Photo essay of our Tasmania cycling tour

[jur]

Photo essay of our Tasmania cycling tour:

http://tinyurl.com/234qv2

Let me know what you think.

[14R]

Thank you so much for sharing with us. The pictures are very impressive, but the best part is right here (Copied without permition):

Total distance cycled: 1220km
Number of puntures: 0
Number of mechanical problems: 0
Number of health problems: 0
Number of rainy days: 1

And yes, you two look good together!

[SSDD]

WOWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWW !!!!!

What a ride !
Loved the pictures :)

A great inspiration.

[caotropheus]

Let me know what you think.


Jur, you are a genious of the folding bicycle.

For some reason I cannot see pictures from days 13 and 14 and part of day 12. do you guys have the same problem?

[unkchunk]

That was very nice Jur. Thanks for sharing.

[Bonasus]

Thank you Jur. What a wonderful introduction to Tasmania for me! I love your sense of humor. I suspect that your wife is a very patient woman. :)

[LittlePixel]

Sweet - thanks for sharing. I intend to read it more fully but loved the pictures and the depth. All that way and no punctures - is amazed!
:)

[Foldable Two]

Thanks for taking the time to record the images and text. Excellent job!

Just a couple of "equipment" questions:

1) What was the gear range of your wife's Yeah Bike with the extra, smaller chain ring? Also, looked like a maybe Helios style Aluminum frame?

2) Looked like you had larger tires on the rear of both bikes; what are the specifics?

[Nachoman]

We loved the photo journal. I went through every photo with my 10 year old. My wife lived in Tasmania for a year (30 years ago). She enjoyed it too!

[DaFriMon]

Loved the pictures, and the running commentary provided by the captions. I've been through them once, and plan to take another look tonight. Another corner of the world to put on my "maybe someday" list. I like how your wife's Yeah has been turned into a capable touring bike; I've never thought about them that way before. Lots of other interesting details about the bikes, but mostly it's the countryside that gets my attention. I had no idea.

But enough about the beautiful Tasmanian landscape, and the interestingly set up folders, and on to the niggling details. Did they have long term storage at the airport where you could keep the bike boxes, or did you have to leave them somewhere in town? Were the boxes small enough to avoid an oversized fee?

[werewolf]

That's great! You have the material for a whole book right there!

[fireworkz]

Wow.. very nice.. liked the whole tour..amazing fun.. wondering what it all cost you guys.. ?

[juan162]

Jur,

Thank you for sharing. What a wonderful trip. One day I will persuade my wife to join me on the bike, and maybe we will be able to do a similar trip.

Juan

[jur]

Thanks for taking the time to record the images and text. Excellent job!

Just a couple of "equipment" questions:

1) What was the gear range of your wife's Yeah Bike with the extra, smaller chain ring? Also, looked like a maybe Helios style Aluminum frame?

2) Looked like you had larger tires on the rear of both bikes; what are the specifics?
1) the front chainrings are 48T and 42T, that gives a total range of 23-82GI. That's what we had available, but on her request I am now going to install a 53/39 and somehow kludge a derailer on. When I get it done, I will post piccies of how I did it.

2) We both had 2" Big Apples on the back, and 1.3" Primo Comets Kevlar belted on the front. Having puncture resistant tyres is a real boon.

3) Connie's bike is the Yeah made by Dahon. It is almost identical to the Helios except the hinge is not as svelte looking as well as being simpler in construction, and the steering riser is the simpler, steel one. Both cases pleases me after reading some of the reliability issues some Dahon owners have with those exact 2 parts.

[jur]

But enough about the beautiful Tasmanian landscape, and the interestingly set up folders, and on to the niggling details. Did they have long term storage at the airport where you could keep the bike boxes, or did you have to leave them somewhere in town? Were the boxes small enough to avoid an oversized fee?For the outbound leg we got boxes for free at the LBS. We just left them there outside the building next to the rubbish bin and "someone else" musta chucked them.

For the return we bought bike boxes at the airport that the airline sells for this purpose, at $15 a pop, OK value I think. They are a fair bit bigger and sturdier than LBS boxes and made the packing job very easy. I am keeping them.

The airline (Virgin Blue) has a unique fare structure that regards any sports equipment, including bicycles, as counting for only 5kg of you allowance, regardless of the actual weight. Plus they do not have oversize baggage fees. Plus their fares are of the best.

For our next tour I am considering using suitcases a la Bike Friday. It would be a lot more convenient, perhaps?

[jur]

Wow.. very nice.. liked the whole tour..amazing fun.. wondering what it all cost you guys.. ?We don't know, heh we tend not to work out budgets etc. But it was not expensive; the air fares were $59x4; camping fees ranges from $5 to $27 per day; once we stayed in luxury accom. for a treat at almost $300 for 2 days; on-site vans or park cabins tended to be $60-70 a pop; and meals were cheap except some dinners where we occasionaly went to a restaurant. And of course, no fuel cost. And, not having much spare room in the panniers after putting our food in them, we couldn't even buy souvenirs! :D

[Dahon.Steve]

Great pictures. I envy you because you've found someone who likes this kind of touring. Beautiful country and great pictures. Next time, I would simply get a small chain ring and buy a larger cassette.

[jur]

The cassette is the largest available already: 9 sp 11-34T.

[Pine Cone]

Great writeup and pictures. I spent a couple of weeks there in 1983 and really enjoyed it. I just got a second DownTube VIIIH so my wife and I can do similar sorts of tours.

If you are into making digital panoramas, try a program called AutoStitch. They have a free demo version that is amazing. I have tried several packages and this is the best I have found.

Here is a sample of what I have made using it.

http://home.wavecable.com/~spholmen/places/pano_left_small2.jpg


Download AutoStitch from:
http://www.cs.ubc.ca/~mbrown/autostitch/autostitch.html

[jur]

Thanks for the tip! Will try it tonight (if I can get on my home PC - competing with 3 others ATM :p

[Polaris43]

Great writeup and pictures. I spent a couple of weeks there in 1983 and really enjoyed it. I just got a second DownTube VIIIH so my wife and I can do similar sorts of tours.

If you are into making digital panoramas, try a program called AutoStitch. They have a free demo version that is amazing. I have tried several packages and this is the best I have found.

Here is a sample of what I have made using it.

http://home.wavecable.com/~spholmen/places/pano_left_small2.jpg


Download AutoStitch from:
http://www.cs.ubc.ca/~mbrown/autostitch/autostitch.html

Amazing!!! I'll have to try it.

[gbcb]

I've haven't checked folder forum for a few weeks, so I'm a bit late to the party. Fantastic travelogue, jur! I haven't done any touring myself yet, but this was inspiring. Thanks very much!

[Nachoman]

I'm leaving to Tasmania in a couple of weeks, so I had to go through these great photos again!