Tour pushed back a month
07-16-06, 04:38 PM
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Tour pushed back a month
The orginal plan was to depart on the trans-am tour August 1st. I'm not in good enough riding shape, and instead of going with the cheap bike ($600), I am going ahead and getting one from the LBS ($1400).
I havent purchased the bike yet, but one has been ordered, and I am not obligated to buy it, yet. I am still considering the REI and am still looking for a cheaper used Trek 520, although it is hard to find one for a guy that is 6'3.
Also, in the past couple of weeks, I think a friend of mine is really starting to come around and will more than likely join me on this journey. He cant leave until the 1st of September, so that is the date we are setting.
We start in Oregon (adventure cycling maps) and are racing to beat the cold and bad weather. Our goal is to reach Kansas, turn south and spend a few days in Oklahoma City and catch an Oklahoma State football game (we live in OKC and graduated from OSU). Our agenda has us in Kansas by early October (is this reasonable**********)
I guess a lot depends on the weather, but we might continue on the Trans-Am route or continue south towards New Orleans and pick up on the southern tier.
I guess now all we have to do is get our plane tickets, find a way to ship our bikes back and forth, get more gear, find my buddy a bike, and get closer to touring shape. Any advice for first time tour'ers is appreciated!
I havent purchased the bike yet, but one has been ordered, and I am not obligated to buy it, yet. I am still considering the REI and am still looking for a cheaper used Trek 520, although it is hard to find one for a guy that is 6'3.
Also, in the past couple of weeks, I think a friend of mine is really starting to come around and will more than likely join me on this journey. He cant leave until the 1st of September, so that is the date we are setting.
We start in Oregon (adventure cycling maps) and are racing to beat the cold and bad weather. Our goal is to reach Kansas, turn south and spend a few days in Oklahoma City and catch an Oklahoma State football game (we live in OKC and graduated from OSU). Our agenda has us in Kansas by early October (is this reasonable**********)
I guess a lot depends on the weather, but we might continue on the Trans-Am route or continue south towards New Orleans and pick up on the southern tier.
I guess now all we have to do is get our plane tickets, find a way to ship our bikes back and forth, get more gear, find my buddy a bike, and get closer to touring shape. Any advice for first time tour'ers is appreciated!
07-16-06, 05:48 PM
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some new issues
Ok, adding a person has brought a few minor issues that I hadnt thought about. If anybody could throw out some suggestions on the following:
1. I'm thinking we will put panniers on my bike, and then he can buy a bike and we might load that up with panniers or pull a trailor, and then rotate bikes. Question is, he is probably going to be on budget when it comes to buying his bike, if his bike is pulling a trailor, does it need to be a tour specific bike? Could we get away with a cheaper road bike (around 600 or so) with tour specific tires?
2. One tent that we share, or separte tents? I think I remember a bunch of people saying it is best to have seperate tents. I'm also not sure if most camp sites along the trans-am charge per tent or for the space.
3. He is about 6'3 or 6'4, I'm a bit shorter. Could he fit on a 61cm frame?
1. I'm thinking we will put panniers on my bike, and then he can buy a bike and we might load that up with panniers or pull a trailor, and then rotate bikes. Question is, he is probably going to be on budget when it comes to buying his bike, if his bike is pulling a trailor, does it need to be a tour specific bike? Could we get away with a cheaper road bike (around 600 or so) with tour specific tires?
2. One tent that we share, or separte tents? I think I remember a bunch of people saying it is best to have seperate tents. I'm also not sure if most camp sites along the trans-am charge per tent or for the space.
3. He is about 6'3 or 6'4, I'm a bit shorter. Could he fit on a 61cm frame?
07-17-06, 09:54 AM
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Originally Posted by sccr2337
Ok, adding a person has brought a few minor issues that I hadnt thought about. If anybody could throw out some suggestions on the following:
1. I'm thinking we will put panniers on my bike, and then he can buy a bike and we might load that up with panniers or pull a trailor, and then rotate bikes. Question is, he is probably going to be on budget when it comes to buying his bike, if his bike is pulling a trailor, does it need to be a tour specific bike? Could we get away with a cheaper road bike (around 600 or so) with tour specific tires?
2. One tent that we share, or separte tents? I think I remember a bunch of people saying it is best to have seperate tents. I'm also not sure if most camp sites along the trans-am charge per tent or for the space.
3. He is about 6'3 or 6'4, I'm a bit shorter. Could he fit on a 61cm frame?
1. I'm thinking we will put panniers on my bike, and then he can buy a bike and we might load that up with panniers or pull a trailor, and then rotate bikes. Question is, he is probably going to be on budget when it comes to buying his bike, if his bike is pulling a trailor, does it need to be a tour specific bike? Could we get away with a cheaper road bike (around 600 or so) with tour specific tires?
2. One tent that we share, or separte tents? I think I remember a bunch of people saying it is best to have seperate tents. I'm also not sure if most camp sites along the trans-am charge per tent or for the space.
3. He is about 6'3 or 6'4, I'm a bit shorter. Could he fit on a 61cm frame?
I'll let somebody else that knows more about bikes answer the other questions. But as far as #2, I think you two should just go ahead and get seperate tents. Spending 2+ months together you guys are going to want you space. Plus, most of the time it is easier to set up two small tents rather than one large one.
My last tour I did with a buddy we both had seperate tents. You dont spend a lot of time in the tent anyway. Once you set up and change out of your cycling gear you just hang out around a camp fire until you are ready to go to sleep. You both will sleep better in seperate quarters as well.
07-17-06, 10:19 AM
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[QUOTE=sccr2337]
We start in Oregon (adventure cycling maps) and are racing to beat the cold and bad weather. Our goal is to reach Kansas, turn south and spend a few days in Oklahoma City and catch an Oklahoma State football game (we live in OKC and graduated from OSU). Our agenda has us in Kansas by early October (is this reasonable**********)
I guess a lot depends on the weather, but we might continue on the Trans-Am route or continue south towards New Orleans and pick up on the southern tier.QUOTE]
I think you will definatly want to push it. Of course all of this is realitive to person preference. Your time frame is doable, and honestly I would want to spend more time around yellowstone and the national parks, but weather wont allow you to stay too long.
You can get to Kansas in a month but you will have to hurry. And I definatly recomend pushing towards the southern tier. You will be able to relax for the second half of the tour by the beach. You will be able to take it easy for a while and not work as hard as the first half
We start in Oregon (adventure cycling maps) and are racing to beat the cold and bad weather. Our goal is to reach Kansas, turn south and spend a few days in Oklahoma City and catch an Oklahoma State football game (we live in OKC and graduated from OSU). Our agenda has us in Kansas by early October (is this reasonable**********)
I guess a lot depends on the weather, but we might continue on the Trans-Am route or continue south towards New Orleans and pick up on the southern tier.QUOTE]
I think you will definatly want to push it. Of course all of this is realitive to person preference. Your time frame is doable, and honestly I would want to spend more time around yellowstone and the national parks, but weather wont allow you to stay too long.
You can get to Kansas in a month but you will have to hurry. And I definatly recomend pushing towards the southern tier. You will be able to relax for the second half of the tour by the beach. You will be able to take it easy for a while and not work as hard as the first half
07-17-06, 01:05 PM
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Only thing I'd worry about dropping to the southern tier is hurricane season. Odds are slim that something will happen, but keep your eye on the weather.
Also if another major one hits, it could cause further problems on the southern tier.
This wouldn't stop me or even worry me much, but I would make me very aware of the weather.
Also if another major one hits, it could cause further problems on the southern tier.
This wouldn't stop me or even worry me much, but I would make me very aware of the weather.
07-17-06, 03:32 PM
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you are right
about Hurricane season.
One reason I'm not all that worried about it is that we have good friends that live in New Orleans and will be updated constantly by family members. If something bad started we could get out in a hurry or hunker down in a hotel for a while.
I'm really not worried about that aspect.
One reason I'm not all that worried about it is that we have good friends that live in New Orleans and will be updated constantly by family members. If something bad started we could get out in a hurry or hunker down in a hotel for a while.
I'm really not worried about that aspect.
