Utility Cycling - Suggestions for working at a Camp...

I posted this in the Clyde forum a few days ago - with no results. I was going to post in this forum from the beginning - but thought I'd try Clyde forum - No luck there.

Trying again...

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I have a Single Speed 29er that I would like to rig up to ride for the Summer while I work at a Scout Camp. I am the Camp Director - and often travel the ~2mi road to visit, deliver items, etc. In the past I have walked or used a golf cart. I want to lose weight this Summer and plan to ride.

What items would you recommend for a few things:
1) Light to be able to ride the [camp] road at night - no other traffic, I just need to see where I am going
2) I have a rear rack - what would you recommend I use to carry items I need to deliver? (typically small)
3) Other thoughts?

4) Diet/Routine you would recommend to lose weight in the 6-8 weeks of Summer Camp. The food cooked at the camp is "typical" for teenagers burning lots of calories. I can do a salad two meals a day, etc.

My bike is a KHS Solo-One upgraded with disc brakes.

ANY words of wisdom would be great.

Thanks!
Bill

1) What is your budget for lights? One thought would be a Fenix or similar LED flashlight. Assuming you can charge AA batteries, it would probably work great. Bonus that you could take the flashlight off for use off the bike.

2) Maybe some folding baskets from Wald?

4) You want to be careful with diet. I would suggest finding someone a bit more qualified to speak to. IIRC in my own attempts to eat right and lose a bit, you want to be careful how much you cut back. Something about how the body stores fat and burns it when you aren't getting enough to eat. Limiting calorie intake often back fires.

Make Hummus, eat it on bread with some Ruccola or simlar. I like the dryed tomatoe one but there is several to choose from.

+1 on wald folding baskets...you can put a lot in them and the help make a base (with the rack) to strap things to, once they are full

you can geek out and and check out the lighting electronics forum, but this one a good mix of value/light/cost If you go to 35-5000 and non AA batteries you can get a lot more light

http://www.shiningbeam.com/servlet/the-53/Romisen-RC-dsh-N3-CREE-Q5/Detail

＋1 about being careful about cutting back - eating sensibly (not too much) of good food (not too much fat, more veg than meat, snack on fruit not chocolate or other junk) combined with all that cycling around will probably do the job brilliantly without any real need to cut back significantly on your intake. The big advantage of this approach (other than that it works) is that you'll be creating habits that will be easy to stick to once you get back to your other life and routine (after the camp is finished). With a 'diet' inevitably you finish 'dieting' and resume the previous habits that led you to put on weight in the first place.

But I'm not an expert here either, so best to do some more research on good ways of losing weight

good luck!

I like the idea of Wald baskets. I will look into those - especially since they are made about an hour from my house and one of my Boy Scout volunteers has been [at Wald] for 30-something years. He keeps nagging asking why I don't have any of there stuff.

As for a budget on the light - If it's a good light, I don't care to drop a few dollars. I really don't have a budget - I just want the most bang for my buck.

If I go with a flashlight...how do I secure it to the bike? **nevermind - I see the mount on the website**

Another idea for lights would a dyno hub and a matching light. No batteries to worry about which might be better if you ever had to pedal off unexpectedly to tend to an emergency.

Something you might consider is that bicycling is good exercise, but it is not necessarily better exercise than walking the same distance. If you're going to ride around the same number of miles that you would otherwise walk, that's not necessarily an improvement. If you ride around for the same length of time that you would otherwise walk, that's more of a workout if you work at it, or less of a workout if you mosey around hobo-style. To get a good workout, you need to be tearing around the camp, which might not be the ideal situation.

I've got a rechargeable headlight that works pretty good, Night Rover, I think- would be fine if you have a place to plug it in while you're not using it. The LED-type lights are okay if you're going pretty slow. I've got a 1/2 watt one from REI.

Any kind of basket would work. A milk crate on a rack would work.

Something you might consider is that bicycling is good exercise, but it is not necessarily better exercise than walking the same distance. If you're going to ride around the same number of miles that you would otherwise walk, that's not necessarily an improvement. If you ride around for the same length of time that you would otherwise walk, that's more of a workout if you work at it, or less of a workout if you mosey around hobo-style. To get a good workout, you need to be tearing around the camp, which might not be the ideal situation.

I've got a rechargeable headlight that works pretty good, Night Rover, I think- would be fine if you have a place to plug it in while you're not using it. The LED-type lights are okay if you're going pretty slow. I've got a 1/2 watt one from REI.

Any kind of basket would work. A milk crate on a rack would work.
I didn't think about that...it certainly makes sense. One thing that will make a difference is we are usually trying to get things done "in a hurry" and that's why we would often use the golf cart instead of walking. My thought is a bike would/could allow me to be get from a to b quick while getting some exercise.

As far as milk crate...that is sort of what I was thinking. How do you secure the crate?

cycling is definitely more exercise than a golf cart! And if you are hopping round the camp all day on a bicycle I bet you'll burn plenty of calories (especially if you are in a hurry) and it'll all be an intrinsic part of your workday so there'll be no laziness or excuses creeping in (unless you take the golf cart of course). Sounds like a bicycle is perfect, and you'll probably really enjoy it and get plenty of gentle-to-moderate exercise (the best kind) at the same time.

Zip ties will probably secure the milk crate to a rack if you have one, pretty hard to secure anything without a rack.

hope that helps

cycling is definitely more exercise than a golf cart! And if you are hopping round the camp all day on a bicycle I bet you'll burn plenty of calories (especially if you are in a hurry) and it'll all be an intrinsic part of your workday so there'll be no laziness or excuses creeping in (unless you take the golf cart of course). Sounds like a bicycle is perfect, and you'll probably really enjoy it and get plenty of gentle-to-moderate exercise (the best kind) at the same time.

Zip ties will probably secure the milk crate to a rack if you have one, pretty hard to secure anything without a rack.

hope that helps

I do have a rack - just haven't used it. Never really knew what to do with it. *hide* I'm new to all the idea of utility cycling. I have an Avid Journey Disc rack.

Craig's list up a cheap child trailer.
With that you can carry a cooler, usually helpful at a camp.

Loose bungee cords catch spokes. I like band straps, but always be conscious of what can get caught in your wheel.

Zip ties are your friend. They are great for strapping milk crates and such to your rack. Mesh office supply baskets also are useful carryalls. Cheep woven baskets from places like Pier 1 are also not out of bounds if you can't find a milk crate.

A heavy load up high makes the handling twitchy.
Keeping the load low helps, i.e., loading it in panniers.
Cheep satchels found at army-navy stores + zip ties make for serviceable cheap panniers.
Stiffing it up with a piece of rigid cardboard or something will help keep floppy bag out of wheels