kamoke

this is a rant

you know what I really don't enjoy. A lot of things. The internet being one of them. I hate coming on here and looking at satillite images of towns, and finding secluded beaches to camp on. I don't like going to google and finding out which roads are the smoothest and that at kilometer number 165 there is a small grocery store and that if you stop there talk to joe and linda because they'll put you up for the night. It just seems to lack the mystery, that mystery which makes touring so interesting.
So I've been trying not to do this as much. But I see people on here asking what the roads are like, and how hard is this hill, or will brooks hurt my butt. God dammit, just go out and test yourself. If you can't do it then you've learned a lesson. I hate the internet, and lazy people.
Don't get me wrong, I'm lazy too.
Arg. I do love riding a bicycle though.

I know not what is out of reach until I die trying to accomplish it. I know thats a little harsh, but hell, it's true ain't it.
Sometimes I wished that things weren't so easy, and that the only way to find the answer to a question was to get out there in the fresh air and fall down - bruise your arse and come to your own conclusion.

this is touring related, dammit

BLM

OK then.......

jcwitte

So, are you saying that a Brooks will hurt my butt?

Camel

Are you OK?

Just give up smoking, or coffee perhaps?

Shemp

That's nice of you to assume everyone has the time, or confidence or is in the shape to be able to go out and just discover everything for themselves. If one road is absolutely crummy and can be avoided, then why wouldn't someone want to know? Is it part of the joy in the surprise to ride a narrow stretch of road popular with logging trucks? No one wants to learn that the hard way, do they?

I'm not sure if you're a little edgy with cabin fever or what, but ease up. You can feel free to call me a fair weather biker, but it's still cold enough that I'm not out riding because the discomfort factor has exceeded my joy factor for now. So I'll feel free to take that extra time that's not spent freezing my butt of to make sure there's a place to eat and camp for the night on my next trip if that's alright.... But I promise, I won't look at pictures so it's all a surprise still when I get there.

kamoke

Maybe a dose of coffee, smoking and cabin fever is what I need. I'm just a pretty mad person I suppose. No odds though.
Thats the great thing about riding bike and getting outside for me. When I'm in the house I usually just sit around my computer and get angry and think too much, but when I get on my bike, or hike up the lake, I get pretty mellow.
haha, yes, I need help for sure.
Don't worry though, I'm picking up the harmonica.

hey, wheres the self-help forum..?

onyourbike

Damn arpanet... Damn cold war....
If Karl Marx had never been born, perhaps we wouldn't have to put up with the internet... ggrrrr...

KrisPistofferson

I really enjoyed your rant, but I have to respectfully disagree. Routing yourself via the internet is one of the best things about commuting and touring nowadays. I think we've all found ourselves on roads we regret being on every second of the way, and since I'm one of those guys who has no use for "club rides" and all that social stuff, comparing routes with other people over the 'net is extremely handy.

There are some very hairy roads in every state of the union that are techically legal to cycle on, but that doesn't make it a good idea. I'm all for avoiding those through foreknowledge. I've ridden a lot of the same Alabame roads Ken Kifer used to write about riding on, and no disrespect to Ken, but some of them were extremely dangerous, and while I was shocked when he was killed, it did not surprise me that much. What I would ideally like to see is a free database of touring routes collected in one place. Adventure Cycling maps are way too danged expensive, and all it would take would be for everybody to post maps of their local areas, with tips and tricks. Heck, it could be a subforum of this one, divided into regions.

So yeah, the internet rules for tourers.

Tom Stormcrowe

This isn't a bad idea! I agree wholeheartedly with the concept of posting maps. By the weay, if anyone wants a map for a ride across Indiana, from Fort Wayne to Evansville, let me know, I have a really nice .pdf or better yet, I'll link it! Here it is!https://www.wrcc-in.org/routes/fortwayne-evansville.pdf

Tom Stormcrowe

By the way, I love the batman video! Where did you find it?

srrs

if i didn't have the internet to read people's lovely experiences and ask about things i'm scared about, there's probably an 80% chance that i would have chickened out about my upcoming tour.

that said, i spend too much time on the internet and not enough biking. i realize this. i'm a cautious person. but i AM going to get out there, dammit, and undertake something i've never done before, partly because i can dispel my fears with research.

Bekologist

Heck. Why use maps?

Bike riding, it's nice to have some idea of what you're in for, most of the ride is still a voyage of discovery, isn't it?

Doggus

If it wasn't for the internet...I wouldn't know what a Brooks was. Or for that matter, I wouldn't be addicted to bikes.

doglhunt

amen to that.I'm a lone soldier among my social circles.Most of the people I know wouldn't ride a bike if their life depended on it.The only way that I get connected to biking world is via the net.I'm penned up now recovering from surgury but long to be in the saddle,in the wind,free.It's a poor substitute but the net will have to suffice.It's better than staring at that stupid TV for six weeks.

mtnroads

Good rant - thanks. I think we all probably find ourselves spending too much time on here sometimes, at least I do - so I'm trying to cut down and get out and ride more myself. But hey man, you're up in Newfoundland and it's winter, so...yeah, I can sense your frustration with it all.

NoReg

I haven't tried out say, Google Earth to follow a proposed route, but other than that my experience is that one can prepare as much as one wants, but it won't make any difference. As they say about war, no plan survives contact with the enemy. The one part of my last trip that I most prepared for, and had cheat notes for from the internet, I got hopelessly lost on. Actually I also had some trip notes for the waterfront trail which were stupid since the trail does dumb stuff like go of down dead ends and then back again. Also for the various rail and Trans Canada trails which were mostly impassable. Other than that I had standard road maps. SO I wonder if you have really been out there hard coring it as much as you say, cause your esperience about prep does not compare much to mine, though we probably agree on the idea that the fun part is the unexpected stuff that happens out on the road.

Lolly Pop

I'm just surprised to hear y'all have the internet in Newfoundland. . .

Understand?

Dio Rallen

I found my trips turned out so much more enjoyable when I only planned the next few days. And that was just a general direction. Plus, I found that if I went on the routes that everyone told me not to go on, I would be pleasantly surprised instead of greatly disappointed.

Like Highway 36 from Eureka to Red Bluff in Northern California. I was dead bored with 101, and wanted something challenging. When I asked people about the route, they gasped and told me of narrow winding mountain roads with no shoulder and truckers who barrel through them. Whatever. Turns out there were almost no truckers, and there was only a mile stretch without any shoulder. The rest was two to five feet for just me and very low grade through breathtaking country. I even met another tourist with a fishing pole. Thing about the solo Baggers on non-adventure cycling routes is that they are incredibly much more open to riding deep. We roasted fish on a open fire deep in the mountains that night. Needlessly to say, it was a night worth mention.

But on the other hand, you tend to die more when you do things you don't put much planning into. But that’s cool, you know, I bet god rewards people for this kind of stuff. (For the good laugh, if anything.)

Personally, I just get enraged when I read anything but the touring section on this forum. Like I need to know how bald your balls are.

sth

Tick tick tick...

I can understand the rant, a bit. I find that part of the enjoyment of any trip is planning, looking at maps etc. It builds the anticipation for the trip. Looking for different routes or points of interest etc. On a bike, I like to have an idea of where I am going to end up for the night. I found myself looking on the web the other night at each town I figured I would end up in on this summers ride, to see what they had for camping. While doing this it hit me that this is removing some of the adventure. So I can partly agree with the rant.

The forum has lots of repetetive Brooks or gearing or wheel posts, but thats the gearhead in all of us. I think this is a great outlet for helping us all with our decisions, purchases etc. If all you want to read about touring is actual trips and journals, check out "Crazy Guy". This forum has lots of great threads to offer about all aspects of touring.

kamoke

I've been thinking about this off and on for several days. But just before I forget, I think that anyone who rants like this isn't really all that worth listening to. I think it just started with the fact that I myself wish to be outside, as often as possible, preferably doing something. In saying that, yes, I sit here all day and waste my time. Thats why I blame the internet, using it as a way out. It's just so much easier to sit here and tick off the hours, instead of going through all that trouble and using all that energy. The funny thing about going outside is that once you're out there, it's kind of nice, and personally, I forget those feelings of laziness I had.
But yes, the internet, I've been thinking about what was said, about discovering things you may not have found in real life. I'd have to say that I agree with that. I'm also going to have to say that finding new things can turn horribly bad. Gear for example. Sure I'll be more comfortable with all that great gear I bought online, but oh, my credit card, it hurts.
Who gives a crap anyway. It's only money, it's only the internet, it's only about 60 years until I hit my life expectancy.
In all seriousness, can't we just let this rant go, like others have, and we'll all feel much better. Then I can get back to reading, only to pop up and make some remark about living off the land and freedom junk.
Thats the great thing about the internet as well - you can be as crazy as you want and people don't mind too much.
Holy crap, this has nothing to do with touring

Ridelots24

Kamoke -
You should go outside and read Desert Solitaire by Edward Abbey.

RiotBoi

Dio- if that's the case im going to be a VIP.

example: My friend and I did have a downhill planned for this weekend (on the highway) with a girl trailing us in a truck, we were hoping to break 75mph. Yesterday morning he crashed and caught chainlink with the webbing of his hand though and pretty much ripped it in half. 12 stitches, now he doesnt wanna ride, pansy.