Tips for Long Distance Traveling- WEIGHT CONTROL

[senseibruce]

I love your spirit bama. You celebrate the ride rather then focus on the negative!

 

[breaksalltherules]

bama, had to bookmark this post because i have to go to work but saw where you said you hadn't figured out the airmattress part yet. Thermarest! very very light weight and compact, inflates to maybe an inch and a half, self inflating, difference between a crapy nights sleep and a restfull nights sleep. i've done a lot of indurance typ trips, hitchhiking, hoping freight trains, kayaking, bicyclgin, hiking, and i would hate to travel with out mine. a little pricy but if you watch ebay you can snag one for cheap. hope that helps!

i've read quite a few of your post because i'm planning a trip to south america soon. working on getting the build right and making sure everything is perfect. i'll probally be pestering you with questions once i get past my drivetrain.

 

[bamabikeguy]

Hey there "breaking the rules",

Since this thread started way back in 2006, I've made a few upgrades, for instance, taking Augie's advice, I shelved the 3 man dome tent for the single pup, which is pretty spacious inside, and takes up half the room when loaded on the bike.

I found your Therm-a-Rest link, there are 5 models rec'd for camping:

http://www.cascadedesigns.com/Therm-A-Rest/Mattresses/Trek-And-Travel/category

I have one of those heavier plastic swimming pool types now, $8 at Gen.Dollar. It's the transparent type, with the pockets in it, requiring less air.

The parachute material hammock, that packs into a can-o-beans sized stuff-sack is next on the want list- especially for summer travel. Your suggestion will follow that purchase, I like the dimensions of the Therm-a-Rest.

There is a huge difference in summer and winter prep, especially camping/sleeping.

On that NC trip last April, I didn't take the air mattress, had the kindergarden sleeping pad stashed behind the seat. Because I was carrying extra clothes, I could lay the extras under that mat, to get the inch of comfort.


Part of the trick is to make things Dual-Use, the vinyl bag becomes the tent's welcome mat, along with a 2x3 piece of tarp material, rolled up during the ride. In camp its a place to stand in the dew-dropped morning and not get your socks wet.

Since I quit carrying books, use the newspaper for entertainment at night, you can also wad up a lot of pages to augment your pillow, then dispose of it in the morning.

Also on the NC trip was the 1st time I used the super-sized zip-lock bags (10 per box, $3). One zip-bag could fit both fleece blankets, squeeze out the air, and stuff it into a vinyl bag, then put it in the front basket.

Those bulky, but light weight items, were perfect for the front basket, while the heavier stuff rode better behind me in the saddle bags.


Another dual use item is one of those nylon laundry bags. If you have to camp in swampy conditions, spray on some OFF, put the bag over your head, & it will keep the huge dragon beetles out of your nostrils or ears.

Things that have worked well, imho:

No denim jeans.

Shower flip flops for camp shoes.

Few extra batteries, buy more as needed along the way. (The old camera took 4, the new lighter Fiji only takes 2). In fact, avoid any appliance that takes 4 batteries (e.g. large flashlight).

Every 3 days, take off a half day to rinse out the dust, maybe do basic laundry by the stream, enjoy the hammock.

Start collecting half used items, like half a bottle of Deet mosquito spray, half stick of deodorant, half tube of toothpaste. All those little ounces add up in the toilet kit, and you only need a weeks supply of toilet paper, not a huge roll.

There are still tools I've never used on the road, but that little black umbrella bag is the best .50 cents I spent. If it doesn't fit in there, it ain't going with me. 3 box wrenches, adjustable needle-nose, the allen's - pocket set, scissors, 6-1 screwdriver, etc).

I want one of those US Air Force- Swiss Knifeyish combos, it even strips wire.

I'm a big ChuckTaylor All-Star fan on shoes, and Goodwill for quick in-out T-shirt replacements, which cost less than a laundrymat PLUS soap powders.

 

[bamabikeguy]

And I keep seeing Generic Snuggies show up in stores, I'm thinking that might be another fleece purchase, just have to see how compact one can get.......

 

[breaksalltherules]

I absolutely love the way you think! With the thermarest, unless you are super tall, the w omens sizes work well. Th newest one, the Neoair, packs to an incredible small size but I can't find it for under $80. I snagged a women s trail lite for $25 after following ebay for a couple of weeks. They have been around for a while but it's worth it to get on of the trail lites because they are much smaller and lighter than the old school ones. Can sleep on gravel and wake up felling great.

That's an awesome looking tent! I used to have a eureka just like it but it disaperaed to who knows where. Now I use a camo waterproof bivy sack that packs even smaller. I miss the room of the eureka, especially when pinned down by bad weather for a few days but the plus side is you can hide very easly while you sleep. I end up trespassing alot when I camp while traveling.

I was checking out another thread you have about planning trips. Do you have any suggestions as to how to find bicycle friendly roads i.e. bike lands, paved shoulders, or do you just go for low traffic? I have found this http://www.adventurecycling.org/routes/network.cfm seems like a reliable source but the maps are pretty pricey. Also have to plan a route through Central and South America so after Texas I'd have to figure something else out.

 

[bamabikeguy]

moved that routing part over to here:

http://www.motoredbikes.com/showthread.php?p=255212#post255212

 

[bamabikeguy]

On the list of dumb*** Christmas gifts was this Galileo Thermometer, now sitting on the Philco, stuck at somewhere between 64 and 67 degrees:

http://www.amazon.com/Chaney-Instrument-Galileo-Thermometer-Barometer/dp/B000A3IN10

One of my bulky items is this 12" x 12" scrapbook, pictures tell a thousand words, and I have bikes and newspaper interviews and collages....even built cages on both Rocinante and Rucio to carry the scrapbook along. But most of the time it is in my way, has to be protected in the rain.

BUT, I saw one of those "Photo Dealios" that hang from a wall, on a 1 minute loop, with about 20 digital photos. It looked to be about 8" x 10".

What do they call those things?

I'm thinking I could get a small one (IF it is rugged enough to handle road vibrations), download some pix, then have a lighter load for the visuals.

Anybody else have one of these gizmos?

 

[srdavo]

BUT, I saw one of those "Photo Dealios" that hang from a wall, on a 1 minute loop, with about 20 digital photos. It looked to be about 8" x 10".

What do they call those things?

Digital Photo Frame

I've looked at them.... kinda pricey.

Here's one for 35 bucks & it's wallet size. (comes with a wallet-like case)
◦3.5" LCD screen--- store up to 35 digital photos.
http://www.bestbuy.com/site/Insigni...lack/9379424.p?id=1218095152230&skuId=9379424

 

[augidog]

that's a nice looking basic bivy, bama...and if i were but half a foot shorter, i wouldn't need a (eureka) 5' X 7' dome & a (teton) 100" X 39" bag to achieve the same simple and effective level of comfort your rig provides you. it's the same reason i can't make use of those nifty hammocks, altho i'd like to be able to.

the "cost" of being a tall backpacker: tent, footprint, & bag = 20lbs. but they're rigged to the bike and not my back.

anyways, since i'll be heading out with no home base to return to (i'm lurking your "routes" & "misc" topics too) and will basically be "legally homeless", there's a few other extra things i'm carrying by choice...

full tool-set, full tire-service*, many bike/engine/GEBE-spares (plus i too have complete confidence in golden eagle's enthusiastic road-support)...the bike is purposely overbuilt to carry all it's own gear plus some of mine...but, there's a lot of other things you're convincing me will be there when i need them...i'm consolidating & getting rid of redundancy...by the time i set off, fully-equipped for 3-season living/4-season survival, my backpack should be weighing in around 30lbs...shoot, that ain't nothing.

thanks for keeping these topics up to date, paul

*the Topeak "Turbo-Morph" is an amazing mini-pump. it's light but rock solid, nicely detailed...i can do my 70psi marathons with ease...and besides, it's way cool like a james bond toy set

 

[bamabikeguy]

Yo Aug,

Twould seem the Big & Tall Corp. would have targeted you mutants, for a premium of course.

Yeah, somebody bumped a couple of these Tip/Travel threads, they are fun when more people kick in a factoid or two....

Ferinstance, I've been thinking about how groups might join you on certain legs of the journey, and send me a heads up a week or so in advance.

When two cars, arriving from different directions, are supposed to meet up somewhere on the interstate, it's easiest at a rest stop or the first waffle house in S.Carolina.

Using Boy Scout skills "trail marking" ---------->

Let's say your route was cutting way south of me, a medium town in Tuscaloosa Co. We pick a town and a (+) or (-) timeframe, and agree that the library would be best, and the back up is the nearest place you can sit and drink coffee. It wouldn't take long to find another MB on a hitching post, locals could probably point right to it.

And say me and Elmo were doing the Natchez Trace, and the speedier bike (me) was going to get out ahead, start scouting out a rest spot.

With my handy scissors I somehow accidently chopped off 3 feet of that yellow crime scene plastic ribbon at the Dead show last April. I dunno why I still have it, but I could "tie a yellow ribbon" on a road sign or tree, to give Elmo the HEADS UP.....

Think "Lonesome Dove", those rangers were constantly scratching out stuff in the dirt.

They teach you in Scouts to lay out 3 sticks in the form of an arrow, or maybe 8 distinct rocks, to let Elmo know which logging road I've headed for scoping out.

He would untie the yellow ribbon, or that marker could be anything agreed upon, your ball cap or riding glove would do in a pinch. Bent saplings can be used if you are hunting some river 2-3 miles off the road.

Maybe this should be in misc....but the point is, trail marking doesn't have to weigh much.