Tips for Long Distance Traveling- WEIGHT CONTROL

[psuggmog]

I like your philosophy. I don't like to travel without a musical instrument, but I don't like the bulk of most of them. I usually carry only a pennywhistle, or a harmonica. I've been known to remove my hand grips and play my handlebars like a bugle.

 

[bamabikeguy]

LAST WEEK- First day, fully loaded.......

In the basket are the tarp, that folded pad I got at Goodwill, the Marlboro Travel bag full of sweats and longhandles, 1 extra gas canister, camerabag, water bottle.

IF YOU LOOK CLOSE there is a 4 foot, red bungie cord, hooked to the basket and looped around the other gas canister, which not only stablizes the steering, but keeps the saddlebags off the front fender.

The double saddlebags (black) are bungied forward to the basket, and the dome tent is seperated, tent on top, poles and pegs on bottom. I also have my backpack, with the fleece stuff and other lighter weight goods.

THE ONLY THING I FORGOT TO WATERPROOF WAS THE TENT (a mistake).

At the end of that first day, I noted that the tent poles had sagged thru the zipped-tied water bottle carrier I had mounted on the frame bottom-

So I cut a bottle in half, and started inserting the poles into that bottom plastic part, which solved everything.

NOTE: First camp- I had a choice, straight shot or curvy Alabama River run, and took the shorter route.

I was 10 miles from anything, including the lumbermill I passed earlier, and the one 10 miles up the road. That night, there was a constant hummmmmmmm caused by those mills, the sound carrying through the valleys and hollers.

If you plan a route, and notice those big timber mills, figure out a way to get far, far, far away by nightfall. It wasn't loud, just a little irritating. Of course, two nights spent in Mobile meant police sirens, so the hum was minor comparitively.

Oh yeah, twice I found myself near these deer blinds, and so twice I had use of a chair, and in exchange, took out a plastic bag of litter found around each site. That is kind of a guiding principal, taking out twice as much litter as taken in, depositing it in the first receptacle the next morning....

If it had been a weekend, I would have avoided deer shacks, but you go a mile down a dirt path and find one, whatchagonnado??

 

[uncle_punk13]

This is great stuff!
Also, I believe that the spirits of travel will always shine and smile upon you when you do good things such as pack out twice as much as you brought in.
I really dig your style Bama...
Keep on Keepin' on,
Rif

 

[stick]

bama,
If you want to save a little more weight, you can try this. I only use a cheap tarp, 4 stakes, some parachute cord, and an army surplus mosquito net. the whole thing might weigh a pound. you could bring poles too if you want but, unless you are in a desert, trees are every where.

 

[twinkiex]

I got a new bike pump that weighs just 147 grams!

 

[bamabikeguy]

bama,
If you want to save a little more weight, you can try this. I only use a cheap tarp, 4 stakes, some parachute cord, and an army surplus mosquito net. the whole thing might weigh a pound. you could bring poles too if you want but, unless you are in a desert, trees are every where.

Yo stick,

I used 3 tarps, laying in my basket, in the beginning, and on the Denver run. The dome tent was only used once by a friend, and he sent it to me last Autumn. But my birthday is next week, I've put the word out about a good pup tent, and if I get more dumb t-shirts, I'll hint hint hint all the way till Christmas.

twinkie: I got a new bike pump that weighs just 147 grams!

Have a model, purchase location? Will it do an air mattress? thx!

 

[twinkiex]

Have a model, purchase location? Will it do an air mattress?

bamabikeguy,
Its a Hurricane, dont know the model # but a friend at work today pulled out and even smaller lighter bike pump, so tiny it fit in his fanny pack. I guess it could fill an air mattress, dont see why not it fits either type of valve stem.

 

[bamabikeguy]

Been a little change in my saddlebag arrangement, moved behind the seat and described here:

https://motoredbikes.com/threads/gebe-axle-mount-modifications-and-additions.6294/page-2#post-82932

 

[az cra-z]

Hard side pannier

I've been wanting to try one of these:
http://www.nashbar.com/profile.cfm?...oretype=&estoreid=&pagename=Show All Products
Looks pretty tough, fits on most any rack (they say). I think I'd get some of that new Krylon paint for plastic and make it yellow or something similarly visible.

 

[DougC]

I don't have any experience myself with overnight riding, but a couple points I'd still share:

trailers--it has been mentioned that trailers make carrying stuff a lot easier, and it is true. The problem you can run into {particularly in some western states} is that some highways have narrow 1-ft shoulders, and the highway dept's have cut rumble strips across them. They are very irritating to have to ride on for hours on end, and they are much easier to avoid on a 2-wheel bicycle. People who like trailers and recumbent trikes both hate rumble strips, and tend to avoid highways that have them entirely--but out west, the major highways are the only ways across country. There are one-wheel trailers available but they are rather expensive, and present special problems of their own.

clothes--don't take anything cotton at all. Synthetic clothes marketed for bicycling or hiking tend to be overpriced, but these things can be bought cheap as exercise/fitness clothes at sporting goods stores. They are better pretty much every-which-way. ...Wool works better than cotton too, but I haven't found much wool clothes that weren't itchy, or inexpensive.
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