moT311

aloha, I am planning to ride from my hometown in Northeast PA to Lake Erie in Northwest PA this August. I plan on taking Route 6 (designated bike tour) the bulk of the way. I am looking for any tips or anything that I should know, I am a pretty avid cyclist, but I am still going to train hard for it. If anyone has done the tour across PA via route 6 and has any advice that would be greatly appreciated. I plan on camping out along the way (either in parks or far enough off the road where no one will see me), I have the necessary camping equipment, but I am still acquiring the goods for the bike. Any suggestions on racks? or economical rear panniers? I'm not planning on having a front rack or front panniers as I don't plan to carry that much gear. So yes, any suggestions at all would be greatly appreciated, e.g. gear lists, training, things to do, things to avoid, touring on the cheap, etc etc. Thank you very much.

shaharidan

2 great sites
https://www.crazyguyonabike.com/
all the stories, and gear lists you can imagine, plus fun reads.
https://www.kenkifer.com/bikepages/index.htm
great info and advice on cycle touring.
also just reading thru the threads on this board will give you a ton of great info.
have a great time, and let us know how it goes, i've been giving some thought to doing the same tour and will be interested in how you like it.

moT311

Thank you for the links and tips, I've been to the kenkifer site before and it does have a plethora of helpful info. I look forward to checking out the other site. I will be sure to post how my tour goes. Thanks again for the quick response.

shaharidan

i forgot about the rack pannier question. if theres an REI store near you they seem to have pretty reasonalbly priced racks and panniers, and atleast at the REI near me the employees are pretty knowledgeable and helpful. i don't know how good there panniers are, but when i was looking the price seemed reasonable enough that if i didn't like them or they didn't last it wouldn't be a huge loss. i ended up going the expensive route and buying arkels, as i plan on making touring a life long interest and they seem like they'll last longer than me , though they are expensive.
ortlieb's prices aren't too bad
https://www.bikeworld.com/components/...y.html?cat=181
and iv'e seen them highly recommended by board members. you may also want to do a board search on panniers, theres been a ton of discussions on them and you'll see pros and cons of several different brands.
and if you really want to go low cost theres a section on ken kiefers site about how to make your own. and with all his experience there probably as good or better than any you could buy.
any other questions don't hesitate to ask

jnoble123

Hi.

I think that you are in for a fun filled adventure.

If you also use your bike for commuting or if you suspect that more tours will be in your future you might consider going for a higher quality rack to start. A rack failure on tour really sucks since it leaves you with few options for carrying your stuff plus a quality rack will likely be very useful even when not touring.

A cheap way to get panniers/saddlebags is to consider using a plastic bucket. There are several sites that discuss different ways to do this and Bicycle Touring 101 will soon have an article about the method as well courtesy of a new contributor. The tricky part is the connection to the rack. You can obtain Arkel hooks for a minimal charge and it makes this really easy!

Have fun!

~Jamie N
www.bicycletouring101.com

moT311

Hi again, and thank you both for your very helpful replies. Regarding the REI Panniers, I happen to live quite close to an REI, so I think I will go check out what they have to offer before I make any purchases. I'm probably going to try and find something of decent quality that I can justify the cost, because though this is my only planned tour as of now, I certainly plan on touring in the future whenever I get the chance.

Regarding the rack comments, I definately am going to look for a sturdy rack. I found this rack: https://shop.sunrisecyclery.com/item/270/ and it is the sturdiest one they sell, apparently it can hold 50+ pounds. I do not know about any pros or cons regarding the brand or the rack, but it looks pretty intense. So in more or less words, I am planning on going for a higher quality rack, because that would be a major bummer if my rack crapped out on me mid-tour. Let me know if that rack is no good, looks sturdy enough to me, but again, I am fairly ignorant on this subject.

Thank you again for your advice.

Rick(Pa)

Hi,
I've done the Rt. 6 trip between Scranton and Towanda a few times in a truck and between Towanda and Galeton twice. Each time I made a mental note as to how many hills(mountains) there were in case I biked along this route, there were many. On the good side, the scenery is the best that Pa. has to offer and stealth camping should be no problem as you will be passing through numerous state forests and state game lands. Its desolate. As an alternate the Scranton to Phila. to Harrisburg back up to Scranton(along Rt.11) is nice. Unless, of course, you are going to Erie for a reason.
Rick(Pa)

moT311

Thanks for the alternate route suggestion, I think I am going to go for the goal of Erie though, I guess I'm just gonna have to train my ass off for this. I suppose there is a reason that I want to ride to erie, that being I have been up and down the eastern side of PA more time than I can count, yet I have barely headed west at all, so I am rather curious to see all scenery and small towns, that without a bike tour, I would otherwise never see. Thank you for your suggestions, I know some friends planning a ride from philly to scranton, so perhaps I'll pass the tip about route 11 along. Thanks again man.

shaharidan

that looks like the same rack i'm using, so it should be fine, i have'nt had any problems.