stoked on the idea of folding bikes, cruised Craigslist for a minute and found one. It's a Dahon Speed Uno with a custom automatix 2 speed automatic hub. Paid $300. Folds down to nothing. I'm loving the simplicity of the auto 2 speed and find it's kickass for everything but crazy uphills. I'm about to take off on it, and am planning to just hitch the gnarly hilly sections and stick to the canal trail (will be rolling thru upstate NY) and then along the great lakes on up to the Upper Peninsula. From there who knows. 

I dig what you said as well about not being on a bike tour. I've loved bikes my whole life, and have done a couple little tours, but have noticed that nearly all the literature surrounding bike touring is oriented toward folks who take it as an assumption that they have "real life" to get back to. That has turned me off, because if I head out on two wheels, I'm living the bike nomad life, taking it as it comes, as surely as when I leave by thumb I'm not on a "trip" or "vacation" because those terms imply some sort of deliberate planning and an end. Why not bike life, you know? Seems like there are plenty of hitchhikers, trainhoppers, van dwellers, even walkers pursuing their modes of transportation in a chill fashion, working, dumpstering, busking as they go along and just letting randomness guide them. I'm ready to try it. I really doubt that hitchhiking will be hard with this thing either. 

Anyway thanks for your post and feel free to offer up further bits of wisdom on the matter, as it seems you've lived it.


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## Wawa (May 11, 2016)

Glad to hear it man. Looks like you found a pretty great deal.

Heh, the "not on a tour thing" definately gets real when people start asking where you came from and its like "Uuuh, don't know how to answer?"


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## ironman (May 19, 2016)

ME and my woman got few rises when we traveled by bike


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## BuiltForComfortNotSpeed (Jun 25, 2016)

Hi everyone. For those who might find it useful, might I suggest that when you know it's time to hitch with a bicycle, that you remove the front wheel. This will give drivers a better visual cue that you are looking for a ride. It would also give a driver the chance to see that your bike would fit into a trunk. I would also suggest a bungee cord or a piece of rope, etc. to secure the trunk once the bike is in. Of course, if someone has a truck then this isn't an issue. I just think that most drivers might look at a fully assembled bike and may think that it wouldn't fit without really thinking about it. I would also like to think that it would look like you are serious about needing a ride and people would be more willing to assist. Any thoughts as to why this might not work? I plan on doing this myself.


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## Mckenny87sj (Jul 7, 2016)

Tell me more about that, psylock


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## amor fati (Jul 11, 2016)

i got all geared to go, then found an amazing place to squat and busk, and an amazing girlfriend...so i'm trying to convince her we should bike to FL this winter.


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## ironman (Oct 17, 2016)

I'm going to. Bike to FL from SC want to see the keys 

Sent from my N9132 using the Squat the Planet mobile app!


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