Cross country biking

soapybum

soapybum

New member
Out of curiosity, anyone else gotten a nice road bike before and instead of hitching or hopping just biked to wherever they are goin? If so any words of advice etc?
 
back in 09 i rode from houston to chicago fixed gear one half and singlespeed the other half of the trip
14 days three different people picked me up when i was on the side of the road changing flats, It's fun but it sucks at the same time, your bike inhibits you from many things where if it were just a backpack you know you can go anywhere. recommendations; ride something with gears and I highly suggest running double tires I did and still had shitloads of flats.. bring a shitload of extra tubes.
main thing is uh, gears, tubes and... shitload of water.
 
Yup, six months ago I jumped on a bike and rode across France in 20 days, now Portugal and the North of Spain can be added to my map collection. One word of advice that I would give would be get a cycling culotte!!
 
Thanks for the advice! Where all would it inhibit you from going? Hitchhiking in some cars would be a no go but besides that? You can always just walk your bike/carry it. Ummm... I think I'll pass on the culotte.
 
well that's the case, you don't want to carry it with all yer gear it becomes a burden there were point's where I almost ditched my bike and started walking, yeah getting picked up would be difficult but if the whole point is to ride... road bikes make it easyer being they are very fast and very lightweight but of course mountain bikes... kind of go everywhere and are slower/heavyer.. depend's on the terrain an where you'd like to tour, I met a guy one time in arizona that rode his mountain bike through the back country all the way from canada to mexico.. just don't forget hat baby powder man
 
soapybum said:
Thanks for the advice! Where all would it inhibit you from going? Hitchhiking in some cars would be a no go but besides that? You can always just walk your bike/carry it. Ummm... I think I'll pass on the culotte.
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Hitching works just fine. I tend to not do it - unless I have a good reason, as wehaavethemap said the whole point is cycling. But it's so easy you'd be surprised.
It was just advise. I started off without a culotte. But experience will show you what you need and don't need :)
 
Cycling around is good fun. It's not the quickest way of traveling, but you earn every kilometre.

I really wouldn't recommend using whatever bike you happen to have - it's not designed for that. You need a touring bike or a "hybrid", something reasonably lightweight and comfortable, yet durable enough to carry a whole bunch of shit. Here's a good starting point: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Touring_bicycle and there are tons of sites out there made by people who've done epic cycling trips and are keen to tell everyone all about it.

If you start riding something not suitable or totally comfortable, you're going to be hating life after a few days and a few hundred kms. Plus, it'll break often. It's sometimes worth paying more for quality stuff, like double-walled tires and proper clip-in pedals and shoes.

Make sure you're protected from rain, sun and heat. Make sure you can repair any common issues like flats or broken chains. Do whatever you can to keep your ass from getting sore (it will anyway). Buy some good lights for your bike, and do whatever you can to make yourself visible to the driver who isn't paying attention.

I've never had any problems dragging my bike into the woods and leaving it next to my tent. Having good maps can keep you on quieter roads, making it much more fun and relaxed. Get a good lock and you'll be able to abandon the bike for a couple days when needed.

Anything else?
 
For broken chains do you suggest having a spare or? Thats something I've never had to fix on my bike. I have a '73 Raleigh touring bike, so its a bit old but its a great bike.
 
Actually, to be honest - forget about needing a super cool expensive touring bike, the ultra important thing is having something that's bomb-proof and (I cannot emphisis this enough) set up correctly.

You know how many rich kids got their (pick a name) status symbol bicyles just to be a part of something which they are not??
All the cats out here I see doing long distance or commuting - via bicycle - are using typical typical good old school bullet proof time tested bicycles.

I have a 17 year old U.S. made Raliegh M-50, pretty much stock - except for Sigma lighting - and at first it was a bear to ride around town, but then I had a bike shop set it up for me - including getting a better seat - and it became a million times easier and more comfortable to pedal. I know it sounds dumb, but there is a physics behind the proper pedal stroke....
Only reason I still keep the knobby tires - as opposed to real nice road tires - is because I still on occasion like to go on trails with this bike, otherwise I would put road tires on - and fenders too !! That's another important thing to have, as they will help keep you dry...

Most important of all, take time out to enjoy your travels, good luck !!
 
You should be able to do 100 miles a day in 8 hours, that's 12.5 miles an hour. Check it out. If it's too fast then go 10 miles an hour. 16 hours of daylight so you have 6 hours to enjoy the roses. If you enjoy biking then the time will fly. Be safe, stay away from people :D
(in faster transportation)
 
i havent gone more then 80 miles, myself but a friend of mine went to the bay from pittsburgh, he said halfway through he bought a Brook saddle and it made everything so much more comfortable. im definitely getting a leather saddle for my ride but probably not a Brook too rich for my blood.
 
this is something i desperately want to go again. rode from amsterdam to paris a few years ago, which was ridiculously easy. riding down the east coast from baltimore to richmond was way harder though (did it in august). i want to go coast to coast as soon as i can get the equipment together for it.
 
I've done some solo and sag 5-7 day bike trips, my brother has done lots more plus a meandering cross country solo bike ride - all of us on a roadie with.23 tires and front and back panniers. We travel equipped for bad weather. Always for bad weather - nothing like riding for a couple days in a downpour wtf. small tent, small propane, totally small but good stuff cause you need it. Our trips were planned.

But also planned - and this is the important part - besides the basics of health, etc - was your vehicle. You need your basic tools and parts and know how to use them - my issue for one trip (stupid wheel) was spokes - kept popping them - pop too many and your wheel is out of round and unusable till you find a bike shop so you can get some more spokes. Have to be able to not only do the basic stuff like put a new tube in the tire - but what would you do if your chain broke. I have my lightweight doo-dad gadget things to fix things - but there are some homemade fixes that are out there too - and I keep aware of them when I'm out there (but have not had to use them yet).

Love long distance riding. Getting kinda scary though for a lone female, so I rather stick to the local 1-2 days by myself.
 
Tude said:
my issue for one trip (stupid wheel) was spokes - kept popping them.
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That's too much weight on you're back wheel - just in case you didn't know.

I'm currently on a brief parenthesis of my trip. Just come back round after doing the North of Spain and the whole of Portugal - three and a half months more or less.

Spent nearly two months with no tools, only a spoke key and a crayon as they all got nicked in Faro. From that experience ... a spoke key, a crayon and a knife will get you through most basic repairs ... anything else you just have to go to a bike shop ... most will sort you out even without money.

K.m
 
Thanks for all the advice! I'm doing a short ride from Milwaukee to Chicago pretty soon, and plan on doing one from NM to Florida this winter. Outta curiosity, how much would it suck just having all my stuff in my alice pack instead of panniers?
 
i made myself a set of panniers just like these:

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...and was really glad to have a lower center of gravity and high visibility. before i made the panniers i had just been cruising with my rucksack strapped to the rack. big improvement. plus it's only gonna cost you a couple of bucks to make these. my two cents
 
soapybum said:
Outta curiosity, how much would it suck just having all my stuff in my alice pack instead of panniers?
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Do you mean ... riding with the pack on you're back? If so ... I really wouldn't recommend it.
2'500km I did like this, due to my stubbornness - but I finally had to give in, the constant pain in my neck, back and shoulders was excruciating.

K.m
 
austinoram said:
You should be able to do 100 miles a day in 8 hours, that's 12.5 miles an hour.
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That's a fairly brutal pace to keep up, I can always manage 100 miles or so in a day but it really does take up the entire day, only stopping for meals and to sleep. According to my bike computer in Europe I did about 8mph, though it was including meal stops.
 
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