Touring - Midwest Touring Questions

Hello

I have the entire summer off and am planing on doing a tour of some type. I have little experience in this so if you would be so kind to answer a few questions I am thinking about.

Route: I live in Southern Illinois, two of the cycling adventure routes run through here. The Transamerica route, and the Great Rivers Route. I am currently leaning towards picking up the TransAM route and heading east, I would like to go all the way to the end but am not sure if that would be possible. Are the cycling adventure maps worth buying?

Bike: I have a older three ringer with down tube shifters and pretty strong wheel set, and I have a newer bike which is much better but more racing oriented. I am assuming the three ringer would be my best bet even though I much perfer to ride the newer bike.

Bags: have no idea about bags, don't even know if I can put them on my bike, do they only fit on touring bikes or can you put them on anybike, also does a person need both front and rear?

Stuff: Besides some of the obvious items, such as food and basic tools, tubes and such, I really don't know what to take, I would like to camp as much as possible so I guess I would need a small tent, sleeping bag? I once talked to a guy who was cycling TransAM and going through my town, he was just sleeping on the ground and had a sleeping bag but no tent. Also I would like to record the trip in a journal but I would hate to have to type everything I wrote out, I don't have a notebook computer and I can't think of any other way to type textfiles.

Anything I am not thinking of, any advise would be appreciated.

if you got allsummer off then pick up the trail and go west to the pacific coast and then head south if you run out of tie take the train home or continue otn he southern teir and come back in fall of the year

Welcome to the wonderful world of touring! As with everything else, there are many ways to tour - different types of bikes, panniers vs. trailers, camping vs. not - and you'll have to decide what is best for you.

Adventure Cycling's maps are definitely nice to have for touring. They include information on where you'll find food (restaurants and stores), lodging, camping, and bike shops. I use them when I can (that is, when I'm riding through an area that they cover), but I've also learned that I like to have road maps with me as well. That's because the Adventure Cycling maps only cover a narrow corridor, and I sometimes decide to take an alternate route. It's always nice to have options.

Without seeing your bike I can't tell if you can put racks on it or if you will need to go with a trailer - or if your frame is strong enough to take the strains of the added weight of touring. If your newer bike is more oriented for racing, I doubt that it would be the best choice for touring. As far as what to take - I'd recommend going to www.crazyguyonabike.com (http://www.crazyguyonabike.com) and taking a look at the equipment lists in many of the journals. To quickly find journals with equipment lists, click on journals, then click on equipment lists. I have equipment lists in my journals (http://denisegoldberg.crazyguyonabike.com) for both camping and credit card types of tours. I've done some tours on a diamond-frame touring bike with panniers, and some on a Bike Friday with a trailer.

On the journal front, I highly recommend using crazyguyonabike.com (http://www.crazyguyonabike.com) as a place to host your journals. Neil Gunton created the site as a place for his journal for his 1998 cross-country trip and then added tools to let other cyclists build and host their journals too. It's very easy to use, and there's a good community of cycling tourist there...

I carry an HP Jornada 720 handheld PC for writing my journal and uploading entries to the web. Unfortunately this device is no longer manufactured, but you may be able to pick one up used. Other options? Many people use a PocketMail (http://www.pocketmail.com) device. You can use it to keep your journal and to send emails anywhere there is a phone (not a phone line, a phone - even a pay phone). And if you choose to keep your journal on crazyguyonabike.com (http://www.crazyguyonabike.com) you can post your journal entries by email. Still another option is a PDA with an external keyboard. I kept my first two journals on paper and keyed them in later - and I don't recommend that. Too much time! If you don't want to carry any electronics with you, try public libraries or Internet cafes...

Keep asking questions and reading - and remember, it's your trip, and you may come up with answers that are right for you but not for me. It's all part of the fun!

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www.denisegoldberg.com (http://www.denisegoldberg.com)

Thanks that was a very helpfull reply.

Howdy -

Glad to hear you're considering picking up a bad habit.

As for equipment - no need to get the priciest - esp. if you are starting out - I have a Sears Hollofil sleeping bag that I bought 17 years ago - lightweight - cheap - and it's been thousands of miles.
Likewise with a tent - preferably not K-Mart - but a low-cost, lightweight tent can come in well under $100. I prefer free-standing - rectangular - they're faster to set up, no pounding of pegs into rocky ground, and fast to pack up if you have only a small window between storms and a cafe is close by.

Same with panniers - look at Nashbar or Performance before you go Arkel or Ortlieb. Maybe someone has an old set on this website - I'd get a good rear pair plus handlebar bag, at least. Front panniers are nice to balance out your load. Blackburn racks are fine as long as you aren't carrying boulders. I prefer a regular front rack to low-riders - stronger rack, plus the low riders aren't good if you do any paths. dirt roads with brush alongside.

I agree with the other guy who said "Why go East???" especially in the summertime - the Gershwin tune might be nice, but why suffer in the heat and humidity? You can start out in St. Charles and head west for more than 250 miles - car-free on the Katy trail to Sedalia - that would let you get acclimated to riding with gear - plus it's a spectacular ride - there are towns with cafes, stores, and campgrounds along the way and maps you can print out online - check Missouri DNR. From there you can head across the Plains and - by the time you hit the Rockies - you will be a pro.

You can head out to the Pacific - OR - run the Rockies all the way up to Glacier Park - Going-to-the-Sun is one of the dream roads for cyclists - even head into Canada and go all the way to Jasper. You can head out to Prince Rupert and take the ferry back to Washington state - or turn south towards Vancouver in British Columbia - or if you stay in the states - run the northern tier to Seattle. I suggest a northern route because it will be mid to late summer - a truly sweet time.

Depending on time - and my guess is that you'll be doing about 350 miles per week which gives you days off and/or time to hike and check things out - you can take Amtrak back to Illinois - fly on Southwest which has cheaper one-way tickets - or bike back. Since most carriers charge extra and handle your bike like gorillas - it's easier and safer to drop by a bike shop at the end of my tour and have them ship it.
Oh yes, go with your older bike if it has the granny gear - you'll need it for climbs - east or west.

There are so many ways to go - don't limit yourself to established tour routes - some are not the best anyway - just go.

John - johnegan@vcn.com