Touring - Kentuckians. Handlebar-bags. Advice. Info. Thanks.

I'm planning on doing some very light touring in mid-March. Two friends and I plan on riding from Louisville, to Lexington, then Frankfort, then back. (All cities are in Kentucky). The trip should be a total of around 125-150 miles within three days.

I've been trying to do a little planning, and I wanted some advice from you all, since I'm new to this.

None of us own touring-specific bikes, and my bike will probably be the only one with a rear rack, (though I'll want to keep the weight to a bare minimum.) We plan on staying in a hotel the first night, and sleeping outside on the second night.

I assumed a bag that mounts on my handlebars would be a great way to store some extra stuff, while keeping the weight off of the back of my bike (and my own back). Does anyone know of some decent sized handlebar bags that are pretty cheap? I'm not expecting to look fashionable or use it all of the time, so something inexpensive should do the job.

Also, for you Kentuckians, does anybody know if there is a pre-existing bike-friendly route from Louisville to Lexington? I know a ton of people make the trip all of the time, but I can't find the exact route they're taking.

If you all have any other advice, I'd be happy to hear it. Thanks for your time!

You're probably looking at more than 160 miles total. "gregw" often posts on this board and he is a wealth of information in this area. Also consider contacting the Bluegrass Cycling Club out of Lexington as they have been of help in the past.

google bike maps shows at least 3 different possibilities but each to be taken with a grain of salt.

Yea, I've made a rough-draft route with Google maps, but I've heard not to completely rely on it. I'll look through some of gregw's posts and see if I find any information. I don't think I can pm him until I reach 50 posts.

Depending on the route we end up taking, I think we'd probably make it in less than 160 miles. We plan on leaving from my girlfriend's house on Long Run Road. I'm assuming you're from Louisville, (or at least Kentucky). She lives extremely south-east Louisville, just before it turns into Shelbyville. Her adress says Shelby County, but Louisville as the city. It's significantly closer to Lexington than my house in Newburg.

Thanks for the reply!

I'll want to keep the weight to a bare minimum... We plan on staying in a hotel the first night, and sleeping outside on the second night. That's a contradiction. The sleeping bags, tents, ground cloths, air mattress, etc. weigh a lot and take up a lot of room. If you want to travel light, go for motels and carry a heavy credit card.

my bike will probably be the only one with a rear rackYou really do not want to carry weight on your back. Invest in racks to carry your baggage. If you are using a back pack, you are carrying the weight twice. First, your legs will have to pedal the weight of the bags up all hills. Second, your back and body will continually have to support the weight of the bag.

I assumed a bag that mounts on my handlebars would be a great way to store some extra stuff, while keeping the weight off of the back of my bike (and my own back). Does anyone know of some decent sized handlebar bags that are pretty cheap?Handlebar bags are not made to carry much weight. Unless they are supported below by a front rack, their weight must be supported by the headset bearings. This affects handling and steering. Handlebar bags are typically used to carry light items that one wants to get quickly, like maps, rain gear, quick energy bars, etc. The heavy stuff goes on the back or on low riders in front.

You're planning a trip for mid-March. That means you will be carrying plenty of clothes to keep warm and dry. It's not like summer, when you could carry one jersey and shorts (made of lycra) and some civilian clothes for evenings. You would wash the jersey and shorts each night and they would be dry by morning. You're probably looking at panniers and you will have to plan what you will be carrying. The only advice I can think of for cost is to find an army surplus store and see if they still have knapsacks. Then you will have to improvise a way to attach them to your rear carrier (hint bungies). Bike specific touring gear is expensive.

Thanks for the long reply, SBinNYC.

I've yet to make an entire list of the things I think I'll need, but I'm sure an air matress is something I can live without. haha. Depending on the forecast for that week, I may not even have to bring a tent. I slept outside around 5 or six times within the past year, and never used a tent. I've only found a tent necessary if it's raining or EXTREMELY cold from the wind. Since we'll only be sleeping outside one night, it might be something that can be left at home.

Thanks for the tips about backpacks and handlebar bags. If I can find a really cheap one, I'll still probably use one to carry a map, some energy bars, and other small things I'd want within hands reach.

As for the backpack suggestion, would you say carrying a backpack in general would be a burden, or only if it was heavy? I'm asking this incase I run out of room and want to use my backpack to carry a sleeping bag, since it would take up the space of an entire backpack, but it would be pretty light. If you think the backpack idea would be a burden even with a light load like a sleeping bag, I'll try to figure out a way to get it on the bike.

I plan on making a list of everything I'll need, and finding the best way to store it on the bike within the next two weeks. I'll even try to get my tent mounted on the bike, even though I hope the weather will let us leave it home. That way, if I need to buy a bigger bag or something, I'll have time to plan everything out.

Thanks for the advice. I know this ride seems really short to you all, but it'll be my first three-day cycling trip, so I want to be prepared. I'm new to this, so I figured starting small on spring break would be smart, and if I enjoy myself I'll have time to plan a slightly longer trip by the fall.

Thanks a lot!

Carly, sounds like a great trip and I'm sure you'll have a wonderful time. But get on this site and use their forum, they'll be able to answer all your questions.

http://www.bgcycling.net/forum/

Oh, man. I had no idea that site existed! You're right; I'm sure all of my questions will easily be answered with a Kentucky-based forum like that.

This is a big help for the questions I have now, and I'll bookmark it for the future. Thanks a lot!

would you say carrying a backpack in general would be a burden, or only if it was heavy?The only bag I carry on my back is a musette bag. I usually dispose of its contents pretty quickly. I have 3 objections to carrying anything on my back. As previously mentioned, you are carrying the weight twice. Whereas, the weight on the rack felt only uphill, the weight on your back (even if it is light) is felt for the entire ride. Second, the weight is high up. This means it will assist you in flying over the handlebars, in a panic stop. Weight on a rear rack will tend to keep the rear wheel on the pavement, in a panic stop. Third, should you have any solid objects in that bag and fall, those objects may be pushed into your body causing injury. I've always managed to find a way to fit everything on the bike because of these reasons. The only things that I carry on my person are my essentials: money, id and house keys. The rest is somewhere on the bike.

You could get away with a 30-40l backpack carrying bulky lighter stuff, esp on a short trip. Its always better to let the bike carry weight.
Proper touring bar-bags such as Ortleib and Carradice use a quick-release mount by Rixen and Kaul. If you are looking for a low cost option you could adapt some other kind of bag and make a similar kind of mount. Note the use of a cable around the stem to support the weight rather then the clamp. Clamp-only systems require much greater clamping forces and bigger mounting gizmos.
Note also the use of corrugated plastic board to provide some stiffness and shape. The mount is rivetted directly through he material and stiffening.

Hi Carley, I've cycled many of the roads that are on your proposed tour route and can probably help. First I find the "Kentucky Atlas & Gazetteer" by DeLorme is you best source for county roads. (Google maps is also good, but don't trust their automated routing system)

Long Run road is a great place to start your tour!! Your already out of the city traffic and there are lots of options for your route. Because I-64 and US 60 are both going that direction, they handle 95% of the traffic, so the back roads have very little traffic. I guess my first question is where in Lexington are you going, or do you know? A loop would be nice, first cycle south and cross I-64 and then east to Lexington and then complete your loop North of I-64 coming through Frankfort. You will get congested roads in both Lexington and Frankfort, can't be helped.

As far as bags go, I suggest Nashbar for inexpensive panniers and handlebar bags, they are a good value for light touring.

http://www.nashbar.com/bikes//ProductDisplay?langId=-1&storeId=10053&catalogId=10052&productId=167802

For light credit card touring on a non-touring bike I suggest one of those rear racks that attaches to your seat post with a trunk bag on top. Along with a handlebar bag. I personally can't stand a backpack while cycling, I do a fair amount of UL backpacking and don't have an issue with a backpack while hiking, but for some reason is sucks while cycling. Try this out for yourself, might be fine for you.

As far as camping without a tent, no problems as long as you don't mind the dew, it's just a little water. But you might take one of these emergency tube tents in case you get some real rain. http://www.amazon.com/Grey-Eagle-Emergency-Tube-Tent/dp/B001HRVG4Y

As far as backpacks and riding go, mountain bikers routinely wear camelbacks and there is no reason why you couldn't get away with wearing something equivalent in weight. A better option is to find an inexpensive rear rack that you could put your sleeping bag and other gear on. Make your list of what you NEED and put all the stuff in a pile and then figure out how you are going to haul it. Panniers are popular for a reason, but for a short trip you might get by with a stuff sack strapped to a rack.

what about trailering? Get together with your buds and a 12 pack and convert an old 50 kids trailer. Take turns pulling it.

Just a thought.

Wow. So many replies! I wish I could thank and respond to everyone individually.

SBinNYC, you've brought up some really good points about backpacks that I had never thought about. I'm certainly going to try my best to get everything onto my rack now.

gregw, thanks so much for the lengthy and informative reply. It's great to talk to someone who has done practically the same route. I'll check out the Kentucky Atlas & Gazetteer when I have time. You don't by any chance have a saved route that you've taken online, do you?

I won't be completely sure as to where EXACTLY we'll be heading in Lexington until I book the hotel, but I'm certain we'll be downtown.

That emergency tube tent seems really interesting, and it's really cheap. Have you ever had any experience with them?

SBRDude, thanks for the reply. I'll have a rear rack, but I doubt I'll have any panniers unless I buy them specifically for this trip. On other days, I'll have a wald basket on the rack to put stuff in. That's exactly what I plan on doing - I'm hoping to be able to fit everything in a gym bag of mine and strap it to the rack. If I can't fit everything, I'll have to splurge on some panniers, I guess.

limelitesc, I've considered trailers, though I don't have any experience with them. If I go on any more mini-tours this year and end up thinking I could get really into it, I plan on maybe buying myself a Burly Nomad trailer for my birthday in October. If I'm going to buy the real thing, I don't want to waste any money or energy making my own.

Thanks for the replies, everyone!

gregw, thanks so much for the lengthy and informative reply. It's great to talk to someone who has done practically the same route. I'll check out the Kentucky Atlas & Gazetteer when I have time. You don't by any chance have a saved route that you've taken online, do you?

I won't be completely sure as to where EXACTLY we'll be heading in Lexington until I book the hotel, but I'm certain we'll be downtown.

That emergency tube tent seems really interesting, and it's really cheap. Have you ever had any experience with them?



If you're not going anywhere special in Lexington, you might consider a different final destination. Going to Lexington forces you onto some pretty unfriendly roads. You have to cross the Kentucky river and that's either in downtown Frankfort (north of I-64) or HWY 62 going from Lawrenceburg to Versailles. (south of I-64) The short tours I do in that area go to places like General butler State park, Taylorsville lake SP, My old Kentucky Home SP, Berea, or Old Fort Harrod SP. I do my best to avoid city traffic and maximize bluegrass region countryside. Something to think about anyway.

No, I've never used one of those tube tents, I carry a real tent, But I'm sure they would work for 1 rainy night. If your going in March, weather could be a challenge, cold and rain means more clothes to pack, and for me a real tent. But it's not like your cycling in China or something, you can call for help at any time being so close to home.

Try this: http://www.bikemania.biz/Handlebar_Bags_s/359.htm