The BETA Ride

I finally loaded the bike with all or nearly all my gear and went for a ride. The anxiety I felt about handling a fully loaded bike disappeared quickly. The obvious handling differences relate to slower steering as expected. The feeling is like automobile oversteer. I adjusted in a few miles. The remarkable thing was how different the overall ride felt. I was able to understand what has been said about the the flexibility of steel frames. Where the lightly loaded bike has been stiff, sending the shock of bumps to my hands, fully loaded it does not. Guess that's part of what makes it a touring bike.

I packed food, cooking supplies, maintenance and repair items and first aid items in the front panniers. Right rear holds a few civilian clothes and one very large non-cycling shoes. The need for clothes to accommodate a few days off the road and possibly chilly mornings made this part of preparation difficult and shoes were the toughest decision. One of my Nike old man mall walker shoes (sans Velcro) fit in the bottom of the rear bags as if custom made for the purpose. Two light T-shirts, one one pants, some socks and underwear comprise the basics. A mixed fiber outdoorsy long (roll-up) sleeve shirt will serve multiple purposes. Never a fashion plate, my civilian wardrobe is probably adequate. Atop the civilian clothes are campsite accessories; rope, gossamer plastic sheet, deck of cards, book, extension cord and a few other relevant items.

On the other shoe in the left rear pannier is daily clothes, toilet items, and my netbook. The clothing and microfibre towels should provide excellent support and crush protection. Both rear panniers can hold a bit more. I hope there are not too many tings I haven't thought of, though I suspect that one of the things the first tour teaches is the difference between wants and needs and how to distinguish the two.

I bungee cord a dry bag holding tent, ground cloth, sleeping bag and sleeping pad too the rear rack and will probably add a used but usable original equipment Continental touring tire.

The handlebar bag holds my rain cape, spare gloves, multi-tool, batteries, camera and other miscellaneous items. I'll carry a day supply of Lara Bars and other food items. My cell phone, wallet and such will ride there along with the maps.I didn't purchase the Ortlieb map case so I will carry the maps in waterproof zip bags along with a small notebook and pen. This, too, is going to be a catch-all and it not overfull, yet.

One of the obvious things to carry in open pannier space is spare water. I don't think I can carry too much water since temperatures are going to moderate very little until my return. Most people question my timing for the trip because of the 90 degree plus temperature. It's all about hydration and pacing. I didn't decide to do this a week ago, I've been riding in heat for years and have learned the value of water. Experience counts.

It gets more exciting each day. The remaining thing to do is be as certain as possible of "Where" and "How far." Motels are sparse in Coastal Georgia and South Carolina. It is also that way between the Outer Banks and Richmond. Then there is the return route. I will depending a lot on Google Maps and all the other online mapping options. I guess if I didn't want to face challenges I could stay home.

When is it actually special?

Big day at my FNBS; new wheel, chain, brakes, pedals. This happens with more than 6200 miles (since April, 2011) and seems like good timing. As usual Bikes and More completed the job in time for me to pick-up the bike and ride home. I have always appreciated the special treatment the people there provide, but stellar guy that I am it seemed reasonable that I should get special treatment. In a brief moment of clarity as I rode home, I understood that what I have felt was “special treatment” is actually “usual treatment.” They listen to everyone’s boring stories, chuckle at weak humor and tolerate questions with obvious answers. They treat everyone the same way. How quaint.

I printed cards to give to people with the blogs URL. It’ll be a lot harder to quit somewhere if I know people I know know, ya know? Guess I could do it for a cause instead of because I want to. Or because I can. There’s a sense of release to have the opportunity and the ability. Whether simultaneous merging or brief tangent, the result is the same . . . too damn cool.

Concerned about it being hot? Uh huh, but I ride in Florida’s heat daily. Start early and drink a lot. Take what the day and the terrain gives you. It matters little where I am or what is happening. It is all time well spent.

So Much Is About Timing

Brooks saddles are supposed to give a  lifetime of satisfaction. When mine broke I was disappointed. Now, after a second spoke broke on my OE rear wheel (Novara Long Haul Touring) I am more than disappointed. Paul of Bikes and More said it was very likely a second one would break soon after. He gave it about 300 miles, saying that distortion of the rim added unwanted tension. If the breakage was the result of a bad spoke the repaired wheel might not fail. It took 800 miles for another spoke to break.

The people at my FNBS are aware of the impending trip. (How can they not know? It's about all I can talk about sometimes) They also know the Safari is my primary transportation. Keith (what's a Canadian doing managing sales in a bike shop in Florida, eh?) suggested a double wall rim from Salsa would be a good replacement. The total cost using my Deore hub and discounting because of membership in the local bicycle society brought the total cost to less than $110. I might have to eat only every other day on my trip, but better that than breaking down! Brian, (one of three full-time mechanics) agreed to replace the broken spoke, despite a heavy workload, so I could pick the bike up at the end of my work day. How can you ask for more than that? Well, one more surprise was waiting. When I picked the bike up later, Lisa said there was no charge. Treatment like that is why Bikes and More is just one more reason why it is the shop of choice in G'ville.

As the title suggests, timing is critical in planning and execution. Being as well prepared as possible is the best way to handle bad timing and misfortune. What can fail? Obviously, saddles. Even the best. Wheels. Brakes. (being replaced before the trip with the variety allowing easy pad change) Chain. Tires? Probably not since even 2600 miles on them the Marathons show little rear wear. Pedal? Uh huh, with similar, but upgraded model. One unknown element is the route; campgrounds, water, food . . . The other unknown, as I have addressed previously, is my physical ability. Won't know about the route or my ability until I try it. Ad it is almost time.

Goals and Reality

I have cycled more than 5000 miles since acquiring my Safari in April 2011. None of it has been in touring mode and the longest distance I have covered was 55 miles. There’s no doubt the Safari can make the tour. I am the weakest element.

A week ago I loaded front and rear panniers with about 25 pounds worth of 24 ounce water bottles, all of it unsprung weight. This part of Florida lacks significant hills, but the few short, moderate climbs hinted at the effort that will be required on the Skyline Drive. I was easily able to keep pace with the road bike riders I accompanied on rolling terrain at 15 to 20 mph. For the whole trip or 45 miles I averaged 14+ which is better than I anticipated.

While studying individual segments of the Adventure Cycling East Coast Route I began to accept that 100 miles per day might be unreasonable. Mileage is going to be dependent upon the logistics of finding food, water and shelter. It’s probably more logical to aim at smaller chunks of distance during the first week then increasing the mileage as I become more physically able. Highly relevant in this reasoning is Coastal Georgia’s lack of towns and the towns I will encounter are usually small and lacking significant resources. This changes as the route eases into South Carolina.

Estimates of my ability to handle 75 to 100 mile days may change as I work at extending my range locally. Cedar Key is 55 miles away. If I’m unable to make it a one day round trip at least I’ll be in a place I enjoy.

Loading my front panniers reminded me that I won’t be on a grocery run when they’re loaded for touring. Steering response is slower, but I soon adapted to it, in part, I’m sure, because of the Safari’s geometry. It’s further evidence that the bike can handle the trip. The rest is up to me.

If you think about it . . .

Someone recently said, "If you think about it, it's pretty weird to want to ride that far on a bicycle." I suppose such and adventure could seem unusual. It didn't come about without a lot of thinking about it. If I were significantly younger I might approach it as an escapade. With most of the logistical and route planning completed it is easier to consider all those things that make it "pretty weird."

Self-doubt slides up and half wheels me frequently. It's that age thing. Aches? Pains? Falls? Illness? Can I do it in 14 days? And what about the mountains when south bound? A lot of things have fallen out of my lists bucket. It's taken time. I wanted to backpack parts of the Appalachian Trail. Drive around Nova Scotia. Hang out around the Finger Lakes. Never did the App Trail nor Nova Scotia. Did the Finger Lakes. There are other things that return fond memories and mostly they balance the things. Age becomes relevant. If I don't try it now, when?

A few things remain sources of doubt

• Coastal Georgia seems to have the fewest and most widely separated resources; camping, lodging and bike shops
• Planning the best schedule transiting through and around for DC and Baltimore
• Best route to Front Front Royal
• Handling the Skyline Drive (fortunately, the Skyline Drive is more accessible than the Blue Ridge Parkway)
• Getting from Roanoke to the SC coast (OK . . . that means more than half the trip is tentative)

I was given a T Shirt with the following inscription;

Who Dares

Wins

Pretty much says it. If not now, when?

Reached the ability to maintain 15 mph. When I can do that with the bike fully loaded I will be fully prepared for the trip. Until then I guess self-doubt will be dogging me. My best hope is to turn the dog into a wingman by acknowledging the challenge and potential problems while embracing Who Dares.

Planning

I have all the Adventure Cycling maps needed to travel north as far as Baltimore. They are comprehensive and leave few ques tions except the pragmatic ones. Where will I sleep? Eat? Shower? Even these questions are answered by the thorough descriptions of the routes showing bike shops, campgrounds, motels and more. The questions are generated by personal uncertainties. How many hours can I remain in the saddle? How far can I ride?

For the next few months I will learn about my personal limitations by doing increasingly long day and overnight trips. Refining my camping skills will make it easier to anticipate were and how to do some stealth or guerilla camping. This seems to be a larger issue across southeastern Georgia than anywhere else.

One necessary adjustment has too be made to my intended route. The cost to cross from "mainland" Virginia to the Eastern Shore is too high at about $50 by private ferry. Getting to the Outer Banks remains on the schedule since the public ferries will set me back about $3. As a result, I no longer have to plot my own course from OBX.

North of Baltimore I will leave the Adventure Cycling Atlantic Coast route and head due north into Pennsylvania on the Maryland North Central Trail near Monkton.. The North Central Trail, a rail-to-trail path becomes a section of PA's J Route which eventually follows US 15 along the Susquehanna River. Currently, I am losing interest in daring the narrow roads leading to Pottsville and will consider my trip successful if I reach the confluence of the North and West Branches of the Susquehanna.

The return route remains uncertain. reading Bicycling the Blue Ridge has given me a good idea of the challenge I will face there. I am less concerned about my ability and stamina than I am about where to turn south. Do I cross all of Georgia? Or do I head toward the coast again somewhere in North Carolina? No matter what route I choose it will be without good map support, a daunting prospect. Yet, if I have succeeded in reaching my northbound goal I will probably be able to cope with a less structured journey.

None of my concerns causes me to waiver in my desire to set-off. I see the concerns as reasonable and the solutions just part of planning and doing.

Water you doing?

There are three things that seasoned tourists recommend taking more; clothing, food and water. Of the three I am most aware that it is hard to have too much water, especially in central Florida in the summer.

When I joined the Holie Pokies (cause that's what it's all about) for my first group ride I rode more than fifty miles for the first time. I carried three 24 ounce water bottles in cages and a fourth bottle in a pannier. I needed all I had. Thirty years ago when I was still capable or running, I learned the value of hydration in advance of hot weather training, so I always drink a lot of water and other fluids. Riding the 22 or so miles with the group was easy as their average speed seldom exceeded thirteen miles per hour. Riding the fifteen miles back home from their meeting place was not so easy.

Since then I have upped my mileage so I can cover fifty miles without undue stress. Four water bottle cages allow me to carry three 24 ounce bottles and one 16 ounce bottle. I drink all of it and often a fourth 24 ounce stashed in one of the panniers. As I increase my base mileage I will carry more than one extra bottle at the rate of 24 ounces per 10 to 20 miles, at least.

There is a second less obvious element to water. When I rode the final fifteen miles home after doing the Hokie Pokie, I found the final bottle of sun-warmed water was a link to a practical reality. I believed I could make the final 15 miles, but it was only when I lifted the bottle and took another mouthful of water that I knew I could. I was really tired!

Maybe it's too much like some kind of cosmic consciousness to revere my water bottles, but, damn I am glad to have lots of them. I like to pause in my cadence, savor the warm stuff and take a moment to relax. That something basic and simple can contribute positively to my bicycle adventure reaffirms the value of doing something basic and simple to improve me and my world.

How it grows

I knew when I decided to buy the Safari that there were things to be adjusted, replaced, added and changed. Reviewers disliked the seat. The handlebars were too low. Handlebar tape was inadequate. But there was no criticism of the basic bike, except for the lingering argument; aluminum or steel? For me there is one question. Does everyone become so immersed in thinking about their bike and riding somewhere?

I recall how I enjoyed looking at my '67 MGB. Forty years later, I look at my bike with the same appreciation and joy. The biggest difference between the two, other than the obvious, is that Novara makes more dependable bikes than British Leyland did cars. Of course, just as with the MG, I also get wet when it rains.

If you have followed the links to REI for an image of the Safari, you might compare it to the way my everyday transportation looks now.

 

 

Soon, I will add a Tubus Tara Low Rider front rack and suitable front panniers, probably Ortlieb Front Rollers. My research suggests I will need the space to remain as self-sufficient as possible when I tour. I anticipate using a tent 5 of every 7 nights, at least. REI offered a deal on a Big Agnes Lynx 3 and because of my size I opted for it, knowing there would be times when I would be tent-bound. Following some suggestions, I looked for an alternative to the standard foot print and stumbled upon Gossamer Gear, a source for minimalist camping equipment. Their Polycyro ground cloth seems good as a footprint alternative and waterproof wrap while traveling.

It seems likely that I will encounter numerous others when venturing north. As odd as I seem to some, I am no more than fellow traveller to the touring community. I have a Bikes and More as my link with equipment and the local Cycling Society for cognitive consciousness. It's been a long time since I have felt I was doing something useful to myself and the world. Every turn of the crank is a statement in favor of making the world little greener.

Anticipation is a significant part of the pleasure

Two of the five sets of maps created by Adventure Cycling, arrived today. St. Augustine to Statesboro, GA, (287.5 miles)and Statesboro to Wilmington, NC (349.5 miles). Always enthralled by maps, looking at these task-specific documents serves only to stimulate my desire to be off!

The Safari is now equipped with SKS P45 fenders, Ortlieb BackRoller Plus panniers and a Topeak Road G pump. I've chosen to become intimately familiar with the gear that will keep me moving northward and I wonder how I must appear to casual observers. Cyclists I encounter riding the local Hawthorne Trail routinely acknowledge my tourist equipped bike. I regularly fill the panniers with more weight than I am likely to carry when I go grocery shopping and the bike handles well. Front panniers are probably a necessary addition since I intend to be as self-sufficient as possible. Having that additional mass on the front wheels is a little daunting. How does a bike handle then?

Thirty years ago I'd anticipate making Gonzo runs from Atlanta to PA. Where would I stop? How few stops would be enough? Would I have mechanical problems? Now, not only am I anticipating going northbound, but returning south via the Skyline Drive and Blue Ridge Parkway. Deja vu sans internal combustion?

With more than 1000 miles on the Safari I know I it will do whatever I ask of it. I hope to answer the question "What's someone your age doing planning a thousand mile bicycle trip?" "Uh. two thousand. I have to come back."

It's Taken This Long . . .

How long has it taken to finally add words to an empty Blog? Too long.

I intended to memorialize my efforts to become a bicycle tourist, then life interfered. Funny how that happens more (or so it seems) as I get older. Validates the Blog's title, I guess. Recovering from my too recent detached retina (more about that later) I can see well enough to us my PC, so now is the time to start.

Contributing to making a start was my ride with one of the slower Cycling Club groups. Twenty-two miles of pleasant back roads was my first ride with people I did not know. As with many interest groups, I know little about the others except what comes from their choice of equipment and the way in which they perform. In general; nice bike and decent people, all.

The ride was easy and met the group's standards. Their name is Hokey Pokeys and the overall pace lived up (or down) to the name. What wasn't so easy was getting home from the starting/ending point. Having given up automobiles as regular transportation, I had to cycle to there and back. Had to? Yeah, it is all a part of the challenge of doing something from which it is difficult to walk away unless I finish it.

I cycled 53 miles, total. The final ten were difficult, but not burdensome. The whole episode was exactly what it should have been' tough but something I can do. Not that I will be doing 50 plus miles regularly . . . OK, maybe I will. You see, this all leads up to the goal of touring by bicycle with the first long distance effort planned for the East Coast; Oldest City to Oldest Brewery, by way of the Outer Banks. A month of 12 miles an hour. Some nights in motels, some in a tent and some where ever I happen to be.

Often, I thought about hiking the App Trail, but the time and effort investment was more than I could ever make. No, I am simply not interested in sticking my arthritic toes into hiking shoes and abusing myself that way. Driving was a driving force in my life for, well, most of my life. Reaction times and vision issues (more about that later) made that less likely. After all, who wants to drive slowly anywhere? Or, maybe it became a lack of interest? The right car?

This is a bike tolerant community. University towns are like that I suppose. Students on bike. Professors on bikes. There are bike lanes and bike routes and the majority of drivers are at worst tolerant of bicycles. Intermittently, over the past several years I commuted by bicycle, an eleven mile trip one-way. Two summers ago I began doing it full-time. The Escort blew a head gasket and seemed not worth trying to repair. So, ride four miles to put my bike on the front of a mass-transit bus (all are equipped with a two-place bike rack), then cycle the eleven miles home. "What do you do when it rains?" "Get wet." "What do you do when it's cold?" "Get cold."

"What's someone your age doing riding a bike everywhere?" That was the underlying question. And the only answer, ultimately, is, "Because I really like to ride." And I do. For all this time I rode my '86 Schwinn High Sierra, Mountain Bike, which I'd turned into a nice commuter; bar ends, road tires, rack, panniers, lights. I could easily do the eleven miles in less than an hour. The Head Mechanic, Dave, at Bikes and More, my favored shop, doubted the Schwinn would make the trip, or maybe more accurately, that I would make it riding the Schwinn. Of course, I WANTED a different bike, but . . .

Six hundred miles and a month later, I can now talk about my new ride. The High Sierra has return to its off-road preference and I manage the much different mood created by a Novara Safari. I used to say that my High Sierra was a pick-up compared to more modern commuters and touring bikes. SpUtes (sport utility vehicles) and and sports cars is what most people rode. I was envious, but only moderately because I KNEW what I wanted. Only one other bike had sirred my interest, but at $1600 the Salsa Fargo was more money that I wanted to spend, when half that much bought what I had determined was perfect? Perfect once I raised the handle bars and changed seats.

Will I actually cycle the East Coast? Probably. Will it be in the Spring 2012? Possibly. There are a lot of things to acquire first; tent, cooking equipment, additional tools, maybe even sponsorship.With the bike and a refurbished Wind Netbook in-hand I can focus on the life style and living items I will need. Yeah, it'll happen. Fifty-three miles proved I can do it.

Vision issues. Had cataract surgery in November and December 2010. Went from 20/40 and 20/30 right and left eye to 20/20 and 20/15. Needed magnifiers for reading, but who doesn't after 40? One of the possible problems with cataract surgery is that detached retinas are not uncommon following the surgery. I scored. Slowly I began to see something creeping upward across my vision, then 70% was gone, just like that! "You need to have this done now!" said the retina specialist to which the VA people sent me. Soon after, he was sticking pokey things behind my eye repairing the retina's tear. After two and a half weeks the right eye is back to 20/40. There is fogginess that will dissipate over time. Optical debris, the doctor called it, that'll be "gobbled up like Pacman" according to the doctor.

What's someone your age doing planing to ride the East Coast? Refusing to give-in to the passage of time, is all.