April '09- 1,000 plus miles w/ RS 35cc....

[Esteban]

Another nice detour off Hwy # 11.
When #11 crosses Hwy#25, get off & go N. to Hendersonville, N.C. A very pretty, small downtown that has been a favorite of mine for years. They have a great " Apple Festival" every year. From there, get on #64 E , crossing I-26, & into the Bat Cave area. Continue on & have a nice stopover in Chimney Rock. Be sure to go up to the top & hike the upper mountain trails. You will see a lot of the area where the movie, " Last of the Mohicans " was filmed. [ I could tell you a lengthy story about playing hooky & getting stranded in this little village , broke, & 40 miles from home ] From there continue to Lake Lure, where " Dirty Dancing" was filmed. Still some of the old buildings standing & the unique Lake Lure Inn. Continue & there will be a turn off on Hwy#9 that goes to Spartanburg, or keep to the left & that road goes to Rutherfordton, N.C. Intersecting Hwy#221 you can turn right to go to Chesnee, & then on to Sptbg., OR, stay straight & go thru the old towns of Spindale, & Forest City, N.C. After Forest City, turn rt. on #221-A & that takes you back to meet back up with #221, which goes to Chesnee, Sptbg., etc.

 

[bamabikeguy]

Clouds move into the Birmingham area early Sunday as a cold front pushes into the state, bringing unseasonably cool temperatures and the chance of sleet for the beginning of the work week.

Tonight will be mostly cloudy with a low of 57. A chance of thunderstorms enters the National Weather Service's forecast tomorrow afternoon. Temperatures will reach 73 before dropping to the low 40s Sunday night. the chance of rain is 60 percent.

Monday's lows will fall to 29 degrees and a chance of precipitation in the area means a chance for sleet or even flurries. Tuesday night's lows will drop to 28 degrees, according to the forecast. By Wednesday highs should be in the upper 60s again.

Well, the most worthless feature on the internet is the "6-10 day extended forecast", which I had been checking.....

That is another reason this hobby is so invigoratingly fun, meeting Mother Nature head on. In this case I won't be a few hours ahead of a low or high pressure zone, but right in the middle of it.

I already did a 16 degree night (that time in Jan '07-Mobile, when I didn't read the warning on the can of sterno I thought would warm my tent. The skull & crossbones thingy was a dead giveaway, eh?).

Experience is another reason I don't fear strong winds, I already met them in the prairie, and those are "normal" days for flatland/High Chaparral folks.

The key helpful item I found in cold weather are those latex disposable gloves which I buy by the box for veterinary uses. Wearing them in the early a.m. riding hours keeps the fingers super insulated, inside my leather gloves. This works better and is less bulky than having woolen gloves to double up with the leather.

If you don't want to buy a box of 100, find a medical buddy who can easily get you 10 pair to carry along in one of your travel bags.

 

[Esteban]

Those gloves do keep your hands surprisingly warm. I also like the riding gloves with about 1/2 finger. They keep your hands warmer, too, & you can still work on things.

 

[bamabikeguy]

D-Day a little over 24 hours away, I have Rucio maybe 75% loaded down, took her on a 20 mile shakedown ride yesterday to figure out what is going to work, what ain't.

The test ride (and sitting here typing about my check list) brings up new ideas. I've got to get it where I can reload the "camp" in 30 minutes or less every morning, and rolling/stashing a tent is a 15 minute chore, especially when its cold and windy .

Cold weather knocks out the hammock idea.

The coffee cans under the seat just don't seem to carry enough stuff to be effective. I maybe able to roll spare clothes into sausages, wrapped in a small tarp, cut in half, and tie those underneath. I need two tarps, 1 under the tent, and the other to cover the foam seat at night.

And I haven't found a good use for the Pringle's cans, or at least not 2 of them, extra water or the pup tent poles/stakes might take their place behind the seat.

The fold up kindergarten sleeping pad has hit the "too bulky/unnecessary" pile, the scrapbook definitely can be scaled down. The mini hammer for the 16 tent stakes is OUT, I'll purchase the smallest hatchet I can find before first camp. The weather makes damp firewood the reality.

TIP- on finding firewood after a rainfall. You want to walk around the camp and get dead branches out of trees, not sitting on the ground. If you can break off two armfuls, that will build up a bed of coals hot enough to burn the wetter stuff. It will take a solo rider 15 minutes to get enough wood to last one night.

Another tip is figure out which way the wind is blowing before setting up the tent relative to the fire pit.

I bought a box of one gallon Zip Lock bags, and I already had a box of 4 larger "Big Bags"- 24" x 24". Cramming clothes in bags, squeezing out all the air, cuts the space requirements in half.

Up in that front basket is that ultra air mattress and the 2 fleece blankets, in an air-vac'd Big Bag. Weighing down the front changes the steering sensation.

BUT, about 2 miles away, in front of Robert Walker's house, is the absolute WORST stretch of asphalt (the pavers "jumped" the machine, clowning around, about a 1/2 mile of rib-like mini speed bumps). I drove over those ribs, and maybe 2 more miles "right handed/left hand free".

So the steering is acceptable. Another neighbor has a 1/2 mile long, really steep and deeply rutted driveway, I conquered that yesterday, a prelude to finding good campsites.

But the more I ride and think about things, a mini-trailer might end up being the very best way to do cross country on a recumbent. By the end of this 1,000 miles trek, I'll have a design in mind.

 

[Esteban]

Tinder for a fire= There are a lot of Birch trees along the banks of the creeks in that area. Their peeling bark is good for starting a fire. Good luck , keep a log, & enjoy the trip.

 

[bamabikeguy]

Hat tip to Lawrence in Seattle for the engine cover paint job idea....

http://www.motoredbikes.com/showthread.php?p=195859#post195859

Last pix until I get back next week !

The coffee cans are scrapped, the canvas roll idea is IN. The canvas was cut from that previous idea about the tooooo long bag.

The poles fit atop the tent now, freeing up a place to slide the tool kit in the mid-frame.

That shelving thingio holds the blue poncho/tarp and 2 piece yellow cheapy rain suit.

And just to keep my zip-tie-count advantage, I weaved NINE into that shelvio, plus some spare bungies, to keep things from sliding out.

Any more stuff on the back and I'll probably be required to buy a WIDE LOAD sign.

 

[eastwoodo4]

i was gonna suggest a trailer on my last comment but didnt since u already said no trailer.but since u mentioned it again i would run down to swalmart and get a child carrier trailer.just bolt and go.that would give u extra space.and take some stress out of getting rucio loaded everyday.

 

[Esteban]

GOOD LAWD ! That looks like my " X " packed up that bike ! She needed the whole trunk for a 3 days weekend getaway & I took all I needed in a plastic grocery bag !
A trailer may sound good, but if he goes on Hwy# 11 , he doesn't need anymore weight or rolling resistance. STEEP , LONG hills !!
GOOD LUCK & be careful. Don't keep food near your tent.

 

[Member 5549]

And They Loaded up the Bike And They Moved

To Bev-er-ley

Hills that is !!!!!
Dang Bamma the only thing missing is grannys rocking chair !!!!
Look's like fun, have a safe trip !!!!

 

[bamabikeguy]

It's not heavy, just bulky....I'm actually carrying LESS tonnage than on Rocinante, because my back pack was full of stuff, plus big basket and saddlebags. I've been carrying the tent for a month, adding more weight bit by bit as I went along.

It's 50 miles to the Georgia line, and about 35 miles till I have to drop off into the Tennessee River basin, then climb back out near Little River Canyon.

But I know the backroads to that drop off point, and IF I think its too unwieldy, I'll shed a lot of the weight, pack it in a spare Big Bag, hide it in the woods on the side of the road.

The deluxe $5 air mattress could go, the blue poncho, half the t-shirts....I could lessen it by maybe 15-20 pounds if I really really tried. But the bulk is behind the seat, so I'm hoping to be aerodynamic sublime.

Then pick it all back up on the way home.

The prob is first night out will be freezing, (they are calling this "unseasonable, 20 degrees below normal for April) so I just have to make sure I have enough to get through that night, my friend in N.Carolina wears the same size of everything.....

Wed. is supposed to warm back up into the 70's.

Still have a few hours to thunk on it.....