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How to bike across the country

brooks.team

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Re: How to bike across the country

#91

Post by stevage »

downut wrote: post #37

For the people who are wondering whether this is a good idea or not, lemme tell you about some x-country cyclists I met on a ride. 3 years ago in the middle of summer I was climbing Iron Springs Rd on the west side of Prescott AZ. 3 youngish cyclists were paused on the side of the road with an apparent mechanical. They had a modest amount of camping gear in their panniers. Turns out they were French, had the barest g…

Yeah, I'm always amazed what young people can get away with on the spur of the moment.

Was in Kyrgyzstan recently, and there's a popular hike that everyone does (Ala Kul). But it's HARD. And the people that do it are often not hikers. It's 3 days, but it involves a massive climb at altitude, and you have all these random backpackers attempting it because...well, that's what you do. And by and large they all seem to get through it ok.

Re: How to bike across the country

#92

Post by jajko »

raffael_de wrote: post #45
jaxtracks wrote: post #2

One theme that pops out to me here is the reliance on other people being a positive experience for the author. In the software field, we tend to live pretty high up the economic value chain, which can abstract us a bit from participation in the more grassroots co-operative aspect of society. This can be alienating and warp worldview. When I'm hitchhiking to support packrafting trips or get back to where I launched my…

I made similar experiences - some also through hitch hiking. One major takeaway for me was how often my "flash judgements" are wrong or unfair. I'd also say that asking for help and trusting is more of a strength one has to develop and nurture than a sign of weakness, which is what I used to believe.

That classic meme of guys never asking for driving direction, so women have to... but its not so much meme, just refusal to step out of comfort self-zone

Re: How to bike across the country

#93

Post by Fricken »

em-bee wrote: post #75
JKCalhoun wrote: post #41

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yep, met a guy who was dragging a whole trailer behind his already loaded bike. Another biker, seeing the setup, whispered to me, "You pack your fears."

keeping that in mind is almost a life philosophy. but also, reducing your fears comes from experience. the more you travel, the longer you live, the more you discover things that you didn't need, if you pay attention to it.

Bicycle tourists and Bikepackers generate massive amounts of online content, they can't seem to help themselves, so a great deal of knowledge and experience can be had long before any rubber has touched the open road.

Re: How to bike across the country

#94

Post by _rpxpx »

dangus wrote: post #89
jaxtracks wrote: post #2

One theme that pops out to me here is the reliance on other people being a positive experience for the author. In the software field, we tend to live pretty high up the economic value chain, which can abstract us a bit from participation in the more grassroots co-operative aspect of society. This can be alienating and warp worldview. When I'm hitchhiking to support packrafting trips or get back to where I launched my…

I feel like this comment and the article itself together in context have kind of a sour taste for me. Just the fact that it takes such a great effort to experience first-hand how poorer people just help each other out because nobody has money, so they help. But for a tech bro to do that they have to engage in a self-indulgent hobby and cosplay as poor like they're on Undercover Boss. Ironically this effort to relate…

Agreed. This sort of article does convey a lot about the mental world of the tech bro. Apart from the surprise at the hospitality of "normal people" it has the glassy sheen of purely procedural mind. I mean, one is not exactly swept away by the sense of adventure. It's a sort of fitness exercise.

Re: How to bike across the country

#95

Post by FartinMowler »

SoftTalker wrote: post #84
mauvehaus wrote: post #79

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Counterpoint on RV centered "campgrounds": they have sweet amenities like a grill, a pool, laundry, and often a building with some air conditioning and some books previous guests have left behind. Not an every night kind of thing, and you're unlikely to find much in the way of grass to put a tent on, but I stayed at one with another guy who was bike touring and we get like kings for the night. When you're digging hol…

> Counterpoint on RV centered "campgrounds": they have sweet amenities like a grill, a pool, laundry, and often a building with some air conditioning and some books previous guests have left behind. ... and showers.

Hot showers too! And 1-800 phone numbers. In my motorcycle touring days, at 3pm or so I'd figure out where I would be at 7-8pm, lookup the nearest KOA in the KOA directory booklet, and call the 1-800 to make a reservation. Often when I arrived, they were turning away unhappy would-be campers as all spots were already taken.

Re: How to bike across the country

#96

Post by timonoko »

I made it twice in 1980s. Or maybe trice, at least piecewise.

-- Note about "prepadness". No need for that. I started at 70km per day, but eventually made 500 km in 24h. Because good back wind and too hot for camping by the road.

It takes about two weeks to totally numbify youres backside. Thereafter rockhard professional saddle is the best.

https://youtu.be/8D-S8nYCwjA?si=TZfnb2qrkiZdiYU6

Re: How to bike across the country

#97

Post by dharmab »

FartinMowler wrote: post #95
SoftTalker wrote: post #84

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Counterpoint on RV centered "campgrounds": they have sweet amenities like a grill, a pool, laundry, and often a building with some air conditioning and some books previous guests have left behind. ... and showers.

Hot showers too! And 1-800 phone numbers. In my motorcycle touring days, at 3pm or so I'd figure out where I would be at 7-8pm, lookup the nearest KOA in the KOA directory booklet, and call the 1-800 to make a reservation. Often when I arrived, they were turning away unhappy would-be campers as all spots were already taken.

These days the trick when motocamping in the east is to look up the KOA location, and then check the rate at the local campsite across the street or down the road.

Out west of course you usually have free options.

Re: How to bike across the country

#98

Post by dharmab »

soared wrote: post #3

Props to the author for grinding through this, but I think a very strongly worded and formatted warning is needed at the top. Embarking on this trip with so little knowledge meant putting yourself far away from civilizations while criminally underprepared. I love the energy of Supertramps, but there is a reason they are controversial. It would be very easy to make a mistake and be in big trouble - underestimating wat…

I've done a lot of motorcycle touring and there's only a few things that concern me at all now:

1. The few remaining 100 mile stretches of no services, when extreme weather is possible.

2. Sundown towns, if you aren't white. Yes, they still exist.

3. Running out of water.

Especially nowadays, when cell phone + satellite coverage is nearly universal and affordable, you can run a phone off a small solar panel, and a credit card can fix any fuckup.

Re: How to bike across the country

#99

Post by Chipen »

My friend and I attempted to cycle over 1300 kilometers during our university summer vacation without any special training. We just started off. This experience was very memorable because we had limited funds; I didn't have a sun-protective suit, and the bicycle was borrowed. Some protective gear was even handmade by my friend's mother, for which I am truly grateful. There was a particularly embarrassing incident where I even used women's sanitary pads because the area had become numb after long hours of cycling, and I needed something to cushion it. My friend bought them for me and insisted I use them. We also met many interesting people along the way. In short, although it was challenging, it was very fun. I believe that in life, some out-of-the-ordinary things are worth doing, but please always pay attention to safety.

Re: How to bike across the country

#100

Post by Chipen »

Chipen wrote: post #99

My friend and I attempted to cycle over 1300 kilometers during our university summer vacation without any special training. We just started off. This experience was very memorable because we had limited funds; I didn't have a sun-protective suit, and the bicycle was borrowed. Some protective gear was even handmade by my friend's mother, for which I am truly grateful. There was a particularly embarrassing incident whe…

It took us ten days.
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