lurch0038

I am so jealous of all of you folks on tour. I sit at work on a computer all day with tree monitors. Two monitors are used for work while the third screen is used primarily to scroll through pictures of touring bicycles and people enjoying their tours. Someday....someday it will be me.

DropBarFan

Heh, yeah, it's amazing to read about the adventures folks go on. So many good blogs; even if work prevents long tours one learns a lot of good info for future plans.

Happy Feet

Keep true to you own plans, no matter how humble.
I usually work off two sets of books, so to speak. The plans I can accomplish in the known future, and the plans I want to accomplish but cant quite visualize happening yet. There is this saying; if you can imagine it, you can achieve it. The problem is in allowing the possibility to imagine it happening. I try to tailor my smaller plans so that they add to the bigger plan in either experience or material in some way. You never know what the future holds...

Machka 

Do some short tours ...

https://www.bikeforums.net/touring/98...ort-tours.html

We can't all do lengthy tours all the time ... sometimes we might get out for 2 weeks or a month or something, but other times we might just go for a weekend.

If you've got some decent autumn weather where you are, throw some supplies onto a bicycle, cycle out to a campground somewhere on Saturday, and back again on Sunday.

One of Rowan's and my most memorable tours was exactly that.

I was in university during the week, and worked a Friday night (4 pm - midnight) shift, then a Saturday morning (7 am - 3 pm) shift. I finished my shift, we grabbed a bite to eat, loaded up the bicycles, and set off at about 5 pm.

By the time we neared the campground, it was dark ... but a beautiful dark. The northern lights were roaring across the sky and the coyotes were howling.

We rolled into a campground that had a bonfire going in one corner only to find that all the campgrounds in the area were closed for the season, but this was an end of season gathering and so the toilets were still open, so they'd let us stay. We had our pick of spots on the other side of the campground.

After we set up, I was heading down to the toilet, and nearly walked into the lake. The atmosphere was so still, not a breath of wind, and the lake was glassy smooth and pitch black. I didn't even see it until I was about to step into it. And then as I looked, I could see the northern lights reflected in the water.

We spent the rest of the evening watching the light show in the sky and listening to the chorus of coyotes.

And then in the morning, we woke to a blaze of autumn colours and a beautiful blue lake.

We hung about and enjoyed the sunshine and scenery till about noon, then cycled home.

Rowan

What can I say except:

Dream, Dare, Do.

You live only once and while dreams are a beginning, you can only make them a reality by doing them.

spectastic

do a 2 day tour

https://www.crazyguyonabike.com/doc/..._id=16598&v=1H

indyfabz

At this point in my life, depending on how I spend my 4 weeks of paid vacation and assorted holidays, I can take only one or two 10 or so day tours/year. I also try to take at least 2 or 3 three-day trips. Took one such trip last two weekends past. It's fun to get away even if only for a short period. I honestly like sleeping in a tent, cooking in camp and reading by a campfire, so even if the actual riding is not great I still enjoy the outings. Hoping to squeeze in one more three-day before it gets very cold.

mstateglfr 

Was this your journal? If so, strong work on keeping it humerous- too many are brutally boring. Also, excellent comment for the final pic.

spectastic

yes, though i should try to put in less words and more pictures. when i go back to read them, it;s the pictures that will reinvigorate the memory.. at least for me

btw i grew up in ames

mstateglfr 

Ames, huh? A 'Clone in Texas!

Ah, I remember I read a bit about you riding to CA, jumping on a train for the rest of the trip, then bumming around the Bay area.
The CX bike you built up is certainly unique for loaded touring- what made you pick bullhorns, and do you like them? Any issues with the rear rack height too? Its always fun to see what people use for touring and why.

spectastic

hopeful future longhorn.

i liked my touring build with the carbon cx frame and the alfine 8, although I'm a little conflicted about it at the same time.. the cx frame's main advantage is light weight, but at the same time, I used the heavy alfine 8 hub in the back, which weighed it down.. when I got back, I was determined to swap the frame out with a steel one, because I didn't like to worry about the carbon frame. I did that, and the bike now weighs 30 lbs (while riding it, I got dropped from a competitive group ride that I normally dominate.. me no likey ).. so I've decided I'm done with the alfine 8.. (pros: low maintenance drive train, durable vs cons: heavy, draggy, limited range, a 3/32" chain on a 8 spd cassette will be almost as good anyway, huge gaps between gear changes makes ideal cadence difficult). I've decided that at least for me, the derailleur is the way to go.. now my vision is a 2 x 8 derailleur setup, with downtube shifters for simplicity. but I've got to sell some stuff before I can buy anything.. might keep the carbon cx frame, because with the losses I'll get by selling it, I might as well just keep it, though it won't be used as a beater in the big cities, that's fur shuuuur

bullhorn handlebar is nice because it's simple, and I dig simplicity. if I need to pack it up in a box, fitting a bullhorn is easy.