A Neophytes First Tour

[Aurum]

Ahoy, so in summary, I'm doing a bike/longboarding tour from Sacramento, CA to Portland, OR.
As of yet, I haven't hitched, hopped, tramped or toured.

I've been locked in a metropolitan setting, living nomadicaly since the age of 15, with a 1 year hiatus to try out my "friends" advice of being a mindless wage slave, living the 9 - 5, and finding love in a sea of false hope.

Alas with this limited experience, it has limited my abilities.

I have no job, no home(but sheltered for now, and have permission to use part of the garage for storage), and close to no cash left, Some fucking how, I've managed to writhe free of my responsibilities, I don't have any debts left to pay off, and all 3 of who I thought were my "best friends" have entered into their worlds of two. Now after 6 years of being a nomad, having 3 life altering epiphanies, and a recent loss-of-gear catastrophy, I only have a nice road bike, my board, my (sort of full) day pack, and a 104L G.I. bag full (but will be fixing that with a quick purge of non essentials) with all my clothes/blanket.


I've made this thread to document my trip, pre planning to arrival, but I'd like some feedback, and advice from y'all. my next few posts will hopefully cover my gear list more in depth.

Further, writing to you all has been quite cathartic, as it is lonely in the mind of a dreamer, so thanks to whom it may concern.

 

[Road Hobbit]

Be safe, be strong, be free...

 

[Indi The 8]

Spange, get an instrument on discount by letting the owner know what you're about.

 

[Aurum]

Spange, get an instrument on discount by letting the owner know what you're about.

I actually own a guitar, but it's an Inherited '69 classical, wouldn't risk it out on the road, sentimental value and it's delicate.

I don't want to sound rude here, and I mean no offense to all you beautiful people that feel the need to do so, but I do not condone begging when at all avoidable.

I prefer a trade and barter method, an exchange of goods, labor or entertainment.
I was debating between various methods to earn money for food and supplies while traveling. A multitude of things actually, writing comic books to sell, maybe finding some fellow musicians to travel with, or other types of street performance, I was once a fire spinner, but I don't think that needs to happen again. (Cops on the west coast hate people in all black playing with things on fire, hasn't ended well for me in the past)

I'm kinda interested in making some kind of suitcase drum kit/getting a mic&speaker and possibly writing some street music (hopefully with some fellow travelers) probably punk, since I'm fairly poetic and like yelling, but not really comfy in the "lime-light" that a solo acoustic act brings.

 

[Tude]

Sorry for your gear situation - sucks to be robbed/less your stuff. I know my brother when bicycling across US ran into no funds at times and would end up at church's and small stores asking if anyone needed a worker/handy man and he often found work like that - as well as people letting him camp in their yards as well as being asked to come in for a meals. May things luck up for you!!

 

[Andrea Van Scoyoc]

The journey is the destination.

Take your time, dream and enjoy all the downs, as well as the ups.

They all, shape who you are, and will, be.

Best of luck.

 

[Aurum]

Well I'm going to start getting the logistics figured out today.
While I can, I'm going to hang around my town for a few weeks, since I was offered a temporary place to sleep indoors, and gotta buy some new gear before attempting this.

If I make this a bike tour, I'll need a lot of cash for gear. I own a used road racing 2010 gavin durus, but as I got it for free, (it was abandoned in front of the subway I worked at for 3 weeks before my boss was gunna throw it away. Ha, like I would've let that happen) It was really beat up. I took It in to a shop, since I'm no bicycle wizard, and they replaced all the cables, handwraps, pedals, trued it, all that. That wasn't cheap.
I also don't have a bike trailer, or lights for that matter, and the tires I have need to get replaced, which will be at least a few hundred total since I need to get a spare replacement kit as well.
I'm kind of worried about what would happen if something broke on the road.

What I was debating was selling this complex machine, and getting a different bike more suited to touring and a cargo trailer.
Currently my road bike doesn't have holes to easily mount more storage, and is really nice looking. I'm always worried about bike theft, and I won't really have money in transit to replace parts. So I'm thinking a cheaper bike might be advantageous.
Any suggestions on good touring bikes? Or trailers?

Furthermore, I still need to buy myself a hennesy hammock and replace all my lost gear, which means it'll deplete what funds I have currently. Because of the financial and time constraint, I'm debating just selling the bike buying new gear, and skating/camping along the coast, this would mean more cash for gear/supplies, but a longer trip and more expenses.

Well, going to try and figure out my best option by the end of tonight. Peace and High Hopes - Aurum

 

[Aurum]

Well, after much deliberation, I'm going to have to sell my current ride. No way I can get enough cargo on this beast of a racer to make it northbound. Hoping to buy a new bike, one more tour/cargo friendly since I think I'm going to make it a slow trip, and want to be able to haul a bit of heavy gear.



I might need this thread moved to other forms of travel, as I might still opt for a long boarding tour instead.

 

[Matt Derrick]

how did this turn out?

 

[Aurum]

how did this turn out?

Had some heart problems cause a delay, but I've Been training myself by biking 10-20 miles at a time, definitely still planning this trip, but want to make sure I'm prepped and ready. Not to mention my bike isn't equipped to tour. Atleast not right now. My rims are starting to split and I need to pick up gatorskins at the very least before I bike anywhere.

You got any planned trips this spring/summer matt?

 

[Matt Derrick]

Had some heart problems cause a delay, but I've Been training myself by biking 10-20 miles at a time, definitely still planning this trip, but want to make sure I'm prepped and ready. Not to mention my bike isn't equipped to tour. Atleast not right now. My rims are starting to split and I need to pick up gatorskins at the very least before I bike anywhere.

You got any planned trips this spring/summer matt?

yeah im leaving austin at the end of july and going up to washington state and biking down to LA/SD then out to the jambo. 2.5 months, going to stop a lot of places and explore, i'm really looking forward to it.

 

[Aurum]

Well if you end up biking thru roseville area on the way down, hmu.